I once made a race of vegetarian Goblins that was a major pest to farmers, eating entire fields of corn stealthily at night. They were known as Cob-Goblins because that was all they left behind, corn cobs.
I adore this channel, not only for the deep dives and all of the wonderful lore, but for that overarching feeling of "It's your game and your story, do whatever you like." Which Mr. AJ Pickett provides, and which has been key to the whole concept of Dungeons and Dragons, since the beginning.
One of the problems I often find is that DMs don’t play up the vicious cunning of goblins. You don’t need massive numbers of goblins because they’re cunning. A goblin scouting party of four goblins and a 3rd level rogue leader with wolf mounts is a really low CR encounter, but it can wipe a 5th level party. The goblins will hit only when they have surprise, target the horses & unarmed characters and bugger off after no more than four rounds. They’re trying to keep you from running off quickly, so they can track you back to your camp site and murder you in your sleep. The first time I used that encounter, it was a total party kill. The wolf’s bite, the wolf’s trip attack and the rogue leader’s sneak attack was enough that the party’s mage died in the first round of combat. The party’s rogue lost half his hit points to two of the other mounted goblins, because that attacking a prone target modifier really hurts, especially for classes that rely on dexterity to protect them. The party cleric’s horse went down in the third round to the goblins firing their bows from the saddle in the tree line. And the party’s supply horse ran off when the party’s mage wasn’t alive to hold on to its lead anymore. And that led to the follow-up encounter that the players weren’t expecting after the goblins ran off. The goblins used the wolves to track the PCs. When the party’s cleric & rogue slept, the party’s fighter, with his +4 perception was on watch against four goblins with a +14 Stealth skill and their leader with a +16 Stealth skill (+4 racial, +4 size, +3 for class skill, +2 for Dexterity and +1 skill rank for the average goblins). Coup de Grace killed the Cleric & Rogue while they slept and the leader got a critical hit with his short sword on the fighter, taking out more than half of his hit points in just the first hit, before the goblins legged it into the dark again to wait for him to get tired. The players opted to make goblins for replacement characters and all of them decided that perception wasn’t a skill they could afford to skimp on. That turned a rather boring campaign into a fight to be the biggest and baddest goblins in the game world. The encounter “goblin tracks” on my encounter chart scares the hell out of that group of players to this day.
I once played a goblin character in 3e from second level to 15th. Kaz was a blue... so shunned by his kind. The other players after realizing he was insane and deceitful decided it was better to have Kaz on your side because he only ended up affecting his enemies.... this was called the "Kaz and affect rule". Kaz was a cleric with the madness domain.... he worshipped a thing from the far realm... looking back that goblin was my most broken character... his spell DC's to save were often around 30... at level 10. "i'm sorry I am so ugly... I am just a deformed human child..." -Kaz Abzvgranok
@@GiacomoSorbi Oh, no I had the +1 LA. He was seriously an unstoppable force by luck or just crazy shit he could pull out of nowhere. The madness domain added to DC on spells so honestly it was op enough to take a level hit.
One of BBEGs in my campaign: Born in a goblin tribe somewhere in the sword coast, he was spared and adopted by adventurers who slaughtered the rest of them (He was aged 4 at the time). The following years he spent coming up with various jokes because he believed that failing to amuse his new parents would lead to his death (Osamu Dazai's "No longer human" inspired), and eventually he grew up to be a capable and only partially mentally broken ranger. In the following years he travelled far and wide, helping people on the way, but was eventually accused of murder by an oathbreaker paladin masquerading as a true paladin (This paladin was the true murderer, and victims were parents of my player's character) and had to escape to save his life. By some chance he found a goblin tribe in the wild and with his superior strenght, charisma and education became their leader, eventually conquering other tribes to the northeast of Dragonspear castle ruins (Not just goblin ones) and carving out a huge kingdom-like organism centered around trade, pillage and conquest. But he also never abandoned the idea of revenge on that one paladin. His name used to be Cedrick Boblin, but he's now The Golden Mask.
@@AJPickett no, the 2 victims of that paladin were parents of Neegra, a half-orc barbarian played by my friend. Golden Mask's parents were slaughtered along with the rest of his goblin tribe, by adventurers who then adopted him (I came up with that character idea when I thought "Ok, so there is that joke about players adopting a child goblin into their party and naming it boblin. What would realistically happen to that goblin once it grew up?")
I just started playing a Goblin Gunslinger (Matt Mercer rules) and it's been so much fun. Having listened to this he actually feels like a Goblin that has a bit of the mindset of WoW goblins, because he believes that his people have more potential than anyone actually sees, including other goblins themselves, so he sees it as his mission to drag goblinkind kicking and screaming into a more modern age. And he's willing to kill any goblin stupid enough to fight against him. After all, if only 1 goblin in 100 is willing to follow him, then that still leaves a hell of a lot of people to build a new civilisation with. Of course that doesn't stop him from having a chip on his shoulder from everyone else treating him badly. He just doesn't do anything too awful to get back at them. So he'll cheerfully swindle a guard with a rigged bet, tell an arrogant lord that he has toilet paper on his shoe, steal expensive soap from a castle and draw on the face of a sleeping dwarf to prove a point.
Love goblins so much, they are very flexible and can be found anywhere and in many types! Deadliest one was a king that had his own character sheet and player class.
I play goblins regularly. I usually have the second-highest intelligence and wisdom in the party. Goblins survive by being observant, creative and sneaky. One of my favorite was a goblin fighter/ rogue named Thorgrimm by the dwarves related to one he helped escape from hobgoblin slavers. Put one in a chain shirt and give it weapons like a warhammer or hand axe and you have a skirmisher that's hard to kill.
My DM put a side quest in our campaign because I rolled up a Goblin Slayer character and we exterminated a Goblin cave. The funny part was that they were all completely pacifistic and Goblin Slayer was just skull fucking all of them yelling edgy shit about "The only good Goblin is the one that never climbs out of it's hole"
My bard charmed a goblin instead of killing him in a cave. After killing all his friends I begged the rest of my party to let me charm them. I did and after he’s charmed (I got a 25) he stands up and goes “wow you look cool” and told me his name was deer and became my henchman and friend.
In my world goblins were once one race. Until they provoked the haughty elves. Through world blasting magic they devolved into three species. Those that ruled in violence became bugbears, those who served became goblins. Hobgoblins came from those survivors that stuck together and fought using complicated tactics. Rumors say some of these ancient goblins are still around. Plotting revenge on the elves who shattered their society.
23:32 This needs to be a character in a campaign that gives the main characters advice and directions. He should sound like BB King and be in a rocking chair on his porch
Our DM plays Goblins more like unruly children and plays up their cowardice side alot more, many goblins tend to flee or beg for mercy when they are loosing. I find this more entertaining to play against since it allows more interaction and makes the beginning DnD games more light hearted.
Your DM portrays Goblins more consistently with pre-D&D lore. Goblins are Unseely Fey creatures that are personification of naughty children that ran away and refused to grow up. Peter Pan's Lost Boys gone horribly wrong.
I have a couple of Goblin characters (D&D 5e). One (my Gobbo rogue) found himself a niche as a deck hand/gofer on a trading ship. The other (a sorcerer) was orphaned by war, and was subsequently adopted and raised by Humans in a large city. Raised in the trade of leatherworking, his previously unsuspected magical ability caused him to (reluctantly) say goodbye to his adoptive parents (whom he genuinely loves and respects), and set off into the outside world. Both characters being raised in very un-Goblin-like environments, both are literate, appreciate the importance of hygiene if only because other humanoids are more likely to see them in a more positive light, and understand the advantages of having friends who will have their back in a fight (and of having their friends' backs in return). While neither are geniuses, neither are they fools.Of course, neither has lost their Gobliny instincts, and will resort to low cunning and cruelty towards their enemies at the drop of a hat (and since they have each developed genuine emotional bonds with others, woe to those who would seek to harm their friends).
