Goblins have a reputation as simple creatures who love songs, fire, and eating disgusting things and who hate reading, dogs, and horses—and there are a great many for whom this description fits perfectly. However, great changes have come to goblinkind, and more and more goblins resist conformity to these stereotypes. Even among goblins that are more worldly, many still exemplify their old ways in some small manner, just to a more sensible degree. Some goblins remain deeply fascinated with fire or fearlessly devour a meal that might turn others’ stomachs. Others are endless tinkerers and view their companions’ trash as the components of gadgets yet to be made.
Though goblins’ culture has splintered radically, their reputation has changed little. As such, goblins who travel to larger cities are frequently subjected to derision, and many work twice as hard at proving their worth.
Physical Description
Goblins are stumpy humanoids with large bodies, scrawny limbs, and massively oversized heads with large ears and beady red eyes. Their skin ranges from green to gray to blue, and they often bear scars, boils, and rashes. Goblins average 3 feet tall. Most are bald, with little or no body hair. Their jagged teeth fall out and regrow constantly, and their fast metabolism means they eat constantly and nap frequently.
Goblins reach adolescence by the age of 3 and adulthood 4 or 5 years later. Goblins can live 50 years or more, but without anyone to protect them from each other or themselves, few live past 20 years of age.
Society
Goblins tend to flock to strong leaders, forming small tribes. These tribes rarely number more than a hundred, though the larger a tribe is, the more diligent the leader must be to keep order—a notoriously difficult task. Many tribal elders have put aside their reckless ways in the hope of forging alliances that offer their people a greater chance at survival. Play and creativity matter more to goblins than productivity or study, and their encampments erupt with songs and laughter.
Goblins bond closely with their allies, fiercely protecting those companions who have protected them or offered a sympathetic ear. Goblins tend to assume for their own protection that members of taller ancestries, which goblins often refer to colloquially as “longshanks,” won’t treat them kindly. Learning to trust longshanks is difficult for a goblin, and it’s been only in recent years that such a partnership has even been an option. However, their attitude as a people is changing rapidly, and their short lifespans and poor memories help them adapt quickly.
Religion
Organized worship confounds goblins, and most of them would rather pick their own deities, choosing fire, powerful monsters, natural wonders, or anything else they find fascinating. Longshanks might have books upon books about the structures of divinity, but to a goblin, anything can be a god if you want it to. Goblins who spend time around people of other ancestries might adopt some of their beliefs, though virtually no goblin worships The Justicar and very few worship The Smith.
Adventurers
To some degree, almost every goblin is an adventurer, surviving life on the edge using skill and wits. Goblins explore and hunt for treasures by nature, though some become true adventurers in their own rights, often after being separated from their group or tribe.
Goblins often have the acrobat, criminal, entertainer, gladiator, hunter, and street urchin backgrounds. Consider playing an alchemist, since many goblins love fire, or a bard, since many goblins love songs. As scrappy survivors, goblins are often rogues who dart about the shadows, though their inherently charismatic nature also draws them to the pursuit of magical classes such as sorcerer. There are almost no goblin clerics, instead leaning towards oracles or summoners.
Names
Goblins keep their names simple. A good name should be easy to pronounce, short enough to shout without getting winded, and taste good to say. The namer often picks a word that rhymes with something they like so that writing songs is easier. Since there aren’t any real traditions regarding naming in goblin culture, children often name themselves once they’re old enough to do something resembling talking.
Sample Names
Ak, Bokker, Frum, Guzmuk, Krobby, Loohi, Mazmord, Neeka, Omgot, Ranzak, Rickle, Tup, Wakla, Yonk, Zibini
Goblin Mechanics
Traits
Goblin, Humanoid
Hit Points
6
Size
Small
Speed
25 feet
Ability Boosts
Dexterity, Charisma, Free
Ability Flaw(s)
Wisdom
Languages
Common, Runic
Additional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it's positive). Choose from the list of common languages and any other languages to which you have access (such as the languages prevalent in your region).
Darkvision
You can see in darkness and dim light just as well as you can see in bright light, though your vision in darkness is in black and white.
