Goblins | Running D&D Monsters
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- Опубліковано 2 сер 2024
- My very first D&D session I ran a simple goblin combat. I was thinking about that encounter recently and reflecting on how I could do better with 10+ additional years of experience DMing under my belt.
In this video I take on the topic of goblins. Everyone has their own concept of what a goblin is and how they should be run in TTRPGs. Is there a "correct" way to use them in D&D? Your way is probably the best way, but it's a fun exercise to see how everyone else does it.
I looked at several other UA-cam videos on this topic to get a better idea of the communities common beliefs and opinions. I take these themes and try to present a couple of subversive combat encounters that fly in the face of these tropes.
Hope you enjoy! - Розваги
Volo may have gotten canceled, but I still hold to his view that goblins are all about laziness and sadism. In previous editions they also had a bonus to ride checks, so cavalry could be numerous and varied.
A band of gobos appearing out of nowhere charging on wild boars and then kiting players party around trees while shootig arrows, would be pretty dangerous and annoying af.
I really like this idea-now I'm thinking of a goofier take on this concept where Brak gets carried around by a loyal bugbear servant in a fantasy baby bjorn
😅 it’s your game
Master blaster style
Or on a shield, Vitalstatistix style.
I think this is a great video because goblins have intelligence and they’re often portrayed as doing so with traps and weapons but rarely does it ever get expanded to other areas besides traps and hiding. Their fragility maybe their natural flaw but let’s not forget cunning is their natural strength.
“Cunning is their natural strength” is a great tagline honestly
Add endurance to all that and you just described humans compared to all other animals.
Our hide is weak af compared to other 50kg class mammals. Our enormous height to length proportion makes us a paper tiger. Our high Dex, Int and Wis build is the only thing that allowed us, anxious monkeys, to be the De Juri rulers of the planet
Some cool ideas here.
Inspired by the Labyrinth movie, i've been leaning into goblins being the more malicious of the fey. If their material bodies are destroyed they just go back to the Feywild. And can come back to the Prime the next moonrise. So they have to be banished, bargained with, warded against, or the like.
I meant the videos has cool ideas, not how i've been running goblins.
I've toyed with an idea like this before. I didn't do this with all goblins but was going to introduce a new kind (due to some events going on the world). They were slightly different visually but the real give-away was that when you killed one their body faded away. Needless to say these goblins had no fear of death. Their only goal was to cause as much mayhem as possible every time they respawned. The only solution to all of this was to either find and destroy the spawn points (magic cauldrons and the like) or else to find the source of the whole issue and somehow deal with that. (Which would basically mean several sessions spent in the Fae realms.)
This alternative take also solves the "cannon fodder" aspect of goblins a bit.
They aren´t tribes, they are just raiding partys in more than one sense of the word.
It provides a reason for why goblins are ALWAYS a problem too. They spawn literally anywhere.
You basically created short hobgoblins.
I had players that wandered into a underground dungeon. They encountered a group of 5 goblins. The group killed a couple of them and the rest ran away. The players decided to venture further into the dungeon in pursuit of the rest. One of the goblins was heard by them. It was whining and crying over it being wounded.
One of the players decided to move into the room it was located. The goblin threw a card it found inside a deck of illusion. A medusa appeared, and panic ensued. A player died, and the rest of the party fled the dungeon.
The best part is the encounter size was large enough. That would warrant rewarding players with lair treasure. The deck of illusion was rolled randomly from the treasure tables provided.
I don’t know how well it works in fifth edition, but goblins in 3e and Pathfinder’s first edition are pretty formidable.
Their lowest stealth is going to be a +14 at the minimum (+4 size, +4 racial, +3 class skill, +1 skill rank, +2 for Dex). They aren’t going to fight for more than a round or two before retreating, so they can track you back to your camp and attack while you sleep.
In a group of three, one of them is likely to be a rogue at 1st level, so that means +1d6 sneak attack on top of any weapon damage if he flanks you.
In a group of five, kick that up to a level 3 Rogue, giving him +2d6 on the sneak attack, which he will try to use to severely wound anyone not wearing armor or any horses to keep you from riding away.
