Hobgoblins

Fierce and militaristic, hobgoblins survive by conquest. The raw materials to fuel their war machines come from raids, their armaments and buildings from the toil of slaves worked to death. Naturally ambitious and envious, hobgoblins seek to better themselves at the expense of others of their kind, yet in battle they put aside petty differences and fight with discipline rivaling that of the finest soldiers. Hobgoblins have little love or trust for one another, and even less for outsiders. Life for these brutes consists of duty to those of higher station, domination of those below, and the rare opportunities to seize personal glory and elevate their status.

Physical Description: Burly and muscled, hobgoblins stand a few inches shorter than the average human, and their long arms, thick torsos, and relatively short legs give them an almost apelike stature. Hobgoblins’ skin is a sickly gray-green that darkens to mossy green after long exposure to the sun. Their eyes burn fiery orange or red, and their broad faces and sharply pointed ears give their features a somewhat feline cast. Hobgoblins lack facial hair, and even hobgoblin women are bald. Except for their size, hobgoblins bear a strong physical resemblance to their goblin cousins.

Society: Hobgoblins live in militaristic tyrannies, each community under the absolute rule of a hobgoblin general. Every hobgoblin in a settlement receives military training, with those who excel serving in the army and the rest left to serve more menial roles. Those deemed unfit for military service have little social status, barely rating above favored slaves. Despite this, hobgoblin society is egalitarian after a fashion. Gender and birth offer no barrier to advancement, which is determined almost solely by each individual’s personal merit. Hobgoblins eschew strong attachments, even to their young. Matings are matters of convenience, and are almost always limited to hobgoblins of equal rank. Any resulting baby is taken from its mother and forcibly weaned after 3 weeks of age. Young mature quickly—most take no more than 6 months to learn to talk and care for themselves. Hobgoblins’ childhoods last a scant 14 years, a mirthless span filled with brutal training in the art of war.

Relations: Hobgoblins view other races as nothing more than tools—implements to be enslaved, cowed, and put to work. Without slaves, hobgoblin society would collapse, so reliant is it on stolen labor. An injured, sickly, or defiant slave is like a broken tool, useless waste to be tossed out with the day’s garbage. Not surprisingly, hobgoblin communities count no other races as their friends, and few as allies. Elves and dwarves earn special enmity, and are devilishly hard to break into proper slavery as both races hold blood feuds against goblinkind. Halflings and half-orcs make especially prized slaves—the former for their agile skills and the ease of breaking them to the collar, and the latter for their talent at thriving under the harshest of conditions. Hobgoblins have little love for the rest of goblinkind, though they typically treat goblinoid slaves better than they do other races.

Alignment and Religion: Hobgoblin life is nothing if not ordered and hierarchical, and hobgoblins lean strongly toward the lawful alignments. While not innately evil, the callous and brutal training that fills the too-short childhood of hobgoblins leaves most embittered and full of hate. Hobgoblins of good alignment number the fewest, and almost exclusively consist of individuals raised in other cultures. More numerous but still rare are hobgoblins of chaotic bent, most often exiles cast out by the despots of their homelands. Religion, like most non-militaristic pursuits, matters little to the majority of hobgoblins. Most pay lip-service to one or more gods and occasionally make offerings to curry favor or turn aside ill fortune. Those hobgoblins who feel a stronger religious calling venerate fearsome, tyrannical gods and devils.

Adventurers: Hobgoblin adventurers tend to be iconoclasts, loners who chafe under the strict hierarchy of military life. Others have fled or been exiled in disgrace for showing weakness or cowardice. Some harbor dreams of one day returning to the hobgoblin flock flush with wealth and tales of great deeds. A few serve farsighted hobgoblin generals, who send the most promising youths out into the world that they might someday return as mighty heroes for the hobgoblin cause. Hobgoblins lean toward martial classes, particularly cavaliers, fighters, monks, and rogues. The arcane arts are distrusted in hobgoblin society and consequently their practitioners are rare, save for alchemists, who gain grudging praise and admiration for their pyrotechnic talents.

