Kobolds are the German word for a humanoid species that lives in both Terris, Alfheim, and our own realm of Gaia. They stand anywhere from 1' to 3' tall, and are quite adaptable. They are closely related to goblins and are often labelled goblins in a generic sense, but have several key differences in abilities, history, and morphology. They have also been called Pucks, Hobs/Hobgoblins, Drakes, and Bogles. There are four major types of kobolds: pucks (house kobolds), knockers (mine kobolds), ship kobolds, and reptilian kobolds (which have very limited or no magic).
Traits common among nearly all Kobolds include:
- Invisibility (except for the reptilian kobolds)
- Shapeshifting, particularly into blue flames or light, human shapes, and various animals (except for the reptilian kobolds)
- Poisonous bodies
- Tricksters, a puckish nature
Pucks/Hobgoblins (House Kobold)[]
Common across much lore, they are also called Bauchans, Boobach, or even as Drakes, attesting to their reptilian natural form. This roguish Fae kobold lives in the buildings and dwellings of other species, including humans, and are most closely related to brownies in lifestyle. They can be exceptionally mischievous and love to laugh. They tend to style and dress themselves like the big folk around them. They are similar to and sometimes mistaken for brownies.
If treated well, a household kobold will gladly help out around the home or shop, cleaning or doing other chores, including baking bread or repairing shoes or other mundane tradeskills, if the kobold learns them. They can find lost objects, returning misplaced tools or toys. Some will steal grain or coin and helpfully bring it to their household, not understanding that the theft is wrong.
If insulted or neglected, they can instead become the bane of a household, performing malevolent tricks and acting as a living poltergeist in revenge. This has caused much trouble in "haunted" nonmagical homes, though mages can easily remove such kobolds if they wish, if they know it is a kobold rather than a poltergeist.
However, most house kobolds HATE being seen in their true form as it tends to frighten people, who usually expect a human or brownie-like figure but instead find a "misshapen" or reptilian creature. They have been accused of being undead spirits, but kobold studies have disproven this to be the case. Such stories are easily attested to their shapeshifting, or to fears or lurking guilt in the people of the household itself, whether an intentional action of revenge by the kobold or simply a mistaken identity. House Kobolds sometimes learn how to be ventriloquists, a skill that allows them to make folks think the kobold's voice is coming from an inanimate object. Some stories include a jug, a carved figure, a doll, and even a simple feather!
This type of kobold has shown the most diversity of shapeshifting abilities, perhaps due to having more documentation. Some are known to appear as babies, tiny old men, goblins, imps, cats, roosters or hens, mice, and as all sorts of other animals. Like humans, most kobolds can only shapeshift into one particular form (if at all), though some have multiple forms.
Knockers/Bluecaps/Muki (Mine Kobolds)[]
This subterranean kobold is very similar to the House Kobold, though more reclusive and shy. These kobolds are more closely tied to the Earth Realm, Terris, and are a kind of Earth Elemental; they can even be summoned by mages!
Those who are respectful to Knockers may find themselves lead away from danger, out of mazes or confusing tunnels, or to a secret treasure. History is full of tales of the Mine Kobolds warning miners of impending cave-ins or leading them to seams of the best ore. While physically weak, Mine Kobolds make up for it with being able to turn invisible or meld into the stone, where they spend most of their time. In their unseen forms, they will sometimes knock upon the rock walls to either confuse, mislead, or guide intruders out of their territory, or to play pranks. This habit has given them the nickname “Knockers.”
- Others have called them “Bluecaps” for their illusory orbs of blue flame.
- In the Andes and Peru, they are called Muki, and are considered generically to be goblins there, where they are sometimes accused of kidnapping children to become Fae partlings (this is likely done by Unseelie Goblins rather than kobolds, but it is possible some of the kobolds became Fae as well!).
Mine Kobolds do not seem to shapeshift into other animals, though that may be because the kobold has never seen them before.
Though they are hardworking and clever, Kobolds can also be troublesome, stubborn, and difficult to gain the trust of. Some Mine Kobolds are very skilled at sensing emotions, and so are more often drawn to help people who are soft-spoken, kind, and honest. They enjoy pranking or tricking those they are less sure of or will even do so to drive people (usually miners) away, such as replacing valuable metal with a fake, or tainting stone with poison. Mine Kobolds can be appeased, however, and are much less likely to cause trouble if they are treated respectfully. If treated poorly, they can easily cause a cave-in.
They dislike leaving caverns and safely-enclosed places of rock. It is thought that the reason House Kobolds prefer finding castles and indoor dwellings is due to this same phobia of open spaces.
Ship Kobolds[]
Often called Klabautermann in German. Following the same habit of preferring enclosed spaces, ships are a surprising location where kobolds can be found: it is furthest from the stone of their ancestral grounds, but does serve to shelter them. They are thought to descend directly from House Kobolds, and are one with the wood of the ship. Like House and Mine Kobolds, they spend most of their time invisible, though do not take the fiery bluecap form out of respect for the wood they live in. Instead, they may manifest as a cat, roach, or rat. Sometimes they will use a shimmering bit of reflected light to make their presence known, or simply to prank and startle the crew.
They serve the ship itself, and if treated well by its captain and crew, will assist in such chores as cargo arrangement, finding lost objects, coiling ropes, fixing knots, pumping water out of the hold, and drawing attention via knocks to any holes that need to be repaired!
If angered, they will perform pranks such as tangling the lines, spoiling or making leaks in supplies, and misplacing objects. However, they will not directly endanger the ship itself, and will not leave until it is sinking.
Reptilian Kobolds (nonmagical or limited magic)[]
This type of kobold is the most disparate from the stone that gave it ancestral birth. They have the least magic, as well, losing the ability to turn invisible or meld with stone! These Kobolds are small, often red or green-skinned reptilians that are not only immune to poison, but are poisonous themselves, as though born of Arsenic. They often have long, reptilian snouts and tails, and sometimes have pointed ears. Some have long tails for balance, and others have a stub of a tail or no tail at all. You may not always see them, however, as they prefer to hide and are quite skilled at stealth.
Kobolds thrive in caverns far from the light of the sun. Most live in vast warrens deep beneath the earth, but a few instead prefer to make their homes beneath tangles of overgrown trees and brush.
Most kobolds get along well with their own kind. While squabbles and feuds do occur, the elders who rule kobold communities tend to settle such conflicts swiftly, as teamwork is important to the whole group's survival. Kobolds are often dismissed as cowardly, foolish, and weak, but these little reptilian creatures actually have a strong social structure that stresses devotion to their community, group tactics, and protection. Each community will have its own cultural traits, including religion and the use of clothing or tools.
Being small and lacking much magic, the reptilian kobolds are often bullied or enslaved by larger creatures, so when they live on their own, they are constantly fearful of invasion and oppression. Kobolds often end up bowing to more powerful beings, such as Svartalfr or Giants, whose might and magic exceed their own. If treated well, they may shower adoration upon their new friends; if subjugated and treated poorly, the kobolds often cautiously scheme to free themselves as soon as possible while resorting to careful insults and "practical jokes" instead. Although individually they are timid and shy away from conflict, kobolds are dangerous if cornered, vicious when defending their eggs, and notorious for causing cave-ins or rockslides--even nonmagical kobolds will find ways to destabilize a tunnel and collapse it if they need to.