If the party is about 5th level, give the goblins 3-5 wolves too. Since the goblins have a racial +4 to Ride, you may as well use it. The Rogue will attempt to get his wolf to bite and trip any PC not wearing armor, assuming it is a caster. Once a trip succeeds, the goblin will use a spear on the tripped PC, gaining sneak attack damage bonuses on top of the +4 to hit bonus for being prone. They’ll try to kill one or two PCs for 3-5 rounds before riding away, just so they can track the PCs back to their camp.
As the encounter size moves up, increase the levels on the leaders. Five goblins will include a rogue 3. Fifteen goblins will include two rogue 3, a fighter 2/Rogue 3 and a shaman 1. Thirty-five goblins will include four rogue 3, two fighter 2/rogue 3, one fighter 2/rogue 5, two shaman 1 and one shaman 3. For 75 goblins include eight Rogue 3, four fighter 2/rogue 3, two fighter 2/rogue 5, one fighter4/rogue 5, four shaman 1, two shaman 3 and one shaman 5. Those are, in order, a scouting party, raiding party, war band and tribe. Include wolves for each goblin with levels if you are feeling cruel. For the tribe, remember to add magic weapons and armor created by the chief’s shaman.
A scouting party can TPK a group at 5th level. A raiding party can TPK a group at 9th-11th level. A war band can TPK a group up to 15th level. I have never had a PC group stupid enough to attack a tribe by themselves in about 35 years of gaming.
On the rare occasion that I get to play, I typically play a goblin PC. It shocks other players to see how dangerous they can actually be in combat when played to their strengths. A goblin PC at 5th level with max Dex can have a +22 stealth roll, making them nearly impossible to spot.
Goblin Slayer episode 1
As someone who consumes a fair amount of DM focused UA-cam videos, I have to apply you here. This was some really great information and I think you have a style of video that is very well put together. I'd love to see some similar videos about subverting expectations and think you could gather quite the following.
Hey! I appreciate that :) will do
I completely agree. This was a great video. Consider me subscribed
Thanks for the video, I enjoyed your fresh take on these guys.
Thanks for watching!
Goblins are evil little creatures. Don't overthink it.
Sure, but they aren't stupid, and can easily be clever. That changes things.
@@popularopinion1 Yeah. I like to think of them as uneducated, but tricky and cunning. There's a difference between book-smarts and street-smarts. They might not be able to read or write well and may misuse terminology, but they can still set clever traps when they need to.
They are. They can also use pretty effective guerrilla tactics, ambushes, hit and run, traps and poisons etc.
Off the top of my head this reminds me of the boost goblins get in the Phandelver and Below the Shattered Obelisk. Getting psychic abilities and bump to stats. But to your point their leader is just a more traditionally smarter or more imposing race. However, I think it is a interesting step forward in making them more dangerous or giving them more tools to be better. My first step with any classically evil race is to place them in their environment and ask myself questions on what would be needed for them to be seen as evil by surrounding populace and try to find those contradictions. You just gave me some great inspiration for a guild I've been developing. Hooray to a band of competent goblins being born. Really enjoyed the video!
Thank you so much! I’ll have to check out the Shattered Obelisk at some point
As a goblin, I approve.
In ch. 7 of the DMG there is a variant rule for mixing potions and a Potion Miscibility table for what happens when you do. A roll of 00 (100 on two d10s) means one of the potions effects become permanent. This could add an interesting element to any goblin encounter if one has the permanent effects of a potion. Also a neighboring hag may of did some magical experiment and created a goblin with extra abilities.
PS: Maybe either the permanent potion or hag experiment happened hundreds of years ago and through selective breeding there is now a tribe of hundreds of these mutated goblins.
These are really good ideas, thanks for sharing!
There's a book series I read as a kid that had various "types" of goblin that lived in culturally distinct tribes. The ones that lived by the lakes were scaly and had webbed digits, some were farmers and some were renown mercenaries. It set my perception of goblins as more than just evil minions and I'd love to see aspects of that idea in DnD. I can't remember the series name so if anyone knows what I'm on about please let me know.
It sounds familiar. The webbed digits part in particular. That’s what I pictured when I talked about them being super adaptive to their environment.
I don't recall if the goblins had webbed digits, but The Stoneteller series by Jean Rabe, which is based in the Dragonlance universe, follows a group of goblins trying to escape slavery and build their own nation. Excellent books and they do a great job of showing that goblins aren't just sword-fodder, but living creatures with families and feelings.