Hobgoblin Racial Traits

• +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution: Hobgoblins are fast and hardy.
• Goblinoid: Hobgoblins are humanoids with the goblinoid subtype.
• Medium: Hobgoblins are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Normal Speed: Hobgoblins have a base speed of 30 feet.
• Darkvision: Hobgoblins can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
• Sneaky: Hobgoblins receive a +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks.
• Languages: Hobgoblins begin play speaking Common and Goblin. Hobgoblins with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Draconic, Dwarven, Infernal, Giant, and Orc.

Alternate Racial Traits

The following racial traits may be selected instead of existing hobgoblin racial traits. Consult your GM before selecting any of these new options.

Bandy-Legged: Bandy-legged hobgoblins have an even more exaggerated stature than other hobgoblins, with bowed legs and massive shoulders. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Climb and Ride checks, and a +2 racial bonus to their CMD against bull rush or trip attempts while on solid ground. The base speed of bandy-legged hobgoblins is reduced to 20 feet.

Battle-Hardened: Incessant drills make defense second nature to some hobgoblins. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain a +1 bonus to CMD. This racial trait replaces sneaky.

Engineer: Hobgoblin engineers tinker endlessly with fire, explosives, and the engines of war. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy) and Knowledge (engineering) checks. This racial trait replaces sneaky.

Fearsome: Some hobgoblins scorn caution and subtlety for swagger and bluster. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain a +4 racial bonus on Intimidate checks. This racial trait replaces sneaky.

Magehunter: Hobgoblins hate and fear arcane casters. A magehunter gains a +2 racial bonus on Spellcraft checks made to identify a spell being cast and a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against arcane spellcasters. He only gains this bonus against creatures that use spells, and not against those that only use spell-like abilities. This racial trait replaces sneaky.

Pit Boss: Slave blood fuels the hobgoblin war machine. Pit bosses extract the last breath of labor from their charges with a liberal touch of the lash. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain proficiency with whips and a +1 racial bonus on combat maneuver checks made to disarm or trip with a whip. This racial trait replaces sneaky.

Scarred: A hobgoblin can scar himself with both blade and fire to toughen his hide into a mass of horny scars. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain a +1 natural armor bonus to Armor Class. However, the repeated exposure to fire permanently damages their eyes. This racial trait replaces the darkvision racial trait.

Slave Hunter: Hobgoblin slavers excel at tracking down runaway slaves and surviving in filthy conditions. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Survival checks and a +2 racial bonus on Fortitude saves against disease. This racial trait replaces sneaky.

Unfit: Hobgoblins who failed to secure a position in the military hold the lowest status in hobgoblin society, and quickly learn the value of currying favor with their betters. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain proficiency in a single martial weapon and +1 racial bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks. This racial trait replaces sneaky.

Favored Class Options

The following options are available to all hobgoblins who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the favored class reward.

Alchemist: Add +1/2 to the number of bombs per day the alchemist can create.

Cavalier: Add a +1/2 bonus on Intimidate checks and Ride checks.

Cleric: Add +1/2 to negative energy spell damage, including inflict spells.

Fighter: Add a +1/2 circumstance bonus on critical hit confirmation rolls with a weapon of the fighter’s choice (maximum bonus +4). This bonus does not stack with Critical Focus.

Gunslinger: Add +1/4 to the gunslinger’s grit points.

Inquisitor: Add a +1 bonus on concentration checks made to cast inquisitor spells.

Monk: Add a +1/4 bonus on combat maneuver checks made to grapple or trip.

Ranger: Add +1/4 to a single existing favored enemy bonus (maximum bonus +1 per favored enemy).

Rogue: Reduce the penalty for not being proficient with one weapon by 1. When the nonproficiency penalty for a weapon becomes 0 because of this ability, the rogue is treated as having the appropriate Martial or Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat for that weapon.

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