Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Return of the Flumph 09-21-07, 07:49 PM	I've just finished the varient stats for the goblinoids of my homebrew (in which they are MAJOR players in the global political scene), and I want to make sample goblinoid troops to use as encounters. These are ideas I had for goblinoid military units. Tell me what you think. First off, the racial stats: GOBLIN -Small humanoid: +1 AC, +1 to attack rolls, +4 to hide checks, -4 to grapple checks, lifting/carrying limits ¾ those of a Medium character. -Base speed: 30. -Darkvision: 60. -Ability scores: +2 dexterity, -2 strength, -2 charisma. Goblins are agile, but servile by nature and physically weak. -Skill bonuses: +4 Move Silently, Hide, and Ride. -Save bonuses: +2 to saves versus poison and disease. -Automatic languages: Common, Goblin. -Bonus languages: Dwarven, Orcish, Elvish, Undercommon, Mercommon. HOBGOBLIN -Medium humanoid. -Darkvision: 60. -Ability scores: +2 dexterity, -2 wisdom. Hobgoblins are eerily graceful, but also arrogant and overconfident. -Toughness: a hobgoblin receives Toughness as a bonus feat. -Skill bonuses: +4 Move Silently, +2 Knowledge (warfare), +2 Profession (weapons engineer). -Hobgoblins receive a +1 morale bonus to attack rolls against elves. -Automatic languages: Common, Goblin. -Bonus languages: Dwarven, Orcish, Elvish, Undercommon. BUGBEAR -As monster manual, only lose Scent and gain Powerful Build. And now the units. All of the following stats are for privates of their type. Corporals are one level higher, and usually have better armor (replace padded with leather, leather with studded leather, etc). Sergeants are the same level as corporals, but have PC levels rather than NPC levels and have masterwork equipment. For example, a grunt corporal would be second level warrior and wear leather armor, and a grunt sergeant would be a second level rogue and wear masterwork leather armor and have masterwork weapons. Some sample sergeants are included in the "officers" section. Note: all soldiers with the "elite" descriptor have elite ability array. Grunt First level goblin warrior. Equipment: padded armor, small javelin, small morningstar, small wooden shield. Feat: Gang Fighting* Grunts are the highly disposable canon fodder of the goblinoid hordes. They are typically sent in to attack in disorganized hordes to soften up the enemy for the better trained and equiped hobgoblin and bugbear troops. Do to the insanely rapid reproduction of the goblins, these wreckless tactics are neccesary to prevent overpopulation. *New feat: GANG FIGHTING You are skilled at ganging up with allies against a single opponent. Prerequisites: Intelligence and Dexterity 11+ Benefit: For every ally attacking the same enemy you are, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to attack rolls, up to a maximum of +4. SNIPER First level goblin warrior. Equipment: padded armor, small shortbow, small morningstar. Feat: Weapon Focus (shortbow) A few lucky goblins are given bows instead of shields, and placed behind the front line to provide cover. Often, snipers are teamed up with wolfriders, and sit on the back of the worg behind the cavalier. Wolfrider Second level goblin warrior with wolf mount. Equipment: padded armor, buckler, small javelin, small longsword. Feat: Mounted Combat The cannier and more experienced goblins ride wolves on hit-and-run missions and guerilla raids, often carrying a sniper along for the ride. Higher level wolfriders are given riding dog mounts, with the most capable earning worg mounts. GI First level hobgoblin warrior. Equipment: studded leather armor, longsword, shortbow, large wooden shield. Feat: Dodge More disciplined and better armed than the goblins, hobgoblin infantrymen are more than a match for their human or dwarven counterparts. Although capable of marching rank and file if ordered to do so, hobgoblin GI's usually impliment a more stealthy approach. Myrmadon Elite Third level hobgoblin warrior. Equipment: scale mail, ranseur, light crossbow, short sword. Feats: Quick Draw, Combat Reflexes Hobgoblins who have the potential to be great spearmen are dragged off at a young age and put in elite myrmadon training. Myrmadons have a special role in the army, standing behind a row of grunts or GI's and impaling the enemy over their shoulders. Cavalry Elite Third level hobgoblin warrior. Equipment: breastplate, buckler, longsword, shortbow