Goblin

For more information on all races, see: Races

Goblins are a race of childlike creatures with a destructive and voracious nature that makes them almost universally despised. Weak and cowardly, goblins are frequently manipulated or enslaved by stronger creatures that need destructive, disposable foot soldiers. Those goblins that rely on their own wits to survive live on the fringes of society and feed on refuse and the weaker members of more civilized races. Most other races view them as virulent parasites that have proved impossible to exterminate.
Goblins can eat nearly anything, but prefer a diet of meat and consider the flesh of humans and gnomes a rare and difficult-to-obtain delicacy. While they fear the bigger races, goblins' short memories and bottomless appetites mean they frequently go to war or execute raids against other races to sate their pernicious urges and fill their vast larders.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Goblins are short, ugly humanoids that stand just over 3 feet tall. Their scrawny bodies are topped with oversized and usually hairless heads with massive ears and beady red or occasionally yellow eyes. Goblins' skin tone varies based on the surrounding environment; common skin tones include green, gray, and blue, though black and even pale white goblins have been sighted. Their voracious appetites are served well by their huge mouths filled with jagged teeth.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Like other goblinoids, goblins often have a short temper, and are more easily provoked than individuals of most other races. They often find it difficult to overcome this short fuse, and have a sense of greed that makes it difficult for them to act altruistically. They also generally take sadistic pleasure in exacting revenge once crossed.
Young goblins are taught from an early age to rely only on themselves, and that to survive, they need to be aggressive and ruthless. To a goblin, it doesn't seem logical to treat others as well or better than you would treat yourself; rather, they believe in preemptively removing potential rivals before they can become a threat. Expatriated goblins sometimes try to recreate the circumstances of their culture, preying on the weaknesses of others in non-goblin communities.
Despite their generally poor reputation however, not all goblins are dim-witted or evil. Some goblins have risen to become heroes, gaining enough renown to be accepted into the civilized world of other, more commonly good races. Those goblins seeking this path have found it difficult to overcome their temper and greed, as well as the cultural influence of their brethren, but those who do often find it can be more rewarding, in the long run at least, to serve good rather than to serve evil. Those that do often make use of their ill-gained talents as rogues or fighters.
Goblin society is tribal by nature, generally led by the strongest (and sometimes smartest) around, who normally has access to the best weapons. Leaders among the race often come to power through betrayal or aggression rather than by more peaceful means, or as clerics of the Betrayer Gods. Because of the violent nature of goblin culture, it is not uncommon for goblins to come under the domination of individuals from a larger, more physically powerful culture, most typically larger goblinoids such as hobgoblins or bugbears.
Goblins have little concept of privacy, living and sleeping in large communal areas with only the leaders living separately in their own private chambers. As such, goblin lairs are often stinking or soiled, though easily defended when under assault and layered with simple traps for such purposes. The innermost chambers of goblin lairs are usually the most densely-populated and well-defended. Goblin settlements are often filled with young goblin children, partially due to gender roles, though young goblins do not outnumber adults since their lives are often at least as dangerous as their forebears.
The gender roles of goblin society have the dominant males sustain the community through raiding and stealing, sneaking into lairs, villages, and even towns by night to take what they can (and if supplies run short they are willing to eat sentients, including each other). Goblin females meanwhile are expected to birth as many children as possible to sustain a population constantly driven down by violence. Many goblins who leave for a life among other races are females, driven away by the rigidly structured role they are expected to play.
Some goblin tribes are not above waylaying travelers on the road or in forests and stripping them of their possessions. Goblins sometimes capture slaves to perform hard labor in the tribe's lair or camp.
Goblins often inhabit temperate plains, though many are also known to live in caverns or underground.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

The goblin language is fond of certain sounds, and goblin names tend to repeat those sounds to form what can sound like nonsense words. A goblin's name gives no indication of gender.

Male Names: Boorgub, Gogmurch, Rotfoot, Zobmaggle.
Female Names: Geedra, Goomluga, Hoglob, Luckums.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Goblins tend to view other beings as sources of food, which makes for poor relations with most civilized races. Goblins often survive on the fringes of human civilization, preying on weak or lost travelers and occasionally raiding small settlements to fuel their voracious appetites. They have a special animosity toward gnomes, and celebrate the capturing or killing of such victims with a feast. Goblins have particularly adverse relations with dwarves and elves. Goblins have a somewhat ambivalent relationship with orcs, whom they work with on occasion. Of the most common races, half-orcs are the most tolerant of goblins, sharing a similar ancestry and experiencing the same hatred within many societies. Goblins are mostly unaware of half-orcs' sympathy, however, and avoid them because they are larger, meaner, and less flavorful than other humanoids.
Goblins are often considered little more than a nuisance. They do not get along well with most other races and are particularly suspicious of other goblinoids. The only true allies of the goblin race are worgs, who often act as mounts and fighting companions for goblins. Some are known to domesticate huge wolves.

Subraces

Oversized Goblin

A few goblins attain a much larger size than their kin. No one is exactly sure why they grow to be giants among their kind, but it’s probably due to a combination of luck, diet, and constant access to food. These goblins are monsters among their own kind, not just in height, but also in girth and in strength. If not cast out for eating all of the tribe’s food, oversized goblins often become the bosses of their tribes, and the most powerful of them become chiefs.

