Tucker's Kobolds and Pathfinder

[Sister Fracture]

So, you should think about Kobolds not as "creatures that attack the PCs", but as "creatures that activate death machines that attack the PCs"?


I would think that while a kobold hitting you with a sword wouldn't do much, a kobold dropping half a ton of active volcano on your head would?

Dragon biting you:  Hurts.

Kobold dropping an avil on you from the top of the tower that's over their lair?  Hurts more.

Also, the boss should be a sorc (dragon bloodline) into dragon disciple.  If he's high enough level to cast 4th level spells, BLACK TENTACLES.  No shit.

Any full out kobold tribe is going to have assloads of sorcs.

I miss playing Francis.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

So instead of a game where everyone lines up in easily flankable rows to havea stand-up fight against squishable hateable little baddies, you're proposing that players get dragged through tiny caverns being maliciously tricked with deadly intent at every corner?

PERFECT.

Grease spell on the stairs FTW.  On first level sorc kobold does 3d6 damage to everyone in the party by using a 1st level spell.

[Luna]

The side-dish of "we can NOT be getting our asses handed to us by kobolds" is truly delicious.  Note that, if you've done it right the first time, you will never, EVER get away with it again with the same party.  They'll never, ever enter kobold caves again.

(By the way...  Placing a small, labeled bowl for each PC in front of you, filling with M&M's equal to their hit points, and eating said M&Ms as their hit points dwindle?  Awesome, until they try to feed you the bowls.)

[The Good Reverend Roger]

The side-dish of "we can NOT be getting our asses handed to us by kobolds" is truly delicious.  Note that, if you've done it right the first time, you will never, EVER get away with it again with the same party.  They'll never, ever enter kobold caves again.

(By the way...  Placing a small, labeled bowl for each PC in front of you, filling with M&M's equal to their hit points, and eating said M&Ms as their hit points dwindle?  Awesome, until they try to feed you the bowls.)

I sat in on the game that inspired that gag in KoDT.   

TGRR,
Used to work for Kenzer.

[Luna]

The side-dish of "we can NOT be getting our asses handed to us by kobolds" is truly delicious.  Note that, if you've done it right the first time, you will never, EVER get away with it again with the same party.  They'll never, ever enter kobold caves again.

(By the way...  Placing a small, labeled bowl for each PC in front of you, filling with M&M's equal to their hit points, and eating said M&Ms as their hit points dwindle?  Awesome, until they try to feed you the bowls.)

I sat in on the game that inspired that gag in KoDT.   

TGRR,
Used to work for Kenzer.

Heh, don't remember if I picked up the idea from KoDT, it's possible.  I just remember one of my players realizing what was happening.  (It took me adding M&Ms when there was a heal cast.)  The howl of outrage was epic.

Working for Kenzer?  Awesome. 

[Requia ☣]

So, you should think about Kobolds not as "creatures that attack the PCs", but as "creatures that activate death machines that attack the PCs"?


I would think that while a kobold hitting you with a sword wouldn't do much, a kobold dropping half a ton of active volcano on your head would?

Dragon biting you:  Hurts.

Kobold dropping an avil on you from the top of the tower that's over their lair?  Hurts more.

Also, the boss should be a sorc (dragon bloodline) into dragon disciple.  If he's high enough level to cast 4th level spells, BLACK TENTACLES.  No shit.

Any full out kobold tribe is going to have assloads of sorcs.

The boss will be a sorc (somebody has to set all those magical traps).

But he's not going to fight them.  My goal is to run them through the ringer for a couple hours, then have the Boss offer to give them the hostage (plot hook is that a kid got grabbed when people fought back against a raiding party) if they just leave.

I want to see if I can make the rest of the party will kill the paladin to keep from taking the deal.

[Luna]

If you've done it right, the entire party will leap at the offer.

Of course, if you've got the party where they should be after a couple hours of torture, the boss might decide to keep the kid AND the party...

[Requia ☣]

Oh, exploding runes written on a doorway, I have to use that.   

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Oh, exploding runes written on a doorway, I have to use that.   

Or on the spines of books on a shelf.

NO PARTY CAN RESIST A BOOKSHELF.

[Luna]

Oh, exploding runes written on a doorway, I have to use that.   

Magic mouth.

Programmed to utter the trigger word for a trap, when approached by anyone taller than 5' tall.

Followed by peals of kobold laughter.

Oh, exploding runes written on a doorway, I have to use that.   

Or on the spines of books on a shelf.

NO PARTY CAN RESIST A BOOKSHELF.

Good odds on tagging the mage with that one, too.  They're usually cautious bastards, and let the rogues and the fighters walk into the good traps.

[Requia ☣]

Oh, exploding runes written on a doorway, I have to use that.   

Or on the spines of books on a shelf.

NO PARTY CAN RESIST A BOOKSHELF.

That one would be particularly screwed up given that books are highly valuable in the setting I'm making...

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Oh, exploding runes written on a doorway, I have to use that.   

Or on the spines of books on a shelf.

NO PARTY CAN RESIST A BOOKSHELF.

That one would be particularly screwed up given that books are highly valuable in the setting I'm making...

Detect magic is your friend.  There is no good reason for evocation magic to be on a book.

[President Television]

Idea: Trap the kobolds' treasure. For example, say one of your PCs successfully kills a kobold and he drops a crossbow. You can tell them that kobold crossbows are specially engineered to add a large bonus to-hit. This would justify them hitting the players with any frequency. But the crossbows are designed to fire in a counter-intuitive way that requires special training, and anyone who pulls the trigger without knowing how to properly use the kobold-engineered mechanism gets a poison needle in the palm of their hand for their troubles.

[Luna]

Idea: Trap the kobolds' treasure. For example, say one of your PCs successfully kills a kobold and he drops a crossbow. You can tell them that kobold crossbows are specially engineered to add a large bonus to-hit. This would justify them hitting the players with any frequency. But the crossbows are designed to fire in a counter-intuitive way that requires special training, and anyone who pulls the trigger without knowing how to properly use the kobold-engineered mechanism gets a poison needle in the palm of their hand for their troubles.

Yeek, no.  Bastard PCs will figure that out in no time, plug up the needle hole, and then have a crossbow with a massive to-hit bonus.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Idea: Trap the kobolds' treasure. For example, say one of your PCs successfully kills a kobold and he drops a crossbow. You can tell them that kobold crossbows are specially engineered to add a large bonus to-hit. This would justify them hitting the players with any frequency. But the crossbows are designed to fire in a counter-intuitive way that requires special training, and anyone who pulls the trigger without knowing how to properly use the kobold-engineered mechanism gets a poison needle in the palm of their hand for their troubles.

Yeek, no.  Bastard PCs will figure that out in no time, plug up the needle hole, and then have a crossbow with a massive to-hit bonus.

This is the correct answer.  Buffing monsters with items = buffing players with items, because unless it's a TPK, all those goodies go to the players.

Also, the rules do not allow for a higher than +1/+0 bonus for high quality gear.