More appropriately the adventure is the King of the Kobold Caverns.

I've begun my attempt to see if 4E will be usable by any member of our group, or if its a wash. I've got the prospective PC's made.

Teifling Warlock, Elf Thief, Human Ranger, Human Warlord, Dragonborn Paladin.

I'm hoping this will be fun and interesting even if we don't choose to continue it.

The beginning hook will be that the players have long lived in the village of Avendhyr, also called Haven. It was the first place that people fleeing an ancient devastation found to stop and rest. Many others continued onward founding the kingdom they live within, so far safetly.

The devastation however has a cause, that will come out as the adventurer continue on, but not until they track down a few other bits and pieces.

I'm going to begin this at a funeral. The last rites are being said over a childhood friend, one who was brutally murdered when he attempted to protect his bride-to-be from abduction by a fierce tribe of kobolds.

The Kobolds a day south of Haven, live in dangerous caverns with narrow passages that are known to be unstable. A few hunters chased the kobolds from the forest back to their lairs, but none would risk venturing inside, at least not yet.


Any ideas for traps? Encounters? The default monster is kobolds, and giant rats. I plan on using their traps a bit, but not too much. (Since this will be everyones first test of the system.)


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Have you read the kobold article from Dragon magazine. There are some amazing yeep-yeeps.

Those Slingers are a pain in the ass, particularly in somewhat more open spaces (with a few minions to serve as an ablative layer, and a pair of dragon-shields to really soak up the damage).

If the passages are extremely narrow, you're doing the kobolds (with their shifty abilities) an extreme disservice.  Little labyrinthine side-passages and such, that create more tactical possibilities (and let the kobolds shift in and out, as is their style) will make for a more dynamic game.  It'll also give the thief more opportunities to flank (and therefore to shine).

Is your Ranger a two-weapon ranger or an archer?  Just, without a fighter, you seem a little light in the "front-line" department, which may put the Warlock into a precarious position.  An archer would compound that problem, while a two-weapon ranger (which is what I'd expect) will have a better chance of holding a line and giving the warlock some room to operate.

Get your hands on Friend and Foe: Gnomes and Kobolds of Tellene. Even if you don't use the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting this book is simply amazing for turning Kobolds into a realistic foe. While I've always liked Kobolds (they're great, alongside Goblins, for low-level &D games) after reading that book I loved them. I wanted to run an all-Kobold campaign for frig's sake. Read that book. And the warfare section is especially awesome.

-=Grim=-

Well I'm using Kobolds and Rats primarily. I'm not interested in things not already in the Monster Manual. I did check out the Kobold article and the Ratmaster/Handler, who would be awesome, but right now I'm testing just the core book material.

This is a test of the rules--as printed/set up. With only the errors they've corrected.  I probably should have mentioned that. I am trying to use just what resources the game provides all by itself. (I'll add some more after the Kobold Caverns, since this is just a loose introduction to try out the rules.)

Tony: The ranger is a two weapon fighter (two axes)

I think with three strikers, two leaders, they should be alright. The game shouldn't be engineered for "optimal" builds of parties, but for flexibility within the party. (Since previous editions allowed that.) If it fails at that, it will fail as D&D for me. Since it lacks features previous versions possessed. However, at the moment, I think it will be fine. They'll be able to output a lot of damage and a lot of healing. I may also end up with a Cleric or Wizard before we're started. I simply don't know yet. I'm wondering  they didn't give us a version of each role with each power source, other than monetary reasons--because I could see a Thief as a controller; specifically a movement deniability/area deniability sort.

Originally, according to A Field Guide to the Little People by Nancy Arrowsmith the Kobold started out as a germanic wood-elf of sorts.  Carved from a block of wood and given eyes it would come to life and do various forms of mischief, or help, depending on the disposition of the Kobold.  There were completely separate forms of these kinds of elves, some who lived in mines specifically, and caused all sorts of trouble for miners.  Cave-ins in particular.  I found the book quite charming and helpful.   You might find it equally so, and therefore I recommend it.

