Goblin (Wildemount)
GOBLINKIN
The civilized people of the world consider goblins to
be nothing more than monsters-and in many ways,
they're right. Goblins and their cousins, the hobgoblins
and bugbears, were first created by Bane, the Strife
Emperor, as foot soldiers for his unholy army. Eons
ago, when the flames of the Calamity burned across
Exandria, the Betrayer Gods gathered in the realm that
would eventually become Xhorhas. There, they found a
people known as the dranassar. An ancestor race to the
goblinoids, the dranassar were tall and beautiful, strong
of body and mind, and fleet of foot. Their hair was thick
and black, and their skin gleamed like gold. Most of the
dranassar willingly served the divine beings that descended
upon their land, but a few fought back against
the Betrayer Gods' rule.
Bane, a cruel tyrant even among the Betrayer Gods,
smote the rebellious dranassar and twisted them into
the goblinkin. When the armies of the Betrayer Gods
wanted for skirmishers, Bane twisted the dranassar
into goblins. When he was in need of loyal soldiers, he
made them into hobgoblins. And when brute force was
required, he sculpted them into bugbears. As the war of
gods and mortals raged on, Bane corrupted even those
dranassar who remained loyal to him.
The Betrayer Gods are long since defeated, but the
goblinkin survived-leaderless, lost, and fallen into
chaos. It is said that the voice of Bane still whispers into
the minds of the goblinkin, goading them to commit
senseless acts of cruelty against all they see.
Few goblins can steel their will against Bane's foul
whispers, but those who do live peaceful lives free of the
god's influence. Likewise, people who are transfigured
into goblins or reborn as goblins do not hear the voice of
Bane, and are free from his curse of strife.
GOBLINKIN IN THE DWENDALIAN EMPIRE
Goblins living in Western Wynandir form small tribal
groups and do their best to evade the vigilant eye of the
imperial army. The fearsome soldiers of the Righteous
Brand, known to the goblins as drohurror or "terrorfolk,"
are the greatest threat to the tribes. But with goblins
treated as little better than vermin throughout the
empire, any imperial citizen strong enough to wield a
pitchfork can be a threat in their own right.
With most goblins in the empire tormented by Bane's
homicidal whispers, the people of the empire are just as
fearful of goblinkin as the goblins are of them. Farmers
and folk in rural regions such as the southern Marrow
Valley take special precautions against goblin raids, and
kill goblins on sight as if they were marauding animals.
Even goblins who manage to free themselves of Bane's
influence are hard-pressed to overcome the fears of the
empire's rural folk. By contrast, city dwellers are rarely
exposed to goblin raiders, and though they might react
with suspicion and fear when seeing a goblin on the
street, most are more accepting of the notion that not all
goblins are evil.
GOBLINKIN ON THE MENAGERIE COAST
Goblins are a rare sight o n the Menagerie Coast, so
most folk who live there know of them only through
folklore and stories told by travelers. With visitors from
the Dwendalian Empire, the realms of Tal'Dorei, and
Marquet common on the coast, most of those stories
are tales of the vicious goblins of the Ravager horde of
Tal'Dorei or the fearsome Duneburrow goblins of the
far-off Marquesian deserts, painting a deeply unwholesome
picture of goblinkin.
People living along the northern Menagerie Coast, in
cities such as Gwardan, have firsthand accounts of the
goblins and bugbears who have recently settled in the
Lushgut Forest. Those who worship the Wild Mother in
Gwardan have long seen the forest as one of her most
sacred places, and initially reacted with fear to the forest's
"monstrous invaders." But with the bugbears and
goblins having freed themselves of Bane's corrupting
influence through druidic meditation, they are slowly
fostering friendship with the people of Gwardan.
GOBLINKIN IN XHORHAS
Goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears are a common sight
in Xhorhas, especially around Rosohna-for it was here
that Bane first created the goblinkin from the noble
dranassar. The people of the Kryn Dynasty have made
efforts to forge close ties with the goblinkin who have
made their home in the region, and have even managed
to subvert the curse of strife by the power of the Luxon.
Any creature reborn into a goblinkin body is born
without the curse, and any natural-born goblin born
within one hundred miles of a Luxon beacon is likewise
shielded from Bane's seed of corruption.
BUGBEAR RACIAL TRAITS
A bugbear character has the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases
by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1 .
Age. Bugbears reach adulthood a t age 16 and live up
to 80 years.
Alignment. Bugbears value self-sufficiency and violence.
They are generally chaotic, organizing in loose
tribes under charismatic and powerful leaders.
