so are dunmeshi kobolds all like humanoid dogs? that's an interesting depiction, if so... i'm more familiar with kobolds being like little dragonish guys
That picture is from the original AD&D Monster Manual, which described kobolds as being closer to goblins than anything else. This version of D&D is also what directly inspired most of the foundational JRPGs of the time. Your Dragon Quests, Final Fantasies, Breaths of Fire, etc. As Dungeons and Dragons as a property evolved, Kobolds became more closely associated with dragons, and thus their scaly features were emphasized to be more outright reptilian to match their draconic patrons, while their goblin-adjacent and dog-like features faded. In Japan, however, that association didn't quite catch on, and RPGs developed there instead ended up emphasizing their more "dog-like" features and making them cuter, which eventually evolved into them often just outright being diminutive anthropomorphic dogs. In the end, the only thing to have remained similar between the two of them is their status as "beginner monsters" in your average RPG adventure, and IMO the world is richer for having both.