I generally like to run goblind by always remembering the 3 Cs: Cruel, Cowardly, and Crafty. The first two are directly from their connection to Maglubiyet.
Mahlubiyet is their only god and he is very cruel. They take after him a bit. Plus, they always get bullied by every other evil creature. They'll take any chance they get to be the bullies.
The cowardice comes from Maglubiyet as well. Every goblin essentially gets thrown into goblin hell by Maglubiyet when they die. Every goblin knows this. They would do just about anything to avoid this fate for as long as possible.
The craftiness is most just fun but also fits with them being cowards. Why wouldn't a goblin build traps? If they can kill you without being near you, they'd be fools not to. This doesn't mean they're actually good at it though. Many goblin traps are poorly made or incredibly obvious. Doesn't mean they don't try though.
A lot of this is pretty dependent on forgotten realms lore because that's the setting I tend to use. I think it translates fine to other places though.
That’s a great breakdown thank you. I DM exclusively in a homebrew setting so by nature my monsters stray from the set lore.
Vaush knows a lot about goblins and horses 😏
I've been running Mine of Phaldelver and did play up the goblins being mostly organized.
One notable goblin boss from the start of the game became a reoccurring one. The party wasn't sneaky, so he and his gang was alerted. So using a guard hostage, he reasoned with the party. Take out the rival he had and get him this strange black rock his boss wanted. In return he keeps his side out of the fight, party keeps any loot and they free the guard. He shows up again, having gotten promoted but not liking the way the clan is going, too much heat. So again he cuts a deal with the party, calls out some of his allies in the stronghold, kill those loyal to the boss and let him take over. In return he'll call off the raids. Plus the party convinced him to help with a green dragon that is threaten to move in.
Overall making a cunning goblin isnt hard. He is lazy in letting the party do his fights, but knows better to get greedy and double cross. Being long term planning can make a simple goblin boss far more interesting and memorable.
This is a great example! A clever Goblin parleying with the party is very fun. Getting the party to do his dirty work is a great hook too
@dmofmanyfaces Still have to play out their deal fighting the dragon. The goblins are more of playing ranged support since they also have a ballista on hand for the dragon. But it's a good way to give support for the party who aren't quite at the level to fight an adult dragon.
Very interesting video my friend! I'm a big fan of changes to the typical goblin formula in particular how Mörk Borg handles it with the Goblin Curse and all.
in old editions, I liked goblinoids because you could run whole adventures around them. Start with regular goblins, and add hobgoblins and bug bears as the characters level. one thing that 3rd edition added was leveling monsters. Early adventurers confront base goblins, but later they meet goblins who have been advancing as they have. probably mostly rogues and rangers, but who knows
I think early goblins also at one point had the “goblin boss” use the statblock of the next most powerful goblin as a way to scale them up. I always like throwing a Goblin Wizard in there too
My first time running D&D was back in 3.0E, with an archeologist hiring adventurers to help explore an underground temple of (come to find out) Vecna filled with undead and magical traps, housing the stolen coffin of a legendary paladin/saint of a bygone era who had the key to tracking down the clues to finding the crucible of the world's creation. Never have actually run Goblins myself before, to the best of my memory. ...But, do have plans to eventually start off a campaign running Goblins for some family members that have never played before, when scheduling permits.
The local Goblin tribe within the County of Free Men, a sovereign territory of the Plutocracy of The Eulamos Strait, has historically been nothing more than peaceful hunter/gatherers, their elders a dwindling and mostly reclusive Druidic Circle of Bugbear astronomers. But, recently, an outside mercenary group of Hobgoblins infiltrated the land and militarized the tribe, raiding the countryside and even already capturing whole cities. The Count's guardsmen are well trained, but don't have the pure numbers needed to counter the swift advance of the Goblin hoards (especially since the part of the county the party is starting in is on the opposite side of the mountain range from where the most direct route to march on the capitol is, thus being lower priority), so recruitment drives have begun to enlist anyone willing for aid, from commoners and adventurers, in any capacity they are able to help.
