Goblins? Boring? I shouldn't think so.

[Arrgh! Mark!]

Who's tired of the average two hit point goblin? Thats right - the one with a minus to hit with it's morningstar.

I've a good idea to put some fear back into players. Give some of these monsters a lot more of their mythological powers - and make them bloody evil.

For instance. Goblins technically have an ability called Spoil Food. Guess what it does? They also have this wonderful Lame Horse ability.

Lets think about this. Now, Goblins might be stupid. But they are cunning. If we have perhaps 5 goblins hunting after our low-level party.. spoiling their food, laming their horses. After they starve for a few days.. they eat the horses. Then the remaining horse meat is spoiled. Hmm. Our characters start to run, do anything to get away.

And with a bit of luck (Goblins are pretty sneaky, after all) they don't notice a thing. Not till their on their last legs, starving to death. Only then do the goblins attack.


Not a nice way to go. But Goblins aren't nice, either.


So! Put some interest back into those low-level games. Put some of that strange, fey-ish magic back in. Hobgoblins walking on moonbeams, that sort of thing. Certainly spice up the campaign a bit, I expect!

Though your players will hate you forever more.

 

[JoeGKushner]

The Game Mechanics has a guide to goblins. Kenzer has a guide to hobgoblins. I know that there's a slayer's guide to hobgoblins and bugbears... do they cover goblins?

 

[Arrgh! Mark!]

I didn't really know about that. I wonder if they give a nice, spooky, myth feel to them though.

 

[Berandor]

Has SHARK ever done a goblin?

If so, that's the last fear you'll put into your players.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

If you're wanting a more mythological/faery type of goblin, I'd suggest just starting over from scratch and making it fey.

 

[Mystery Man]

Trollords' "Erde" has a different kind of goblin if memory serves.

 

[devilish]

Tougher

I recently ran goblins against the PCs -- just with more hit points.
I gave them between 10-20 hit points each (adjusted the
CR accordingly) and blew their mind! When they saw 4 goblins,
they thought "Oh! This should be easy.." and went through
a nasty combat that almost took them out. ("Why won't they
die!!!!??")

Later, when they ran into 7 goblins, they used strategy to take them down,
(instead of the ole, "Just send the fighter to dispatch and we'll wait here") and it was an intense combat! They take them more seriously.

-D

 

[mmadsen]

Has SHARK ever done a goblin?

No, but he has done Hobgoblins -- on velociraptors, armed with nagamaki (if I remember the term correctly: katana with three-foot handles).

 

[mmadsen]

Who's tired of the average two hit point goblin?

I actually like the fact that goblins go down with one hit; it feels right. What I don't like is that they're not sneaky, tricksy, and false. The solution's obvious: make them Rogues, not Warriors.

They don't need fey magic to spoil food and lame horses; they sneak in at night to drop filth in your rations and to hamstring your steeds.

If you ever try to fight them, they run away. Then they ambush you. Again and again.

 

[Turjan]

Well, you can always give them class levels. Let the players meet the local goblin elite corps .