Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Frylord 04-05-07, 06:46 PM	Like the title says, I need to know what tatics a goblin ranger with favored enemy: dwarf would use against his hated foes. I was thinking psychological warfare, and lots of poison, but I seem to have gotten a writer's backstory block. Any suggestions?
Richmud 04-05-07, 06:54 PM	Well poison would be a bad idea given that dwarves have a natural resistance to it. Goblins generally rely on swarm tactics so I'm not sure what one goblin would do against a multiple dwarves. I suppose the first thing would be finding ways to separate them so he can hunt each one individually. How smart a goblin are we talking about most of them aren't really that tactically minded
geekmasterflash 04-05-07, 06:55 PM	Poisoning a Dwarf doesnt make any sense. They are a stocky race known for being tough. Instead, the way you fight a Dwarf is my outpacing them. Goblin movement 30ft Dwarf movement 20ft Goblin takes archery as his combat form, grabs feats nessicary to move in and out of threatened areas, and grabs an animal companion like a wolf to ride (keep thing light, you get a nice mount, or alternatively you can trip the hell out of the dwarf an unload arrows on him.) Also, crossbows are your friend in tight corridors like the Underdark and mountainous caverns.
M1kh43l_P4r4d1s0 04-05-07, 07:35 PM	i've never understood why crossbows were better than bows under ground. what is it, simly game flavor or what?
Thomar_of_Uointer 04-05-07, 07:42 PM	i've never understood why crossbows were better than bows under ground. what is it, simly game flavor or what? You can use crossbows mounted, and you can't use noncomposite bows mounted. Otherwise, I have no idea, it's just flavor. Oh, and you can't find wood underground. Yeah, outrun 'em. Use hit and run tactics and take advantage of the fact that your target is slow and heavily armored (medium and heavy armor slows down running). As a ranger, you'll have a wolf companion to use as a mount, but don't bother engaging in melee, dwarves resist tripping and tend to be optimized for melee. Take Mounted Archery so you can shoot while moving back. If you do it properly, your enemy should be running for cover the whole fight. Now, if you're in a cavernous environment, don't even bother. Dwarves are more at home underground than goblins. If you have long corridors to shoot down you might be able to get away with it, but you're very likely to walk around a corner and get a face full of axe.
geekmasterflash 04-05-07, 08:11 PM	i've never understood why crossbows were better than bows under ground. what is it, simly game flavor or what? In a cramped area, try to reach behind you pull at 2 foot long peice of wood out, set it on a bow...and then pull the bow back. As opposed to grabbing a foot long peice of wood, pulling back a locking mechanizm, placing wood on device, and pull a trigger.
The_Shaman 04-05-07, 08:30 PM	Bows have a damage penalty if you have a negative str modifier (composite or no). Crossbows, as mechanical devices, don't. Goblins are iirc not made for power. Bows are also harder to learn, and goblins are not famous for their war training.
geekmasterflash 04-05-07, 08:36 PM	Lets examine this deeper. How Would I Make a Dwarf Killing Goblin? Examination: The Goblin. Strengths: +2 Dex Small size (+1 AC, +1 attack rolls, +4 bonus to hide *class skill!*) Base speed of 30ft Darkvision 60ft +4 bonus to move silently and ride Weaknesses: -2 Str, -2 Cha -4 to Grapple carry capasity 3/4 of standard small weapons The Goblin is at a disadvantage in a stand up fight to a Dwarf. The Goblin has small weapons, a weak strength score, is easy to grapple and can not carry much equipment. Spells are at a disadvantage against the Dwarf, who has natural resistance to to them as are poisons and trip attacks. This means the ranger spell abilities need to be of a buffing nature and not offensive nature... and personally I would suggest spells that help your already impressive skill boosts. (1st level - Pass without trace, Longstrider, Alarm 2nd level - Barkskin, Bear's Endurance, Cat's Grace, Owl's Wisdom, Wind wall) I only list 1st and second level spells because you will want a PrC...and I think Assassin will do well. Your favored enemy bonus against dwarves will do good things to sneak attacks and death attacks, buffing spells will be given to the animal companion as well (imagine a wolf with the ability to shadowmeld, or displace as per assassin spells?) Your first favored enemy obviously should be Dwarf, and then you should pick the dwarves common allies as your second and third (Human/Elves/Gnomes all great picks). 10 levels of Ranger give you combat form mastery, 3 favored enemies, a wolf companion, swift tracking, woodland stride, and evasion. 10 levels of Assassin gives you class abilities to compliment your racial bonuses, and will help you destroy Dwarves easily and effectively.
The_Shaman 04-05-07, 08:54 PM	Funny you should mention, there's a PrC called stonedeath assassin in Races of Stone especially for goblinoids who want to kill "stone" races such as dwarves of gnomes.
