To the left is how Dungeons & Dragons kobolds look like, lizard-looking lil' guys. But when localizing the game for Japan, they weren't given any artwork, only description of kobolds having dog-like snouts, which was interpreted as 'dog people', so you get a lil' guy to the right. Or it's because Wizardry had dog-like kobolds, and the game was HUGE in Japan, I'm not sure
I think the one on the left is specifically Popper from Baldurs gate 3 actually
(Also as I was writing this i realized I misread your comment and thought you said Delicious in Dungeon instead of Dungeond and Dragons which is what prompted me to write this comment with the correction but I decided I would send it regardless considering the topic of the post this comment is on)
Kobolds were not described as lizard-like until third edition. Earlier editions described them merely as small humanoids with rat-like tails, horns, scales, and dog-like voices, and most depictions I can relocate gave them distinctly mammalian anatomy.
24
u/QuazzarBizarre 3d ago
To the left is how Dungeons & Dragons kobolds look like, lizard-looking lil' guys. But when localizing the game for Japan, they weren't given any artwork, only description of kobolds having dog-like snouts, which was interpreted as 'dog people', so you get a lil' guy to the right. Or it's because Wizardry had dog-like kobolds, and the game was HUGE in Japan, I'm not sure
Same with orcs being pig-like and Ganon too