OR light lance, short sword. Feats: Mounted Combat, Rideby Attack Hobgoblins who have the potential to be great mounted warriors are dragged off at a young age and put in elite cavalry training. Riding special, goblin-bred dire wolves that can see underground as well as in the light, hobgoblin cavaliers-like the goblin wolfriders-sometimes mount an archer of some kind on the back of their mount. Special Forces Elite Third level hobgoblin warrior. Equipment: studded leather armor, falchion, longbow, dagger, bag of caltrops, one dose of greenblood oil poison. Feats: Improved Initiative, Back Attack* Special: lose medium and heavy armor proficiency, gain two extra skill points per level. The most rugged and resourceful of elite trainees are whipped into special forces soldiers. These commandos excel at infiltration, spying, ambush, and other preemptive tactics. *New feat: BACK ATTACK You can hit the enemy hard when they least expect it. Prerequisites: Improved Initiative, dexterity 13+ Benefit: Whenever an enemy is flat footed or flanked, your attacks deal an extra 2 points of damage. Acolyte First level hobgoblin adept. Equipment: studded leather armor, morningstar, light crossbow, large wooden shield, dagger, 2 doses of clotting herbs, holy symbol of Megublyet. Feats: Shield Proficiency (large wooden shield) Spells Prepared: 0-create water, cure minor wounds, cure minor wounds 1-cure light wounds, cure light wounds. Acolytes are the novice priests of the goblinoid pantheon, fresh from the priestly academies. Only hobgoblins are allowed to become adepts and clerics; this religious hegemony is part of what has kept the hobgoblins in power over the other goblinoid races. The acolyte is too fragile to be placed on the front line, and thus is used as a combat medic, staying behind the main army and tending to the fallen, providing a constant stream of reinforcements to the front line. They still love battle, however, and will eagerly fight if the enemy approaches them. Soulreaver Hobgoblin adept 2/warrior 1. Equipment: scale mail, longsword, light crossbow, large steel shield, holy symbol of Megublyet, scroll of cure light wounds. Feats: Weapon Focus (longsword), Spell Focus (conjuration) Spells Prepared: 0-guidance, touch of fatigue, ghost sound 1-burning hands, sleep. Low ranking templars, the soulreaver illustrates the unity of religion and military in goblinoid culture. Leading small groups of infantry into battle, soulreavers strike terror into their foes by weilding spell and blade alike to deadly effect. The main purpose of the soulreaver is to wipe out groups of enemy infantry; they are very vulnerable against enemies with more than two hit dice. Skirmisher Bugbear, no class levels. Equipment: hide armor, large morningstar, longbow, three javelins, large steel shield. Feats: Alertness, Gang Fighting Used as living weapons more than soldiers, bugbear skirmishers are deployed in small groups and sent to flank the enemy from the sides while the main force attacks. They are often covered by goblin archers/wolfriders. Brute Bugbear warrior 3. Equipment: hide armor, large shield, large longsword, longbow OR full plate, tower shield, large longsword, heavy crossbow. Feats: Run, Power Attack, Cleave The most powerful non-officer infantry unit in the goblinoid army, brutes are either used as "super skirmishers," or dressed in full plate and used in heavy seige/base defense roles. Outrunner The outrunner is a two-wheeled chariot of light wood with minimal armor, five feet long and ten feet across. It has 20 hit points, an armor class of 13, and a hardness of 2. Pulled by two wolves or riding dogs, the outrunner can house two medium or three small riders. The outrunner may well be the most manueverable chariot in the world; it is capable of making ninety degree angles, and can be easily rode over uneven ground. Its typical movement rate is forty feet per round. Armament: The outrunner can contain many bundles of arrows or crossbow bolts. Often, a longspear lies along the back, ready to be grabbed at a moment's notice. The walls of the chariot grant 1/2 cover to Small creatures and 1/4 cover to Medium ones. Like all chariots, the outrunner can be outfitted with hubcap scythes.