Cromaghs Guide to Goblinoids

[Messageboard Golem]

Cromaghs Guide to Goblinoids is a new (and sometimes cynical) look at goblinoid races for fantasy-based d20 System games. It is full of new feats, equipment, magic items, and prestige classes, including the goblin trapsmith, the hobgoblin kickfighter, and the bugbear scout. While Cromaghs Guide to Goblinoids discusses the philosophies, mythologies, and lifestyles of the three goblinoid races, the focus of the book is actually on providing interesting new options for both DMs and players. In addition to rules for creating goblinoid characters, players will find feats ideally suited to the goblinoids, along with equipment specifically designed to compliment the unique abilities of goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears. And GMs will find handy suggestions for simple but effective goblinoid tactics.

 

[RodneyThompson]

Continuing the trend of producing high quality PDF products at affordable prices, The Game Mechanics have produced another unique book in the form of Cromagh's Guide to Goblinoids. This book is one of the most puzzling choices in the company's d20 lineup this year as it caters to a truly niche group: gamers that use goblinoids. While goblinoids are a staple of fantasy gaming, certainly a whole book dedicated to the irksome creatures seems to be overkill. Though this is truly one reader's own bias, it may be indicative of a larger problem with the premise of the book: is the book geared toward an audience that is likely to truly need the book? Despite this initial problem, diving into the book proves that even if the subject matter is not the best choice the book itself is both thorough and unique.

The introductory chapter begins with an insightful description of goblinoid culture, meaning the lifestyles and philosophies of goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears. This section tackles everything from basic histories and societies to psychology and religion, helping shape a consistent view of the goblinoid mental state and how it shapes their use in roleplaying games. It is interesting to note that this section is the most useful in distinguishing the three type of goblinoids from one another. Since many gamers, myself included, would be hard pressed to give detailed descriptions about the way the three races differ, after reading the book it is much more clear where the lines between the groups are drawn.

Chapter 1 approaches the three species from a standpoint of the monsters as player characters. The chapter provides lots of new feats, prestige classes, equipment, and magic items for players to choose from. In fact, the chapter is so thorough that it overshadows the rest of the book, meaning that a more appropriate name for the supplement would be "Cromagh's Guide to Playing Goblinoids." Unfortunately, some of the prestige classes and feats seem a little bland for most gamers, while others offer strange mechanics, such as the Bolt feat, that could potentially cause problems when used in an actual game. Still, among the rough spots in the chapter are several gems. The Goblin Scrimshaw, for example, is a fantastic example of how spellcasters should be tailored to their individual societies; this unique prestige class helps create goblin spellslingers that engrave their magic on the skulls of fallen comrades and enemies and essentially create alternate versions of scrolls that help add flavor to the character along with a mechanical aspect to give fans of the crunchy bits a new toy to play with. The chapter offers everything a goblinoid player might want or need over the course of an entire campaign.

Unfortunately, Chapter 2 is less stellar than the previous one, making it a slightly harder read. Geared toward DMs more than players, the section is mostly about using goblinoids as adversaries in combat. One nice section includes some typical tactics used by goblinoids and even generic encounters that can be dropped into any campaign, providing plug-and-play sections that make prep time so much easier. Unfortunately, there just isn't enough of this kind of thing and the bulk of the chapter is taken up with sample NPCs. These characters are interesting, but could have been done away with in favor of more useful bits. Creating a goblinoid NPC is not that difficult a task, and though the adventure hooks and backstories that come with the NPCs could be useful the space would have been better used for more generic encounters and tactics that can be applied to the DM's own adventures. This is not to say that the chapter isn't solid, but rather that it doesn't have the flair and unique flavor of the previous chapter.

Once again, The Game Mechanics' chosen artist, Clarence Harrison, does a fantastic job mimicking the style of official WotC releases and is truly a top-notch artist. Most of the artwork feels like it was pulled from the splatbooks (Sword & Fist, Defenders of the Faith, et al) and is both clear and provides a good visualization for sometimes strange concepts. The cartography is solid, if somewhat rare, meaning that visually the book is pleasant to look at and informative as well. The layout is unobtrusive and each section feels like the non-text portions not covering for a lack of actual content.

Cromagh's commentary throughout the book is one of the high points. Since the book is supposed to be written from the perspective of Cromagh, a half-orc barbarian that originated as JD Wiker's own player character, these short commentary sidebars give the book a unique feel and sense of humor that would have left the book a little dry in its absence. Additionally, the characterization of the barbarian is spot-on, and even the crude humor used throughout the book has a certain degree of subtelty (and perfect consistency) that makes it seem as though there really was a barbarian dictating to a secretary regarding goblinoids. For example, this quote is one of my favorites from the book: "Goblinoids aren’t the only ones who know how to [take trophies], of course. They’re just best known for it. For example, Cromagh collects trophies, too. He just doesn’t use them in combat. What’s the point? Your average troll isn’t terribly intimidated by a half-orc wearing women’s undergarments on his head. Take Cromagh’s word for it." Took you a second to put two and two together, didn't it? Unfortunately, this commentary drops off after the first chapter and is far too rare later in the book, meaning that the section is noticeably lacking in the barbarian's presence.

