 |
| Kitchen Goblins by Christian Martinez |
Goblins! A common creature to many campaigns and settings. The evil little buggers are generally despised, and with good reason. Filthy little creatures who prey upon the weak and helpless, who waylay hapless adventurers, and who generally suffer from poor hygiene. Much like halflings, they steal, stink, and carry the plague (inside joke, sorry, couldn't resist).
So why then do so many campaigns feature goblins for low level encounters?
Different Dungeon Masters/Game Masters will give you different reasons. From my perspective, the little menaces are fun little beasties who are usually easily vanquished by your neophyte heroes. This makes them a good opponent for lower level characters to face off against. Young characters can battle evil, rescue the weak and downtrodden who are so often victims of goblinoids, and begin their heroic careers. Goblins are good beasties for your player characters development, as they can give a bit of a challenge, yet you can generally expect your player characters to triumph over them. Those initials victories can be very telling for how your campaign may evolve.
 |
| Tolgathi the goblin chieftain |
Sometimes you need goblins to present more of a challenge. At lower levels this is usually accomplished by simply increasing the number of goblins present in the encounter. This is handy, easily managed, and gets a little tiring after a while. Then you have the opportunity to construct more challenging goblin menaces. Tolgathi, featured above, is a principle character from The Draw of Glenfallow and a good example of this principle. Without giving too much away, it is safe to say that Tolgathi is a goblin who will leave an impression those groups who confront him. These character type goblins, have more on the ball, should have some lines of dialogue to further set them apart from the run of the mill goblinoid, and should demonstrate some abilities on par with the characters it is confronting.
 |
| Hobgoblins and a goblin sorcerer by Jacob Ochoa |
Goblinoids don't have to be tough, smart, or individually menacing. They can be weaker, a bit less competent, and they can suffer defeat without ending the campaign. Keep in mind though, that just because goblins are usually easily dispatched, they can still do significant damage. While a party may walk over the corpses of dozens of goblins in the course of an adventure, the damage done by those goblins can add up to become a serious threat to the party.
I recommend using goblins to wear down the party and to force the use of resources. Let the triumphant heroes have their victories, and make them pay for it with scars from goblin arrows, the costs of potions, healing spells, and replenishing ammunition.
 |
| Goblin worg riders by Jacob Ochoa |
You can learn more about Jacob Ochoa HERE
Goblin tactics are usually lacking in sophistication. The usual application of "the pointy end goes in the elf", is the most commonly witnessed tactic employed by goblin raiding parties. Having a goblin war leader or chieftain, some goblin who commands other goblins with a degree of finesse, to lead goblins and apply a more intelligent battle plan will turn goblins into a more menacing threat. Goblin worg riders who ride by and harass their victims while dozens of goblins on foot move in to surround the victims... basic tactics can make even the lowly goblin more of a challenge.
Goblin tactics are usually lacking in sophistication. The usual application of "the pointy end goes in the elf", is the most commonly witnessed tactic employed by goblin raiding parties. Having a goblin war leader or chieftain, some goblin who commands other goblins with a degree of finesse, to lead goblins and apply a more intelligent battle plan will turn goblins into a more menacing threat. Goblin worg riders who ride by and harass their victims while dozens of goblins on foot move in to surround the victims... basic tactics can make even the lowly goblin more of a challenge.
Do you like challenging, gritty campaigns? Then apply tactical thinking, where applicable, for even the lowliest of challenges.
Look for goblinoids in fortified positions, using strong tactics, and posing a genuine threat to the peace of the surrounding areas in the Tarot Adventures coming soon from Sinopa Publishing LLC.
I want to thank you all for joining me on my adventure into publishing today.
I do hope you will share this with others, (Please).
As always I hope you will join me next time.
 |
| Foxgirl Logo by Jennifer Fraggle Dee |
You can follow Sinopa Publishing on Facebook, find us on Twitter, and on Instagram
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.