First order of business, if and when the party signs on, is a Goblin scouting party headed for a nearby unwalled village. It's too much of an emergency to not deal with immediately, but after they have been defeated or repelled, then the players can have a bit of leeway on exactly where they want to focus their efforts. I'll actually be running the Goblin scouts as ill-equipped, mismatching gear and some carrying improvised weapons taken from their raids (kinda that classic perception of Goblins, for instance one of the crazy buggers will be running in trying to smash in some heads with a broken wagon wheel), while the squads led by Hobgoblins will be uniform and form up ranks on the battlefield. I'll be rolling morale checks, especially for the less organized groups. Killing every last one of them or allowing one or more to escape will both have their pros and cons. For instance, for the first fight with the scouts, if all or killed (or possibly some captured), it will buy the village time to maybe shore up some defenses while the main Hobgoblin-led squad in the area waits for reinforcements when the scouts don't come back, but that of course mean there will be more Goblins showing up when they do attack; while letting some scouts escape mean they tell the Hobgoblin how few defenders the village has and the main squad moves in that very same night without reinforcements.
The bugbears are actually a plot hook for my sister's character, a Sage background Wood Elf Druid, and the "letter from a colleague" in her equipment will be from one of them. She won't know the species of her pen-pal, only that the were meant to meet in a specific city (that just so happens to be the one closest to the Goblins' Den that the Bugbear had been sending their letters from and the first location swept up in the recent unrest after my sister's character had already started traveling from her home a good distance away). We're going to be starting at level 1, but she already knows she wants to go Circle of Stars, and we rolled for stats so she ended up lucky enough to have good intelligence without sacrificing anything important.
Going to be maybe only 3 players total, so having Druid kinda double up as a Wizard will likely be pretty nice. For this first arc they're going to be fighting alongside some common people until they become full-fledged adventurers at level 3+ (basically going to be using Van Richten's Survivors statblocks for the more capable ones: a priest from the town the party is recruited in before being sent to the village, one of the guardsmen's squires that escort them to the village, the village mayor's son who was tutored by a traveling hedge mage, and the daughter of the village's trapper, the trapper being out of the village on a hunting trip when the unrest started and hasn't returned). Later on I plan for the party to be aided by a single NPC ally as a guest character on arc by arc basis (it was actually specifically requested of me from a player that I include a DMPC since not going to be a lot of PCs, and this will be my way of compromising on doing that without actually outright having an outright full permanent DMPC). Actually not DMed in 5E before, since getting together in person has been less common in recent years, and I've only been a player so far in my online D&D 5E group (even though we have rotated DM several times for different campaigns over the past few years, including one being a first time DM that ended up running us through modules adapted from various sources to go from level 3 through level 23 by the time we fought the big bad).
I do have several other locations in my homebrew setting an adventure could start from, but I do believe this scenario I think will be an appealing opening for this group, since they'll probably want to be guided along by the plot somewhat, at least early on while they're trying to figure the game out.
Okay, ending ramble.
Sounds like you have a solid foundation for the Goblin campaign. A goblin using a wagon wheel as a weapon is so on brand. Thanks for sharing!
You make us strong! Pakleds smart… we catch you
Great vid.
I’m currently on a bender of “nobleising” monster races. Done hobgoblins. Currently on orcs & Goblins.
Going more for collective blacksmiths. Taking from WoW & Eberron & maybe Germanic knights….
Ouuu Germanic knights is a very cool angle!
Funnily enough. I run Eberron and typically have the goblin nation(that's right, for those uninitiated in eberron, the goblinoids have their own nation) and its more on the anarchist side, with many of the members being lazy and not caring about their previous empire that spanned the continent. As well there are a lot of infighting. So its entirely possible for a goblin nation tribe to start to see that they could rise up to the challenge, Specially with the mourning happening in very recent past.
I hope I get to play in an Ebberon game some day. Every new thing I hear about it sounds awesome 👍
There is this, and also Kobolds. Kobolds are known to be pretty clever, great with traps (Typically to protect their own homes, and their Dragon Overlords Lairs, if applicable) and by the last actual entry that I have read, they are not known to fight to the death without good reason. Such as, a small group blocking the adventurers while another group, or a runner leaves to warn the others to flee, or even to possibly activate more defenses/warn the boss/etc. Can also see a more Civilized, or Organized Goblin or Kobold Groups being a little bit stronger to compete with players and surprise them, while Goblins ruled over by stronger and more oppressive entities (Orcs/Ogres/Etc.) may still be the typical fragile cannon fodder they are normally scripted as since they are not allowed to improve themselves.
