In recent years Kobolds have moved from goblin-like to kind of dog-like to the current state of being reptilian. I support this trend... I mean, look at these kobolds, with their birght green. They're basically micro-Lizardfolk. When I was a kid Kobolds hadn't gone reptile yet, but I couldn't figure out what a Kobold was, and they weren't reptiles yet, but they were definitely in contention. I remember we had the game Fantasy Forrest, and that had kobolds, but looking them up shows a very Goblin-like creature. And I remember a dog-kobold too, maybe from "Dungeon!"? I can't verify that one..
Anyway the Ravenloft sculpt is very reptilian, with a prominent tail, so I went with that. The green contrasts nicely with rich red in the robes of the Sorcerer and with the cheap copper I decided to make the soldier's armor out of. Strahd ain't giving you stainless steel, kobolds, he's got cravats to buy and fluff! And your weapon will have to be a sharpened stick... the dark lord was somewhat unprepared for henchmen that are not already equipped with fang or claw.
I don't think that kobolds are a great fit for Ravenloft's ascetic, actually. Their niche, one-hit-die flunkies, is pretty much kobolds, goblins, and bullywugs, and none of them are really "creatures of the night." What would really work would be Skaven, or some kind of similar ratmen. Does D&D have ratmen outside of wererats?
Yeah, Kobolds in Ravenloft seem odd. Especially in Barovia--I suppose I could see a swamp/bayou style domain where they could work. Of course, I've never really felt that the 1-hit die wonders (kobolds, goblins, etc.) really fit in Ravenloft. I've always preferred the minor foes to be either animals or average men, with monsters being, well, monstrous and comparatively dangerous.
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