Meant in the best way, I appreciate that you didn't really shy away from "they're evil, they're awful, and thats mostly all they wvet will be." I feel like there is a wave in d&d right now to "devillify" so many creatures, like the Drow, because of racism, sexism, or other limitations that prevent a player from being simply whatever race they want, and while I can back some of that, I'm an old-school player/DM, who can appreciate that, in a fictional world, sometimes somethings are just bad. I also really like Blue Goblins, from 2e, because almost any psionic sibstrain will get me to at least momentarily go "ooh!" 😊 Someday. I hope to play a Blue Goblin Awakened Mind Sorcerer, just because.
Lol we found a goblin that got separated from its tribe and feeling a fit of pity on it we chose instead of the usual "interrogate exterminate" tactics normal for our evil campaign we chose instead to use an almost embarrassing number of required wishes to augment his intelligence as well as introduce the concept of wisdom and more importantly the difference between the two (Intelligence=I'm smart enough to know smoking is bad but still smoke VS. I'm wise enough not to smoke at ALL!) What we wound up with was akin to the gremlin that took the brain serum in Gremlins part 2 lol very cultured and sophisticated as well as mind numbing strength,dexterity and a "belt of titanic constitution".....made with real titan! Well let me say it made for a great series of adventures and to this day we still break out Goblin and let him rampage a bar or two just for shits and giggles. 😈
@John Bergh when youve got a group of players at 25th level or higher,wishes are the way to go! In this instance we had our Hierophant of the Cabal bring us an Efreeti Lord from the plane of fire and in 1st and 2nd edition according to the Unearthed Arcana once a Hirophant reaches those levels his Summon Elemental spell changes and he has the ability to summon any number of elemental creatures from the inner planes who will serve them selflessly regardless of alignment differences....presto----instant wishes! 😎
Let him/her develop a bit of a messiah complex... decides that h/she now has the intelligence, and the strength to return to his/her tribe or whole people and force them/cajole them/shame them or even lie, whatever it takes to bring goblins up in status, and intelligence and learning empathy so they can make better choices for themselves and their families and learn how to make allies rather than be minions/slaves/cannon fodder/midnight snack for their masters/overlords. Passionate,driven,devious, and possibly slightly fanatical, perhaps of a religious bent....All with the sincerest and best intentions and an intimate understanding of goblin life, but from the perspective of non goblins, some of the methods or reasoning this hero, hopeful saviour perhaps could employ, might look a bit "unusual" to say the least :)
Sorry, just riffing....your character and you can obviously develop this character any way your are moved to. All the above was just me doing a bit of day dreaming and the after affects of some of the greenery of the wildwood. Cheers :)
Greenskins like the gobbos are some of my fave fantasy races. Any thoughts on Goblins allying with mites or wererats? Or even other stumpy races like gnomes and halflings? Also it kinda bugs me how all or nothing goblinoids and orcs are portrayed in media, they always seem to just be savage monsters like what we see in goblin slayer and Warhammer, or all good basically green humans in tragic cercimstances. Bit of a missed opportunity if you ask me. ( Sorry for ranting).
It was actually commented later in the Goblin Slayer manga that goblins do seem to have a language, albeit simple, and while the concept of a good goblin did come into Goblin Slayer’s mind, he has never found one and believes killing them is probably for the best. One of the characters in the year before spinoff had a theory that maybe goblins use to be way more intelligent than they are now, and even stronger with more strength, skill, and magic. How they devolved, she wasn’t sure because it’s one of those hundred years after-the-fact theories
@@couragew6260 I was somewhat aware of that. That's why I brought it up with Warhammer. There's a similar theroy about the old ones and the modern grot. And while I like them in there respective universes, I just want to see some variation.
SPOILER WARNING: Goblins are a subject of importance recently after I have revisited the Legend of Drizzt novels. Drizzt Do’Urden began questioning his faith in Mielikki because of an admonition from his reincarnated wife, Cattie-brie. Cattie-brie is a dual class Cleric/Wizard of Mielikki and Mystra. Because Lolth was attempting to steal the Domain of Magic from the goddess Mystra: Cattie-brie was chosen to be proxy of both Mystra and Mielikki in their conflict with Lolth, Spider Queen of the Demonweb Pits. Cattie-brie quoted a dwarvish colloquialism to Drizzt: “where’s the babies’ room?” This signified to Drizzt a monstrous dissonance between himself and the goddess, Mielikki. Drizzt had met a Goblin, Nojhime, that was not evil or feral like the Goblin kin. This caused Drizzt to develop solidarity with this Goblin because they were alike in that the infamy of their races inhibited others from acknowledging Drizzt and Nojhime as individuals separate from the norm. According to Mielikki through her proxy Cattie-brie all Goblin kind are evil. Even the babies were innately evil. Thus, this planted the seed of doubt that drove Drizzt away from the worship of Mielikki. But, Lolth failed to keep him as her champion. This caused me to revisit this video.
Hmmm, well there is always the chance, if a race can be used as a player character, for there to be lawful good versions of them, any alignment is possible for goblinoids. However, the majority of them are nasty, and their cultures are generally very unpleasant. Religions, Deities, well they can be a lot less flexible.
I love revisiting these videos from time to time for good reminders on the behaviors and psyche of certain races. Having a game soon and these are super useful for my game. The comments themselves I find fantastic.
I think I will have to make a part two of this video, there is so much Goblin lore to cover, I didn't even talk much about the goblin gods or their priests!
In some regards, yes, but in other very importants ways, I have to say no on that specific pairing. Kobolds are industrious miners and serve dragons, goblins do not. Kobolds are a lot more lawful in general out look than Goblins. Also, if I wanted the player characters to venture into the middle of a dungeon war between two opposing groups, Kobolds and Goblins make for excellent opposing factions.
Keep on the Boarder Lands has goblins and kobolds opposing each other in the cave complex. The kobolds have a good deffence with a nice pit trap and the goblins have a loose alliance with the hobgoblins. It's an interesting dichotomy.
Great channel. Excellent resource for DM's. I would like to know the origin of goblins in Torril, Forgotten Realms. Ive been making a home brew and your channel has been an indispensable tool. I love the Lore! Thank you for the great content you've created.
DynamicWorlds do you play magic the gathering? The art is from there, and I really recommend you to read the lore of that game as well. this art is from a card called Goblin Dark-Dwellings
Love it brother. For anyone just seeing one of Aj’s vids for the first time they are all extremely high quality IMO. He does the research of going through a lot of dnd and related materials so there is a fair amount of direct reading, but he almost always adds how he would or has played them in his campaigns. Also check out his Kickstarter!
If I was a really low level goblin who was in charge of food and was mistreated and abused I'd poop in it.Are goblins pooping in other goblins food like a angry goblin cook who always poops in the clans food cause he cooks it but is never feed nothing but marrow from bones and piss
Cooking seems like it might be less important to goblins, but i suspect that goblins that bother having a cook are aware that their cook is also a goblin. So they are probably pretty suspicious about the cook. the cook is probably pretty nervous, because he is cooking the last cook that looked like he might be about to poop in the food.
Goblins can get nourishment eating anything. Even poop from the cook, or the cook. It's a running gag when I play a goblin that the best room in the inn is the stables and it's free because there are no rats left after a day or two.
this is crazy to listen to because i adopted a goblin and play her in another campaign. she was raised by royalty and is very polite and helping but is also a total coward. shes also a bard, average intelligence, and her alignment is chaotic good (the alignment of her parents) so hearing how much more of an outcast than i thought she was is absolutely crazy.
Someone needs to make lore on a good aligned goblin race, Raymond E Feist touches on a goblin precursor race in one of his books that was very interesting.