Could honestly run this so many ways since not all Goblins are the ones presented in D&D, if you know your Fairytale Goblins well enough. And others are outright bloodthirsty (Redcaps for one main example)
The diversity in the types of goblins is very much a strength. I may have to get to Kobolds one day. Thanks for the comment!
@@dmofmanyfaces Again that is the last official lore I remember reading about the Kobolds and I like it. Like their "Evil" nature is not true Evil, they just typically serve Evil Dragons and thus they align their goals, but Dwarves have been known to bribe them to help them dig and locate gems and valuables. Again not sure what the FULL current lore is, but I usually run my Kobolds with diverse backgrounds. I also have one Kobold based of of of a Chinese Luck Dragon. It's an adorable little "danger" noodle. (She's a dork...)
But heck yes, been watching some more of your stuff now that youtube's let me know it exists. Kudos! I look forward to more stuff too.
In my own campaign Barguests living among Goblin tribes are responsible for the existence of Hobgoblins, Bugbears and Wargs (best not to think about that last one too much). Tribes that utilize witchdoctors tending to be the ones that willingly will make a pact with a fiend. The first generation might have some extremely rare individuals that receive half-fiend bonuses.
Right on! I find it interesting seeing how different story tellers present the various goblinoids.
Glen Close, “Goblin on…”
Your idea is very similar to mine. The only difference is how would goblins take the transition of being used as minion to being part of a more free society. In my head they would turn to their ability to observe and learn. A paticularly smart one would become manipulative. Gain power through relations and climb the social ladder. Imagine a city of various races with a cunning goblin in charge. The goblin is smart, he keeps his people pleased, and despite any negatives he may have, his people will defend him with their lives willingly.
Praise Brack
If they are faywild they would be more chaotic and evil. They are evil fairies traditionally, and as such I always played them similar to the Drow back in the days of 1st edition.
I'm working on spicing up goblins in my game, basically they have been driven underground and have become an underdark race and like drow they have acquired new unique abilities and are of course tougher than normal. These goblins have more batlike features echolocation, the ability to glide like a flying squirrel and the elite goblins have a sonic shriek attack that can leave players disoriented. So yeah ambushes from the top of cavern ceiling like a swarm of giant shrieking bats with swords and bows. Now tougher and having spent generations underground they seek to reclaim the surface... yet they are sunlight sensitive. So their lair will be extremely dangerous with traps and ambush points players cannot foresee, but they will still be easier to handle above ground. and if they clam any territory above ground they will be vulnerable during the day.
That is amazing world building! Gives me Skyrim vibes in a way. Bat-goblins visually feels right and the shriek is a unique weapon in their arsenal.
@@dmofmanyfaces Yeah I just wanted to make goblins Goblin again, it can be fun playing the nice goblin that boots down the door to a bar only to realize its a dwarf bar before he awkwardly makes himself scarce. Because Waterdeep no one is going to kill you on sight. But goblins in a more Tolkien style way should be irredeemably evil, Thus making a "drow" equivalent to the surface goblin lets me divide the two races up and I get the best of both worlds. Doing the same thing with Hobgoblins and Bugbears as well.
In a one shot I ran, a group of 5 lvl 7 players came up on a group of hobgoblins and goblins. And destroyed all but 1. I had that one use a bonus action hide and attack every round. He almost tpked the party with this tactic. Nobody could roll high enough to find him, and he would jump out attack with advantage and then hide again. I described how he would run between legs and jump on backs. Hiding in backpacks and in bushes. He became the mini boss of that one shot.
Sometimes the dice tell a better story than what we had planned!
Rats, actually. Preferably in the basement of the local tavern owner. Usually gigantic.
I actually made a goblin hive that my players were hired to clear out recently. I had already done a lot of thinking about how Goblinoid (Goblin, Hobgoblin, Bugbear, and Orc) creatures function. I eventually settled upon the idea that Goblinoids developed to embody the phrase "There is no truth but _power."_ Power is all they know, its's all they respect, and if there is a disagreement, power meets power in conflict, and to the winners go the spoils. Goblins respect all forms of power (strength, cunning, skill, intimidation), but its this fundamental divide which makes them so reviled by other races. To most, kidnapping a caravan, taking the treasure, enslaving the prisoners for "reproductive services," and killing then for sport would be considered horrid and cruel. However, to Goblinoids, if the caravan wanted to travel, for lack of a better term, unmolested, then they should have been strong enough to enforce it. Without the strength to back it up, words are meaningless.
