Goblin

“Meet the pint-sized mischief-makers: Goblins unveiled with their quirky traits and colorful antics!”

Goblins are diminutive humanoid creatures, standing between 3 to 3-1/2 feet tall and weighing 40 to 45 pounds. Their sharp, angular features are often accentuated by their dull, glazed eyes, which vary in color from a sinister red to a sickly yellow. Their skin spans a spectrum of hues, ranging from a sickly yellow through various shades of orange to a deep, menacing red. Within a single tribe, goblins typically share similar skin tones. Clad in dark, tattered leather garments that blend into the shadows, goblins often appear as grimy, soiled figures scurrying in the darkness.

Behavior: Mischievous by nature, goblins are notorious troublemakers known for their chaotic and unpredictable antics. They thrive on chaos and disorder, reveling in the chaos they sow among other creatures. Though individually weak, they compensate for their lack of physical prowess with cunning and sheer numbers, often overwhelming their adversaries through sheer force of numbers and underhanded tactics. Despite their propensity for mischief, goblins are not without a sense of self-preservation, often fleeing at the first sign of true danger.

Habitat: Goblins prefer to dwell in dark, secluded habitats such as deep forests, dank caves, or forgotten ruins. These environments provide ample cover for their nefarious activities, allowing them to skulk in the shadows undetected. Some goblin tribes even carve out crude settlements within these hidden sanctuaries, fashioning ramshackle hovels from scavenged materials.

Modus Operandi: Goblins are opportunistic predators, preying on travelers, adventurers, and unsuspecting settlements alike. Employing ambushes, traps, and guerrilla tactics, they strike swiftly and vanish into the shadows before their victims can mount a proper defense. Their raids are often marked by a trail of destruction and theft, as goblins seize whatever valuables they can carry away. In battle, they employ crude weapons such as jagged blades, makeshift clubs, and crude bows, relying on sheer numbers and ferocity to overwhelm their foes.

Motivation: Driven by a primal urge for survival and dominance, goblins are motivated by a combination of greed, fear, and a desire for chaos. They scavenge and steal whatever resources they can find, hoarding treasures and trinkets within their dark lairs. Power struggles and internal rivalries are common among goblin tribes, as ambitious chieftains vie for dominance over their kin. Despite their savage nature, goblins are not entirely devoid of intelligence; some tribes may even form tenuous alliances with other creatures or factions if it serves their interests, albeit temporarily.

• 5th Edition Stats
• 3.5 Edition Stats

Goblin

This creature stands barely three feet tall, its scrawny, humanoid body dwarfed by its wide, ungainly head.

Small humanoid (goblinoid), neutral evil

Armor Class 15 (leather armor, shield)
Hit Points 7 (2d6)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
8 (-1)	14 (+2)	10 (+0)	10 (+0)	8 (-1)	8 (-1)

Skills Stealth +6
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 9
Languages Common, Goblin
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

Special Traits

• Nimble Escape: The goblin can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of its turns.

Actions

• Scimitar: Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) slashing damage.
• Shortbow: Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.

Goblin Guard

Family: Goblin

Small humanoid (goblin), neutral evil

Armor Class 16 (chain mail)
Hit Points 33 (6d6 + 12)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
11 (+0)	20 (+5)	14 (+2)	8 (-1)	12 (+1)	8 (-1)

Skills Stealth +7
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages Goblin
Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Special Traits

• Nimble Escape. The goblin can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of its turns.

Actions

• Multiattack. The goblin guard makes two shortsword attacks.
• Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) piercing damage.
• Javelin. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) piercing damage.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Rappan Athuk © 2018, Frog God Games, LLC; Authors Bill Webb, Clark Peterson, Skeeter Green, Tom Knauss, Lance Hawvermale, WDB Kenower, Casey Christofferson, and Greg Raglund; based on the original creation of Bill Webb.

Goblin

A goblin stands 3 to 3-1/2 feet tall and weigh 40 to 45 pounds. Its eyes are usually dull and glazed, varying in color from red to yellow. A goblin’s skin color ranges from yellow through any shade of orange to a deep red; usually all members of a single tribe are about the same color. Goblins wear clothing of dark leather, tending toward drab, soiled-looking colors. Goblins speak Goblin; those with Intelligence scores of 12 or higher also speak Common. 

Most goblins encountered outside their homes are warriors; the information in the statistics block is for one of 1st level.

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Goblin, 1st-Level Warrior
Rarity	Uncommon
Small humanoid	(Goblinoid)
Hit Dice	1d8+1 (5 hp)
Initiative	+1
Speed	30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class	15 (+1 size, +1 Dexterity, +2 leather armor, +1 light shield), touch 12, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple	+1/-3
Attack	Morningstar +2 melee (1d6) or javelin +3 ranged (1d4)
Full Attack	Morningstar +2 melee (1d6) or javelin +3 ranged (1d4)
Space/Reach	5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks	–
Special Qualities	Darkvision 60 ft.
Saves	Fort +3, Ref +1, Will -1
Abilities	Strength 11, Dexterity 13, Constitution 12, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 9, Charisma 6
Skills	Hide +5, Listen +2, Move Silently +5, Ride +4, Spot +2
Feats	Alertness
Environment	Temperate plains
Organization	Gang (4-9), band (10-100 plus 100% noncombatants plus 1 3rd-level sergeant per 20 adults and 1 leader of 4th-6th level), warband (10-24 with warg mounts, 10-16 with Goblin Dog mounts), or tribe (40-400 plus 100% noncombatants plus 1 3rd-level sergeant per 20 adults, 1 or 2 lieutenants of 4th or 5th level, 1-4 Great Goblins, and 10-40 Goblin Dogs 10-24 wargs, and 2-4 dire wolves)
Challenge Rating	1/3
Treasure	Standard
Alignment	Usually neutral evil
Advancement	By character class
Level Adjustment	+0

Combat

Being bullied by bigger, stronger creatures has taught goblins to exploit what few advantages they have: sheer numbers and malicious ingenuity. The concept of a fair fight is meaningless in their society. They favor ambushes, overwhelming odds, dirty tricks, and any other edge they can devise.  Goblins have a poor grasp of strategy and are cowardly by nature, tending to flee the field if a battle turns against them. With proper supervision, though, they can implement reasonably complex plans, and in such circumstances their numbers can be a deadly advantage.

Skills Goblins have a +4 racial bonus on Move Silently and Ride checks. Goblin cavalry (mounted on wargs) usually select the Mounted Combat feat in place of the Alertness feat, which reduces their Spot and Listen check modifiers from +3 to +1.

Challenge Rating Goblins with levels in NPC classes have a CR equal to their character level -2.

Goblins as Characters

Goblin characters possess the following racial traits.

• -2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma.
• Small size: +1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, -4 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits 3/4 those of Medium characters.
• A goblin’s base land speed is 30 feet.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• +4 racial bonus on Move Silently and Ride checks.
• Automatic Languages Common, Goblin. Bonus Languages Draconic, Elven, Giant.
• Favored Class Rogue. 

The goblin warrior presented here had the following ability scores before racial adjustments:
Strength 13, Dexterity 11, Constitution 12, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 9, Charisma 8.