I had written one in a campaign of mine, and my players loved them. Basically, here's what happened: - Evil goblins attack everyone - Everyone exterminate goblins nearly completely - Last goblin survivors are children - Child goblins are found by a survivalist - Survivalist didn't wanna show himself to them and fed the child goblins by leaving food around - Goblins have fun playing in ponds living their lives while food keeps mysteriously materializing everywhere - Eventually, survivalist guy draws something on a rock tablet, leaves it for the goblins to discover - Goblins find the tablet, which depicts them hunting down a beast for its food - Goblins wanna recreate it, but also takes interest in drawing things on rock tablet - Goblins develop their writing system, which the survivalist guy learns from a distance - Survivalist guy leaves them a written message saying that the goblins must look after one another, care for each other, help each other, and love each other, and that survivalist guy gives them this valley for them to start a new civilization from scratch. He tells them that it is time for him to go, but he will always be there to watch over them for the rest of their existence. - Survivalist guy finds a calm place where he will peacefully die. - Once the survivalist guy dies, he ascends to Godhood as the goblins worship him as one. He is proud of the goblins as their little village grew into a massive empire over the centuries.
I like to think the types of gobliniods arose at the same time. That there was a base creature and they delibrately bred for certain traits. Those who kept most of the base stocks traits became hobgoblins. Those who were bred to be enforcers became bugbears. And those who were bred with disposable uses in mind became goblins. And the base stock died off as their creations outcompeted them. Maybe this can be why their pantheon got overtaken by an outsider. In the chaos as the old civilization died they were ripe to be plucked.
Fun idea, a trio of 4th level adventures enter a ruins watch tower, lets say it has a main floor, a cellar and two upper floors all crumbling. Now lets put a tribe of 20 goblins with traps, maybe add a pair of bug bears to keep them in line sound fun? But wait it gets better, in the basement level now alerted to the intrusion of it's lair an oni puts down it's cleaver and wonders at it's next meal and how good they will taste. Once it's pet goblins have taken care of them or at least worn them down enough for an easy kill. :)
My Goblin Wizard just saved Waterdeep at the cost of his life. He will not be mourned or remembered but for those who knew him well, nor will he know if he was successful or not, but he needs not such things, for he died trying his best, as hero's should
I find it funny that in Tolkein, Orcs and Goblins are the same thing....Except when they are not. He seemed to be inconsistent in if they were the same species or not.
I've actually always liked goblins. I've used them as valuable NPC's in the past. My favorites were a male/ female pair that escaped a "bad" situation and took up residency at my DMPC's fishing cabin on a large island in a huge swamp. Now one may ask why they would go there? It's the only place they wouldn't have been looked for. One day the Party and I arrive at the cabin only to find the squaters. Thankfully, the Party is goodly and doesn't kill them instantly. I played them both as exemplary for their race. The male reached level 5-6 fighter, the female was level 2M-U/ 4 druid. They were fun to play.
I bet Goblins evolved from a population of hobgoblins that got trapped on an island. They would be an example of island dwarfism, where their small size would conserve resources.
I’m making an upcoming campaign titled Rise of the Goblin Emperor so lore videos like this are such a blessing. I’ll need to cross reference the Bane worship as my campaign’s conflict revolves around prophecy and goblin worship. Basic gist is this: Goblins across the realm are freaking out because shamans have been having visions of a goblin emperor being chosen by Maglubiyet to take charge of all goblin kind. Of course every hobgoblin and their mother is itching to be ranked as emperor of all their kind, as well as many goblin kings (as unfit as many of them are to even make claim for such a title), while many of goblin kind fear what frightful divine power such a being would have over them. This leads to many goblin tribes fleeing their lands in terror to go into hiding, while some braver few venture to civilization to recruit people to help. Much of the recruiting is unsuccessful not due to outright prejudice but because the goblins, too afraid to petition the settlements for aid, decide to try roundabout and unhelpfully deceitful methods to try and find assistance. That’s where my adventurers step in to (hopefully) help save the day! There also may or may not be a rising chaotic faction within the swelling hobgoblin armies (plural, many war chiefs are going to war with each other) that speak of a goblin demon lord that will be a bringer of “goblin fire” and a new age of goblin dominion of chaos and destruction over the realm! Basically a demon cult for disgruntled goblins, especially bugbears and more chaotic-oriented goblinoids.
As a DM half your goblins hit points..they should ambush attack and run...use traps and poison and when cornered make any promise to the player charachters that will save their green skins for the moment..only to try and slit the pcs throat if they fall asleep
I wanted to make a goblin paladin pc and when I was trying to work out how play a good goblin in a campaign I liked the idea that goblins might have originated in the feywild and served a chaotic good arch fey similar to the goblin king in labyrinth. Only later where they corrupted by magubliet into there current goblin feral warlike minds set. So my goblin paladin was called to by this David bowie arch fey to reestablish the true faith and destroy any goblin who refuses to renounce magubliet. One day maybe I'll get to play this character think it would be real fun to rp.
but also, good is about what you do, not about yer impulses. Raised in a loving background, or with the right influences as their worldview forms a perfectly vanilla goblin could absolutely be be good. In fact the struggle to make good choices despite violent predatory impulses is exactly the sort of thing that would lead to being a good paladin.
Lawful is variable. A LG paladin can exist in a kingdom where slavery and murder aren't against the law. It's the Good part that alters that. A paladin could even own slaves, but he would make certain they were well-fed, educated and given every opportunity to buy their freedom. Al-Qadim went into great detail on how alignment isn't a hard limit to what a character can or can't do.
I think I mention them in the video I did about goblinoids (monsterology, covers a lot of ground but not specific types), but yes, they deserve their own video.
Nasty little buggers. I had dragon fights that were less intense then fighting 10 of these at low level. Jeah sure they are easy to hit and usually die after one strike. But is it just me or did other people too experienced how much these suckers roll critical successes, killing you almost in one hit.
Goblin leaders have character levels in 2nd edition. They can be a nasty encounter at any character level. A rogue 3/fighter 2 goblin chieftain will play merry hell on even a 7th level party. Their backstab (sneak attack) will kill a 5th level wizard in a single hit and they have enough unlevelled allies that they will be able to use it most of the time. One in ten is going to be a leader at least two levels higher than the rest. And then there are the priest, shaman, witch doctor, sorcerer or the like….
Personally I think it would be interesting to have a group of more civilized goblins that are super nice to their family and pets with their sadistic streak being reserved for the slaves for the most part, it would make for quite the fun and stark contrast.
I once ran a game in which goblins had advanced in tech and their culture was roman. This perticular type of goblin was called a mountain goblin in my Universe. They worshiped a dark warrior known as the master . He was a human who became the horseman know as war. He gave the goblins culture art and new tactics for building farming and war. In return the goblins pledged undying loyalty to him. Amongst their own kind they acted like humans do in society. But against their enemy. They show no quarter and expect none. The goblins of the master are unbreakable they have a saying "I am a legionary of the master no mountain goblin has ever yielded I shall not be the first"! Sorry lol
would they occupy an abandoned dwarf stronghold that was one or two day away from a large seaside town. and this dwarf stronghold was also the home of say a young red dragon
I see no problem with running both savage and civilized goblins in the same setting, and frequently do.. such as Krandy the Barmaid (and magically addictive onion dip dealer), best NPC for that whole campaign.
kingstewy I find that having Goblins be very diverse in subtypes, like Elves, is very fun. Warcraft style (even before Warcraft was a thing I knew of) is a favorite.
I created a race of good and neutral goblinoids that are virtually identical to the standard goblins for a campaign world some time ago. The major change to a campaign world that includes them is that in the Dawn War, the good and neutral goblinoid deities weren’t slaughtered by Magubliyet and company. The deity, Stalker, in the book Monster Mythology is the last remaining deity that was associated with the elves, being the goblin god of hunting and tracking, driven mad by the lack of true followers and shunning by the elven gods. The good and neutral goblinoids worship a handful of nature deities, including an aspect of Zuggtmoy that is neutral. They can be identified by their language, which blends smoothly between goblin, elven and sylvan and gives them some understanding of all three. Their worship of nature puts them very close to Druids, wood elves and fey.
Perfect! As the D&D I am preparing has a goblin side story line. I am looking to cause some sympathy for them among my PCs. Thanks you very much! Love your videos.
