Let's Read The Monster Manual II: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Fight Them

[Requilac]

Gotta say, though, I get the impression now Kenku are way more used as a PC race than as NPCs.

I have to agree with this. I have never once seen a Kenku NPC, but I have know three deifferent people who have played one, and one of those people were at my table.

[War_lord]

I'd say it's hard to do a Kenku NPC because it's difficult to do an NPC that talks in any kind of puzzle without frustrating the players who might not appreciate having to play a parlor game just to get information. Not impossible, just difficult. Although having to bust the only person in the town who can translate what the local Kenku flock says into Common sounds like a quest hook to me.

[Requilac]

I expected much more talk about the Kenku, but it has been another 24 hours of silence so it's safe to assume that people are bored now. We should probably move on to everybody's best friend, kobolds! Who wishes to right that entry? I would probably try to take initiative but you probably want a more experienced person talking about such an iconic monster.

[M Placeholder]

I expected much more talk about the Kenku, but it has been another 24 hours of silence so it's safe to assume that people are bored now. We should probably move on to everybody's best friend, kobolds! Who wishes to right that entry? I would probably try to take initiative but you probably want a more experienced person talking about such an iconic monster.

I dunno, perhaps a fresh pair of eyes would be good. After the little dragon critters, there is the Kraken and the Kuo-Toa and that is it for K.

[Ronnocius]

I haven't seen any kenku NPCs or PCs, but as a DM I had a kenku carting off some stolen goods in a wheelbarrow as an option on the random encounter table for a city.

[Santra]

Ahh Kenku. I just recently started using them in a campaign. They tend to be unnerving to deal with as kenku in an area will share many of the same words mimicked in the same voice as they have learned it while growing up in proximity to each other. Outsider kenku are obvious as their voices dont match that of the (flock?) rest. My kenku also tend to collect sounds and trade them with other kenku for small bribes such as food, drink, or a few coin.

My party captured and interrogated a kenku who was a lookout for a larger group just the other day. When they tied him up and started threatening her they found it disturbing that the kenku was repeating their threats back in their own voices while mixing other unnerving sounds in as well.

Spoiler

Show

I still need to get some new players to go investigate a "Haunted House" just to find some kenku urchins hiding inside making creepy noises so they can live in the house undisturbed.

[Requilac]

Well, seeing as how no one else wishes to write the entry, I will make the Kobold commentary sometime today. It's probably going to be after Noon, but I think that I can get it done today, and if not today than I can do it tomorrow.

[Unoriginal]

I can write it if you want.

[Requilac]

@unoriginal

No, I might as well give it a try, thank you for the offer though. It's unfair to make you write the entries for half the monsters, I can take care of it.

[DerKommissar]

I will start working on the lich if thats okay :) i have no knowledge on the kraken and the lamia to me is like the jackalwere was before this thread, so i think its good if someone else does it...

[Requilac]

I will start working on the lich if thats okay :) i have no knowledge on the kraken and the lamia to me is like the jackalwere was before this thread, so i think its good if someone else does it...

Sure, feel free to go ahead the lich commentary. It's not going to entirely ruin the thread if we skip past a couple monsters and come back to them.

[Requilac]

Kobolds

Introduction: the incarnation of evil itself in a snack sized, reptilian package. You know them, you probably hate them (I know I do), kobolds! The creatures that crawled out of the nightmares you never realized you had.

Art: The art itself is over-all a decent representation of them. It misses some important facets of Kobold personality though. There is nothing there that really shows that they worship dragons, horde treasure, make traps or gather in swarms. I think it is an accurate representation of what they would physically look like at first glance though. They appear diminutive, starving and pathetic, overall a figure that should generate a sense of pity more than anything else. It's weird how muscly the model looks though considering that Kobolds have 7 strength and 9 constitution. But their facial features make them seem cruel and insidious, ruining your likelihood of feeling any sympathy for them. It is also interesting to note that they are carrying the exact weapons which are in their stat block. WotC could have done a better job on the art, and I personally think a background should have been added in, but over-all it's not that bad. I might just be acting overly critical.

Purpose and tactics: more or less, Kobolds are the perfect example of a mook. With 5 HP, an AC of 12 and 4 DPR they are helpless alone, and as stated in their fluff, they rely on their numbers to overcome opponents. Pack tactics is a good reflection of this behavior. Kobolds are pretty simple beasts and their main possible strategy is just to gang up on their opponents and attempt to overwhelm them. They may have some extra kobolds in the back slinging stones or an Urd (winged Kobold) hovering up above and dropping rocks, but besides that their is little room for tactical variation. Outside of combat they could always implement traps, but in truth, they are no better at setting traps than the average lackie. Kobolds don't get a special feature or any proficiencies in their stat block which reflects their trap making ability and they have 8 intelligence and 7 wisdom. Ironically, making a Tucker's Kobold would actually be better left to a different monster.

