Today we are pleased to present you the review of Born to Be Kobold, an expansion module for D&D5e.
The esteem and credit that Marco Bertini has earned in the community with works such as Quest Spells and Other Divine Magic, Underwater Campaigns, The Complete Hag, Down the Garden Path, and The Complete NPC, made me approach his latest work: Born to Be Kobold (written with Marco Fossati) with confident enthusiasm.
This handbook isan expansion module for D&D5e entirely dedicated to kobolds, and it sure has the charm of niche work.
The authors’ love for these bizarre creatures transpires from the meticulous descriptions of their way of fighting, preparing ambushes and reacting to danger.
The book is embellished with splendid illustrations by John Latta and Dean Spencer and overall thanks to the layout it guarantees an immersive reading even in the most technical passages.
Available digitally on DMs Guild for $2, it’s definitely a must buy for anyone who wants to play a kobold character, or for any Dungeon Master with the intent of making their low-level party suffer. The absolutely fair price encourages the purchase even if only for pure curiosity.
Reviewing the Volume and the Subraces of Born to be Kobold
The manual is composed of four chapters and is enriched with themed illustrations, including some stock images from Wizards of the Coast. This allows it to fill the pages with art without impacting the cost of the product.
The first chapter deals solely with the options for creating a kobold character, with two subraces as funny as they are powerful. Thanks to these rules (accompanied by paragraphs of lore) we will finally be able to show off our supposed draconic ancestry and even spread some magnificent wings! In terms of balance we’re heading towards an almost objective improvement of the base race, but without seriously unbalancing it.
Weird and Shiny Items!
The second chapter allows us instead to customize a kobold character through a d100 table. It contains “Trinkets”, little objects that our friend will have with himself. Some of these are unusual to the point of providing great background ideas or even a little adventure involving its bearer! The entire list of items is written with attention to detail.
There are even some comic notes that made me smile (like the magic glove, whose only power is to shine slightly and therefore look enchanted).
Tactics and Trap…ticks?
Thus we finally come to the chapter that most impressed me: the war tactics of the kobolds. It would have been easy to reduce everything to a couple of pages, but in our hands we find a sort of The Art of War in the kobold version. A nice introduction by lore explains how to best play our little friends during a fight. For example, we will use poisons and traps to fight strategically, without exposing ourselves to dangers unnecessarily.
Every trap presented in this chapter has been balanced through what is written in the Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. This ensures that we have clear descriptions of each hazard, as well as the correct way to neutralize it.
Statblocks and the “Victory Chart”
Finally, we arrive at a wonderful table, which is probably worth the price of the manual alone: “The Kobold’s Victory Table”. It offers us 12 effects to be applied, at the choice of the DM, from one to three times during the fights. Roll over to the table after an attack hits, and prepare for a sustained dose of chaos.
The manual concludes with the statblocks of five different kobold NPCs, all with a low Challenge Rating but fun and well-defined peculiarities. Some of them have particularly treacherous abilities, which could give even the most unwary high-level parties a hard time!
Conclusions of the Review of Born to be Kobold
The graphics, developed through Homebrewery, gives the feeling of being a product with its character while remaining in line with the style of the official D&D5e handbooks. Furthermore, the choice of having a large group of playtesters reflects on the game mechanics, which are well balanced and easily applicable to your campaign.
In conclusion, Born to be Kobold is a manual that is easy to understand and consult on the fly, written with passion and care. The d100 table, which can also be reused on other occasions, was appreciated.
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