So, when my players managed to impress the goblin king, he challenged them to a battle to the death, and when they managed to kill him, the goblinoids immediately shifted their loyalty to the party. It was certainly a surprising turn, and they've been having a lot of fun running a Goblinoid Kingdom these past few sessions.
Thanks for the comment! Pretty good twist for a goblin encounter here!
Before Bargle, there was…the goblin. Real ones remember.
these ideas of more advanced goblins support my thought os goblins being able to evolve into hob goblins and them not being separate species.
yes natural born hob goblins exist but that's because they were born and raised by militaristic hob goblin society.
but its also quite possible a normal goblin like Brak could better themselves and evolve into a hobgoblin with experience and training and led ,ore of their tribe to evolve.
I know hob goblins are different in offical D&D lore but I also like the picture of a green skinned tall goblin different from the rest
Very cool ideas!
The players in my weekly game recently unionized the goblins and turned them into the town guard 😂
Amazing. Is crime up or down?
The first monster I fought was a Werewolf. I died horribly.
I hope you fought valiantly.
@@dmofmanyfaces Nah. I lost initiative, and my liver. I learned a valuable lesson about never charging ahead of the party though.
Rust monster is my favorite classic D&D monster.
Goblins are monsters, that's why they are portrayed that way. Because they are wild monsters.
Now they are just green bandits I've always held that goblins sneek and use animals, kobolds use traps and skeletons swam and fight to the death
Have you ever met the goblins in Battle Brothers? Deadly little buggers.
I have not had the pleasure
the first monster I remember fighting in D&D is the stirge
Nasty mosquito things right? Classic
yep D&D mosquitos and they nearly killed my 1st lvl ranger in AD&D 2nd@@dmofmanyfaces
Me, going through the "other creator" goblin callouts real slowly to see if there's any more spicy names I recognize....
Was that Alex Jones?
I still like goblins being evil. Not necessarily despicable and over the top, but at the very least, possessing a mindset alien to races deemed more civilized. And definitely selfish. If they're a real threat, make that "us vs them" selfishness. If they do display chivalry, no need to be super obvious about it but have it be used as a weapon, or an attempt to fit in that they're more than willing to discard if it does not bring about the desired effect. Whole thing just feels right for goblins in many situations. And besides, the less distinct fantasy races are, the more they seem to blend together. This isn't to say that there can't be good stories where goblin society is purely a result of their upbringing, but I'd rather not have the "nature" side of the nature vs nurture dynamic locked out from story teller's tools, and I just personally find naturally vicious goblins more entertaining.
Don’t worry about it lol
And I think that’s a great take on goblins. Your idea has a lot of nuance which I appreciate 👍
How do you rob someone politely and without threat of violence?
Fair question. Claude Duval, a French Highwayman in the 1600s, was known for these “polite” robberies.
It would be more accurate to say without an OVERT threat of violence.
I think outside the box when it comes to classic d&d...
The flumph!
Nothing more embarrassing than to say you were killed by a flumph.
This is one monster I have never ran, encountered, or seen in actual play. Probably because it is socially devastating if one strikes you down.
What this movie with the inteligent gremilin is called
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
If youve ever played overlord then ypu probably have a good idea of how i run goblins. Theyre evil as they are humorous. Sure if irl you saw a woman being carried by two monsters its terrifying. In dnd though you find them arguing over whos carrying the heavier side and if players dont stop they may cut her in half for no other reason than to find out who was REALLY doing the heavy lifting.
Three stooges but it’s goblins - perfection
Which real world culture are people basing their goblins off of?
Thank you for your comment.
I’m hesitant to comment further as this is a surprisingly divisive topic. I would recommend doing your own research and reaching your own conclusions.
1. that's twitter's bs and a projection of their own R-cist world view by people terminally online.
2. Jewish people
Nope the Critical Role way of doing goblins is the wrong way of doing goblins. Don't try to humanise Goblins.
Also the humanised goblins of Harry Potter are NOT a stand in for Jewish people.
What are you talking about goblins being compared to real world people?