Pope Jeff, once upon a time, i ran a goblin berserking priest of Maglubiyet who began play with that very ambition. Over time, i had to abandon it. The goblins were just too petty & venial to work with. Garkak Dogface got to a point where he was partnered with an ancient Blue Dragon he had subdued, was sporting powerful magic items he had collected from countless battles with other PC's, but could still get nowhere with advancing the goblin race. He eventually achieved a sort of demigod status as the champion of Maglubiyet, but he retired from play never having been able to unite & empower the goblin hordes. I guess the lesson i was slow to learn was that even Maglubiyet himself doesn't bother with uniting the goblins towards a greater goal, but instead is content to use them as fodder towards his own smaller scope of interest. If individual goblins rise above this, all is well. He takes more interest in one powerful champion that rises up from the common herds than from the billions of cowering mediocrities that either can not or will not employ the means of empowering themselves! :)
What's a good spell and/or tactic to use on goblins when they try to zerg rush you en masse? To play to their lack of courage to make them fearful and break?
Fire Ball will force them to disperse, without their comrades near they will be more likely to flee in terror. Grease will stop them and make them crash with each other. Illusion spells will demolish them, just create a moving image of a dragon just where you are and throw some spells, the goblins will believe that you are dragon or transformed into one. For higher level spells there are Symbols, those spells turn the goblins fear of written language into a reality, minus the Symbol of Death they have no limit for the number of creatures they can affect.
I know this is an older video, but I will comment anyway. What I've always wondered is this: since their entire life is basically survival of the fittest, starting from childhood where they have to fight for each scrap or morsel, continuing through adulthood where they compete with each other and the occasional adventuring party, ending with the mature years where they presumably are either amongst the leaders of the tribe or bullied outcasts that survive on leftovers, it stands to reason eventually after thousands of years of natural selection there should arise the occasional Uber goblin, stronger and more cunning than anyone else. Their reproduction rate being incredibly fast , soon there should be an entire tribe of stronger than usual goblins. Certainly, by their nature, a lot of these Alpha Goblins will get eventually swarmed by the rest or poisoned or betrayed when fighting against adventurers, but some of them could very well endure and become Kings and legendary leaders . Just an idea for an adventure/ campaign. Yes, goblins are weak, but so are humans and they arguably rule the world of Toril.
Goblins can get a 16 strength. They aren’t all that weak. Remember that their gear all weighs less because of their size. A goblin can eat anything. The leather boots of an adventurer is just as tasty a meal as the adventurer is. If they raid a farm, the farmer can be just as much a meal as the food they steal. A goblin merchant will be watching where you keep your money when you trade with them. They’re brutal, but tend to be lawful. A strong leader would turn your Alpha goblins into a massive empire in no time at all.
This is racist and looks at only one aspect of goblins at best. Its sort of like calling a dragon just a t rex with wings. I have friends who are goblins and they are extremely intelligent- moreso than humans in many cases. They are also magical. Its true they are prone to psychopathy but not all of them are like that. I'm reporting this video for hate speech.
I think kobolds fit the bill of wow goblins, that or we need gremlins as a race or suprace of gnomes or halflings. I was thinking of a race that provides infrastructure for orc warbands.
Awakened Consciousness Mystic Underground Goblins are just as much conniving, backstabbing, evil little bastards as dragons are arrogant, greedy narcissists in serious need of some industrial strength breath mints; exceptions exist, but this _is_ the norm and goblinoids that could be considered upstanding members of society are by and large in the minority.
So goblins are smart enough to recognize relative strength, like ok, "theres three big people and one really big guy, so we want to have at least this many of us to face them openly". But can they tell how powerful each seems to be based on the quality of their gear, or can they figure out class types, etc? Is one big guy always just one guy or do they read into it more deeply than that?
"I'll be back with more goblins."
That kinda sounds like a threat.
I once made a race of vegetarian Goblins that was a major pest to farmers, eating entire fields of corn stealthily at night. They were known as Cob-Goblins because that was all they left behind, corn cobs.
Oh man, can I use this in my game? this is brilliant
Cameron Pearce of course you can.
@@Im-Not-a-Dog Awesome! thanks :D
Ill let my group know I got the idea from you, you could do a cob-goblin campaign and put it on the DM guild as homebrew. It's genius
NButler1993 Lolx2 "Cob-Goblins" thats rich,glad you didn't come across "knob" goblins 😉
I adore this channel, not only for the deep dives and all of the wonderful lore, but for that overarching feeling of "It's your game and your story, do whatever you like." Which Mr. AJ Pickett provides, and which has been key to the whole concept of Dungeons and Dragons, since the beginning.
One of the problems I often find is that DMs don’t play up the vicious cunning of goblins. You don’t need massive numbers of goblins because they’re cunning.
A goblin scouting party of four goblins and a 3rd level rogue leader with wolf mounts is a really low CR encounter, but it can wipe a 5th level party. The goblins will hit only when they have surprise, target the horses & unarmed characters and bugger off after no more than four rounds. They’re trying to keep you from running off quickly, so they can track you back to your camp site and murder you in your sleep.
The first time I used that encounter, it was a total party kill. The wolf’s bite, the wolf’s trip attack and the rogue leader’s sneak attack was enough that the party’s mage died in the first round of combat. The party’s rogue lost half his hit points to two of the other mounted goblins, because that attacking a prone target modifier really hurts, especially for classes that rely on dexterity to protect them. The party cleric’s horse went down in the third round to the goblins firing their bows from the saddle in the tree line. And the party’s supply horse ran off when the party’s mage wasn’t alive to hold on to its lead anymore.
And that led to the follow-up encounter that the players weren’t expecting after the goblins ran off. The goblins used the wolves to track the PCs. When the party’s cleric & rogue slept, the party’s fighter, with his +4 perception was on watch against four goblins with a +14 Stealth skill and their leader with a +16 Stealth skill (+4 racial, +4 size, +3 for class skill, +2 for Dexterity and +1 skill rank for the average goblins). Coup de Grace killed the Cleric & Rogue while they slept and the leader got a critical hit with his short sword on the fighter, taking out more than half of his hit points in just the first hit, before the goblins legged it into the dark again to wait for him to get tired.
The players opted to make goblins for replacement characters and all of them decided that perception wasn’t a skill they could afford to skimp on. That turned a rather boring campaign into a fight to be the biggest and baddest goblins in the game world.
The encounter “goblin tracks” on my encounter chart scares the hell out of that group of players to this day.
I once played a goblin character in 3e from second level to 15th. Kaz was a blue... so shunned by his kind. The other players after realizing he was insane and deceitful decided it was better to have Kaz on your side because he only ended up affecting his enemies.... this was called the "Kaz and affect rule". Kaz was a cleric with the madness domain.... he worshipped a thing from the far realm... looking back that goblin was my most broken character... his spell DC's to save were often around 30... at level 10.
"i'm sorry I am so ugly... I am just a deformed human child..." -Kaz Abzvgranok
Pretty interesting
I hope you played your blue without the stupid and completely underserved LA of +1.
@@GiacomoSorbi Oh, no I had the +1 LA. He was seriously an unstoppable force by luck or just crazy shit he could pull out of nowhere. The madness domain added to DC on spells so honestly it was op enough to take a level hit.
One of BBEGs in my campaign:
Born in a goblin tribe somewhere in the sword coast, he was spared and adopted by adventurers who slaughtered the rest of them (He was aged 4 at the time). The following years he spent coming up with various jokes because he believed that failing to amuse his new parents would lead to his death (Osamu Dazai's "No longer human" inspired), and eventually he grew up to be a capable and only partially mentally broken ranger. In the following years he travelled far and wide, helping people on the way, but was eventually accused of murder by an oathbreaker paladin masquerading as a true paladin (This paladin was the true murderer, and victims were parents of my player's character) and had to escape to save his life. By some chance he found a goblin tribe in the wild and with his superior strenght, charisma and education became their leader, eventually conquering other tribes to the northeast of Dragonspear castle ruins (Not just goblin ones) and carving out a huge kingdom-like organism centered around trade, pillage and conquest. But he also never abandoned the idea of revenge on that one paladin.
His name used to be Cedrick Boblin, but he's now The Golden Mask.
