Kobold Livestock — Knights

One does not simply become a Kobold Livestock Knight. There is a strict, oral tradition known as the Codicil of the Cudgel.

Interestingly, the Knights refuse to fight other Kobolds. They view themselves as shepherds, not conquerors. Their only enemies are Goblins (who eat eggs), Gnolls (who eat the herd), and tax collectors.

The order began not in a marble hall, but in a crisis. Two centuries ago, a plague of wyverns decimated the great cattle drives of the Ashveil Basin. Human knights, armored and proud, were too slow and too visible. The ranchers, desperate, turned to the kobolds. kobold livestock knights

Kobolds had long lived as scavengers on the fringes of these ranches—trapping vermin, stealing eggs, and worshiping the local cave drakes. But one chieftain, a clever female named Kix Sharp-Tongue, offered a deal: she would train her warren to guard the livestock in exchange for a permanent place at the hearth.

The humans laughed. Then a starving young dragon attacked a herd of prize longhorns. While the human knights fumbled with their lances, a dozen kobold riders swarmed the beast—not to kill it, but to drive it away using whistling slings, firecrackers, and herds of specially trained, aggressive rams. The dragon fled, confused and bleeding from a hundred tiny wounds. One does not simply become a Kobold Livestock Knight

The Kobold Livestock Knights were born.

Unlike human knights who ride horses, these kobolds ride the livestock they protect. The "heavy cavalry" consists of kobolds mounted on Thornhorn Aurochs—massive, ill-tempered oxen with horns laced with iron filings. The "light cavalry" ride Scythe-Legged Goats, creatures that can scale sheer cliff faces to flank predators. Interestingly, the Knights refuse to fight other Kobolds

Every knight is assigned a "battle mascot": a cockerel, a guard goose, or a miniature warthog. These mascots are not pets; they are alarms. A kobold knight sleeps with one eye open, their mascot tied to their tail.

Table: Ranks of the Livestock Knights

| Rank (Common) | Draconic Title | Duty | |---------------|----------------|------| | Muck-Scout | Darrak Tor | Night grazing patrol, predator scenting | | Horn-Sergeant | Vex Talon | Commands a herd-block (10 knights) | | Herd-Captain | Kurak Oath | Oversees a full ranch territory | | Hoard-Master | Jharkal | The highest rank; defends the "gold" (the herd) |