In summary, Cromagh's Guide to Goblinoids is a solid text that provides everything a DM or player needs to include goblinoids in the campaign. However, due to the limited nature of the subject matter as well as a few disappointing choices made for the second chapter, the book won't be for everyone. If your campaign uses goblinoids, the book will take that aspect to new heights. If not, it may provide some ideas, but may be passed over in favor of one of the company's previous offerings. Again, the book is very affordable and professional in quality, so if you have a spare $5 it is well worth picking up for some light reading.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Cromagh's Guide to Goblinoids focuses on goblins in the d20 setting. By goblin, I don't mean kobold or orc, but goblin, hobgoblin and bugbear. The book doesn't have a lot of competition. From Mongoose we have one of their first books, the Slayer's Guide to Hobgoblins and from Kenzer, an impressive Strength and Honor. Where does Cromagh's Guide fall?

Somewhere in the middle. While the Slayer's Guide didn't have any player crunch and Strength and Honor does, this book is part player resource, part GM resource. The introduction gives some broad strokes to religion and basic information to the goblin races but it's in Chapter One, Monstrous Heroes, that the book starts to show its personality.

The new feats help both GMs and Players as even low level goblins may have feats. Take Bolt, a feat that allows the goblin to change his initiative if certain conditions are met in order to escape combat. How about Scrimshaw Spell, where the caster uses bones to scribe his spells similar to Scribe Scroll? While note a huge equipment section, there are new weapons like the snare pole, a combo of garrote and mancatcher and the throwing blade, a weapon that's difficult to remove from a wound due to the fact that it's all blade, no handle.

The strength of this chapter though, rests on the prestige classes. There are six prestige classes; bugbear huntmaster, bugbear scout, goblin scrimshader, goblin trapsmith, hobgoblin kickfighter, hobgoblin warlord. All of the names are indicative of what the class is save the scrimshader. The scrimshader is a goblin spellcaster who scribes their spells on bones. Each one is a full ten level class. Most seem balanced but I'd watch the scrimsahder who gains levels in spellcasting ability in addition to a large number of abilities and the hobgoblin warlord who gets bonus feats and special command abilities.

The section is written well for the most part, but every time sneak attack is discussed, it goes into too much detail instead of just stating, “As Bugbear Huntmaster Sneak Attack.” I don't need three paragraphs each time the sneak attack feature is mentioned. By giving each race two PrCs, the GM insures that encounters never have to be standard again.

So now that the players are happy, what about the GM? There are several sample encounters and NPC's to flesh out the campaign. The encounters are laid out and easy to use with squared off maps and descriptions. Each one includes the reaction of the goblinoids present, as well as a modified encounter level.

Most GMs will enjoy the NPCs as either stock encounters or specialized ones. There are two NPCs per race, presented at two levels per NPC. These NPCs tie into the notes that Cromagh makes thought the text and are the 'icon's illustrated in the book. It would've been nice to see standard combat listing and a master CR list.

The book is done in the standard two column format. Cromagh's comments are amusing but don't appear often enough, much like when Malhavok speaks in the various Malhavok Books. I'd almost rather seen his comments at the start of each section but I guess then you'd have to worry about overdoing it. Art is good, done by the same artists who did the cover, Clarence Harrison. As a matter of fact, that cover is repeated inside as well.
Editing was fairly good but I worry about how slow the author must think his readers are. “Sklorbet is a real terror on the battlefield- especially if she takes opponents by surprise and has a chance to open up with her bow.” Uh, what rogue like character isn't? OGL has all characters, their descriptions, likeness, discourses and histories as PI while the non-PI from chapter 1 and 2, meaning to me at least, the feats, monster stats and traps, are open.

To get a four star rating, all I need are race stats. It's hard to have a book that talks about using the main race as a PC if there are no racial stats. I hate how Green Ronin's Wrath and Rage went into all this detail about orcs without having orc racial stats. I hate it here too. It immediately makes the book less useful as a player when I have to either ask the GM what my racial stats are (modified from the DMG), or use a third party book like AEG's Monsters, or the Kingdoms of Kalamar for hobgoblin or half-hobgoblin stats.

To get a five star rating, the book would have to kick up the player features a notch. This means spells, domains and some racial variants of the goblinoids. How about a hobgoblin artifact or something? How about bonus effects for scrimshaw spells depending on what bone its written on? Would a magic missile be more effective if cared onto a dragon's skull? How about some alternative core classes or rules for using some of the PrCs here as Core Classes? For example, the Scrimshander, a spellcaster who uses bones, looks just ripe for such a conversion.

Cromagh's Guide is a good start and I'm hoping that future books will feature even more commentary by the mighty half-orc in addition to more useful features.

 

[Khur]

Good review. Thanks.

