In virtually every other depiction of the Kobold in video games, we see really cool looking [or nasty] reptiles that walk upright with varying degrees of intelligence.
For over two decades, Blizzard has depicted them as more of a rat-like creature which still strays a bit from the original folk-lore. In fact, the reptile depiction of it isn’t accurate at all to the origin and in fact came around with the invention of Dungeons & Dragons.
I would really like to see a reptile depiction of the Kobolds on the Dragon Isles though to fit the reptile/draconic theme of all the new mobs in the xpac. I think it would be neat to at the least see how Blizzard would depict that, if they haven’t already that is.
~hmmm~ So you want to replace the depiction that is more or less unique to World of Warcraft universe albeit not in line mythological / folklore depictions with a less unique and (A)D&D inspired depiction that also doesn’t conform to mythology / folkore?
As much as I personally like [older] (A)D&D as a P&P RPG and have quite fond memories of certain computer games I certainly do prefer some of the divergences that the World of Warcraft universe has made from such pre-established patterns.
Please explain what we and the setting would gain from an implementation of your proposal!?
“kobold, in German folklore, mischievous household spirit who usually helps with chores and gives other valuable services but who often hides household and farm tools or kicks over stooping persons. He is temperamental and becomes outraged when he is not properly fed. He sometimes sings to children.”
Meh. WoW’s version is fine for WoW.
WoW isnt Dungeons & Dragons, nor real world folk lore.
I’d like to point out that Kobolds are shape shifters, who often appear as candles and animals…
In their original form they are described as “small and child like humanoids” and are alternatively mentioned as a type of goblin.
Mine Kobolds specifically look like Dwarves or hunched ugly creatures.
Given that the typical Kobold seems to resemble races we already had, I think the candle wearing hunched rat person is about as close to folk lore accurate as WoW can get.
I consider it to be a reasonably unique spin on folklore for purposes of making those rat people a distinct depiction within a universe that tries to create its own tropes while still staying close enough to the origin to be recognizable.
No not at all, but what with all the new reptilian mobs on the Dragon Isles for Dragonflight, I wouldn’t think it would be a bad opportunity for Blizzard to take.
…Yo have you ever seen D&D kobolds? They’re pretty ratty and pathetic. We make some pretty wild jokes at their expense. If anything WoW may have taken inspiration from there. Anyway, let’s go dig up the real world folklore.
Another type of kobold haunts underground places, such as mines.
Legends variously describe mine kobolds as 0.6 metre-tall (2-ft) old men dressed like miners to short, bent creatures with “ugly” features
The same informant claimed to later have seen the kobolds first-hand. She described them as "diminutive black dwarfs about two or three feet in height
The problem with the underlying mythology, and you’ll encounter this with many creatures, is that there are a lot of contradicting stories about what kobolds are supposed to look like. I picked what I thought were the closest to WoW’s kobolds I could find. (Could that be why they have thick beards? They took a dwarf, made it hideously ugly / scrawny, and then decided it looked like it ought to have a tail?)
But other descriptions range from appearing as cats to disembodied lights. And so it’s almost impossible for an artist to stick to one idea of what a kobold should look like, and more or less necessary for them to pick, choose, and innovate on the idea.
Sorry, but I’m still not quite convinced that adding reptilian Kobolds would actually benefit the Warcraft setting because it would dilute their at present unique spin on Kobolds.
If it’s just about a small reptilian species that have similarities to Kobolds (in the folklore sense) then maybe I’d rather draw inspiration from japanese Kappa and similar (usually water related) beings with reptilian traits or possibly a reptilian interpretation of the okinawan wood-spirits called Kijimuna.
