Background: Koboldian Isolationism

The short version is: A diplomat needs some bodyguards.

Ancient Kobold History

The tales of the hero twins Crushed Wasp and Fifteen Teeth are myths, but they are also true, and the same story is told in kobold communities across the planes:

On a quest to recover the Onyx of the Skugge Rune, the twins ascended to the flying ziggurat of the cloud giant Lögnar. The giant was ten times their combined size, but the kobolds were as fierce as they were brave, and Lögnar was felled.

At their moment of victory, an envious darkness took hold of Fifteen Teeth's heart, and she murdered her brother, claiming the Onyx, the Rune of Shadow, for herself.

She told her countrymen that Lögnar had killed Crushed Wasp, but before long her deception was uncovered. A schism formed, the kobolds' loyalties divided between a dead hero and a treacherous one. Before a civil war could erupt, Fifteen Teeth and her followers were exiled to the Shadowfell.

Banished from their home plane, the kobolds became nomads. Soon, their leader Fifteen Teeth passed away; eventually, the Onyx of the Skugge Rune was lost again. But her descendents, and the descendents of her faithful, went on wandering for centuries.

Almost four hundred years ago, the Shadowfell kobolds finally found an uninhabited valley, a place to call their new homeland. They dismantled their wagons, built permanent villages, and named the valley Koboldia. They could not have guessed at the bizarre planar shenanigans in play.

Recent Developments

A few months ago, a bunch of humans appeared in Koboldia. They didn't move in; their towns and buildings appeared out of thin air, in some places inconveniently close to existing kobold settlements. Intercultural tensions began rising immediately.

The humans, whose name for the valley of Koboldia was "Barovia," had been whisked away to a demiplane shortly before the kobolds arrived. When the curse affecting the Barovians was lifted, the people and their homes were returned to the original geography of the Shadowfell. They were "saved," but they were also confused, as were the kobolds. Hoping that the two cultures could coexist peacefully, their leaders held a series of meetings.

Princess Bolinda

Koboldia's head of state is Princess Bolinda, a preternaturally level-headed and soft-spoken individual. Bolinda was instrumental in opening relations between Koboldia and the kobolds of the Nentir Vale, groups that had been feuding ever since Fifteen Teeth was banished to the Shadowfell.

Ever since her people lost the Onyx of the Skugge Rune, they've had to rely on other sources of magical power to survive in the Shadowfell. Bolinda is a priestess of the Raven Queen, a goddess who has her abode in the Shadowfell, and commands the divine spellcasting ability of a low-level cleric. She rarely uses magic outside of ritual contexts, however, as most of her political duties involve resolving conflicts by speaking at length.

Burgomaster Kolyanovich

Ismark Kolyanovich's father was Burgomaster of the village of Barovia, but after assisting in the defeat of Strahd von Zarovich and freeing the valley of Barovia from its curse, Ismark sought to take an active part in the fates of all the tiny nation's peoples. He now styles himself Governing Burgomaster of the valley of Barovia.

Around the time Strahd was destroyed, Ismark took an interest in the faith of the Raven Queen. This provided a useful commonality when the ensuing planar overlay with Koboldia led him to negotiate with Princess Bolinda.

The two leaders became fast friends and agreed that, if they wanted to avoid conflict, displacement, or other unpleasantness, their peoples needed to unite in harmony and cooperation. Thus they began to charter a new nation, Barov-Koboldia.

Isabol

Not all Koboldians are enthused about this plan. Isabol, an outspoken aristocrat, opposed the opening of relations with the Nentir Vale kobolds a year ago, and she opposes the merger with Barovia today.

Isabol views the humans of Barovia as hostile invaders, and argues that the valley's resources can't support both races. She has called for the Barovians to remove themselves from Koboldia, or else be removed by force.

Most kobolds are not given over to seeking out conflict, and Isabol's politics have rarely found many supporters. However, in the past few weeks, isolationist sentiment under Isabol's banner appears to be on the rise. Still more worrying are the recent reports that Isabol has sequestered herself and her closest associates in the mountain caves, possibly fomenting an armed insurrection.

Character Guidelines

Princess Bolinda is sure that Isabol can be satisfied peacefully, but she's not so idealistic as to forgo security concerns—and if it comes to visiting Isabol in her mountain lair, she'll be wise enough to send a representative rather than put herself in danger. Your character should be a level 6 kobold, probably a bodyguard of the negotiator. (If someone wants to play as the negotiator that would be awesome.)

Kobolds in our campaign setting aren't quite the same as kobolds in the Monster Manual, and Shadowfell kobolds are yet more different. The stats for Koboldian kobolds are on the next page.

Kobold Traits

Your kobold character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score "Increase." Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Strength score is reduced by 2. Whoops!!!

Age. Kobolds mark their ages not from when they hatch but from when their eggs are laid. They begin language acquisition while still inside their eggs and often learn to talk before they've hatched completely. Kobolds reach adulthood at age 6 and can live up to 120 years but rarely do so.

Alignment. Kobolds who revere the Raven Queen have an incentive to avoid choosing between good and evil, but all kobolds rely on their communities for survival, making them tend toward lawfulness.

Size. Most kobolds are between 2 and 3 feet tall and weigh between 25 and 35 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your base speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Pack Tactics. You have advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of your allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.

Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Draconic.

Kobold Names. Every Shadowfell kobold's name contains the string "bol" in there, as in "Bolhit," "Isabol," or "Pabolo." A kobold whose name doesn't seem to contain "bol" is using a nickname (like "Archie," short for "Archibold"). The only exceptions to this rule are urds, whose names all contain the string "urd."

Subraces. Winged kobolds, also called "urds," are exceedingly rare. Almost all kobolds do not have wings. However, some wingless kobolds are tougher than others. Choose one of these three subraces:

Typical Kobold

Most kobolds, in most places, most of the time, are not especially courageous. They are small, weak creatures, and often the most effective combat tactic they can manage is capitalizing on how pathetic they are.

Grovel, Cower, and Beg. As an action on your turn, you can cower pathetically to distract nearby foes. Until the end of your next turn, your allies gain advantage on attack rolls against enemies within 10 feet of you that can see you. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Tough Kobold

Koboldians aren't necessarily proud of the events that led to the schism with their ancient brethren, but they'll never let those stories be forgotten. The legacy of Fifteen Teeth's betrayal lives on in the Koboldians' talent for ambush.

Surprise Attack. If you surprise a creature and hit it with an attack on your first turn in combat, the attack deals an extra 2d6 damage to it. You can use this trait only once per combat.

Urd

In evil kobold communities, the wings of urds are seen as gifts from Tiamat, the Dragon Queen. Kobolds who live in thrall to dragons and other monsters view winged kobolds as possible saviors (which often makes the urds into unfortunate targets of reprisal). In the Shadowfell, it's assumed that the Raven Queen bestows wings on kobolds as indications of a special destiny. It's difficult for the implications of these various beliefs to play out, however, because urds are very, very, very rare.

Flight. You have a flying speed of 30 feet. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor.

Other Notes

It is not super likely that we will use these characters in future adventures, so feel free to use ridiculous character concepts that wouldn't fly in a long-running campaign.

• UNEARTHED ARCANA: sure
• MUNDANE EQUIPMENT: be reasonable
• MAGIC ITEMS: run it by me first