The Goblin - Pathfinder 2's Newest Ancestry!

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Today's Pathfinder 2nd Edition update is all about the Goblin! Paizo introduces the first (and the newest) of the game's Ancestries. As always, this information will be added to the Pathfinder 2nd Edition Compiled Info Page!

• Goblins! Last night Paizo revealed the first of the Ancestries - the Goblin!
  • Boosts to Dexterity and Charisma plus one other ability score of your choice
  • Flaw to Wisdom
  • 6 hit points
  • Speed 25'
  • Common and Goblin starting language
  • Darvision (see in the dark as though it were daylight)
  • Sample Ancestry feats --
    • Burn It -- bonus damage on fire spells or alchemical items, and increases persistent fire damage by 1 points.
    • Junk Tinkerer -- craft ordinary, poor quality items out of junk.
    • Razor Teeth -- 1d6 piercing damage.
    • Very Sneaky -- move additional 5' when taking the sneak action (normally half speed) and possibly render target flat-footed.
• Jason Bulmahn on including Goblins -- "Concerning goblins and how they fit in Golarion: Times change and so do people's opinions. Goblins as PCs have been a part of our world since the first "We Be Goblins" adventure. Many of the comments here echo those from back during the launch of 3.0 when Half-Orcs returned to the game as a player choice. There was a lot of conflict at first, but the tone of them shifted over time. We always knew this would be a bit controversial and that there were some who would loudly proclaim "not at my table" and I get that. It's your table and your game after all. We are moving forward, trying to allow players to explore these characters, their culture, and their viewpoint. We are hoping to give you plenty of reasons, both mechanically and story-driven, to allow goblins in your game."
• Mark Seifter on that flexible ability boost -- "It's one of ways you get to really customize your ancestry to fit your character concept, melding the story and life of your character to the mechanics. Plus you can play the class you want without worrying about as much of an uphill battle with ability scores if you don't match the bonuses from the race with the class you had it mind. Incidentally, it provides a really nice design space to much more easily create and handle subraces that have different ability modifiers... "
• Mark Seifter confirms that repairing an item is a untrained use but building is trained only.
• Seifter on failed saves vs. dominate -- "the wording is subtly different now. Anyway, because it implies what you've said here, I wouldn't say "if you critically fail your save against dominate, you are completely under the spellcaster's control". There is still some possibility to resist a particularly abhorrent new order on a critical failure, but you're going to have to fulfill that first command no matter what."
• Community News --
  • Frank "Mottokrosh" Reding has put up the results of his survey regarding the future of his Pathfinder character sheet app.

 

[prosfilaes]

That seems premature to assume given our sample size of one. For example, I’d bet that Half-Orcs get Boosts to Strength and Constitution.

It's not a random assumption; currently every core race either gets a +2 to a player-chosen stat (like half-orcs get right now) or +2 to a mental stat, +2 to a physical stat, and -2 to some third stat.

 

[Aldarc]

i strongly suggest a -2 STR, -2 CHR, +2 DEX and let the player use the floating +2 bonus wherever they choose, INCLUDING stacking it onto DEX ( keeping with tradition) or they can use it to minimize a penalty ( as htis would halep players put goblins into classes they might not suited to otherwise.

I don't see your suggestion happening in a system that appears to entail +2 One Stat, +2 Another Stat, -2 One Stat, and a possible +2 Floating Modifier to an unlisted stat or the bad stat.

Imagine in a game like Warcraft if taller races had higher Strength, which translated to 20% increased damage output.

Folks would never roll a goblin or gnome!

The different races in WoW do have different starting stats depending upon their class; it's just that gear makes most of these differences negligible. Furthermore, there are races that people recommend in WoW for different classes based upon their racial traits, which include minor buffs to damage reduction, higher crit chance, higher crit damage, bonus HP, etc.

 

[wakedown]

.. which include minor buffs to ..

That's kinda the point I was trying to make. Imagine instead of the tiny bonus raiders got from race selection that it actually was a 10-25% contributor to their character's damage output.

A small race with a 16 Str (after buying it up from a -2 racial adjust) using a small greatsword

vs

A medium race with an 18-20 Str (after buying it up from from a 0 racial adjust and possibly adding a floating +2) using a medium greatsword.

 

[Arakasius]

Don't stats collected for 5e show that halflings/gnomes are very underplayed. I have never seen anyone play these races. I don't mind making more character concepts playable.

 

[Kurviak]

That seems premature to assume given our sample size of one. For example, I’d bet that Half-Orcs get Boosts to Strength and Constitution.

If they follow a parallel to what they did in PF1, both Half-Orcs and Half-Elves will be handled as humans and not with fixed Boosts

 

[Charlaquin]

If they follow a parallel to what they did in PF1, both Half-Orcs and Half-Elves will be handled as humans and not with fixed Boosts

You’re probably right, I forgot they handled half-humans that way in PF1 (haven’t played much of it).

 

[Jhaelen]

Ho hum. Definitely not for me. Playing a Pathfinder goblin is about as appealing to me as playing an insane Kuo-Toa or Derro.
Creating one as an NPC ally could be fun for a session or two, though.

 

[jimtillman]

I don’t get why it’s a boost to Charisma and a flaw to Wisdom. If anything, I would expect the opposite. Goblins aren’t known for being smooth talkers as far as I’m aware, and on the contrary tend to be quite socially graceless. On the other hand, they’re nothing if not wily.

there most prominent mental trait is there loads of personality ..thus cha

there lack of common sense is why they have low wisdom.

as for str? meh chimps are stronger then men, i have no issue with goblins being strong for there size

 

[Charlaquin]

there most prominent mental trait is there loads of personality ..thus cha

Sure, but that personality pretty much boils down to “obnoxious at best, psychopathic at worst” which doesn’t really say Charismatic to me.

there lack of common sense is why they have low wisdom.

Yeah, but the things Wisdom actually add to have more to do with awareness and intuition, and almost nothing to do with common sense. Besides, if they need a +2 to a mental ability score, better Wisdom than Intelligence or Charisma in my opinion.

as for str? meh chimps are stronger then men, i have no issue with goblins being strong for there size

Yeah, that one doesn’t really bother me.

 

[jimtillman]

Sure, but that personality pretty much boils down to “obnoxious at best, psychopathic at worst” which doesn’t really say Charismatic to me.


Yeah, but the things Wisdom actually add to have more to do with awareness and intuition, and almost nothing to do with common sense. Besides, if they need a +2 to a mental ability score, better Wisdom than Intelligence or Charisma in my opinion.


Yeah, that one doesn’t really bother me.

cha is not really about likable in pathfinder, it can be but does not have to be.
there good sorcerers , have tons of mostly undeserved confidence, cha works for me.
wisdom is basicly common sense,
to paraphrase an old saying , intelligence is knowing how to make a bomb
wisdom is knowing when not to use it