Kobold (monster class)
- For the monster, see kobold.
The kobold is a monster class that appears in NetHack, and is represented by a lowercase k glyph (k). Kobolds are designated internally by the macro S_KOBOLD.[1]
The monster class contains the following monsters:[2]
- k kobold
- k large kobold
- k kobold lord
- k kobold shaman
Contents
Common traits
Kobolds are small, chaotic and omnivorous intelligent humanoids. They possess infravision and can be seen via infravision. Kobolds have poison resistance, and their corpses are all poisonous to eat.
Kobolds will pick up whatever items they come across, equipping appropriate weapons and non-body armor; kobold shamans will instead focus on magical items.
If chatted to, a kobold will simply grunt.
Generation
Randomly-generated kobolds are always hostile. Various kobolds can be generated in the courts of throne rooms and while looting thrones.
A kobold has a 1⁄4 chance of generating with a stack of darts.[3]
Strategy
Kobolds are among the very first monsters a character will encounter in the dungeon, and typically are among the weaker ones. However, they are among the earliest-encountered monsters that can wear armor, wield weapons and use items, which already makes them more dangerous to a starting character than the newts or sewer rats they will also run into.
Even then, any role that starts with decent melee or ranged capabilities will have little trouble against early kobolds, and the weaker roles can still overcome kobolds with some careful play. Once a character establishes themselves with a decent primary weapon and some armor, most kobolds will be of little concern.
History
The kobold first appears in Hack 1.21, a variant of Jay Fenlason's Hack, and also appears in Hack for PDP-11; it is included in the initial bestiary for Hack 1.0. The other kobolds first appear in NetHack 3.0.0.
Origin
A kobold (occasionally "cobold") is a mythical sprite that originates in folklore spread throughout Europe, with an established root in Germanic mythology dating to at least the 13th century (pre-Roman Catholicization), and has survived into modern times. The most common depictions of kobolds show them as humanlike figures the size of small children, with the ability to turn invisible or materialize in the form of fire, a candle, an animal, or even a human. As these often mirror legends of similar creatures in other regions of Europe, scholars have argued that they share a common origin with other creatures such as goblins, gnomes and dwarves. In most legends, there are three major types of kobolds:
- Domestic kobolds wear the clothing of peasants and are tied to a specific household, sometimes performing domestic chores and bringing good luck to their hosts in return for food, but they also played malicious tricks if insulted or neglected. Slighted domestic kobolds are far more malevolent and vengeful than most, and get back at hosts who disrespect them with supernatural diseases, disfigurements, and injuries - stories of kobolds murdering and dismembering those who insult them are not uncommon.
- Subterranean or "mine" kobolds are short and hunched, can appear as diminutive old men or miners with spherical lights visible in their bodies. While miners of the medieval era considered them actively malicious towards humans (to the point that the element cobalt was named for the arsenical ores made from the metal that often polluted other mined elements), other parts of Germany in later times consider them to be beneficial or at worst indifferent, so long as they were left alone or treated with respect.
- Seafaring kobolds (particularly Klabautermann) appear as small, pipe-smoking figures with a sailor's hat and a jacket, and they generally help the sailors on the ships they live aboard so long as they are treated respectfully. However, they are easily angered, and the sight of one was a feared omen as they were traditionally only visible to those about to die - possibly related is the fact that the Klabautermann will not leave a ship until it is on the verge of sinking, and at least one story claims that they only show themselves if the ship is doomed.
Kobolds appear in many fantasy-themed works and media, which often borrow significantly from Germanic folklore. Dungeons & Dragons in particular - and by extension, NetHack and many of its variants - depicts the kobold as a race of small reptilian humanoids with long tails, distantly related to dragons; earlier editions gave kobolds more dog-like features, which lead to many depictions of kobolds in Japanese media leaning harder in that direction after the popularity of the anime franchise Record of Lodoss War. Fantasy kobolds are often considered weak "cannon fodder" monsters that can be cunning and strong in groups, similar to goblins.
Variants
SLASH'EM
SLASH'EM introduces several new kobolds:
GruntHack
In GruntHack, kobolds are a playable race. They are also eligible to appear as various racial monsters within the dungeon, and are generally the weakest of those types.
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, kobolds will attack any elves they see (and vice versa) as part of Nephi's grudge patch.
Encyclopedia entry
The race of kobolds are reputed to be an artificial creation
of a master wizard (demi-god?). They are about 3' tall with
a vaguely dog-like face. They bear a violent dislike of the
Elven race, and will go out of their way to cause trouble
for Elves at any time.
