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Forum Topic: Japan, Osaka - DM starting up new 4E Game

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Reimagining Kobolds wizards.com

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Rebteb

I like the prehensile tail - I use something like that (in my games Kobolds are deamonlings).
I don't like the connection to dragons - I don't like the weakest creatures to be tied to the most powerful in some contrived family bond. To be clear, I have nothing against Kobolds. In fact, some of my best monsters are Kobolds! I believe Draconians (Dragon Lance) cover the humanoid-dragon niche quite well.
Anyway, you forgot to post the picture of a Kobold from 2e - you know, the one with...

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February 10, 2013 4:29 AM PST

Egamma

Clever girl...
Basically, Kobolds are 1/3rd size Velociraptors?

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April 12, 2013 11:41 AM PDT

thewaever shared an article.

Creatures at Gen Con 2012 www.wizards.com

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BadeaCR

I think the old ogre-specific head was better.

October 24, 2012 6:01 AM PDT

BadeaCR

People not familiar with D&D lore might interpret this as a cave troll, remembering LotR. I'm not sure if this is your concern.

October 24, 2012 6:08 AM PDT

thewaever shared an article.

When Is a Goblin Not a Goblin? wizards.com

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Galadare

Those are sounding pretty good to me, but where in the hell did the carnivorous apes come from?

August 26, 2012 5:12 PM PDT

Haldrik

Here is some info toward a folklore accurate Goblin. Altho many nature spirits translate into English as “goblins”, most of the stories about the actual Goblin come from Britain during the Romantic Era, late 1800s.
The D&D Goblin can match up well with the folklore, especially when a player race.
• Typically: Very high Dexterity, high Intelligence, low Strength, low Charisma, very low Wisdom.
Goblins are stealthy and surprisingly spry. They are knowledgeable and clever, but...

View full comment Here is some info toward a folklore accurate Goblin. Altho many nature spirits translate into English as “goblins”, most of the stories about the actual Goblin come from Britain during the Romantic Era, late 1800s.

The D&D Goblin can match up well with the folklore, especially when a player race.

• Typically: Very high Dexterity, high Intelligence, low Strength, low Charisma, very low Wisdom.

Goblins are stealthy and surprisingly spry. They are knowledgeable and clever, but tend to be oblivious to the obvious that is going on in front of them. They are capricious, cowardly, and difficult to take seriously. They are small, and their Strength suffers proportionally.

• The Goblins are fey, so a connection to magic is a given. They are knowledgeable about magic, and often use rituals.

• They have a vicious sense of humor, typically playing pranks that are mean, harmful, and fatal.

• They (most of them) hate Humans, and seek to destroy Humans in amusing ways.

• In physical appearance, they are small and grotesque. They lack toes, and find the sight of toes offensive and sickening.

• The Goblins see themselves as much more refined than Humans, which is humorous.

• Nocturnal with darkvision and sensitivity to sunlight.

• Goblins live in caves and mines, with a Goblin King, plus intrigues of the royal court.

• Goblins abduct children. This can be a good plot hook, especially for low-level adventures. The adventurers need to rescue the children before they suffer the ritual that traps them into goblinhood. This is how Goblins increase their numbers, especially as spouses, slaves, and armies.

• But the most interesting Goblin trait is ...

Singing and poetry (specifically rhymes?) repels Goblins, till out of earshot. This is a quirky and fun trait that can make encounters with Goblin vivid and memorable. A great way to lighten the mood while in the context of evil monsters. It is necessary to come up with a balanced mechanic to represent this, but an

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September 13, 2012 11:15 AM PDT

thewaever shared an article.

Orcs and Gnolls www.wizards.com

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Imruphel

Orcs were originally chaotic evil (cf Holmes Basic) but became lawful evil in the first Monster Manual. It may very well have been a misprint because editing wasn't exactly a priority when TSR was rushing out its releases (actually nothing has changed - see page XX).

September 8, 2012 1:07 AM PDT

Guldensupp

Thanks, Imruphel. I'll go check that version.

November 1, 2012 9:18 AM PDT

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Endrick

Find and Remove Traps is in effect reverse engineering the trap. It's a logical process and should be an int based skill.

August 6, 2012 9:25 AM PDT

Einlanzer

Yeah, it really feels like they're trying to wash out all 4e influence, when that isn't always good. The healing mechanics in 4e were far superior to any previous edition, and clerics being designed as glorified healing batteries that were pretty much necessary for the party to get anywhere was always bad design. Please don't revisit this mistake.

August 12, 2012 6:04 PM PDT