I wonder why you'd use Kalamar hobgoblin racial stats in another game? While they may work for their specific world (+2 Dex, +2 Con, -2 Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma), they don't match MM statistics (+2 Dex and +2 Con, no penalties). Hobgoblins are actually superior to humans and get +1 LA in Savage Species (though they hardly deserve one). Would you use Kenzer's hobgoblins because you favor the (so-called) "balanced" stats in Kalamar?

Thanks again.

 

[JoeGKushner]

No,not because of balance. I use would Kenzer stats because it saves me the trouble of doing the Monster Manaual thing. I'd also use AEG's book or Monsters, depending on which one was closest to me. ;-) The kenzer stats actually look like they penalize the gobos more than anything so it would be dependant, since I usually GM, on what the player wanted to do.

 

[Eosin the Red]

Cromagh's Guide

Cromagh’s Guide to Goblinoids
Written by J.D. Wiker – it is a 37 pg PDF published by The Game Mechanics. This is a complimentary copy for review and was not playtested.

Written from the perspective of Cromagh the half-orc barbarian, the Guide to Goblinoids beefs up the entire goblin family, including goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears. The book is divided into two basic chapters – the first aimed at players who are running goblinoid characters and the second is a DM reference for getting the most mileage out of your goblins.

Overview: Cromagh’s is an eclectic mashing of all things goblinoid including major portions on psychology & religion, a few new feats, equipment, magic items, and six prestige classes. The second section provides several traps and/or tactical scenarios utilizing goblins as well as 6 goblinoid characters that are progressed through several levels, each of the characters posses one of the prestige classes presented in the first chapter. The writing is clean and engaging, especially in the section on the psychology of goblinoids. There are frequent sidebars used to provide Cromagh with a proper vent. I liked the use of Cromagh as the narrator’s voice but the sections include some modern slang that is hard to mix with a fantasy type supplement.

Layout & Design: The cover is a well done illustration of the three types of goblinoids. It has the same general appearance as the Monster Manual. The interior illustrations are also professional in black and white (really, they are blue and white but you get the point... monochrome).

The interior layout is clean and easy to read. Cromagh’s comments are lightly shaded blue callouts – these are nice but the shading is the books main toner consuming flourish. Finally, there is a wavy-looking footer prevalent throughout the book that is oddly disconnected with the rest of the PDF.

In the second chapter, there are several well done maps with grid overlays detailing traps and ambushes that are well done.

Psychology: The first four pages get into the head of the different types of goblins, offering insight to their behavior and lifestyle. As Goldielock’s would say, “this one is just right.” Actually, that could be a theme for the book, “not too little, not too much, just right.” Instead of flooding the reader with elaborately long sections on each aspect, the author cuts to the heart and delivers a succinct piece of work that still manages to cover all the bases.

The major areas covered for each of the goblin types includes – psychology, daily living, warfare, and the final section on myths and beliefs.

Feats: There are eight new feats to capture the spirit of goblinoids and do a good job of it. My favorite is a goblin feat called bolt that facilitates the “run away” syndrome of the little guys.

Equipment and Magic: This section covers unique goblinoid equipment. A few of the magic items stand out as inventive or well themed, including the cloak of stalking and the scrimshaw bones.

Prestige Classes: There are six Prestige Classes, two for each of the sub-species. Overall, they are well done playing to the strengths and weaknesses of each group. Bugbears get the Scout & Huntsmaster PrCs which emphasize their penchant for being sneaky brawlers. The goblins get the Scrimshander and the Trapsmith both of which take them out of direct combat and provide new options for keeping the lowly critters useful without turning them into a combat gods. Finally, the hobgoblins get the Kickfighter and the Warlord. I should mention that the book takes a tangent with hobgoblins having a knack for monkish like combat.

The DM section: This section starts with a section on tactics and encounters for each of the three goblinoids including several nice maps. The encounters don’t provide any “eureka” moments but they are solidly constructed and once again, they buy into to the various psychologies of the goblinoids.

The chapter finishes with character progressions of 6 NPCs, two of each goblin type. Each of the characters is presented at two levels (4 levels apart) and they each use one of the books prestige classes. There is a background provided for each of the characters.

Summation
This book is a great resource for goblinoids. It doesn’t fall into the trap of trying to make a 128 page gigantic tome of all knowledge related to goblins but it does manage to covey a good chunk of flavor in a vary small amount of space. A difficult rope to walk.

If you want the great-big-book-of-everything-goblinoid then this is likely to only wet your appetite but if you want something that is concise and easy to integrate then this book may be “just right.”

 

[Yair]

I personally found the fluff excellent but the crunch short. When it came to integrating it into a campaign that had an almost all-goblinoids foe theme, I found surprisingly few points to import. For example, I didn't like the grenade-like scrimshaw idea, and the hobgoblin warlord turned out to be more high-level than I would have liked.
Still, it's a fine product. I agree on the rating.

 

[Eosin the Red]

I enjoyed the read... Cromagh got a little umm.... something... every once in a while but it was funny.