[Information] House Rules

[Ange]

This list is likely to be added to as certain things pop up. For the most part I stick to core, but I'm no stranger to tweaking things if I'm unimpressed.

Character Creation Your characters will be built with the following array, arranged as you like: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8. Yes, that's right, the elite array. You're powerful... for goblins. Just be glad you aren't 10, 10, 10, 11, 11, 11 like most of your brothers and sisters are. Goblin racial statistics are below.   +4 Dexterity, –2 Strength, –2 Charisma: Goblins are fast, but weak and unpleasant to be around. Small: Goblins are Small creatures and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their CMB and CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks. Fast: Goblins are fast for their size, and have a base speed of 30 feet. Darkvision: Goblins can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Skilled: +4 racial bonus on Ride and Stealth checks. Languages: Goblins begin play speaking Goblin. Goblins with high Intelligence scores can choose any of these bonus languages: Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Gnoll, Gnome, Halfling, Orc. Feel free to use anything Pathfinder (use the PRD or d20pfsrd if you like), although I reserve the right to nix things I don't like. If you really, really, really want to use something 3PP or 3.5e, run it by me; I'm pretty agreeable. Each goblin will select a single trait from the following list.   Advantageous Distraction: Like most goblins, you’re easily distracted. Unlike most goblins, though, you have a knack for being distracted at the right time, especially when it comes to avoiding pain. Once per day as a swift action, you can be momentarily distracted in combat—ducking an axe swing to inspect a toadstool, or stooping behind a tree to lick some bark and accidentally avoiding an arrow, and so on. When you activate this ability, you gain a +2 dodge bonus to your AC for 1 round. Balloon Headed: Your head is particularly wide and large, even for a goblin. You gain a +1 bonus on Perception checks, and Perception is always a class skill for you. Any Escape Artist checks that requires you to squeeze your head through a tight space take a –8 penalty. Big Ears: Your massive ears are your pride and joy, and other goblins claim you can hear a flea scream as it falls off a goblin dog. While this might not quite be the case, you gain a +2 bonus on all Perception checks made to hear noises. Additionally, you can hear noises that normally only dogs or other animals can hear, like the sound of a dog whistle. Bouncy: Your bones, flesh, and skin are a bit more elastic than those of most goblins—when you fall, you tend to bounce a little better than them as a result. Whenever you take falling damage, the first 1d6 points of lethal damage suffered in the fall are automatically converted to nonlethal damage. You also gain a +2 bonus on all Reflex saves made to avoid unexpected falls. Cliff-Master: You are adept at scavenging along the cliffs by the sea, and have become a skilled climber. You gain a +1 trait bonus on all Climb and Survival checks. Color Thief: Your skin is an odd tint that somehow absorbs background colors. Maybe because your mother drank a lot of potions when you were still inside her belly. Maybe because you’ve been blessed by the barghests. Maybe because you’re just better than the other boring goblins. In any case, you gain a +2 trait bonus on Stealth checks, providing you wear only light armor or no armor. Dog-Sniff-Hate: You gain the scent special quality (Bestiary 304) but only against canine creatures, like dogs or wolves, including monstrous hounds such as hell hounds, yeth hounds, and even werewolves. You gain a +2 trait bonus on attack rolls against dogs you can smell. Flounderer (must worship Zogmugot): You are adept at swimming and holding your breath. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Swim checks, and can hold your breath for a number of rounds equal to three times your Constitution score before you risk drowning. Foul Belch: Once per day as a standard action, you can force a particularly odious belch at a single opponent within 5 feet. The character affected must make a Fortitude save (DC 12 + your Constitution modifier) or be sickened for 1d6 rounds. The save DC is Constitution-based and has a +2 racial bonus. Goblin Foolhardiness: You have a worrying propensity for gross overconfidence in combat. When facing an enemy that’s larger than you, if you have no allies in any adjacent squares, your posturing, bravado, and cussing grant a +1 trait bonus on attack rolls with non-reach melee weapons. Mother’s Teeth (must worship Lamashtu): Your teeth are more jagged and pointed than normal. You can make a bite attack for 1d2 points of damage as a secondary attack. Pustular: Your face is covered in unpleasant pimples and outright boils that have a tendency to pop at inopportune moments. Although this makes you particularly ugly, you’re also used to discomfort. Whenever you’re subjected to an effect that causes the sickened condition, you may make two saving throws to avoid the effect (if a saving throw is allowed), taking the better of the two results as your actual saving throw. Restless Hunger (must worship Venkelvore): If you have a piece of food (or something a goblin might consider food), you can quickly eat it as part of a charge attack once per day. Doing so increases your speed by 10 feet for 1 round. Rude Songs: Providing an opponent can hear and understand you, the lyrics of your songs are so personally insulting that you gain a +2 trait bonus on all Perform (song) checks. Perform is always a class skill for you. Strength of the Barghest (must worshi Hadregash): The blood of the barghests is strong in you. Once per day as a free action, you can gain a +2 trait bonus on any Strength check or Strength-based skill check. Ugly Swine: You are a repulsive little freak whose origins are unclear. Your head is small for a goblin and your mouth oddly narrow, allowing you to pass in urban environments as an unidentifiable