This manuscript is a brief ethnographic study of a small, independent fringe-dwelling kobold community. The author spent several days travelling with the tribe of Kobolds during the month of Flamerule Year 152 (1374 DR). For the purpose of this study, the community will be termed “Tribe One”, on account of them not having a name for themselves. Zaiztip, as the tribe’s leader was called, stated that the tribe had no name yet. His cohorts were willing to suggest many names, such as “Broken Blades” or “Big Tooth Gnash Tribe”, yet during the period of study they did not fix on one particular name.

Naming Conventions

Interestingly, descriptive appellations were more important to Tribe One than names. While they did have names, and occasionally used them, they were less significant as a sign of individuality, and more a pretext for a hyperbolic declaration of prowess or talent. For example, Mauthkox, the tribe champion, would introduce himself as “Mauth, the Mightiest of Warriors”. The leader was less often Zaiztrip, more often “Great Prophet and Leader”. It was clearly an important cultural activity to make the kobold’s personal capacities and responsibilities as well known as possible, by repeating them loudly and frequently. The author suggests that in a species who are more noted for numbers than strength in combat, it may be a survival trait to be considered important enough to be in the last rank of combat. Those who self proclaim with the most volume and tenacity gain respect, and this respect puts them further toward the back of any given gathering.

The leader self-aggrandising referred to himself the Great Prophet, as did the others from Tribe One. When asked about his prophecies, Zaizip demonstrated his power by immediately making a prognostication about events that were about to transpire. The tribe was about to engage in a turf war with the local Chosen, and he stated, “Rats be defeated and mighty Kobold Tribe is victorious”. It was a safe bet, given that a victory to the Chosen would have meant the death of the tribe, and his incorrect prophesy would then be of no significance. In addition most experienced combatants would have predicted the same outcome. It appears that in Tribe One, prophecy takes the place of reasoning or common sense. Since the kobolds are generally of insufficient cognitive faculties to assess the probable outcome of any given action, the few that are capable of reasoned assessments are given a mystical status. In fact the Great Prophet is just a humble priest, but he is able to strike awe into his followers but making logical conjectures about the results of immediate actions or events.

Geography

Tribe one’s numbers fluctuated considerably, but I never saw them rise above six in number at any one time. They slept in a small camp of similar minded kobolds in the tunnels under Lower. They patrolled these tunnels, calling them their own territory. They ventured up into Lower, although they seemed nervous unless in numbers. They travelled widely in the sewer system as well, seeming comfortable and well orientated despite its labyrinthine structure. The author did not see them leave the city, or venture deep into the Dunwarren machine.

Linguistics

Tribe One spoke undercommon with a mixed level of skill. While their leader and his more significant followers were fluent, some of the lower ranked members struggled with a limited vocabulary and a rudimentary grasp of grammar. A prime example was the normally simple verb “Is”. “Is” was used in a variety of complex fashions, and occasionally conjugated to “Ises”. It could be used as a term of agreement, as in: “Are you coming?” “Is” (Yes). It could also be used as the nominative singular pronoun as in “Is go sell” (I am going now to sell this item). Or finally as a contracted nominative third party pronoun, as in “Is in alleyway” (He is in the alleyway). The author recorded “is” being used to replace all the following words: Are, I Am, I, It, Have You, You, He, We and Have. The word was also used to contract various combinations that would normally include the word is, such as: That Is, Is That, This Is, It Is, Is It and What Is. Despite the crude grammatical skill and limited lexicon, the kobolds were able to communicate effectively, coordinating activities and expressing internal states without significant limitation.

Justice

The kobolds did seem to have a rudimentary sense of justice. One kobold, Zazeem, was accused of theft. The pilferage happened while his tribe member was insensate from a powerful spell. The injustice was recognised by most of the tribe. However without a formal legal system, the issue seemed destined to end in violence. A timely intervention from the leader prevented a physical confrontation; he ended the discussion with his own threats upon the thief. The tribe did not seem surprised at the turn of events, and the author postulates that such injustices are frequent, and that most are probably settled in the manner of petty squabbling rather than direct assault.

Combat

I was able to witness Tribe One engage in combat on several occasions. Against expectation, they did not fight with the normal “trap, fall back”, “ambush, fall back” tactics commonly seen in kobolds. Rather they relied on speed and surprise. They would run into an area filled with foe, all surrounding one and hacking it down before moving on to the rest. This gave little chance for the foes to prepare. Using this tactic they were several times able to defeat a larger number of foes, a feat thought to theoretically impossible by several sages. The author suggests that the key factor in the battle plan was the choice of opponent. Fighting small oozes, goblins and chosen, the kobolds were in their element, capable of fighting toe to toe without risk. This meant the surround and pound method of combat was effective. It is possible the more traditional “controlled retreat” combat tactics would have been employed against larger adversaries. While they did not spend time discussing strategy, there movements were purposeful and controlled, showing coordination at times.

Religion

The leader of the tribe, Zaiztip The Great Prophet, was a devout follower of Kurtulmak. Perhaps because of this, I never heard mention of the other kobold gods - Gaknulak (the kobold god of protection, stealth, trickery, and traps); or Dakarnok (an obscure kobold demigod). Zaiztip devotion to this god was evident. His calls to his lord were frequent and often surprisingly eloquent, such as “Be blessing us with strength of Kurtulmak’s mighty spear and poisonous tail!”. However his followers seemed to express limited religious interest. On demand they were able to muster up a few prayers and expressions of gratitude for the spells he provided, but they seemed to be just going through the motions. I think they followed Zaiztip more out of respect for his “prophetic” abilities than due to his divine authority. None the less, as a strong theocrat, religion was the dominant factor in Tribe One’s relations with other groups. For example gnomes were hated enemies because Garl Glittergold collapsed Kurtulmak’s original holy cave (an old myth told by both gnomes and kobolds). Likewise the Shadow Tribe were declared enemies, having forsaken the normal kobold divine principles in favour of the Great Shadow Death.

It is possible that the monotheistic tendency of this tribe was a reason for their front-on combat tactics. However previous scholars have suggested that although Kurtulmak is a god of war, he is not adverse to controlled withdrawal, traps or ambushing. It is for this reason that the author suggests the unusual combat tactics were more a cultural than religious influence.

Gender Status

The single female of the tribe, Xenu’kamak, was treated in a similar fashion to any other low ranking kobold. She seemed to receive no preferential treatment, despite Mauthkox referring to her as “Is pretty Kobold princess”. Like the other aforementioned hyperbolic appellations, this appeared to simply be an attempt to bolster the reputation of the female, rather than an actual expression of royalty. Indeed the author never saw any sign she was anything other than another warrior in the tribe. Interestingly, she did not receive any negative treatment either. This did not seem to be accidental, but a purposeful policy. The leader of Tribe One said, “All kobold be equal if strong and mighty in eye of great Kurtulmak”.

Concluding thoughts

Tribe One showed surprising levels of cooperation, linguistic skill and martial prowess. Although it would seem unlikely that the warband will survive very long, their continued existence does disprove theorists who suggest kobolds are only capable of organised behaviour when instituted by fear from a top down creature or being of authority (such as a dragon). It is probable that the strong monotheistic theocracy was sufficient to overcome the lack of cognitive ability and naturally flighty tendencies of the tribe members.

The tribe pose a minimal threat to Sanctuary, and may even have some positive benefits, such as the cleaning of oozes from the sewers or acting as a small thorn in the side of the Chosen sewer community. That having been said, the author would strongly recommend against solitary gnome excursions into the sewers or the tunnels at this time, as the kobolds expressed their desire to consume the flesh of that species at every available opportunity.