Fluff: Kobolds are not really that unique flavor wise. They are basically just servants to dragons, there is not much else to them. It is a role that could be filled by many other monsters or just plain humans. When they are not serving dragons they are swarming over subterranean areas in search of treasure to create hoards. It is frequently stated that Kobolds are pathetic and pitiful beasts who cannot survive on their own so they must rely on each-other to have any hope of success. They apparently also try to make up for their physical weakness by creating traps, though their stat-block does not really support that statement.

Urds: Some Kobolds can receive attention from Tiamat and be gifted with wings (or it could be some kind of genetic mutation but the Kobolds like to believe that they are important so let's go with the former). Their favored strategy is hiding on ledges and chucking rocks down at targets below them. Other kobolds though are so pitiful that they only feel jealousy towards an Urd. There are just not many high points to living in Kobold society is there?

Hooks:
The great dragon Smaug Smog has noticed some adventurers entering into his/her/its (dragons are confusing) lair but feels that its might is not necessary to take out them. Instead, Smog sends a troop of kobolds to seek out and gang up on the incoming threat.

As the party turns around a corner they fail to notice a troop of Kobolds hiding among the rocks, awaiting their chance to amass more treasure to their hoard. An Urd carefully lifts up a rock while standing on a high ledge above and several Kobolds load their slings, seeking to use the element of surprise to defeat their foes.

A group of adventurers are crawling through a low tunnel when a pack of Kobolds charge at them, unhindered by the low roof because of their short stature. They are able to fully stand up while their opponents must stay prone, and the kobolds are not hesitant to use this to their advantage.

Verdict: over-all Kobolds a fairly basic mook with little to distinguish them from other monsters. Despite the rumors of the infamous Tucker's Kobolds, the MM Kobolds were not built for such feats and cannot fill this niche as effectively as other monsters. I don't really see how implementing Kobolds adds anything more to a story than using Orcs, Goblin, Ogres or just classic humans. At the end of the day though, these vicious little critter are one of the most iconic creatures in the D&D world.

[SharkForce]

i wonder a little bit if they held off on kobolds so that they could save some for volo's. don't own it, but i've looked through a bit of the kobold entry and they got a lot more variety there...

[Ronnocius]

Kobolds

Introduction: the incarnation of evil itself in a snack sized, reptilian package. You know them, you probably hate them (I know I do), kobolds! The creatures that crawled out of the nightmares you never realized you had.

Art: The art itself is over-all a decent representation of them. It misses some important facets of Kobold personality though. There is nothing there that really shows that they worship dragons, horde treasure, make traps or gather in swarms. I think it is an accurate representation of what they would physically look like at first glance though. They appear diminutive, starving and pathetic, overall a figure that should generate a sense of pity more than anything else. It's weird how muscly the model looks though considering that Kobolds have 7 strength and 9 constitution. But their facial features make them seem cruel and insidious, ruining your likelihood of feeling any sympathy for them. It is also interesting to note that they are carrying the exact weapons which are in their stat block. WotC could have done a better job on the art, and I personally think a background should have been added in, but over-all it's not that bad. I might just be acting overly critical.

Purpose and tactics: more or less, Kobolds are the perfect example of a mook. With 5 HP, an AC of 12 and 4 DPR they are helpless alone, and as stated in their fluff, they rely on their numbers to overcome opponents. Pack tactics is a good reflection of this behavior. Kobolds are pretty simple beasts and their main possible strategy is just to gang up on their opponents and attempt to overwhelm them. They may have some extra kobolds in the back slinging stones or an Urd (winged Kobold) hovering up above and dropping rocks, but besides that their is little room for tactical variation. Outside of combat they could always implement traps, but in truth, they are no better at setting traps than the average lackie. Kobolds don't get a special feature or any proficiencies in their stat block which reflects their trap making ability and they have 8 intelligence and 7 wisdom. Ironically, making a Tucker's Kobold would actually be better left to a different monster.

Fluff: Kobolds are not really that unique flavor wise. They are basically just servants to dragons, there is not much else to them. It is a role that could be filled by many other monsters or just plain humans. When they are not serving dragons they are swarming over subterranean areas in search of treasure to create hoards. It is frequently stated that Kobolds are pathetic and pitiful beasts who cannot survive on their own so they must rely on each-other to have any hope of success. They apparently also try to make up for their physical weakness by creating traps, though their stat-block does not really support that statement.

Urds: Some Kobolds can receive attention from Tiamat and be gifted with wings (or it could be some kind of genetic mutation but the Kobolds like to believe that they are important so let's go with the former). Their favored strategy is hiding on ledges and chucking rocks down at targets below them. Other kobolds though are so pitiful that they only feel jealousy towards an Urd. There are just not many high points to living in Kobold society is there?