Ability Modifiers: +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma
Medium: Oversized goblins are Medium size, and grow to 4 to 5 feet tall. They tend to be particularly obese, weighing between 225 and 275 pounds.

Alternate Racial Traits

Replaces Fast Movement

Cave Crawler

Some goblins are born and raised in caves and rarely see the light of day. Goblins with this trait gain a climb speed of 10 feet and the +8 racial bonus on Climb checks associated with having a climb speed. Goblins with this racial trait have a base speed of 20 feet. This racial trait replaces Fast Movement.

Replaces Skilled

City Scavenger

Goblins who live within the boundaries of human cities survive by scavenging for refuse and hunting stray animals. Goblins with this trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Perception and Survival checks, and can use Survival to forage for food while in a city. This racial trait replaces Skilled.

Eat Anything

Raised with little or no proper food, many goblins have learned to survive by eating whatever they happen across and can digest nearly anything without getting sick. Goblins with this trait gain a +4 on Survival checks to forage for food and a +4 racial bonus on saves versus effects that cause the nauseated or sickened conditions. This racial trait replaces Skilled.

Hard Head, Big Teeth

Goblins are known for their balloonlike heads and enormous maws, but some have even more exaggeratedly large heads filled with razor-sharp teeth. Goblins with this trait gain a bite attack as a primary natural attack that deals 1d4 points of piercing damage. This racial trait replaces Skilled.

Junk Tinkerer

Goblins use ramshackle equipment and vehicles that seem like they should never function. Goblins gain a +2 racial bonus on driving checks and on Craft checks to build or repair weapons or vehicles without the proper tools. They can make the attempt with any material that can hold the right shape for a few uses, but normally unfit materials produce items with the fragile quality. This racial trait alters Skilled, replacing the racial bonus on Stealth checks.

Over-Sized Ears

While goblins’ ears are never dainty, these goblins have freakishly large ears capable of picking up even the smallest sounds. Goblins with this racial trait gain a +4 bonus on Perception checks. This racial trait replaces Skilled.

Tree Runner

In trackless rain forests and marshes, it can be difficult to find dry ground to build on. Goblin tribes living in such areas have learned to live in the treetops. These goblins gain a +4 racial bonus on Acrobatics and Climb checks. This racial trait replaces Skilled.

Weapon Familiarity

Goblins’ traditional weapons are the dogslicer and the horsechopper, weapons designed specifically to bring down their most hated foes. Goblins with this trait are proficient with the dogslicer and the horsechopper, and treat any weapon with the word "goblin" in it as martial weapons. This racial trait replaces Skilled.

Favored Class Options

Instead of receiving an additional skill rank or hit point whenever they gain a level in a favored class, goblins have the option of choosing from a number of other bonuses, depending upon their favored class. The following options are available to all goblins who have the listed favored class.

• Alchemist: The alchemist gains fire resistance 1. Each time this reward is selected, increase fire resistance by +1. This fire resistance does not stack with fire resistance gained from other sources.
• Barbarian: Add +1/2 on critical hit confirmation rolls for attacks made with unarmed strikes or natural weapons (maximum bonus of +4). This bonus does not stack with Critical Focus.
• Bard: Add +1 to the bard’s total number of bardic performance rounds per day.
• Cavalier: Add +1 hit points to the cavalier’s mount companion. If the cavalier ever replaces his mount, the new mount gains these bonus hit points.
• Druid: Add +1 hit points to the druid’s animal companion. If the druid ever replaces her animal companion, the new animal companion gains these bonus hit points.
• Gunslinger: Add +1/3 on critical hit confirmation rolls made with firearms (maximum bonus of +5). This bonus does not stack with Critical Focus.
• Oracle: Add +1 on concentration checks made when casting spells with the fire descriptor.
• Ranger: Gain a +1/2 bonus on damage dealt to dogs (and doglike creatures) and horses (and horselike creatures).
• Rogue: Add a +1 bonus on the rogue’s sneak attack damage rolls during the surprise round or before the target has acted in combat.
• Sorcerer: Add +1 spell known from the sorcerer spell list. This spell must be at least one level below the highest spell level the sorcerer can cast, and must have the fire descriptor.
• Summoner: Add +1/4 evolution point to the eidolon’s evolution pool. These bonus evolution points must be spent on evolutions that deal fire damage or protect the eidolon from fire (for example, resistance, energy attacks, immunity, breath weapon, and so on).
• Witch: Add +1 spell from the witch spell list to the witch’s familiar. This spell must be at least one level below the highest spell level she can cast. If the witch ever replaces her familiar, the new familiar knows these bonus spells.

Racial Traits

+4 Dexterity, –2 Strength, –2 Charisma
Goblins are fast but weak, and they’re unpleasant to be around.

Goblinoid
Goblins are humanoids with the goblinoid subtype.

Small
Goblins are Small and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty on combat maneuver checks and to their Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.

Fast Movement
Goblins are fast for their size, and have a base speed of 30 feet.

Darkvision
Goblins can see in the dark up to 60 feet.

Skilled
Goblins receive a +4 racial bonus on Ride and Stealth checks.

Languages
Goblins begin play speaking Goblin. Goblins with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following languages: Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Gnoll, Gnomish, Halfling, and Orcish.

Average Lifespan
20 years

Average Height
2 ft. 10 in. – 3 ft. 4 in.

Average Weight
30 – 50 lbs.