I've revised this across several threads. Here are the links to each thread.
Goblin
community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758...
Hobgoblin
community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758...
Bugbear
community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758...
Bhuka
community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758...
Lutin
community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758...
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On the Blue gobby's power you have a typo; it should be will not "willpower" on the attack line and the mindshield.
Lutin seems too powerful, they get basically two free feats and they have a goo racial power. I suggest losing one of its abilities and make it a feat.
I don't think you should limit goblin tactics as it is not that powerful, and it seems like a hassle to keep track of how many times you have used it for any int class.
On the Blue gobby's power you have a typo; it should be will not "willpower" on the attack line and the mindshield.
Lutin seems too powerful, they get basically two free feats and they have a goo racial power. I suggest losing one of its abilities and make it a feat.
Good, good. I've fixed these things. I'll switch out the exotic weapon on the Lutin for a group aura like the Half-Elf has since it is less mechanically interesting and unique than getting a familiar.
I am a bit concerned that all the races on this list are only good at 2-3 classes, but maybe I can make up for that in the feats.
For instance, Goblins are not meant to be Charismatic and also it is much easier to imagine a Goblin Ranger or Shaman or Druid than a Goblin Sorceror or Bard (those seem like Kobold things), so I switched their Charisma bonus out for a Wisdom one. This also makes them more perceptive Rogues rather than Artful Dodgers.
One of the Bugbear abilities in the Monster Manual is a bit over-the-top for a free ability and is also only useful to a couple classes. I changed the ability and made it a feat while replacing it with an ability useful to any class.
All 3 of them had less abilities than other PC races, so I gave them an extra ability that has only minor, situational game impact.
The "Blue", Bhuka and Varag haven't been updated to 4E yet. Lutin is my own creation designed to fill a classic goblin-esque role that isn't filled by any of the existing races. The Gremlin is one someone else is creating, but I spotted it and thought it was a fairly neat idea.
I just scanned through no reviews though on the feats. I really liked the new PC races. Keep it up.
I do have one small critique, though--fairly few racial attack powers are limited to a single ability score, much less a combination of two. You might consider looking to the Dragonborn's ability as a model for this--allow the player to choose Int, Wis, or Charisma when they create the character, and then stick with that?
Good work overall
Try this instead, I created a Hobgoblin character using this:
Phalanx Fighter: you get a +1 bonus to AC when adjacent to at least one ally.
I totally agree that it should be changed-- but what else could I give them that isn't very powerful, but is also useful to every character class?
Oh I saw the feats. (A situational +1 to AC I think is balanced, considering many races get a flat +1 bonus to other defenses)
I think the melee Hobgoblin makes a strong PC for something between a Fighter, and a Warlord. You might be a bit more charismatic and team oriented then the standard fighter, but you might be more distant and concerned for self-preservation then the normal Warlord. A bravura Warlord is probably the model of how I would picture a hobgoblin, (I havent seen that many good charismatic Fighter builds).
I personally quite enjoy hobgoblins, but the goal should have them work similarly to their NPCs versions, and also not to overpower them (which can easily happen when you like a PC.)
But as a Monster, almost all melee based hobgoblins get some kind of bonus to their own AC. I figure when an 'ecology of the hobgoblin' comes out, they will also get something that boosts their own AC.
Looking at Phalanx powers for the warlord, and the Phalanx warrior feat (MP), I think some things for the hobgoblin should be a bit more unique (or specific). They start off with improved AC, and then work from their improving the defenses of others. Also your perfection feat (+1 to all defenses) should be a paragon level feat for the power it has (or just use the paragon defenses feat from PH2.)
For example:
Heroic tier feats:
Hobgoblin Formation: Hobgoblin, Must be proficient light or heavy shields
Benefit: The bonus to AC granted by Hobgoblin Phalanx increases by 1. You also gain a +2 feat bonus to Endurance Checks.
(I like this feat because it now makes you very similar to monster hobgoblins, but at the cost of the feat.)
Military Drive: Hobgoblin, Cha 13, Must be proficient in light or heavy shields
Benefit: Whenever you mark an enemy, allies gain a +1 shield bonus to AC while adjacent to you until the end of your next turn.
Hobgoblin Pride: Hobgoblin, Warlord, Con 13
Benefit: Once per encounter, you can expend a use of Inspiring Word to regain the use of your Hobgoblin Resistance power.
War Tracker: Goblin, Hobgoblin, or Bugbear
Benefit: You gain training in Perception. You also gain a +3 feat bonus to perception checks to follow tracks of a group of 5 or more.
Goblin Diplomacy: 11th level, Hobgoblin, trained in Intimidate
Benefit: Whenever you would make a diplomancy check, you may roll an intimidate check instead.
'Very flavorful if you ask me. There are similar things with other classes for other skills.
Elven Prciession does not require you to be a Wizard or have a charisma and intelligence of 13+
Eladrin Soldier does not require you to be a fighter nor have a Str and Con of 13+.
Now, arguably some of the racial feats really only work well with particular classes, but that is because of how the mechanics of the class (at least with the currently existing builds) function rather than it being written directly into the feat.
This is particularly important when WotC seems intent on bringing out more and more classes-- if you require a race to be a particular class, you automatically exclude them from future classes that may be equally or even more appropriate.
Halflings + Rogues
Tieflings warlocks, dragonborn fighter (bloodied Invorgoration requires 13 Con), Dragonborn warlords...
