Kobolds v. Orcs

[Tornadofyr]

Orcs and Kobolds are natural enemies.

Orcs are stronger individuals, and their champions are mightier than a small group of Kobolds.
Kobolds work well together, and an army of Kobolds can easily defeat an army of Orcs.

Orcs are connected to Giants. Orcs never stop growing. Old Orcs become Giants.
Kobolds are connected to Dragons. Many Kobolds can be born from a single unfertilized dragon egg.

Kobolds are Ordered.
Orcs are Chaotic.

Kobold magic is Sorcerous.
Orcish magic is Clerical.

Orcs have many gods that are ever present
Kobolds have a singular god that has been imprisoned.

[brian 333]

And in my campaign setting none of that is true. Except that kobolds are lawful.

Which edition are you building for, and what campaign setting? What is the purpose of your essay?

[Tornadofyr]

5th Edition D&D
A campaign setting I'm messing with.
It was meant to be interesting to read, and that's about it.

Any thoughts on the content itself?

[Dienekes]

5th Edition D&D
A campaign setting I'm messing with.
It was meant to be interesting to read, and that's about it.

Any thoughts on the content itself?

It’s an interesting start, but let’s see if we can delve a bit deeper. Yes, their cultures are different. But what makes them natural enemies? Are they competing for the same resources? Was the kobold’s imprisoned god’s Last words “And remember my children, never trust those dirty swindling orcs!”?

Have the orcs been raiding the kobolds for loot, preying on the weaker enemies? Have kobolds been enslaving orcs to use as grunt workers and shock troopers?

And all importantly for rpgs. How does this relationship create adventures for your players?

[brian 333]

In the dawn of time kobolds were the slave-children of the Evil dragons who used them to construct and guard their lairs and, on occasion, to fight their battles.

Then came the war between giants and dragons for dominion over the world and it was fought to a stalemate after many generations.

However, it was then that the elves, with their 'Great Alliance' of dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and men, began their own war of liberation from both oppressors. Weakened by ages of war, they were driven to the most desolate places while the demi-humans took most fertile areas from both dragons and giants.

As they retreated the orcs time and time again promised alliance with the kobolds, only to kick the smaller kobolds out of the defensive fortifications the kobolds built or to flee the armies of the Elven Alliance, leaving the kobolds to fight and die.

The orcs have long ago forgotten but the kobolds remember...


Question: can the Good and Neutral dragons also hatch kobolds from infertile eggs? Would that not imply Good and Neutral kobolds, and Chaotic ones too?

My theory is that the ritual needed to hatch kobolds is LE in nature, and so can only be performed by LE clerics producing only LE offspring. Perhaps this also explains the primacy of the one kobold deity, an ascended dragon, as only his clerics can perform the ritual.

[Tvtyrant]

Kobolds are the most populace race by leaps and bounds. The females lay a dozen eggs twice a year, and their warrens rapidly over populate. It takes 2 years for an egg to become a teen, underweight but full height. When they do the warren splits, and thousands to tens of thousands of Kobolds pour into surrounding areas.

This leads to bloody extermination campaigns meant to remove Kobolds being a fixture of most region's histories. Unfortunately Kobolds can live on very small amounts of food, including worms and grubs, and loan females can become pregnant without a male. The new warrens established by survivors send males (who have wings) to find other warrens by pheremone trails and soon the wilds are full of Kobolds again.

Dragons take advantage of the Kobolds' rapid reproduction by enslaving them and driving away nearby threats. Within a decade the dragon has an enormous if fragile army to lead. They also are seeded into areas where dragons do not want civilized development, the warrens acting as a resistant barrier that prevents farming and can be propped up if needed.