mongrel, providing you keep a low profile. However, if examined closely, your goblin origins are revealed. You gain a +2 trait bonus on Disguise checks, and Disguise is a class skill for you. Wolf Cub (must worship Zarongel): Your body has clumps of ugly fur, a sure sign of wolf blood! You win! Once per day as a standard action, you can take a deep breath through your nose to gain the scent ability for 1 minute. Characters begin with average gp for your class. You can buy whatever non-magical, non-masterwork items you like so long as you can justify why your goblin might have it... and preferrably make it interesting! All goblins will get special items given to them when the game begins. These may be magical items from the chief's stash, or just the fact that you found an extra vial of alchemist's fire under your bed that you thought you'd already used. If there's anything in particular that you want, feel free to tell me. Keep in mind the preferred melee weapons of goblins: dogslicers and horsechoppers. They also tend towards light armor. Goblins using anything too exotic/longshank-ish may be ridiculed or even run out of town for being a traitor. Also remember that goblins like to collect random things, so you might want to consider having a bunch of stuff that might just come in handy. Or that you just have for no apparent reason. Miscellaneous flavourful items are free! Some examples: Jar of pickled halfling toes just about ready for eating (equivalent to 1 day's worth of trail rations) Jar of human perfume (equivalent to a waterskin) Set of false teeth Metal skewers Stuffed raven Pet spider in a wire cage Cowbell Almost empty salt shaker Pig's tail (snack) Splintery wooden flute Spectacles with the glass removed Metal codpiece Hard leather boot Apart from that, all the standard PFRPG character creation rules apply. Have fun!

Homebrew and Additional Material The following feats are special Goblin-only feats that you can most certainly select if you so desire.   Ankle Biter (Combat) You know how take a mouthful out of anyone who tries to overpower you. Prerequisite: Goblin, Escape Artist 1 rank. Benefit: If you are the target of a combat maneuver you can, as an immediate action, attempt to bite your opponent in addition to any attacks of opportunity or other consequences your opponent might incur from attacking you. This bonus natural attack does not provoke an attack of opportunity itself and deals base damage appropriate for a creature of your current size (usually 1d4 for Small creatures). If grappled or pinned, you can continue to make this additional bite attack each round as swift action on your turn. You gain a bonus on any attempt to break the grapple equal to the damage you dealt with your bite that round. Special: You cannot make this bite attack when you are the aggressor, including if you manage to reverse a grapple or make any other attack of opportunity. Battle Singer Your battle songs can drive your fellow goblins to new heights of frenzy. Prerequisite: Goblin, bardic performance class feature. Benefit: When using bardic performance to inspire courage in allies, you can choose to sing in Goblin—allies who do not speak Goblin gain no benefits from this performance. Allied goblins who hear your battle songs become more energetic and brave, and thus add the bonus granted by your inspire courage ability to all saving throws as a morale bonus. Burn! Burn! Burn! You take the goblin love of arson and fireplay to a whole new level. Prerequisite: Goblin, Disable Device 1 rank. Benefit: You deal an extra 1d4 points of fire damage when you attack with fire from a non-magical or alchemical source (such as with torches or alchemical fire) and gain a +4 competence bonus on Reflex saving throws made to avoid catching on fire or putting yourself out when on fire. Additional damage caused by this feat does not apply to magical attacks or to splash damage. Combat Distraction Anyone who attacks you while you act like a lunatic exposes themselves to brutal counterattacks from your allies. Prerequisite: Goblin, Acrobatics 1 rank, Escape Artist 1 rank. Benefit: As a full-round action, you can choose to do something that seems to serve no useful purpose. Example actions could include laughing at another creature’s misfortune, rooting in your pockets for a snack, bending over to pick up what looks like a weird bug, or trying to fly into the air by flapping your arms like a sea gull. Although you’re acting like a lunatic, your unpredictable actions are distracting. Any creature other than a goblin within 5 feet of you takes a –2 penalty on Perception checks and concentration checks and a –1 penalty on AC for as long as you continue to be a distraction and remain in range. This penalty stacks with other goblins performing combat distractions, as long as you’re both adjacent to the distracted target. Dog Killer, Horse Hunter Embracing fear and hatred of your ancestral foes allows you to make particularly telling blows. Prerequisite: Goblin, Handle Animal 1 rank. Benefit: You gain a +2 morale bonus on all attack and damage rolls made against dogs and horses (including doglike and horse-like targets such a nightmares or worgs). Additionally, you gain a +2 bonus on rolls to confirm critical hits against these foes. Lead from the Back (Combat) You allies depend far too much on your leadership and encouraging words for you to actually put yourself in harms’ way. Prerequisite: Goblin, Intimidate 1 rank. Benefit: During any round in which you gain the benefit of cover or concealment against at least one opponent, and you are not threatened by any opponent, you can bark orders and encouragement to your allies as a standard action. Doing so grants all allies within 30 feet a +1 bonus on all weapon damage rolls for 1 round. Letter Fury You go wild when someone tries to steal the words from your head. Prerequisite: Goblin, rage class feature. Benefit: If someone reads or writes in your presence (including casting spells like glyph of warding or symbol) you can, as an immediate action, choose to activate your rage class ability for 1 round. This