Great. Another animal person depiction of a kobold. It's mice this time.
Weren't they originally just ugly little men?
>>47426600
Pretty much. They've been interpreted as lizards by D&D (and establish a draconic connection somehow), rat-creatures by Warcraft, dogs by the Japanese for some reason, and now what looks like a gopher.
Honestly, a gopher actually makes sense to be as a design, as they actually tunnel, which is a key trait of kobolds in general.
On a similar not, gnolls used to be just kind of ugly dudes as well, but they seem to have been universally accepted as a kind of humanoid hyena as society acquaints itself with the hyena's rather disgusting habits.
>>47426600
Is it actually preferable to have every fictional being default to ugly person or pretty person? I think not, I like when people use their imagination to think up different thinks.
>>47426891
>ugly person or pretty person
You forgot animal person.
>>47426926
I didn't forget. OP bitched about animal persons, thus I only listed the traditional alternatives, which I don't regard as particularly dazzling choices.
>>47426600
That's a beaver
>>47426891
>Goblins
>Ugly people
>Orcs
>Ugly people
>Gnolls
>Ugly people
>Kogolds
>Ugly people
>Trolls
>Ugly people
Etc
>Humans
>People
>Dwarves
>Short people
>Elves
>Pretty People
It makes sense to me.
>>47426600
WHAT A CUTE LITTLE BEASTMAN
>>47427082
>>Goblins
>>Ugly people
>>Kobolds
>>Ugly people
Makes sense, as they were originally regional variants of the same type of being. "Goblin" is literally a distant corruption of "Kobold".
>>Orcs
>>Ugly people
According to Tolkien. He probably derived the word from either the name of the demon Orcus (which looks nothing like a human) or from the proto-English "warg", which is literally just an evil murderer.
>>Gnolls
>>Ugly people
>>Trolls
>>Ugly people
Yeah, with massive noses, foot long ears, cow's tails, and hairy backs. Plenty of identifying marks.
>>47427082
>Dwarves
>pretty
>>47426600
Confusingly, the dwarfs of the later Heroes' games setting live underground, but use bears as mounts. You try bringing a bear underground like that.
Living in caves isn't the same as living in tunnels.
>>47427082
Maybe it is just arguing semantics?
>>47426600
Anyway, what is your gripe with the design, OP?
>>47426600
In the original Germanic folklore origina, they could appear as flames, animals or child-sized men.
I'm more offended by the design of that fucking crossbow.
>>47427311
Art gets crossbows wrong more often than not.
>>47427379
How are you even supposed to put your foot through the stirrup?
>>47427511
Just because the artist didn't bother to learn anything about the subject he was drawing doesn't mean he's a bad artist!It actually means he's a terrible artist.
>>47427511
It also has two triggers.
>>47426600
Well,you see, Might and Magic draws heavily from RPGs, not from actual mythology. The first RPG picture of kobols in first D&D depicted them as a sort of small dog guys with pointy tails,and over tail evolved into the dragon-worshiping small lizard fags we know today.
Monster representation in pop culture products also evolves and changes over time,anon. You can either be a whiny bitch about, take it as it is, or make your own version in your setting.
>>47426600
Gnolls used to be,literally, gnome and troll hybrids,similar in aspect to hobgoblins, in the first edition of D&D back in 1974. And they come from a novel from 1920 or so, and there they weren't given a defined shape; the only thing said about them is that they have tentacles.
>>47427556
>"hey, crossbows have those... metal thingies on front. I wonder why"
>"Wondering complete, I don't give a fuck. Time to make it ~fancy~"
>>47427827
I'mtriggered
>>47427082
If you're going with Tolkien, peoples tend to stand more for various classes and monsters are generally some form of representation of a more nebulous concept. Of course, it's very loose on the interpretations but it can make sense through that kind of lens.
>>47426637
>gopher actually makes sense to be as a design, as they actually tunnel, which is a key trait of kobolds in general
I like this. It makes the whole dungeon thing start to make a lot more sense.
>>47427511
isn't that what his pointy shoes are for? :^)
>>47429155
Doubtful, as he would only awkwardly fit the frontmost tip and could easily slide off while pulling the string.
>>47427140
>According to Tolkien. He probably derived the word from either the name of the demon Orcus (which looks nothing like a human) or from the proto-English "warg", which is literally just an evil murderer.
No. Tolkien derived the word from "Orcneas", which appears as the name of a type of foul creature listed in Beowulf. The poem does not give any further information about it, however.
>>47427311
>In the original Germanic folklore origina, they could appear as flames, animals or child-sized men.
Now I want to make kobolds in my setting into child-sized fire elementals.
>>47430645
That's at once the most fitting and most terrifying personality for fire elementals, that of children. I know it specified size, not personality, but a toddler in the terrible twos but MADE OF FIRE is not exactly what you want in a fire elemental.
>>47427928
>first D&D depicted them as a sort of small dog guys with pointy tails.
Here's your pic.
>>47427149
Learn to read
>>47429120
Tunneling is really just a D&D thing though. Wasn't their original shtick just being fairies that weren't weak to iron?
>>47430645
>A little fire person running around your house touching all your stuff
>You tell him to stop but he just yells "NO" and hides in the closet. Your clothes are now all on fire
>It's not that big a deal, really, compared to the larger matter that everything else you own is on fire too
>Goblin pacts, not even once
>>47434553
Nope. Mine spirits. Kobold=Cobalt. They were originally used to explain why people who worked in certain mines were prone to getting sick (cobalt poisoning, natch). Around the late Middle Ages they had an image change and turned from evil mine disease spirits who cause collapses into benevolent dwarflike beings who secretly guide miners to rich veins of ore and knock on the walls to warn from incoming cave-ins.
>>47431571
Yep,that's it,though I remembered them with fur instead of scales. Seems the reptilian theme was present way before I thought. Thanks for contributin',anon.
>>47441261
Still doesn't have much to do with the folklore.
>>47427149
Is there something wrong with me when I see that, and I image hobbits are sentient Irish cats with an intense dislike of bullshit?
>>47427149
How dare you insult Casanunda, the greatest ladies man to ever carry around his own stepladder.
>>47441261
It really depends who was drawing them. here's a nice 2e one.
>>47427992
Crossbows obviously reload by themselves, fueled by your hatred of demons. That's why you can dual-wield hand crossbows, right?
>>47443812
It's narrativium. The instant someone picks up two pistol like weapons, they instantly become capable of shooting people while striking weird poses and firing doves out of their ass.
>>47436666
>>47430645
>>47430727
Man, this would make for some great adventures.
Didn't ancient and medieval cultures use children to work in the mines due to the cramped working conditions?
What if kobolds are created from the spirits of child laborers that died in the mines? Their ectoplasm congeals into a wax-like substance. Their apparitions become sparks of life within their tallow forms. They become living candles in the dark doomed to haunt the mines forever.
>>47443812
Hand crossbows are just the most unaesthetic weapons in my opinion. Fucking weak try making a pistol proxy.
>>47443757
>"2nd greatest lover on the disk"
>"2nd only?"
>"I try harder."
>>47443931
At least one seems to have existed IRL though.
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=4204177&sid=90568c80-c1bd-4eed-8de5-c4c8cee01523