Hooks:
The great dragon Smaug Smog has noticed some adventurers entering into his/her/its (dragons are confusing) lair but feels that its might is not necessary to take out them. Instead, Smog sends a troop of kobolds to seek out and gang up on the incoming threat.

As the party turns around a corner they fail to notice a troop of Kobolds hiding among the rocks, awaiting their chance to amass more treasure to their hoard. An Urd carefully lifts up a rock while standing on a high ledge above and several Kobolds load their slings, seeking to use the element of surprise to defeat their foes.

A group of adventurers are crawling through a low tunnel when a pack of Kobolds charge at them, unhindered by the low roof because of their short stature. They are able to fully stand up while their opponents must stay prone, and the kobolds are not hesitant to use this to their advantage.

Verdict: over-all Kobolds a fairly basic mook with little to distinguish them from other monsters. Despite the rumors of the infamous Tucker's Kobolds, the MM Kobolds were not built for such feats and cannot fill this niche as effectively as other monsters. I don't really see how implementing Kobolds adds anything more to a story than using Orcs, Goblin, Ogres or just classic humans. At the end of the day though, these vicious little critter are one of the most iconic creatures in the D&D world.

I agree that the kobolds are boring in the Monster Manual. I really think Volo's Guide to Monsters added a lot of interesting things to them. However, I kind of disagree on the trap making; since it is a necessary aspect of their survival I think the average kobold could devise relatively clever traps even with their low mental attributes.

[Requilac]

I agree that the kobolds are boring in the Monster Manual. I really think Volo's Guide to Monsters added a lot of interesting things to them. However, I kind of disagree on the trap making; since it is a necessary aspect of their survival I think the average kobold could devise relatively clever traps even with their low mental attributes.

I did not say that Kobolds could not make traps, I said that they could not make traps better than any other creature of their intelligence. Any monster could make a trap if they waned to, some of them mighty just be better at it because they have some sort of feature or proficiency. Kobolds can still make traps, but those traps are not going to be any more effective than a trap set by an Orc, goblin or bandit.

[Shining Wrath]

I suspect that kobolds have variety in their INT scores.

The smart ones use the traps set by the dumb ones as distractions / cover.

[SharkForce]

or, alternately, the kobolds aren't necessarily superior at making traps inherently... but they *are* far more likely to have individuals that choose to learn the skills and apply them, and they're far more likely to use them in their tactics. i mean, if you go to a highly specialized engineering school, it isn't like they're a different species of human that have extra abilities to make them superior in engineering. same for any other specialized school. what they have is simply a greater concentration of people with the inclination to learn engineering and use it to solve problems.

[Ronnocius]

I did not say that Kobolds could not make traps, I said that they could not make traps better than any other creature of their intelligence. Any monster could make a trap if they waned to, some of them mighty just be better at it because they have some sort of feature or proficiency. Kobolds can still make traps, but those traps are not going to be any more effective than a trap set by an Orc, goblin or bandit.

I know that you weren't saying they couldn't make traps, you said they would not be better than "the average lackie". I disagree with this because trap-making in basically ingrained into their culture. Meanwhile, orc society is based off of brute strength, battle prowess, cunning and devotion to Gruumsh. Obviously the average kobold would be able to set traps (as in physical traps such as a pit trap) much more effectively than the average orc.
Even if you disagree with that (don't know why you would), it shouldn't even be a matter of debate that the average clan of kobolds are more effective at trap making than the average orc tribe, because (as said above) kobolds have a large amount of specialists who solely focus on trap making whereas an orc tribe will usually have a handful or none (depending on the size of the tribe and its values).

[Unoriginal]

I did not say that Kobolds could not make traps, I said that they could not make traps better than any other creature of their intelligence. Any monster could make a trap if they waned to, some of them mighty just be better at it because they have some sort of feature or proficiency. Kobolds can still make traps, but those traps are not going to be any more effective than a trap set by an Orc, goblin or bandit.

Even Tucker's kobods weren't better trap-makers than any other people.


The thing with kobolds is not that they're incredibly good with traps, it's that they use a lot of them. And that once you're in their lair, you play on THEIR term.

Beside, an efficient trap isn't complexe, just hard to avoid. Kobolds are the kind to just roll a huge rock in front of the entrances of the room you got in, then let you suffocate and check one week later.

[War_lord]

Traps don't have to be mechanical Rube Goldberg devices, intelligent use of terrain can create traps. Kobolds have an innate understanding of defense in depth, they know they're weaker then an enemy and know they have to wear it down through attrition. Orcs will get up in your face, Goblins are ambush predators, Bandits will try to escape once it's clear they're outmatched. Kobolds will lure you further into their lair, pelting you with missiles and zerging you with the weaker members of the tribe to lure you into the killzone.

