Kobold Trapmaster

Small humanoid (kobold), lawful evil · CR 3

by Wirewhistle Warrens

Kobold Trapmaster
Armor Class
15
studded leather
Hit Points
54
12d6 + 12
Speed
30 ft., climb 20 ft.
  • STR -1
  • DEX +3
  • CON +1
  • INT +2
  • WIS +1
  • CHA -1
Saving Throws
Dex +5
Skills
Investigation +4, Perception +3, Stealth +5
Senses
darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages
Common, Draconic
Gear
studded leather, hooked blade, light crossbow, trapsmith's satchel
Challenge 3 700 XP

Traits

  • Pack Tactics. The trapmaster has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the trapmaster's allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.
  • Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the trapmaster has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
  • Master of the Warren. The trapmaster knows the location of every trap in its lair. It never triggers its own traps, and it can move through a trapped or difficult-terrain square at no extra movement cost. Creatures have disadvantage on checks made to find or disarm a trap the trapmaster set within the past 24 hours.

Actions

  • Multiattack. The trapmaster makes two attacks, using its Hooked Blade, its Barbed Crossbow, or both. It can replace one attack with a use of Spring the Snare.
  • Hooked Blade. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d4 + 3) piercing damage. If the target is Medium or smaller, the trapmaster can drag it up to 5 feet in a straight line toward itself, often onto a trap it has already set.
  • Barbed Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) poison damage. The bolt is barbed and coated in a mild toad venom; pulling it free requires an action.
  • Spring the Snare (3/Day). The trapmaster yanks a hidden cord, triggering a snare it has prepared within 30 feet. One creature standing in the snare's 5-foot square must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or be restrained as it is hoisted off its feet. The restrained creature, or an ally within reach, can use its action to make a DC 13 Strength check, cutting or wrenching it free on a success.
  • Alchemist's Firepot (Recharge 5-6). The trapmaster lobs a clay pot of sticky alchemical fire at a point within 60 feet, splashing a 10-foot-radius sphere. The ground there burns until the end of the trapmaster's next turn. Each creature in the area must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Bonus Actions

  • Nimble Escape. The trapmaster takes the Disengage or Hide action.

Reactions

  • Cut the Line. Trigger: A creature the trapmaster can see moves into a space within 5 feet of it. The trapmaster slices a counterweight rope and drops back 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks. The triggering creature must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or fall prone as the floor beneath it tilts.

Origin Story

Kobold warrens have always been built around traps, but trapmasters are something more deliberate: kobolds hatched in the clutch closest to the warren's dragon-shrine are set aside and taught the craft from the moment they can hold a string. They spend their first years resetting deadfalls and learning every tripwire by touch in total darkness. Most die young. The ones who survive become the most feared, and most valuable, kobolds in the warren, and many adventurers have learned the hard way that a kobold lair with a trapmaster is not a low-level dungeon.

Habitat and Ecosystem

Trapmasters live in the deepest, narrowest tunnels of a kobold warren, usually within a few hundred feet of the tribe's eggs or treasure hoard. Their tunnels are sized for Small creatures, ceilings dip to four feet, and every junction hides a pit, a swinging log, or a rope snare. Abandoned mines, collapsed dwarven outposts, and the foothills below a dragon's lair are favourite sites.

Behavior Patterns

A trapmaster never fights fair and never fights alone. It opens with a snare or a firepot from cover, lets warriors surround the stuck target, then pulls back into a crawlspace the moment it is threatened. Trapmasters communicate with clicks and taps on the tunnel walls, so a sudden silence in a warren is a bad sign. They spend idle hours whittling trigger pins and testing springs, and they rebuild a tripped trap within the hour.

Social Structure

In a warren, a trapmaster's word on where the traps go is final. Even the chieftain listens, because the last kobold who ignored a trapmaster usually ended up in a pit.

Variants or Subspecies

Scorchwire Trapmaster: replaces Alchemist's Firepot with a lightning-charged tripwire (3d6 lightning, same save). Warren Elder (CR 4): gains 20 more hit points and a second use of Spring the Snare per round as a bonus action. A trapmaster in service to a white dragon trades fire for cold and has resistance to cold damage.

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