* Typical Crew: Most outrunners have a single goblin wolfrider, who holds the reins and makes melee attacks, and two grunts or snipers. Sometimes, however, a hobgoblin cavalry elite takes the reins, and some other type of soldier hops in for the ride. Particularly deadly are the hobgoblin soulreavers who stock up on scrolls of burning hands and jump in. Dragonfire: The "dragonfire" tactic is not very effective on the open battlefield, but devastating during surprise attacks. An old, falling-apart Outrunner is hitched to a an aging or lame wolf who has outlived its usefulness, and filled with oil barrels. A fire is set in the Outrunner, and the wolf is frightened into charging the unsuspecting enemy camp. This decrepit outrunner and its tired beast only move 20 feat each round, but they don't have to travel far. In three rounds, the chariot explodes spraying fire and shrapnel in all directions. All within ten feet of the chariot take 2d6 fire and 2d6 piercing damage. All within twenty feet take 2d6 piercing. A reflex save (DC 14) halves the damage. Those who fail their saves within the radius of the fire catch aflame themselves. Often, the goblinoids will shackle a bound and gagged POW to the chariot and set him on fire to serve as the fuse, just to be jerks. *Item: HUBCAP SCYTHES Hubcap scythes are a collection of thin, curved blades that can be attached to the hubcap of a chariot. When the wheels turn, the scythes spin, mangling anything that passes too closely. Anyone who comes within five feet of the sides of the chariot while it is in motion must succeed at a reflex save (DC 14) or take 2d6 points of slashing damage. For larger chariots, the Assyrians...er, I mean hobgoblins....have been known to use longer scythes that stick out for ten feet. Battlewagon Huge, ponderous, and slow, the battlewagon is the largest land vehicle typically used by the goblinoids...or anyone else, for that matter. Fully forty feet long, twenty-five feet wide, and ten feet tall, the heavily armored battlewagon takes a team of six oxen to pull. It's movement rate is 30 feet, armor class 18, hardness 3, and 150 hit points (treat each five foot patch of the wagon as having 20 hit points, if you are attacking a precise section of it). A battlewagon is only capable of thirty degree turns. Inside of the wagon are supplies, ammo reserves, and numerous arrow-slits in the walls for archers to shoot out of. The roof of the wagon is a platform, connected to the inside via one or more hatches and surrounded by battlements (3/4 cover to anyone standing behind them). Heavy crossbow stands are positioned around the platform, and in the center is a huge seige weapon of some kind. When it is neccesary to hold position, the wheels can be locked into place (yes, its basically a seige tank). Battlewagons are not meant to charge into the frey (and thus are almost never outfitted with hubcap scythes). Their purpose is to hang back and provide heavy support fire, utilizing higher ground when possible. Battlewagons are also used as mobile command centers; the hobgoblin general usually watches the fight from within one. Armament: Four stand-mounted heavy repeating crossbows, one heavy catapult or ballista. Usually stores dozens of hand weapons as well. Typical Crew: It takes one soldier to hold the reigns, four more to operate the turrets, and a crew of 3-5 to man the seige engine. Any number of archers or spearmen can also fight from within or on top of the wagon. Bullhorn The prototype Bullhorn was a gnomish invention, designed as a mobile bunker for gnome illusionists to cast their spells from. The goblinoids stole the blueprints, and modified the machine into a seige engine. The bullhorn is a squat, armored block of wood and metal twenty feet long and fifteen feet wide. It moves thirty feet per round, and can move backwards at a speed of five feet, and has 100 hit points, armor class 18, and hardness 3. The bullhorn appears to move without anything pulling it at all; actually, the four oxen or bulls who move the coach are INSIDE of the vehicle itself, shielded from enemy attacks. The bulls know only three commands; walk forward, walk backward, and charge. It cannot turn unless the oxen are taken out and hitched to the front of the seige wagon. Steering, when an option, is accomplished via a steering wheel that tilts the front wheels of the Bullhorn. Because the gears that connect the steering wheel to the hubcaps permeate all of the walls of the vehicle, hubcap scythes can be attached to any part of the chariot (holes are drilled in the walls to allow the blades to stick out). Armament: The outrunner can be outfitted with any of several heavy weapons or structures. The top of the Bullhorn is flat and empty (aside from the hatch that the coachman holds the reigns through), and thus acts as a mobile building platform. Battering rams, seige towers, light ballistae, and bunkers full of armored Brutes can be erected and dissassembled on a Bullhorn very quickly. Typical Crew: The bullhorn requires one crewman (usually a goblin grunt) to hold the reigns and one more (again, usually a grunt) to steer. Usually, there are several archers or spearmen to defend the coach, a corporal or sergeant to command the team, and-if needed-a crew to manage the seige engine on top. Note; all officers have elite ability array. Lurk Goblin rogue 1/warrior 1. Equipment: leather armor, small longbow, small longsword. Feats: Gang Fighting These are the leaders of the goblin ground troops, particularly the snipers. Lurks sneak attack with their longbows whenever possible, but are still as skilled at gang fighting as any goblin infantryman. Lurks are above goblin corporals, but still beholden to wolf lords. Wolf Lord Goblin ranger 1/fighter 1. Equipment: leather armor, small shortbow, small longsword, one flask of alchemist's fire. Feats: Mounted Combat, Mounted Archery Favored Enemy: elves The goblin wolflords are the highest ranking goblins on the field. They answer to hobgoblin and bugbear sergeants, and have near-complete authority over grunts, snipers, and lurks. The wolfriders are beholden to the wolflords, and each wolf lord is usually accomponied by several of them. Wolflords often carry incendiary grenades in addition to their bows. Wolf lords always have riding dog or worg mounts. Infantry Sergeant Hobgoblin fighter 2. Equipment: masterwork scale mail, masterwork large metal shield, masterwork bastard sword, masterwork shortbow, masterwork light mace. Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bastard sword) Clad in menacing, black mail and weilding a huge sword, the hobgoblin field sergeant is meant to be terrifying to the enemy and inspiring to the goblinoids. They are the same rank as the elite sergeants, but have less authority over certain units. An infantry sergeant presides over the ranks of grunts, snipers, and GI's. Elite Sergeant Hobgoblin fighter 3/rogue 1. Equipment: masterwork spiked scale mail, masterwork large metal shield, masterwork longsword, masterwork shortbow OR masterwork light lance, masterwork scimitar. Feats: Mounted Combat, Expertise, Improved Disarm, Combat Reflexes Designated by their spiked armor and helmets crafted to look like skulls, the elite sergeants are usually the most capable warriors in the front line. Able to carve their way through walls of enemy canon fodder, an elite sergeant is even more deadly when attacking from behind. Elite sergeants are drilled ceaselessly in the art of warfare, and lead their squads of cavaliers, myrmadons, and special forces with impeccable strategy. Elite sergeants often ride Outrunner or Bullhorn chariots, and can fight on wolfback as well as on foot. Field Commander Hobgoblin fighter 3/warmage 5. Equipment: +1 scale mail, +1 flaming warstaff of dispel magic*, +1 large shield, +1 shortbow, ring of natural armor (+2). Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (warstaff), Mounted Combat, Rideby Attack, Weapon Focus (warstaff), Weapon Specialization (warstaff), Sudden Extend Spell Although goblinoids are not known for their great skill at wizardry, many higher class hobgoblins have been known to dabble in the arcane. Warmage/fighter hybrids are seen as paragons of the opportunistic goblinoid spirit, and thus becoming one is a desirable goal for any young hobgoblin nobleman. The hobgoblin field commander, who acts as an intermediary between the general and the rest of the army, is the highest ranking conventional officer in the goblinoid military. Even the clerics must obey the orders of a field commander. *Weapon: WARSTAFF The warstaff is an exotic weapon that somewhat resembles a king's scepter, except that most of its length is actually a serrated sword blade. At the head of the scepter is an iron sphere covered with arcane runes. A warstaff is a medium weapon that deals 1d8 slashing damage (critical 19-20/x2). It is favored by warrior/wizard hybrids because it doubles as a wand. The hobgoblin warmage presented above has chosen a warstaff of dispel magic, so that he can