Goblin Heritages
Versatile Heritages
You select a heritage at 1st level to reflect abilities passed down to you from your ancestors or common among those of your ancestry in the environment where you were born or grew up. You have only one heritage and can’t change it later. A heritage is not the same as a culture or ethnicity, though some cultures or ethnicities might have more or fewer members from a particular heritage.
Charhide Goblin
Your ancestors have always had a connection to fire and a thicker skin, which allows you to resist burning. You gain fire resistance equal to half your level (minimum 1). You can also recover from being on fire more easily. Your flat check to remove persistent fire damage is DC 10 instead of DC 15, which is reduced to DC 5 if another creature uses a particularly appropriate action to help.
Irongut Goblin
You can subsist on food that most folks would consider spoiled. You can keep yourself fed with poor meals in a settlement as long as garbage is readily available, without using the Subsist downtime activity. You can eat and drink things when you are sickened.
You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to saving throws against afflictions, against gaining the sickened condition, and to remove the sickened condition. When you roll a success on a Fortitude save affected by this bonus, you get a critical success instead. All these benefits apply only when the affliction or condition resulted from something you ingested.
Razortooth Goblin
Your family's teeth are formidable weapons. You gain a jaws unarmed attack that deals 1d6 piercing damage. Your jaws are in the brawling group and have the finesse and unarmed traits.
Snow Goblin
You are acclimated to living in frigid lands and have skin ranging from sky blue to navy in color, as well as blue fur. You gain cold resistance equal to half your level (minimum 1). You treat environmental cold effects as if they were one step less extreme (incredible cold becomes extreme, extreme cold becomes severe, and so on).
Treedweller Goblin
You have adapted particularly well to living in forested environments. As long as you are in a forest or jungle, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks to Hide and Sneak, Survival checks to Subsist, and your Survival DC to Cover Tracks.
Unbreakable Goblin
You’re able to bounce back from injuries easily due to an exceptionally thick skull, cartilaginous bones, or some other mixed blessing. You gain 10 Hit Points from your ancestry instead of 6. When you fall, reduce the falling damage you take as though you had fallen half the distance.
Wildwood Goblin
You hail from deep in a jungle or forest, and you’ve learned how to use your small size to wriggle through undergrowth, vines, and other obstacles. You ignore difficult terrain from trees, foliage, and undergrowth.
Goblin Feats
At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat.
Bouncy Goblin (Feat 1)
Goblin |
Prerequisites unbreakable goblin heritage
You have a particular elasticity that makes it easy for you to bounce and squish. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Acrobatics (or another skill of your choice, if you were already trained in Acrobatics). You also gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Acrobatics checks to Tumble Through a foe’s space.
Burn It! (Feat 1)
Goblin |
Fire fascinates you. Your spells and alchemical items that deal fire damage gain a status bonus to damage equal to half the spell's level or one-quarter the item's level (minimum 1). You also gain a +1 status bonus to any persistent fire damage you deal.
City Scavenger (Feat 1)
Goblin |
You know that the greatest treasures often look like refuse, and you scoff at those who throw away perfectly good scraps. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to checks to Subsist, and you can use Society or Survival when you Subsist in a settlement.
When you Subsist in a city, you also gather valuable junk that silly longshanks threw away. You can Earn Income using Society or Survival in the same time as you Subsist, without spending any additional days of downtime. You also gain a +1 circumstance bonus to this check.
Special If you have the irongut goblin heritage, increase the bonuses to +2.
Cringe [R] (Feat 1)
Goblin |
Trigger A creature you are aware of critically succeeds on a Strike against you and would deal damage to you.
With pitiful posturing, you cause your foe to pull back a deadly attack. The attacking creature takes a circumstance penalty to the damage of the triggering Strike equal to your level + 2. This penalty applies after doubling the damage for a critical hit. The attacker is then immune to your Cringe for 24 hours.
