AC 15 (breastplate)
HP 62 (8d8+16; bloodied 31)
Speed 30 ft.
Proficiency +2; Maneuver DC 13
Skills Stealth +5, Persuasion +6, Deception +6
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 9
Languages Common, Goblin
Death Transformation. When a goblin king is slain, whichever goblin killed them will suddenly transform into a new goblin king (or queen), their stats replaced with the goblin king’s stats. All surrounding goblins are inclined thereafter to obey the new goblin king. If a goblin king is slain by a non-goblinoid creature, whichever goblin volunteers for the position first is the one transformed. Goblins are extremely hesitant to do such a thing, as responsibility and stewardship are such hard work.
ACTIONS
Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 1) piercing damage.
Charm Person (1/day). Once per day the goblin king can cast charm person as a 3rd-level spell, allowing him to charm three creatures within 60 feet. The goblin king’s spell save DC is 14.
REACTIONS
Parry. The goblin king adds 2 to his AC against one melee attack that would hit him. To do this the goblin king must see the attacker and be wielding a melee weapon.
Combat
Goblins attack only when they outnumber their opponents. They employ ambush, firing arrows from hiding and then using Nimble Escape to hide elsewhere. When they can, they turn an aspect of the battle to their advantage, attacking in darkness or from above or amongst traps and hazards. If a goblin is engaged in melee while not in an advantageous position, it attacks with its shortsword and then disengages. Unless a powerful leader forces them to stand their ground, goblins retreat once they no longer outnumber their enemy.
Goblin Names
Blacktooth, Briarbones, Dinda, Flea, Flundercork, Grimgargle, Gurp, One-Toe, Ood, Skirn, Thrunk, Vivvle
Legends and Lore
With a History or Nature check, characters can learn the following:
DC 10 Goblins are small humanoids. While many find them disgusting, they are clever and resourceful creatures.
DC 15 Goblins rarely attack unless they outnumber their foes. For every goblin you see, there are usually two more lurking nearby.
DC 20 Goblins sometimes serve larger humanoids or train giant rats as watchdogs or mounts.
The goblin king is not what he sounds like, for he is scarcely a goblin at all. Tall, angular, and androgynous, he is more like a fey monarch than a squat monster. He is perceptive, charming, and well and truly devious. He tempts humans and elves alike with his wiles, and intuitively understands what torments the hearts of men and women alike. He is every bit the sovereign that his title would suggest, and the goblins are his subjects.
Lone Behavior
1–3 Scouting or patrolling for a larger group
4 Exiled; will betray its former comrades’ location to well-armed travelers (unless it’s a doublecross?)
5 Loaded down with stolen treasure
6 A goblin with no tribe; it knows the local area well
Group Behavior in Desert or Grassland
1 Drinking and filling waterskins at a well or stream
2 Hungry; arguing about the direction of the nearest food source
3 Traders who know their way through the trackless expanse
4 Living in an abandoned temple or palace
Group Behavior in Hills or Mountains
1 Hiding at a peak or clifftop, waiting to ambush travelers
2 Dragging a stumbling dwarf captive back to their camp
3 Fleeing from tyrannical hobgoblin masters
4 Scouting near their lair
Group Behavior in Tundra
1 Pulling and riding in a dogsled
2 Shivering next to a campfire
3 Having a snowball fight
4 Lying in ambush under snow
Group Behavior in Forest, Jungle, or Swamp
1 Hiding in the underbrush, waiting to ambush travelers
2 Stealthily surrounding an isolated homestead
3 Setting fires or preparing a fire trap
4 Lying in ambush in the trees, armed with nets
Group Behavior in Settled Land
1 On a raid, setting fire to a barn
2 Stealing panicky horses, several goblins to a horse
3 With goods to trade
4 Running a traveling circus or theater
Group Behavior Underground
1 Unwilling servants of a tough monster
2 Struggling to open a stuck door or crawl through a narrow crack
3 Spreading caltrops
4 Sleeping, guarded by a drowsy sentry
5 Looking down from holes in the ceiling, prepared to shoot arrows and drop rocks
6 Hiding in ambush behind giant mushrooms, stalagmites, furniture, or pillars
1 DC 15 Perception or Survival check: small footprints
2 DC 15 Perception or Survival check: a concealed trap, such as a hunting trap, pit trap, or tripwire
3 A filthy campsite
4 A looted corpse or an arrow-riddled game animal
5 A dead goblin
6 Discarded gear, such as a broken shortsword, an arrow stuck in the ground, or a smashed bottle
Goblins can eke out an existence in nearly any environment.
CR 0–2 1d4 goblins ; goblin with bloodhawk or giant rat
Treasure 25 gp, 150 sp, 3 potions of climbing , 2 potions of healing
CR 3–4 4 to 6 goblins with goblin boss , goblin warlock , or 2 goblin specialists ; 3 or 4 goblins riding worgs (or Large rats with the statistics of worgs); 3 or 4 goblins with bugbear, death dog, or ogre; 4 to 6 goblin specialists
Treasure 100 gp, 500 sp, dented silver helmet (75 gp), a hollow book containing 2 potions of growth and 2 potions of healing , 6 1 arrows
CR 5–10 goblin boss and 1d6 + 6 goblins with one of the following: cave bear or goblin warlock , 2 ogrekin , 3 goblin specialists , or 4 hobgoblins or worgs
Treasure 400 gp, 1,000 sp, silver and garnet necklace (250 gp), a wagon full of trade goods (500 gp), hat of disguise , immovable rod
Humanoids include a number of different intelligent, language-using bipeds of Small or Medium size. Humans and elves are humanoids, and so are orcs and goblins. Humanoids may employ magic but are not fundamentally magical—a characteristic that distinguishes them from bipedal, language-using fey, fiends, and other monsters. Humanoids have no inherent alignment, meaning that no humanoid ancestry is naturally good or evil, lawful or chaotic.