undo the enchantments woven by enemy mages. Cultist Hobgoblin cleric 1. Equipment: scale mail, large metal shield, heavy mace, light crossbow, holy symbol of megublyet, scroll of cure light wounds, scroll of sanctuary, scroll of command, scroll of magic weapon, potion of owl's wisdom. Feats: Scribe Scroll Spells Prepared: 0-detect magic, resistance, mending 1-obscuring mist, doom, longstrider (domain spell) Domains: Travel, War While the ritualists and rank-and-file priests of the hobgoblin empire are adepts, actual clerics are, though much fewer in number, not scarce. Cultists direct the acolytes and soulreavers in battle, serving as lieutenants of "divine units." They are identifyable by the many red spearheads-the symbol of Megublyet-painted all over their pitch black armor. A cultist is always accomponied by a goblin skeleton. Red Templar Hobgoblin cleric 3/paladin of tyrrany 2/rogue 1. Equipment: +1 spiked breastplate, +1 large spiked metal shield, +1 bastard sword, light crossbow, copper symbol of megublyet, necklace of bull's strength, boots of speed (+10). Feats: Power Attack, Improved Shield Bash, Improved Initiative Spells Prepared: 0-detect magic, resistance, virtue, mending 1- divine favor, shield of faith, endure elements, magic weapon (domain spell) 2-hold person, shatter, invisibility (domain spell) Domains: Trickery, War Red templar are the great champions of the clergy. Due to the militaristic nature of the goblinoids, red templar and their underlings are beholden to commanding military officers as if they were normal soldiers. Red Templar are identifyable by the blood-crimson streamers that hang from their blade-studded black breastplates and their helmets that resemble a pit fiend's face. A red templar is usually accomponied by a bugbear skeleton.
BananaB 10-21-07, 02:58 PM	It looks pretty well thought out. Reminds me alot of Halo lol. The new feats are good, giving the goblins more power in respect to their military standings while still keeping their backstabbing and underhanded fighting tactics. I think that after enough encounters from these troops your party will get used to their fighting style and would esily be able to defeat them by standing in formation and getting feats like cleave and great cleave. I don't understand how the goblinoids are so smart that they can tell who is going to be good at certain types of fighting at a oung age. I would think that being goblinoids they would just pick out random children. Other then that i just think that your party will probably get bored of fighting goblins after the first couple ancounters and you'll want to add some more variety to the military units.
HCL 10-21-07, 03:05 PM	why not marshal officers?
Bernie2424 10-21-07, 03:18 PM	I guess it depends on what your playing. i mean, like you said, there going to have major roles in your scenario, but it does really depend on what your playin. Like, are you going to use these in any scenario that uses goblins instead of the premade ones, or only for this one? are goblins the main enemy? if so, who are they enemied with? im sure you thought that up for a reason, cuase i dont know why you would waste you time making all that nd not ever using it, but think about what else they can be used for.
Return of the Flumph 10-21-07, 04:30 PM	Halo was one of my inspirations for the goblinoids, as was Lord of the Rings. Yes, fighting goblins endlessly would get boring, as would fighting any repetitive enemy enough times. Remember that, aside from variations on the above units, the goblinoids are likely to have allies, summoned outsiders, trained or charmed monsters, and the like. Even then, I would not base the whole campaign aroud fighting goblins; as with Halo and LotR, you make sure to have other baddies (flood, robots, giant spiders, etc) mixed in there as well. Goblins are not stupid. None of the goblinoid races have an intelligence penalty, either in my world or the SRD. They are just as competent at selecting and training their men as humans are, possibly moreso due to their warlike culture. Marshall...Marshall...what book is that in again? Goblins may or may not be the main enemy. When this setting is finished (whenever the hell that will be), every important race will be equally detailed and statted out like this. The goblinoids are some of the main villains, but they share that title with orcs, yuan-ti, aberrations, gnolls, sahuagin, and kobolds.