Fang Sharpener (Feat 1)
Goblin |
Prerequisites irongut goblin or razortooth goblin heritage
You have filed your teeth into jagged points and have an unusually powerful jaw, making your mouth a dangerous weapon. If you’re an irongut goblin, you gain a jaws unarmed attack that deals 1d4 piercing damage, and if you’re a razortooth goblin, your jaws unarmed attack deals 1d8 piercing damage and loses the finesse trait. Whenever you score a critical hit with your jaws unarmed attack, your target takes 1 persistent bleed damage per weapon damage die.
Goblin Lore (Feat 1)
Goblin |
You've picked up skills and tales from your goblin community. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Nature and Stealth. If you would automatically become trained in one of those skills (from your background or class, for example), you instead become trained in a skill of your choice. You also become trained in Goblin Lore.
Goblin Scamper [R] (Feat 1)
Goblin |
Trigger You are adjacent to at least one enemy.
You instinctively know how to flee danger. You Stride up to your Speed, with a +5-foot status bonus to your Speed, and you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to AC against reactions triggered by this movement. You must end this movement in a space that's not adjacent to any enemy.
Goblin Scuttle [R] (Feat 1)
Goblin |
Trigger An ally ends a move action adjacent to you.
You take advantage of your ally’s movement to adjust your position. You Step.
Goblin Song [A] (Feat 1)
Goblin |
You sing annoying goblin songs, distracting your foes with silly and repetitive lyrics. Attempt a Performance check against the Will DC of a single enemy within 60 feet. This has all the usual traits and restrictions of a Performance check. You can affect up to two targets within range if you have expert proficiency in Performance, four if you have master proficiency, and eight if you have legendary proficiency.
Critical Success The target takes a –1 status penalty to Perception checks and Will saves for 1 minute.
Success The target takes a –1 status penalty to Perception checks and Will saves for 1 round.
Critical Failure The target is temporarily immune to attempts to use Goblin Song for 1 hour.
Goblin Weapon Familiarity (Feat 1)
Goblin |
Others might look upon them with disdain, but you know that the weapons of your people are as effective as they are sharp. You are trained with the dogslicer and horsechopper. In addition, you gain access to all uncommon goblin weapons. For the purpose of determining your proficiency, martial goblin weapons are simple weapons and advanced goblin weapons are martial weapons.
Whenever you gain a class feature that grants you expert or greater proficiency in certain weapons, you also gain that proficiency for dogslicer, horsechopper, and all goblin weapons in which you are trained.
At 5th level, whenever you critically hit using a dogslicer, horsechopper, or a goblin weapon, you apply the weapon's critical specialization effect.
Junk Tinker (Feat 1)
Goblin |
You can make useful tools out of even twisted or rusted scraps. When using the Crafting skill to Craft, you can make level 0 items, including weapons but not armor, out of junk. This reduces the Price to one-quarter the usual amount but always results in a shoddy item. Shoddy items normally give a penalty, but you don't take this penalty when using shoddy items you made.
You can also incorporate junk to save money while you Craft any item. This grants you a discount on the item as if you had spent 1 additional day working to reduce the cost, but the item is obviously made of junk. At the GM's discretion, this might affect the item's resale value depending on the buyer's tastes.
Rough Rider (Feat 1)
Goblin |
You are especially good at riding traditional goblin mounts. You gain the Ride feat, even if you don't meet the prerequisites. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Nature checks to use Command an Animal on a goblin dog or wolf mount. You can always select a wolf as your animal companion, even if you would usually select an animal companion with the mount special ability, such as for a champion's steed ally.
Scamper Underfoot (Feat 1)
Goblin |
You are used to ducking under foes and can scurry around the battlefield with ease. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Acrobatics checks to Tumble Through the spaces of Medium or larger enemies, and the presence of an enemy doesn’t make the squares difficult terrain.
Very Sneaky (Feat 1)
Goblin |
Taller folk rarely pay attention to the shadows at their feet, and you take full advantage of this. You can move 5 feet farther when you take the Sneak action, up to your Speed. In addition, as long as you continue to use Sneak actions and succeed at your Stealth check, you don't become observed if you don't have cover or greater cover and aren't concealed at the end of the Sneak action, as long as you have cover or greater cover or are concealed at the end of your turn.
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