Oof! Bad guy killed the golden masks parents? That's highly motivational!
@@AJPickett no, the 2 victims of that paladin were parents of Neegra, a half-orc barbarian played by my friend.
Golden Mask's parents were slaughtered along with the rest of his goblin tribe, by adventurers who then adopted him (I came up with that character idea when I thought "Ok, so there is that joke about players adopting a child goblin into their party and naming it boblin. What would realistically happen to that goblin once it grew up?")
As I was listening to this I found myself continually thinking of two contractors/small businessmen I worked for in the past.
I just started playing a Goblin Gunslinger (Matt Mercer rules) and it's been so much fun. Having listened to this he actually feels like a Goblin that has a bit of the mindset of WoW goblins, because he believes that his people have more potential than anyone actually sees, including other goblins themselves, so he sees it as his mission to drag goblinkind kicking and screaming into a more modern age. And he's willing to kill any goblin stupid enough to fight against him. After all, if only 1 goblin in 100 is willing to follow him, then that still leaves a hell of a lot of people to build a new civilisation with.
Of course that doesn't stop him from having a chip on his shoulder from everyone else treating him badly. He just doesn't do anything too awful to get back at them. So he'll cheerfully swindle a guard with a rigged bet, tell an arrogant lord that he has toilet paper on his shoe, steal expensive soap from a castle and draw on the face of a sleeping dwarf to prove a point.
Cool, I like it.
"occasionally you'll find goblins who understand the concept of goodness..." shows picture of Skarsnik xD
Love goblins so much, they are very flexible and can be found anywhere and in many types! Deadliest one was a king that had his own character sheet and player class.
I play goblins regularly. I usually have the second-highest intelligence and wisdom in the party. Goblins survive by being observant, creative and sneaky.
One of my favorite was a goblin fighter/ rogue named Thorgrimm by the dwarves related to one he helped escape from hobgoblin slavers. Put one in a chain shirt and give it weapons like a warhammer or hand axe and you have a skirmisher that's hard to kill.
I came here after watching Goblin Slayer. Time to learn more about goblins!
My DM put a side quest in our campaign because I rolled up a Goblin Slayer character and we exterminated a Goblin cave. The funny part was that they were all completely pacifistic and Goblin Slayer was just skull fucking all of them yelling edgy shit about "The only good Goblin is the one that never climbs out of it's hole"
I only watch goblin slayer because I like goblins and I wanna buy the one that kills him a drink of gnome's blood.
orville had goblin reminding race in latest episode
Me too
You already know everything you need to.
My bard charmed a goblin instead of killing him in a cave. After killing all his friends I begged the rest of my party to let me charm them. I did and after he’s charmed (I got a 25) he stands up and goes “wow you look cool” and told me his name was deer and became my henchman and friend.
Bards are useless unless the player is very good. Hard class to play right.
I'm playing a Goblin Ranger who was charmed "to behave" and somehow it stuck. Sometimes it's nice to play a PC that goes against the norm.
This is how child soldiers work.
@@lonegoat81 Not really going against the norm if it took being charmed, were they?
@@Calabite1 Funny how often Charm spells are used for slavery, isn't it?
In my world goblins were once one race. Until they provoked the haughty elves. Through world blasting magic they devolved into three species. Those that ruled in violence became bugbears, those who served became goblins. Hobgoblins came from those survivors that stuck together and fought using complicated tactics. Rumors say some of these ancient goblins are still around. Plotting revenge on the elves who shattered their society.
23:32 This needs to be a character in a campaign that gives the main characters advice and directions. He should sound like BB King and be in a rocking chair on his porch
Tatsusama this is why my Dragon born ranger has a kill goblin ability
Our DM plays Goblins more like unruly children and plays up their cowardice side alot more, many goblins tend to flee or beg for mercy when they are loosing.
I find this more entertaining to play against since it allows more interaction and makes the beginning DnD games more light hearted.
Your DM portrays Goblins more consistently with pre-D&D lore. Goblins are Unseely Fey creatures that are personification of naughty children that ran away and refused to grow up. Peter Pan's Lost Boys gone horribly wrong.
I have a couple of Goblin characters (D&D 5e). One (my Gobbo rogue) found himself a niche as a deck hand/gofer on a trading ship. The other (a sorcerer) was orphaned by war, and was subsequently adopted and raised by Humans in a large city. Raised in the trade of leatherworking, his previously unsuspected magical ability caused him to (reluctantly) say goodbye to his adoptive parents (whom he genuinely loves and respects), and set off into the outside world. Both characters being raised in very un-Goblin-like environments, both are literate, appreciate the importance of hygiene if only because other humanoids are more likely to see them in a more positive light, and understand the advantages of having friends who will have their back in a fight (and of having their friends' backs in return). While neither are geniuses, neither are they fools.Of course, neither has lost their Gobliny instincts, and will resort to low cunning and cruelty towards their enemies at the drop of a hat (and since they have each developed genuine emotional bonds with others, woe to those who would seek to harm their friends).
Meant in the best way, I appreciate that you didn't really shy away from "they're evil, they're awful, and thats mostly all they wvet will be." I feel like there is a wave in d&d right now to "devillify" so many creatures, like the Drow, because of racism, sexism, or other limitations that prevent a player from being simply whatever race they want, and while I can back some of that, I'm an old-school player/DM, who can appreciate that, in a fictional world, sometimes somethings are just bad.
I also really like Blue Goblins, from 2e, because almost any psionic sibstrain will get me to at least momentarily go "ooh!" 😊 Someday. I hope to play a Blue Goblin Awakened Mind Sorcerer, just because.
Thank you for taking such time to put together these videos. It's really helpful to listen when I don't have time to sit with a sourcebook!
"The only good Goblin is a dead Goblin"
Goblin Slayer
I mean my Goblin i was playing died to save Waterdeep, so I guess it's true
That's because a good goblin gets killed by other goblins for acting like a gnome, and good on them for doing so says I!
Why does everyone assume goblins are evil?
Same question with any other setient "monster" race. I.e. orcs, illithids, teiflings, ext...
Ag Silver Radio - have you read up on Illithids!
@@agsilverradio2225 because they kill you when they see an opening. their entire nature is based on being hateful and making others suffer.
That time you realize goblins have 10 intelligence 😈
... that time you realize everyone else thought they had less than 10
I always play them as evil gnomes.
I always gave them a bonus to intelligence to match the penalty to charisma. That makes them more intelligent than the average human.
Lol we found a goblin that got separated from its tribe and feeling a fit of pity on it we chose instead of the usual "interrogate exterminate" tactics normal for our evil campaign we chose instead to use an almost embarrassing number of required wishes to augment his intelligence as well as introduce the concept of wisdom and more importantly the difference between the two (Intelligence=I'm smart enough to know smoking is bad but still smoke VS. I'm wise enough not to smoke at ALL!) What we wound up with was akin to the gremlin that took the brain serum in Gremlins part 2 lol very cultured and sophisticated as well as mind numbing strength,dexterity and a "belt of titanic constitution".....made with real titan! Well let me say it made for a great series of adventures and to this day we still break out Goblin and let him rampage a bar or two just for shits and giggles. 😈
Cool stuff man
As We lol thanks man!
@John Bergh when youve got a group of players at 25th level or higher,wishes are the way to go! In this instance we had our Hierophant of the Cabal bring us an Efreeti Lord from the plane of fire and in 1st and 2nd edition according to the Unearthed Arcana once a Hirophant reaches those levels his Summon Elemental spell changes and he has the ability to summon any number of elemental creatures from the inner planes who will serve them selflessly regardless of alignment differences....presto----instant wishes! 😎
Let him/her develop a bit of a messiah complex... decides that h/she now has the intelligence, and the strength to return to his/her tribe or whole people and force them/cajole them/shame them or even lie, whatever it takes to bring goblins up in status, and intelligence and learning empathy so they can make better choices for themselves and their families and learn how to make allies rather than be minions/slaves/cannon fodder/midnight snack for their masters/overlords. Passionate,driven,devious, and possibly slightly fanatical, perhaps of a religious bent....All with the sincerest and best intentions and an intimate understanding of goblin life, but from the perspective of non goblins, some of the methods or reasoning this hero, hopeful saviour perhaps could employ, might look a bit "unusual" to say the least :)
Sorry, just riffing....your character and you can obviously develop this character any way your are moved to. All the above was just me doing a bit of day dreaming and the after affects of some of the greenery of the wildwood. Cheers :)
Greenskins like the gobbos are some of my fave fantasy races.