Thank you for your comment!
In researching the video I watched every video I could find on UA-cam about D&D goblins. A few UA-camrs mentioned this topic so I briefly included it in the literature review section of my video.
"Subvert expectations"
It's all so tiresome
Running goblin "correctly" in 5e?
Quietly close your book, and say
"There's no place like OSR. There's no place like OSR. There's no place like OSR.
If you insist on using D&Disms to define what a Goblin is, Goblins only attack if they have at least 3:1 numeral advantage, start out with shooting a hail of poisoned arrows, can't be surprised or ambushed by the players. Will ALWAYS either ambush the players (Disadvantage on Perception check DC16 to spot ambush in time before getting attacked) with hit&run tactics or let the players pass without them knowing the Goblins were ever there. They NEVER attack openly. Goblins played correctly are well within CR2-5. CR 1/4 is only true for a single lonesome Goblin taken by surprise.
This is a perfectly viable way to run them!
I really don't get this at all. You took goblins and turned them into human bandits with a charismatic leader.
Why use goblins for that? Just use regular humans?
Putting most of the goblin traits onto gremlins simply feels lazy. I run goblins as the mercenaries of the greenskins. Hobgoblins are the Roman Empire, while Orks are the Horde. Goblins will work for anyone who pays against anyone that their employer wishes, and in the absence of pay they will raid and steal. They don't do well in battle, but are perfect ambushers and scouts (as long as you can work around their tendency to lie to get a better outcome).
Oh and goblins are not Fey in my world, that one lore bit I actually shift onto gremlins.
Sounds perfectly reasonable to me! Nothing wrong with the traditional depictions.
Do you include gremlins as a separate feywild creature or are they distant relatives of goblins?
@@dmofmanyfaces Gremlins are Fey, goblins are not, and not related, though people would confuse the two due to similar appearance.
This is not "correctly" this is just you trying to shift the stereotype. Correct way would be to utilize their skills at best. Hit and run tactics and trapping in cowardly manner. Instead of just brainlessly charging at foe.
Yup while most are not smart they are also not dumb, they use tactics, will lure you into their traps and go after you like a pack of Hyenas
All your base are belong to Brak.
You get it.
Problematic Representation of goblins LOL 🤣🤣🤣 you people are wacky
why do you want to tell me how to play my creatures?.. kind of fascist, that's how i play goblins, or maybe as communists and orcs as fascists ...
So... How to make goblins not goblins? Thanks, but NO.
He literally just suggested making a COUPLE of goblins more capable leaders with bigger goals, and making them all a little more tactical and threatening. Damn, man, cry about it. 😂
@VanDavis, and that's fair, but that role already exists, Hobgoblins.
Vrak, should just be a Hobgoblin.
@@mikeg8564…I see Casual Racism has entered the chat. Goblins CAN’T step outside of their lane. Heaven forbid imaginary characters be allowed to have variety and character growth.
Personally, I’m partial to the Warcraft Goblin. Super-smart and driven. A goblin can ABSOLUTELY rule an empire- for good or bad.
But a goblin can be a farmer or a doctor or a gladiator if the DM wants.
Yay! Subverting expectations... never seen that before.
I'm sure that goblins everywhere will now regard you as their human savior. Maybe your goblin boss could also be a pansexual, two-spirit furry with autism, fighting against oppressive human colonialists, xenophobic elves, and the dwarf bankers. Players just _love_ that! 👎
He literally just suggested making a COUPLE of goblins more capable leaders with bigger goals, and making them all a little more tactical and threatening.
Or are you threatened because he called the leader "they" instead of assigning a gender?
Cause that's a pretty beta thing to get all damp about, my guy. 😢
@@VanDavis - No, his goal was clearly to make them more sympathetic.
I also didn't even catch the "they," at the time; I was just being facetious. But since you bring it up, like all the other alphabet people, you confuse fear with annoyance and disgust. Sorry, dude, but none of you are the least bit threatening, much as you constantly try to be. 🖕
@@VanDavis Maybe he's just having a knee jerk reaction to the general idea of having Goblins being anything other than murder hobo's and making assumptions about the type of person who might play around with the players expectations of goblins? (Or basically operating under the assumption that the OP is the type of person to equate fictional fantasy races to real world races....)
@@minnion2871that's how i saw it.