Kobolds. by @The-Wizard-of-Zaar (The Wizard Of Zaar)

A Kobold Baroness and her bodyguards.

Kobolds are distant cousins of Gnomes. A strange and nasty subspecies of Gnomes, they have been a subterranean race since Gnomish kind can remember.

Kobolds are tougher than even Gnomes, also possessing the same abundance of stamina. However Kobolds are incredibly fierce, cruel and greedy.

Beneath the surface of the world they dig tunnels, mine and fight ugly wars between rival clans and the competing matriarchal dynasties they are subservient to.

They are an industrious race, skilled in metalwork, mining, structural engineering and also basic mechanics.

They subsist from not only their mining and manufacturing, and the resulting commerce... But also the farming of mushrooms and other fungi, as well as raising giant subterranean bugs as livestock, as well as hunting their wild kin.

Despite their great physical toughness, stamina and fierce disposition; Kobolds are renowned for their knack for fighting in tunnels and tight spaces, and their natural aptitude for fighting with tools such as chisels, pickaxes and shovels as weapons of war...

Kobolds have a squat, rigid build that limits their ability to move across long distances of open space quickly. Kobold men merely shuffle, whether shuffling slow or fast; they do not run, sprint or jog... But shuffle. They can march, but it makes them only marginally faster and merely serves to help them loosen up and react to an attack or lunge at enemies better. This also assists them in rhythmic, coherent movement of formation. Kobolds are able to jump, but they don't jump as far vertically as they can horizontally. Kobolds are good at dodging and lunging over short distances.

Kobold women, more gracefully tiptoe about; however they too suffer from a rigid, stunted gait and also cannot move across long distances quickly.

It is joked that a charging Kobold is pretty easy for most races to outrun if given enough initial distance and warning... However one who runs, should run far and hide well; Kobolds are persistent and will happily spend hours tracking down those who've fled them.

They also are ill-suited to prolonged exposure to sunlight; finding it blinding and being exposed to warm, bright sun for too long makes them easily dehydrated and overheated.

Kobolds generally live in a form of serfdom and servitude to a Baroness. As a Baroness is the ruler of a fiefdom made up of many families and clans, she will generally belong to the dominant clan of the Fiefdom and will inherit rule of it from her mother or have to wrestle power from an aunt or cousin; in turn the Baronesses are expected to swear fealty to the Queen of their kind... Whichever "Queen' an individual Baroness deems worthy of her allegiance.

This type of society has bred an incredibly militant and industrialized culture for Kobolds. Their natural penchant for brawling and murder, have evolved into an underground world of constant warfare. Their inherent knack for digging and working metal has grown into large subterranean factories that generations of entire families and clans work in.