Size. Bugbears are between 6 and 8 feet tall and
weigh between 250 and 350 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Here's how to determine your height and weight
randomly, starting with rolling a size modifier:
Size modifier = 2d12
Height = 6 feet + your size modifier in inches
Weight i n pounds = 200 + (2d6 x your size modifier)
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet
of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it
were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only
shades of gray.
Long-Limbed. When you make a melee attack on your
turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when
determining your carrying capacity and the weight you
can push, drag, or lift.
Sneaky. You are proficient in the Stealth skill.
Surprise Attack. If you surprise a creature and hit it
with an attack on your first turn in combat, the attack
deals an extra 2d6 damage to it. You can use this trait
only once per combat.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common
and Goblin.
GOBLIN RACIAL TRAITS
A goblin character has the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score
increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases
by 1 .
Age. Goblins reach adulthood at age 8 and live up
to 60 years.
Alignment. Goblins tend to look out for themselves,
preferably without drawing unwanted attention from any
larger and more powerful people.
Size. Goblins are between 3 and 4 feet tall and weigh
between 40 and 80 pounds. Your size is Small. Here's
how to determine your height and weight randomly,
starting with rolling a size modifier:
Size modifier = 2d4
Height = 3 feet + 5 inches + your size modifier in inches
Weight in pounds = 35 + your size modifier
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet
of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it
were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only
shades of gray.
Fury of the Small. When you damage a creature with
an attack or a spell and the creature's size is larger than
yours, you can cause the attack or spell to deal extra
damage to the creature. The extra damage equals your
level. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until
you finish a short or long rest.
Nimble Escape. You can take the Disengage or Hide
action as a bonus action on each of your turns.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common
and Goblin.
HOBGOBLIN RACIAL TRAITS
A hobgoblin character has the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases
by 2 , and your Intelligence score increases by 1 .
Age. Hobgoblins mature at the same rate a s humans
and have lifespans similar in length to theirs.
Alignment. Hobgoblins adhere to a strict code of
honor and a rigid idea of martial discipline. Most are
lawful, tending toward harsh enforcement of their laws.
Size. Hobgoblins are between 5 and 6 feet tall and
weigh between 150 and 200 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Here's how to determine your height and weight
randomly, starting with rolling a size modifier:
Size modifier = 2d10
Height = 4 feet + 8 inches + your size modifier in inches
Weight in pounds = 110 + (2d4 x your size modifier)
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet
of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it
were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only
shades of gray.
Martial Training. You are proficient with two martial
weapons of your choice and with light armor.
Saving Face. Hobgoblins are careful not to show
weakness in front of their allies, for fear of losing status.
If you miss with an attack roll or fail an ability check or
a saving throw, you can gain a bonus to the roll equal to
the number of allies you can see within 30 feet of you
(maximum bonus of +5). Once you use this trait, you
can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common
and Goblin.
GOBLINKIN AND THE CURSE OF STRIFE
The term "goblinkin" refers to three types of related peoples:
goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears. All three are
affected by Bane's curse of strife, allowing his foul voice
to prey upon their minds from beyond the Divine Gate.
Goblinkin who manage to overcome Bane's curse are freed
from the compulsion that leads them to evil. Unless the
goblinkin was freed near birth, however, they have likely
internalized their bias toward law, chaos, or neutrality, and
might retain that aspect of their alignment even after the
curse is broken.
It is nearly impossible for a goblinkin to break Bane's
curse on their own. Only those who undergo particularly
traumatic events or are shown exceptional compassion
typically find the inner strength to do so. Whenever a
goblinkin returns to consciousness after being reduced to
0 hit points, they can make a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw,
with advantage if they were brought back to life. On a
success, the goblin kin breaks free from the curse of strife.
A goblinkin targeted by remove curse can also make this
saving throw, with advantage on the save if the caster is a
trusted companion.
Many bugbears are cleansed of the curse from birth by
a druidic order of bugbears who managed to break free
from Bane's influence decades ago. These bugbears never
develop a chaotic, isolationist nature, and readily band together
with druids and other defenders of the wilderness.
Goblins who suffer from the curse of strife are typically
neutral evil, goaded by Bane to commit acts of wanton
destruction and malice among the folk of the mortal races
that opposed him in the Calamity. Hobgoblins afflicted by
the curse of strife are almost exclusively lawful evil, and
are urged toward acts of conquest. Their societies are regimented
like military dictatorships, and hobgoblin despots
are the scourges of whole nations. Bugbears who suffer
under Bane's influence are typically chaotic evil , and are
commanded to isolate themselves from all bonds and ties
of camaraderie so as to maximize the suffering of those
they brutalize.
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