Any thoughts on Goblins allying with mites or wererats? Or even other stumpy races like gnomes and halflings?
Also it kinda bugs me how all or nothing goblinoids and orcs are portrayed in media, they always seem to just be savage monsters like what we see in goblin slayer and Warhammer, or all good basically green humans in tragic cercimstances. Bit of a missed opportunity if you ask me. ( Sorry for ranting).
@Box Addict which ? The goblins? They seem to be above animal intelligence in dnd
It was actually commented later in the Goblin Slayer manga that goblins do seem to have a language, albeit simple, and while the concept of a good goblin did come into Goblin Slayer’s mind, he has never found one and believes killing them is probably for the best. One of the characters in the year before spinoff had a theory that maybe goblins use to be way more intelligent than they are now, and even stronger with more strength, skill, and magic. How they devolved, she wasn’t sure because it’s one of those hundred years after-the-fact theories
@Box Addict They have an intelligence equal to humans.
I run my goblins more like their European background. Intelligent, cunning, evil fairies…
@@couragew6260 I was somewhat aware of that. That's why I brought it up with Warhammer. There's a similar theroy about the old ones and the modern grot.
And while I like them in there respective universes, I just want to see some variation.
D&D Goblins sound simular to the ungoy grunts, from Halo.
Not just in being generic minions, but also because of their survivalest motives.
@Bob Bobbertson Next you're gonna tell us the Earth is round.
SPOILER WARNING: Goblins are a subject of importance recently after I have revisited the Legend of Drizzt novels. Drizzt Do’Urden began questioning his faith in Mielikki because of an admonition from his reincarnated wife, Cattie-brie. Cattie-brie is a dual class Cleric/Wizard of Mielikki and Mystra. Because Lolth was attempting to steal the Domain of Magic from the goddess Mystra: Cattie-brie was chosen to be proxy of both Mystra and Mielikki in their conflict with Lolth, Spider Queen of the Demonweb Pits. Cattie-brie quoted a dwarvish colloquialism to Drizzt: “where’s the babies’ room?” This signified to Drizzt a monstrous dissonance between himself and the goddess, Mielikki. Drizzt had met a Goblin, Nojhime, that was not evil or feral like the Goblin kin. This caused Drizzt to develop solidarity with this Goblin because they were alike in that the infamy of their races inhibited others from acknowledging Drizzt and Nojhime as individuals separate from the norm. According to Mielikki through her proxy Cattie-brie all Goblin kind are evil. Even the babies were innately evil. Thus, this planted the seed of doubt that drove Drizzt away from the worship of Mielikki. But, Lolth failed to keep him as her champion. This caused me to revisit this video.
Hmmm, well there is always the chance, if a race can be used as a player character, for there to be lawful good versions of them, any alignment is possible for goblinoids. However, the majority of them are nasty, and their cultures are generally very unpleasant. Religions, Deities, well they can be a lot less flexible.
AJ Pickett 🧐Indeed.
Wow I feel like I just read the novel
Goblins were always my favorite, no idea why. Would have killed to have a goblin character back when i was playing.
Check out Riz Gukgak in Fantasy High.
Start playing again. I play goblins most of the time.
May favorite player race is Goblin. Lots of fun with lots of potential for story and RP.
@@almitrahopkins1873 i haven’t known anyone who plays in years.
It's so interesting to hear your long analysis on all the beasties of D&D. Thanks for the depth and description.
3:51 "did she say it?" "SHUT UP!!!!" LOL
to sum it up "cruel and merciless little bastards" lol
With an average Stealth skill of 9+. Add levels and that goes up considerably. One level of rogue and it's 13+ with a 12 Dex score.
My favorite goblin is the mechanist goblin it literally runs around in a titanfall titan made out of barrels and scrap
I love revisiting these videos from time to time for good reminders on the behaviors and psyche of certain races. Having a game soon and these are super useful for my game. The comments themselves I find fantastic.
Time is money pal!
WoW has utterly redefined my idea of goblins.
Extremely good coverage AJ! Thank you! I'm inspired as a DM! :)
I think I will have to make a part two of this video, there is so much Goblin lore to cover, I didn't even talk much about the goblin gods or their priests!
AJ Pickett I would very much like that.😃
In some regards, yes, but in other very importants ways, I have to say no on that specific pairing. Kobolds are industrious miners and serve dragons, goblins do not. Kobolds are a lot more lawful in general out look than Goblins. Also, if I wanted the player characters to venture into the middle of a dungeon war between two opposing groups, Kobolds and Goblins make for excellent opposing factions.
Yeah that could work.
Keep on the Boarder Lands has goblins and kobolds opposing each other in the cave complex. The kobolds have a good deffence with a nice pit trap and the goblins have a loose alliance with the hobgoblins. It's an interesting dichotomy.
Mr Picket, you give great monster insights combined with a good voice to listen to. We thank you.
Great channel. Excellent resource for DM's. I would like to know the origin of goblins in Torril, Forgotten Realms. Ive been making a home brew and your channel has been an indispensable tool. I love the Lore! Thank you for the great content you've created.
21:53 wow, those are wonderfully creepy.
Saving that image for later.
Oh yeah, the blind deep Goblins, I like those ones as well.
DynamicWorlds do you play magic the gathering? The art is from there, and I really recommend you to read the lore of that game as well. this art is from a card called Goblin Dark-Dwellings
Love it brother. For anyone just seeing one of Aj’s vids for the first time they are all extremely high quality IMO. He does the research of going through a lot of dnd and related materials so there is a fair amount of direct reading, but he almost always adds how he would or has played them in his campaigns. Also check out his Kickstarter!
0:28 Vance Kovacs
The best D&D children.
If I was a really low level goblin who was in charge of food and was mistreated and abused I'd poop in it.Are goblins pooping in other goblins food like a angry goblin cook who always poops in the clans food cause he cooks it but is never feed nothing but marrow from bones and piss
Cooking seems like it might be less important to goblins, but i suspect that goblins that bother having a cook are aware that their cook is also a goblin. So they are probably pretty suspicious about the cook. the cook is probably pretty nervous, because he is cooking the last cook that looked like he might be about to poop in the food.
don't think they cook... more likely grabbing moldy bread and other discards from a farmer's compost pile(dinner scraps, not cow poop)
Goblins can get nourishment eating anything. Even poop from the cook, or the cook.
It's a running gag when I play a goblin that the best room in the inn is the stables and it's free because there are no rats left after a day or two.
this is crazy to listen to because i adopted a goblin and play her in another campaign. she was raised by royalty and is very polite and helping but is also a total coward. shes also a bard, average intelligence, and her alignment is chaotic good (the alignment of her parents) so hearing how much more of an outcast than i thought she was is absolutely crazy.
Someone needs to make lore on a good aligned goblin race, Raymond E Feist touches on a goblin precursor race in one of his books that was very interesting.
I had written one in a campaign of mine, and my players loved them.
Basically, here's what happened:
- Evil goblins attack everyone
- Everyone exterminate goblins nearly completely
- Last goblin survivors are children
- Child goblins are found by a survivalist
- Survivalist didn't wanna show himself to them and fed the child goblins by leaving food around
- Goblins have fun playing in ponds living their lives while food keeps mysteriously materializing everywhere
- Eventually, survivalist guy draws something on a rock tablet, leaves it for the goblins to discover
- Goblins find the tablet, which depicts them hunting down a beast for its food
- Goblins wanna recreate it, but also takes interest in drawing things on rock tablet
- Goblins develop their writing system, which the survivalist guy learns from a distance
- Survivalist guy leaves them a written message saying that the goblins must look after one another, care for each other, help each other, and love each other, and that survivalist guy gives them this valley for them to start a new civilization from scratch. He tells them that it is time for him to go, but he will always be there to watch over them for the rest of their existence.