[Regitnui]

The original Tucker's Kobolds never faced off one on one and didn't really use sophisticated depths-of-Skyrim-dungeon style traps. They did, however, have passages that the players couldn't get into, hot oil, wasps, and whatever else they could use to make life as difficult for the players without actually confronting them. Volo's Kobold Inventor is exactly what Tucker's Kobolds are. Not brave, not tough, not even particularly smart. But they will take any advantage they can and use it to the maximum.

[Requilac]

So it appears that the consensus is that Kobolds are not inherently better at making traps, just more likely to implement them and have specialists who focus on traps. That is an entirely reasonable conclusion to form, and if I ever implemented Kobolds I would make them like that, but the things is that the MM did not elaborate on this trait enough. At the end of the day, I have never seen a Kobold and do not have the same amount of experience with them as older players do, so my knowledge on them comes strictly from the MM. I don't actually know what original Tucker's Kobolds acted like and hardly know the definition of the archetype. The MM simply stated that they make up for their physical ineptitude by riddling their lairs with traps that use natural hazards and other creatures. I did not know how big of a part of their culture trap making was. I saw the stat-block and realized that there is nothing that hinted at trap making so I went into more detail on the information I knew I had, not the assumptions I could make which could very well be wrong. I was writing a commentary on what I saw in the MM, not what I assumed about them and by personal experience, so I sticked to what I knew for a fact. Ultimately saying that traps are a big part of their culture and that they are more likely to implement traps is a reasonable assumption, but it was not that well fleshed out in the Monster Manual. I am not disagreeing with any of your cases, I am simply starting the MM did not elaborate enough on this for a new player such as me to automatically realize that.

I may have said this a million times by now, but please do not take any offense to what I say. I am not trying to sound aggressive or unreasonable, I am just trying to state my opinion and I hope it does not come out too vehemently. I hold no sense of rage towards anyone on this forum (not yet at least).

[Regitnui]

Entirely reasonable. The character of the kobolds only really comes through in Volo's anyway.

[DerKommissar]

Sure, feel free to go ahead the lich commentary. It's not going to entirely ruin the thread if we skip past a couple monsters and come back to them.

Currently working on the lich, but we got IIRC the kraken, kuo-toa and lamia inbetween - anyone wanna do these? :)

[ShikomeKidoMi]

I could do any of the three, if no one else wants to, but you'd need someone else for the other two.

[Unoriginal]

Fine, I'll do them.

[Requilac]

Sorry about the lack of response, i really should have said something, but I felt as if I could not write the Kraken entry very well. Mainly because I know very little about its mythological origins. The kraken was originally from Grecian mythology, right? IIRC it looked something more like a giant crab (I do not say so with much confidence though). I have no idea what it did or who killed it though. It probably involves something with poisedon, was he using the Kraken to punish worshippers that stopped praying to him or something like that? I could be getting it mixed up with some other sea monster though, it seems like the Greek gods liked to unleash terrors on unfaithful followers frequently so it is easy to get confused.

[DerKommissar]

Sorry about the lack of response, i really should have said something, but I felt as if I could not write the Kraken entry very well. Mainly because I know very little about its mythological origins. The kraken was originally from Grecian mythology, right? IIRC it looked something more like a giant crab (I do not say so with much confidence though). I have no idea what it did or who killed it though. It probably involves something with poisedon, was he using the Kraken to punish worshippers that stopped praying to him or something like that? I could be getting it mixed up with some other sea monster though, it seems like the Greek gods liked to unleash terrors on unfaithful followers frequently so it is easy to get confused.

Not really, the kraken stems from nordic mythology and not from the greek one. In German you still call an Octopus „Der Kraken“.

[Unoriginal]

Sorry about the lack of response, i really should have said something, but I felt as if I could not write the Kraken entry very well. Mainly because I know very little about its mythological origins. The kraken was originally from Grecian mythology, right? IIRC it looked something more like a giant crab (I do not say so with much confidence though).

Not at all, the Kraken is from Norse mythology. And it looks like a giant squid

I have no idea what it did or who killed it though. It probably involves something with poisedon, was he using the Kraken to punish worshippers that stopped praying to him or something like that? I could be getting it mixed up with some other sea monster though, it seems like the Greek gods liked to unleash terrors on unfaithful followers frequently so it is easy to get confused.

Greek gods cared more for respect than for faith, though proper rituals and sacrifices was part of their worship.

[Requilac]

So the Kraken originated from Norse mythology. Was there a Grecian Kraken or did I just accidently mistake a scene from Clash of the Titans for an actual piece of mythology? I am rather ignorant on ancient mythology (not because I am not interested though) so I do not exactly have a wealth of knowledge on this kind of thing and the stories I remember will frequently get distorted with time.