Captain_Kobold 04-05-07, 10:12 PM	You're talking about backstory ideas, not rules based tactics that you are after? Hmmm. A few ideas: Sneaking into the dwarf mine and putting some Dwarves' valuables into another dwarf's pack. Tell the local Kobold tribe that the Dwarves have struck it rich. Even if the dwarves consider arsenic as a somewhat tangy condiment, try poisoning their food supplies (such as livestock and crops might if they are an isolated community.) Sneak in to their food stores and dump a few sackloads of maggots, live rats, or excrement over them. Saw through most of their mine props. Then set fire to the rest. Locate the slag and waste heaps of the settlement. Dump the contents into a nearby river or stream for the local Druids to find. Dwarf mines and caves often have air passages to keep them well ventilated. Drop a few skunks in. Then start shooting up the first dwarves to come out of the cave mouth. Repeat, but with fires and green leaves to create a lot of smoke. Make sure that none of the messengers going to or coming back from the settlement gets there. Swipe a dwarven crossbow and a few bolts. Shoot them into an Elf/Human/member of another local and extremely touchy community.
Frylord 04-05-07, 11:23 PM	Thanks, everyone for the reponses, I'll be sure to use these suggestions in my current game.
Ghostwheel 04-06-07, 12:37 AM	Lets examine this deeper. 10 levels of Assassin gives you class abilities to compliment your racial bonuses, and will help you destroy Dwarves easily and effectively. The problem with this plan is that Dwarves, as a highly organized society, will have discovered you to be a threat well before you get half-way through the progression, and then end your existence. Yes, that is a period. Dwarves like declarative structure. Have a nice day.
geekmasterflash 04-06-07, 12:46 AM	The problem with this plan is that Dwarves, as a highly organized society, will have discovered you to be a threat well before you get half-way through the progression, and then end your existence. Yes, that is a period. Dwarves like declarative structure. Have a nice day. They have one thing going against them: THEY ARE NOT PCs, nor do not get magical "automatically discover a character with maxed ranks in hide and sneak" ability.
Prak, the Mad 04-06-07, 02:14 AM	ambush tactics, and abuse of greater mobility. Goblins can very easily out distance dwarves and use hit and run tactics to great effectiveness. the added bonus is that these tactics tend to scare the wits outta people.
Thomar_of_Uointer 04-06-07, 02:31 AM	The problem with this plan is that Dwarves, as a highly organized society, will have discovered you to be a threat well before you get half-way through the progression, and then end your existence. Yes, that is a period. Dwarves like declarative structure. Have a nice day. Please. Dwarf cities, with their intricate stonework (i.e. "pillars to hide behind because dwarves have darkvision") and numerous passages would be the perfect place for an assassin to kill dwarves indisciminately. It's discriminate killing of powerful figures that's tricky, people like that tend to have really good armor and wear it everywhere but the bedroom. However, a goblin among dwarves is no more problematic than an orc or half-orc among humans. He might get some harsh racial discrimination, but dwarves aren't going to kill a goblin on principle. At the worst, if a war is going on a goblin will be detained "just in case".
Ghostwheel 04-06-07, 02:44 AM	They have one thing going against them: THEY ARE NOT PCs, nor do not get magical "automatically discover a character with maxed ranks in hide and sneak" ability. That depends on how one runs their campaign. I guess that I replied as a DM would think. Have a nice minute.
CaoSlayer 04-06-07, 08:26 AM	Chew them with a worg.
Kursk 04-06-07, 09:34 AM	i've never understood why crossbows were better than bows under ground. what is it, simly game flavor or what? Look up the word ARCHERY. Underground your bows range is going to be very limited.
Silverthumb128 04-06-07, 09:43 AM	Chew them with a worg. Very true. Worgs and Goblins have a long-standing alliance, and make very cool animal companions, if you have the right feats.
Cernunnos56 04-06-07, 09:54 AM	Like the title says, I need to know what tatics a goblin ranger with favored enemy: dwarf would use against his hated foes. I was thinking psychological warfare, and lots of poison, but I seem to have gotten a writer's backstory block. Any suggestions? Ranged combat! Keep at a distance and use the advantage of the terrain. If I remember correctly goblins get a bonus to hide or it's a class skill... I forget. You can move faster than dwarves as well so guerilla warfare tactics are great. Shoot and run, shoot and run.
Thomar_of_Uointer 04-06-07, 12:07 PM	Look up the word ARCHERY. Underground your bows range is going to be very limited. You are failing to adequately explain yourself. Crossbows are also ranged weapons, and suffer the same line-of-sight problems bows do.
geekmasterflash 04-06-07, 12:12 PM	You are failing to adequately explain yourself. Let me help you here. Archery is rarely the forward shot that you think of. You have to adjust and aim higher to hit targets further away, as the force of gravity brings the arrow down. With a cross bow, that is largely negated by the fact the amount of force the machine can generate is higher than a human being drawing back a string.
Thomar_of_Uointer 04-06-07, 12:18 PM	Let me help you here. Archery is rarely the forward shot that you think of. You have to adjust and aim higher to hit targets further away, as the force of gravity brings the arrow down. With a cross bow, that is largely negated by the fact the amount of force the machine can generate is higher than a human being drawing back a string. Funny, the D&D rules don't convey that. Very odd that he'd make a real-world suggestion about a fantasy creature fighting another fantasy creature under fantasy rules. ;)
geekmasterflash 04-06-07, 12:21 PM	Well, I think it would be obvious. You can't shoot straight with a bow past a like 40 feet, you will need to aim higher. Fantasy it might be, but that doesn't mean you should assume things suddenly stop making sense. The books themselves say that crossbows are better for underground combat..I wonder why that would be? Perhaps because there is a damn good reason? Like when you are in a low ceiling cavern?