Kobold (monster)

Version 0.28: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

kobold K
HP	2-5
HD	1
XP	1
Speed	10
AC	2
EV	12
Will	0
Attack1	1 (hit: plain)
Resistances	None
Vulnerabilities	None
Habitat	Land
Intelligence	Human
Uses	Weapons & armour Starting equipment Open doors
Holiness	Natural
Size	Small
Type	kobold, kobold
Flags	Speaks Warm-blooded

Kobolds are small, greyish creatures with the looks and temperaments of feral dogs. No one knows for sure where kobolds come from, but ancient demon-gods, evil spirits, and meddling wizards have all been suggested as culprits. “Kobolds are harmless.” -Bearand the Bold, epitaph (Magic: the Gathering) “The Parts Septentrionall are with these Sp’ryts Much haunted.. About the places where they dig for Oare. The Greekes and Germans call them Cobali.” -Thomas Heywood, _The Hierarchy of the Blessed Angels_, Book IX, l. 568. 1635.

This page is about the monster. For the player race, see kobold.
For a list of all kobolds, see list of kobolds.

Useful Info

Kobolds are puny humanoid monsters which often carry whips, clubs, short swords, daggers, stones, and occasionally darts or a hand crossbow. They rarely pose a threat, except to very low-level characters or the already injured, but may do so if wielding very good branded weapons (not too uncommon an event). They lack any special abilities, but kobolds with poison darts should not be underestimated early on. They can be found on any floor of the Dungeon, and occasionally the Sewers.

Tips and Tricks

• Hiding behind a corner or another monster will force a kobold to move into melee range with you, rather than firing darts or bolts at you from a distance. It will probably still manage to fire a few before you can get behind cover, but they're usually more manageable in melee.
• If you manage to kill a kobold before it fires off all its ammunition, you can get early access to darts.
• Kobold vaults are not uncommon in the middle-Dungeon. These contain a horde of kobolds, kobold brigands, and possibly a kobold demonologist or two, the latter of which should definitely be your first priority. Strong melee characters can hold them off one a time in a hallway, while casters should focus on taking out multiple foes at a time or confusing them into self-destruction with Mephitic Cloud.
• As they can pick up any item as long as you haven't seen it, don't ignore them: they might have found something interesting.

History

• Kobolds were heavily impacted by the hidden weapon penalty removal in 0.27; their base damage was reduced from 4 to 1. In addition, they could no longer spawn with curare darts.