- Survivalist guy finds a calm place where he will peacefully die.
- Once the survivalist guy dies, he ascends to Godhood as the goblins worship him as one. He is proud of the goblins as their little village grew into a massive empire over the centuries.
@@dashua1735 if you don't mind, YOINK!
@@dashua1735his holy symbol the survivalists rifle from fallou new Vegas
I like to think the types of gobliniods arose at the same time. That there was a base creature and they delibrately bred for certain traits. Those who kept most of the base stocks traits became hobgoblins. Those who were bred to be enforcers became bugbears. And those who were bred with disposable uses in mind became goblins. And the base stock died off as their creations outcompeted them. Maybe this can be why their pantheon got overtaken by an outsider. In the chaos as the old civilization died they were ripe to be plucked.
Fun idea, a trio of 4th level adventures enter a ruins watch tower, lets say it has a main floor, a cellar and two upper floors all crumbling. Now lets put a tribe of 20 goblins with traps, maybe add a pair of bug bears to keep them in line sound fun? But wait it gets better, in the basement level now alerted to the intrusion of it's lair an oni puts down it's cleaver and wonders at it's next meal and how good they will taste. Once it's pet goblins have taken care of them or at least worn them down enough for an easy kill. :)
My Goblin Wizard just saved Waterdeep at the cost of his life. He will not be mourned or remembered but for those who knew him well, nor will he know if he was successful or not, but he needs not such things, for he died trying his best, as hero's should
Why you gotta make me depressed like that?
Those who know will never look at the sneaky bastards the same way again.
I find it funny that in Tolkein, Orcs and Goblins are the same thing....Except when they are not. He seemed to be inconsistent in if they were the same species or not.
I've actually always liked goblins. I've used them as valuable NPC's in the past. My favorites were a male/ female pair that escaped a "bad" situation and took up residency at my DMPC's fishing cabin on a large island in a huge swamp. Now one may ask why they would go there? It's the only place they wouldn't have been looked for. One day the Party and I arrive at the cabin only to find the squaters. Thankfully, the Party is goodly and doesn't kill them instantly. I played them both as exemplary for their race. The male reached level 5-6 fighter, the female was level 2M-U/ 4 druid. They were fun to play.
I bet Goblins evolved from a population of hobgoblins that got trapped on an island. They would be an example of island dwarfism, where their small size would conserve resources.
Thanks AJ.
Goblins eating just about anything that is organic. Are we sure they are not rats? LOL
Great episode - just picked up some goblin minis - time for evasion.
I’m making an upcoming campaign titled Rise of the Goblin Emperor so lore videos like this are such a blessing. I’ll need to cross reference the Bane worship as my campaign’s conflict revolves around prophecy and goblin worship.
Basic gist is this: Goblins across the realm are freaking out because shamans have been having visions of a goblin emperor being chosen by Maglubiyet to take charge of all goblin kind. Of course every hobgoblin and their mother is itching to be ranked as emperor of all their kind, as well as many goblin kings (as unfit as many of them are to even make claim for such a title), while many of goblin kind fear what frightful divine power such a being would have over them. This leads to many goblin tribes fleeing their lands in terror to go into hiding, while some braver few venture to civilization to recruit people to help. Much of the recruiting is unsuccessful not due to outright prejudice but because the goblins, too afraid to petition the settlements for aid, decide to try roundabout and unhelpfully deceitful methods to try and find assistance.
That’s where my adventurers step in to (hopefully) help save the day!
There also may or may not be a rising chaotic faction within the swelling hobgoblin armies (plural, many war chiefs are going to war with each other) that speak of a goblin demon lord that will be a bringer of “goblin fire” and a new age of goblin dominion of chaos and destruction over the realm! Basically a demon cult for disgruntled goblins, especially bugbears and more chaotic-oriented goblinoids.
I want in on that game. I'll show them that a goblin can be king.
As a DM half your goblins hit points..they should ambush attack and run...use traps and poison and when cornered make any promise to the player charachters that will save their green skins for the moment..only to try and slit the pcs throat if they fall asleep
One of my favorite characters of all time was a goblin bard (collage of glamour) he was super fun!
@AJ Pickett
When will you do a video featuring the City Goblins?
Of Ravnica?
Redcap/Madcap Video! Need to see!! Great video on goblins though!!!
I have a video on the redcap.
Hahaha, way to make a fool out of myself
My very best Magic the Gathering deck (Commander format, Krenko) is my goblins. It is SO fast lol
Heard reference to a half goblin waaay back in the annals of the Dragon magazine c. Issue 100ish (might have been a mere magazine tale)
I just bought a bunch of random goblins from different toylines on a spasm. Never really played dnd or rpgs but i just like how rowdy they are
It has begun
Goblins and Trogs are the ones that could weather a major pandemic.
I wanted to make a goblin paladin pc and when I was trying to work out how play a good goblin in a campaign I liked the idea that goblins might have originated in the feywild and served a chaotic good arch fey similar to the goblin king in labyrinth. Only later where they corrupted by magubliet into there current goblin feral warlike minds set. So my goblin paladin was called to by this David bowie arch fey to reestablish the true faith and destroy any goblin who refuses to renounce magubliet. One day maybe I'll get to play this character think it would be real fun to rp.
There are other fey that are goblin-like, imagine a quickling paladin!
but also, good is about what you do, not about yer impulses. Raised in a loving background, or with the right influences as their worldview forms a perfectly vanilla goblin could absolutely be be good. In fact the struggle to make good choices despite violent predatory impulses is exactly the sort of thing that would lead to being a good paladin.
>Jareth
>Good alignment
Pick one.
Fey warlock of Bowie! All hail the crotch bulge!
Lawful is variable. A LG paladin can exist in a kingdom where slavery and murder aren't against the law. It's the Good part that alters that. A paladin could even own slaves, but he would make certain they were well-fed, educated and given every opportunity to buy their freedom.
Al-Qadim went into great detail on how alignment isn't a hard limit to what a character can or can't do.
Great review! I’m sharing it with my goblin group to get my players in the mood ;)
Goblin group? Tell me more...
Im curious. Are you going over Goblins for a specific game or are you going over the general real life lore of goblins?
Mega Man D&D if that is what you meant. He basically does this for everything D&D.
Goblinoids were a big part of the Black Horde back in the time of the Company of the Westering Sun, when Eldrith committed the Great Betrayal
In Zakhara, races like goblins and orcs live in the cities among humans and other races, and they share a single culture with the other races.
Could you do a video on Dragon elves
If they ever become an official race of D&D, maybe.
rats with swords that eats anything a rat would eat, plus rats. Might survive a hit from a sword. Breeds like rats. What chance do farmers have
you didn't mention the Blue, the psychic goblins
I think I mention them in the video I did about goblinoids (monsterology, covers a lot of ground but not specific types), but yes, they deserve their own video.
When the 3.5e Psionic hand book came out in the early 2000's. I was like 22 at the time. I played a few blue psychic goblins, they are fun.
Vengeance Oath Goblin Paladin
Not to mention the Ecology videos on the gods of D&D.
Next time make a race of goblins where they get high and dance to music. But make then beserkers because you know..drugs lol.
I like to think that an orc leading goblins have fallen on hard times, having lost their clan or raiding party and such.
Nasty little buggers. I had dragon fights that were less intense then fighting 10 of these at low level.
Jeah sure they are easy to hit and usually die after one strike. But is it just me or did other people too experienced how much these suckers roll critical successes, killing you almost in one hit.
Goblin leaders have character levels in 2nd edition.
They can be a nasty encounter at any character level. A rogue 3/fighter 2 goblin chieftain will play merry hell on even a 7th level party. Their backstab (sneak attack) will kill a 5th level wizard in a single hit and they have enough unlevelled allies that they will be able to use it most of the time.