As for other things, I think of Kobolds as magical fey and thus I give them some slight, but handy, magical abilities, especially when they are on home turf.   Shrinking and growing is a favorite.  This helps them to suddenly appear when they like, and often at a place that is convenient for them, and inconvenient for intruders, such as when they are at the edge of a precipice.  They also like to tame, and grow, a variety of dangerous things, both plant and animal.   Thus I might include a giant spider or two who spew tough webbing, and or make trap doors like the trap-door spider.   Or jumping spiders which fling themselves across unexpectedly large distances to bite the prey.   Growing other things like magical/poison plants/mushrooms is another possibility that has come to fruition in my campaign.  Kobolds, in my world, like to collect shiny things, even if they don't have any value.  

I also consider Kobolds tinkerers and so they make little toys and also are darn good at making traps.  Wooden spike traps with hidden triggers is a favorite.  Pit traps is another.   A special corridor here and there that has a collapsable roof is another, and they are fond of collapsing two sides of a corridor so the victims are trapped rather than killed.  This gives the kobolds some negotiation power, which the ones that happen to be smarter than the rest (sometimes Kobolds can be very smart) like because they can learn about things they would otherwise not know, and/or negotiate for treasures that they would otherwise not obtain.  And Kobolds are quite good at fixing leather armor, shoes, and non-metal equipment and such, which they could be presuaded to do under the right circumstances.

One thing... Kobolds have a unique weakness for Bitterbark (which is rare and is like catnip for them).   They are also very fond of Nettle Berries, which cause humans bad rashes and are inedible, but for Kobolds make them drunk and cheerful.   Some adventurer's have been able to run some advantageous negotiations for some pretty nifty stuff with a pocket full of Nettle Berries - though pity the poor guy who handles them without gloves... the rash is a nasty one and lasts for days.

If a kobold does take a fancy to someone then they will help that person by doing various chores for them, usually in their home.  However, never give a Kobold a gift such as a new hat or shoes - they take it is a great insult and will vanish in a huff, and probably slam the door on the way out.

I hope this helps you out SilverLion.   At least to gives some ideas.

Subscribing - Partly to see how it goes, partly for an indirect D&D fix.

Thanks VBwyrde. I appreciate it. More useful for other games than this one--as its D&D. (Mind you, I love going back to the original myths and skipping D&Disms a lot of the time.) Thank you very much (honestly) for sharing that. (It's more useful for future books I'm writing...than this D&D game.


The D&D game is coming along. I've had to admit my map making skills kinda mismatch the scale I want to use, so I'm just accepting the graph paper squares I used as being 2x2 blocks of actual D&D squares.


I've got a great hook now, let me share it with you:

The King of the Kobold Caverns

You have all long lived in Haven, a town more properly marked upon maps as Avendhyr, or in the old tongue Haven's Hope The stories have never been clear, and each telling twists details and adds features that hide the truth in myth and legend behind its origin.
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What you know,, now is you stand just outside the Ferendyl family crypt. One of the wealthiest families in town; yet also one of the kindest. All of you have had sweets bought for you when a child by Hadrik Ferendyl and his wife Seon. All of you had grown up around their son, Terem,. He may  not have your best friend, but a good friend all the same. Now tears of his parents fall on the grave steps, as the old priest Dramnr chants the rites.  His father turns his gaze to the ground while holding his wife tight in his arms. They seem much older now than before, more gray in their hair, smaller somehow.

Hadrik looks down at the ground his voice muffled by his wife's hair in his face. "It isn't right. It isn't fair. He was a good boy, a good man. Soon to be married. They were both so young. To die this way."

Then his words exhaust him and he and his wife step away as the rites slowly finish. To seek more comfort in a warm house, and in each other.

Terem was killed two days ago, as he and his new fiancee were swimming in the stream. Kobolds it seems leapt from hiding when they were unclothed, and attacked. Terem protected his bride-to-be,  Vaya but the kobolds cut him down anyway.

Some say that Vaya still lives, that she was carried off by the terrible vermin. Though most think she is dead, slain by the kobolds and her body carried downstream past the Silversword falls.