A decent amount of feats in the newer releases have requirements for both Race and Class, and many also include requirements for Stats (I would estimate 30-40 feats meeting these prerequisties). I think as time goes on, it allows some more enhanced feats to be created.
Martial Power is a great example of this. Sure there are feats that enhance them for more than 1 class, but still they have a majority of feats that focus them onto a couple of classes.
I am just including feats for what most people would play a hobgoblin for. Sure you can create feats either more general, or for other classes, but the majority of Hobgoblin uses are going for melee based builds (generally martial).
Besides, Hobgoblins dont have it easy, and they prefer it that way.
The Halfling and Gnome do not require you to play a class, they give you access to powers that fall under a class. In other words, your Halfling Fighter will be a bit more thiefy than other Fighters and the Gnome Rogue will have access to a couple illusion powers-- but they don't require you to play a particular class. You'll see the Goblin abilities I have listed here do the same thing-- they make you somewhat striker-like, but they don't require you to be a striker. These powers could be used with great effect if utilized by an invoker or fighter or shaman or so forth.
The Bugbear, as it is currently here, I am far less happy with-- but it is difficult to see the Bugbear as much more than a giant monsterous humanoid that grabs people and squeezes them to death or rips them apart with flails and chains. Granted, that still makes them plenty viable for fighters, rogues, ranger or barbarians-- it isn't as wide of a scope as I'd like.
Hobgoblins are harder to pin down. You say all Hobgoblins are going to be fighters or warlords, but that's far from the truth-- it is perfectly valid to play a Hobgoblin Warlock or Wizard. We know those exist, not all Hobgoblins focus themselves in raw physicality for one that focuses on perfection of their disciplined mind and comes out with equally deadly tactics is going to be respected just as much as one that hits things with a big stick. The fundamental theme behind Hobgoblins, besides being larger and tougher and commanding respect, is their hardlined discipline, not their physical prowess. For most it may display itself in the physical, but that's true for nearly all races. But they don't have the sole one-track focus of being bigger and stronger like Orcs, they are more concerned with their whole being becoming ideal and dominating those who are weaker.
Now, I'll grant that once I've added the crazy mindscrew "Blue" Goblins, the spiritual and nature-attuned Bhuka and the chaotic and charming Lutin to the 3 main ones-- as well as the two others I've linked to, perhaps the need for Hobgoblins to cover all bases decreases a bit. Still, I'd like to think that someone could make at least a Rogue or a Warlord version of each of these that will each be equally effective at doing their own unique take on the role. Although, particularly with the Hobgoblin, I'd like to think in terms of universality of role-- because there shouldn't be anything except maybe being a Bard that a Hobgoblin should be a total failure at.
But-- let me not take you fully to task and think I am ignoring your suggestions complete. Although the requirements may not be in line, I'll take a closer look at these feats you are suggesting and see if there is a way I can fit them in somewhere.
The Blue still needs 1 more paragon.
I'll snag your Goblin Diplomacy to replace the Goblin Leadership-- at least a variation on it. It would be a bit much to be able to totally supplant the Diplomacy skill with the Intimidate one, but not so much to gain a reroll using Intimdate once a day.
And the tracking feat gives the Bugbear something other than big nasty weapons, so I'll drop that on them.
The thing with the formation... I still prefer the idea of giving someone ELSE the AC bonus rather than taking it for yourself. Even though it is written as the Hobgoblin gains the AC bonus for being next to another Hobgoblin, it is not hard to reverse those terms and say that the reason is because that other Hobgoblin is granting them the AC bonus. Rather than figuring out the individual logistics of who is bonusing who when they are played as monsters, it is easier to just figure they'll have some sort of system set up so that every hobgoblin is covering another hobgoblin (thus, also why you only get the bonus for being next to a hobgoblin) while they aren't willing to put themselves out there as much for lesser humanoids.
Since the Phalanx ability is more about the acting soldier covering the other ally, either with shield or spear or bow or whatever they may be using, the idea that you as a player can use that to protect your striker or controller seems more of a direct correlation of the actual act the feat means to display. It also makes for an interesting Defender/Leader type ability. By making it a minor action, there is a cost for using the ability-- but not necessarily a highly signifigant cost. It does mean you can't do it while sustaining another action that requires you to sustain it as a minor action unles you take no standard action which seems fair enough.
I just wanted to create something for the Hobgoblin, regardless of how specific or non-specific it had to be. I didn't know we were working with a limit on the amount of feats we could add overall. But at least you have encouraged me to create an ecology of the Hobgoblin page. I understand you have a very specific
structure you are working with.
It would be a bit much to be able to totally supplant the Diplomacy skill with the Intimidate one
Crack open Arcane Power, look up paragon feats, find Sorcerous Vision. That makes my feat look fairly underpowered.
The patterns of 3-2-1 seems to be the base pattern for new races-- the PHB I ones have more and probably all the PHB II and III from the Powers series and Forgotten Realms and Ebberon, but my first goal is to make these ones functional (with the possible exception of the Kith and Varag which I am thinking are too animalistic to utilize well.)
The next step will be 2-3 racial background traits (PHBII 180-183) and 1 racial paragon path (PHBII 18-29) each. And, of course, proper PC race write-ups that include summary, reasons to play, physical qualities, characteristics, names, playing advice and a couple example adventurers.
I could especially use help on the paragon paths and the racial write ups-- the background traits shouldn't be so hard.