One in ten is going to be a leader at least two levels higher than the rest. And then there are the priest, shaman, witch doctor, sorcerer or the like….
Personally I think it would be interesting to have a group of more civilized goblins that are super nice to their family and pets with their sadistic streak being reserved for the slaves for the most part, it would make for quite the fun and stark contrast.
I once ran a game in which goblins had advanced in tech and their culture was roman. This perticular type of goblin was called a mountain goblin in my Universe. They worshiped a dark warrior known as the master . He was a human who became the horseman know as war. He gave the goblins culture art and new tactics for building farming and war. In return the goblins pledged undying loyalty to him. Amongst their own kind they acted like humans do in society. But against their enemy. They show no quarter and expect none. The goblins of the master are unbreakable they have a saying
"I am a legionary of the master no mountain goblin has ever yielded I shall not be the first"!
Sorry lol
The Dhakaani remnants in Eberron. They were the ancient Rome of that world and five of the tribes still exist in the published material.
Nilbog?
The prototype D&D badguys ❤
Goblin slyar: listening intently
would they occupy an abandoned dwarf stronghold that was one or two day away from a large seaside town. and this dwarf stronghold was also the home of say a young red dragon
Are you referring to the hobbit?
Hey AJ have you gone over the elves or any othe "player races"?
Not yet, but I am bound to eventually!
In that case, a monster to go over: Drow and/ Driders? Sorry I'm in an Elfy mood...
Drow has been covered, have not done Driders yet *adds to list*
I didn't figure them to fussy about eating organic.
What is your position on Warcraft type Goblins in DnD?
I see no problem with running both savage and civilized goblins in the same setting, and frequently do.. such as Krandy the Barmaid (and magically addictive onion dip dealer), best NPC for that whole campaign.
kingstewy I find that having Goblins be very diverse in subtypes, like Elves, is very fun. Warcraft style (even before Warcraft was a thing I knew of) is a favorite.
Oh great vid AJ,forgot to tell you that on the last comment 😁
Excellent Work
I created a race of good and neutral goblinoids that are virtually identical to the standard goblins for a campaign world some time ago.
The major change to a campaign world that includes them is that in the Dawn War, the good and neutral goblinoid deities weren’t slaughtered by Magubliyet and company. The deity, Stalker, in the book Monster Mythology is the last remaining deity that was associated with the elves, being the goblin god of hunting and tracking, driven mad by the lack of true followers and shunning by the elven gods.
The good and neutral goblinoids worship a handful of nature deities, including an aspect of Zuggtmoy that is neutral. They can be identified by their language, which blends smoothly between goblin, elven and sylvan and gives them some understanding of all three. Their worship of nature puts them very close to Druids, wood elves and fey.
The Guh`Dekki and Guh`Debblin ate comming.
i dont see why you wouldnt pick to be a goblin.
short, agile , stealthy.
(also a nuisance)
Could goblins unite under a single powerful goblin king?
it's not impossible, it certainly helps if the Goblin King has fiendish or infernal heritage, or some powerful magic artifact to assist them.
Perfect! As the D&D I am preparing has a goblin side story line. I am looking to cause some sympathy for them among my PCs. Thanks you very much! Love your videos.
Pope Jeff, once upon a time, i ran a goblin berserking priest of Maglubiyet who began play with that very ambition. Over time, i had to abandon it. The goblins were just too petty & venial to work with. Garkak Dogface got to a point where he was partnered with an ancient Blue Dragon he had subdued, was sporting powerful magic items he had collected from countless battles with other PC's, but could still get nowhere with advancing the goblin race. He eventually achieved a sort of demigod status as the champion of Maglubiyet, but he retired from play never having been able to unite & empower the goblin hordes. I guess the lesson i was slow to learn was that even Maglubiyet himself doesn't bother with uniting the goblins towards a greater goal, but instead is content to use them as fodder towards his own smaller scope of interest. If individual goblins rise above this, all is well. He takes more interest in one powerful champion that rises up from the common herds than from the billions of cowering mediocrities that either can not or will not employ the means of empowering themselves! :)
All hail emperor Dogface!
That’s the only way they would unify.
i roll a d20 to see if a goblin runs when they get to half health for some spice..
So basically the dd verdion of mu2l1ms
What's a good spell and/or tactic to use on goblins when they try to zerg rush you en masse? To play to their lack of courage to make them fearful and break?
Fire Ball will force them to disperse, without their comrades near they will be more likely to flee in terror. Grease will stop them and make them crash with each other. Illusion spells will demolish them, just create a moving image of a dragon just where you are and throw some spells, the goblins will believe that you are dragon or transformed into one.
For higher level spells there are Symbols, those spells turn the goblins fear of written language into a reality, minus the Symbol of Death they have no limit for the number of creatures they can affect.
So too many in Lost Mine of Phandalin
I know this is an older video, but I will comment anyway. What I've always wondered is this: since their entire life is basically survival of the fittest, starting from childhood where they have to fight for each scrap or morsel, continuing through adulthood where they compete with each other and the occasional adventuring party, ending with the mature years where they presumably are either amongst the leaders of the tribe or bullied outcasts that survive on leftovers, it stands to reason eventually after thousands of years of natural selection there should arise the occasional Uber goblin, stronger and more cunning than anyone else. Their reproduction rate being incredibly fast , soon there should be an entire tribe of stronger than usual goblins. Certainly, by their nature, a lot of these Alpha Goblins will get eventually swarmed by the rest or poisoned or betrayed when fighting against adventurers, but some of them could very well endure and become Kings and legendary leaders . Just an idea for an adventure/ campaign. Yes, goblins are weak, but so are humans and they arguably rule the world of Toril.
Goblins can get a 16 strength. They aren’t all that weak. Remember that their gear all weighs less because of their size.
A goblin can eat anything. The leather boots of an adventurer is just as tasty a meal as the adventurer is. If they raid a farm, the farmer can be just as much a meal as the food they steal.
A goblin merchant will be watching where you keep your money when you trade with them.
They’re brutal, but tend to be lawful. A strong leader would turn your Alpha goblins into a massive empire in no time at all.
thank you very much, very interesting
Goblin Slayer is monitoring the comments here👀
This is racist and looks at only one aspect of goblins at best. Its sort of like calling a dragon just a t rex with wings. I have friends who are goblins and they are extremely intelligent- moreso than humans in many cases. They are also magical. Its true they are prone to psychopathy but not all of them are like that. I'm reporting this video for hate speech.
lol
CIA are in the comments section to divide us cant be racist with a fictional creature 😉
@@michaelkelligan7931 Fool. The CIA aren't trying to divide us it's the FBI.
The only good goblins are the ones that never come out of their stinking holes.
@@Morec0 Soka?
the opposite of wow goblins lol. no smithing or crafting.
yeah, very much so :)
I think kobolds fit the bill of wow goblins, that or we need gremlins as a race or suprace of gnomes or halflings. I was thinking of a race that provides infrastructure for orc warbands.
As opposed to _too much_ smithing and crafting...
this video is racist against goblins. AJ is a bigot
Awakened Consciousness Mystic Underground Goblins are just as much conniving, backstabbing, evil little bastards as dragons are arrogant, greedy narcissists in serious need of some industrial strength breath mints; exceptions exist, but this _is_ the norm and goblinoids that could be considered upstanding members of society are by and large in the minority.
Sounds like D&D needs the GOBLINSLAYER !!!!!
I wanna play a Goblin Bard who wants to get revenge on Acererak by casting Feeblemind on him.
Cameron Pearce Rip and Tear intensity increases
So goblins are smart enough to recognize relative strength, like ok, "theres three big people and one really big guy, so we want to have at least this many of us to face them openly". But can they tell how powerful each seems to be based on the quality of their gear, or can they figure out class types, etc? Is one big guy always just one guy or do they read into it more deeply than that?
*Wait that's illegal* .
as their lair is structured, they wouldn't know if they are in a kannel, under the rule of a smarter race, or in the wild.
They are basically a servitor sub-species of the Hobgoblins, so outside of the strict hierarchy of the Hobgoblins, they devolve into chaos.