round of rage does not count toward the total number of rounds which you can rage each day, but if you wish to continue your rage beyond that single round you must expend rounds from your daily rage allotment as normal. Once you use this feat you must wait at least 1 minute after you cease raging before you can use it again. Roll With It (Combat) You know how to take a hit, even if your reaction sends you bouncing and flying out of battle while shrieking at the top of your lungs. Prerequisite: Goblin, Acrobatics 1 rank. Benefit: If you are struck by a melee weapon you can try to convert some or all of that damage into movement that sends you off in an uncontrolled bouncing roll. To do so, you must make an Acrobatics check (DC = 5 + the damage dealt from the attack) as an immediate action. If you succeed in this check, you take no damage from the actual attack but instead convert that damage into movement with each point equating to 1 foot of movement. For example, if you would have taken 6 points of damage, you would convert that into 6 feet of movement. You immediately move in a straight line in a direction of your choice this number of feet (rounded up to the nearest 5-foot-square), halting if you reach a distance equal to your actual speed. If this movement would make you strike an object or creature of your size or larger, the movement immediately ends, you take 1d4 points of damage, and fall prone in that square. This involuntary movement provokes attacks of opportunity normally if you move through threatened squares, but does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the creature that struck you in the first place. You are staggered for 1 round after you attempt to use this feat, whether or not you succeed. Saddle Shrieker (Combat) You sometimes get carried away when encouraging your mount to fight. Prerequisite: Goblin, Ride 1 rank. Benefit: You can choose to take a –1 penalty on all attack rolls and combat maneuver checks to grant your mount a +1 bonus on all attack rolls and damage rolls made with natural weapons. These effects affect you and your mount for 1 round. When your base attack bonus reaches +4, and every 4 points thereafter, this penalty increases by –1 and the bonus to your mount’s attack and damage increases by +1 to a maximum of +5. You must choose to use this feat before making an attack roll. Vandal Even other goblins admire your talent for mindless destruction. Prerequisite: Goblin, sneak attack class feature. Benefit: You treat unattended objects as if they were vulnerable to your sneak attack, but you only deal half as much damage as you would against an actual creature. For instance, if you rolled 12 extra damage from the sneak attack you would deal an extra 6 damage to the object. This only applies when attacking unattended objects. The goblin deities grant access to four unusual subdomains, specialized versions of the more standard domains.   Arson Subdomain Associated Domain: Fire Replacement Power: The following granted power replaces the fire bolt power of the Fire domain. Call Fire (Su): As a standard action, you can stretch out your hand toward any visible fire source within 60 feet and beckon it toward you. This causes a ribbon-thin streak of fire to approach you in a straight line through the air. Any creature directly in the fire ribbon’s path takes 1d4 points of fire damage; a successful Reflex save (DC = 10 + 1/2 your cleric level + your Wisdom modifier) negates this damage. When the ribbon of fire reaches your hand, it either extinguishes or lights a flammable object of your choice that you’re holding. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier. Replacement Domain Spells: 2nd—flaming sphere, 5th—flame strike, 7th—delayed blast fireball. Flotsam Subdomain Associated Domain: Water Replacement Power: The following granted power replaces the cold resistance power of the Water domain. Sift (Su): Once per day at 6th level you can reach into water as a standard action and pull out an object with a maximum gp value of up to 50 gp x your cleric level. This object always has the broken condition upon being withdrawn from the water. The water you reach into must be at least deep enough to fully immerse yourself. At 12th level, objects you retrieve are not broken. At 20th level you can retrieve objects worth up to 5,000 gp. If retrieving an object which would not normally float, assume it rests on top of, or is entwined with, debris that does float. Objects retrieved in this manner disappear after 24 hours if they haven’t yet been used up or otherwise destroyed. Replacement Domain Spells: 2nd—make whole, 5th—major creation, 6th—animate object. Slavery Subdomain Associated Domain: Law Replacement Power: The following granted power replaces the staff of order power of the Law domain. Master’s Yoke (Su): At 8th level you can attempt to assert your dominance over any visible creature within 30 feet by declaring the target your property. The target can resist this effect with a Will save (DC = 10 + 1/2 your cleric level + your Wisdom modifier). If the target fails the save, it is affected as if by dominate monster for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your cleric level, save that the target can choose to ignore any order you give and instead take 2 points of Constitution damage and become staggered for 1 round. You can use this ability once per day at 8th level, and an additional time per day for every four levels beyond 8th. This is a language-based mind-affecting effect. Replacement Domain Spells: 1st—charm person, 5th—dominate person, 8th—binding. Torture Subdomain Associated Domain: Destruction Replacement Power: The following granted power replaces the destructive smite power of the Destruction domain. Painful Smite (Su): Prior to making a melee attack roll, you can choose to convert all damage from that strike into nonlethal damage, adding your Wisdom modifier to the damage. If you succeed in your attack, you can make an Intimidate check against your target to demoralize them as a free action. You gain a bonus on your Intimidate check equal to the nonlethal damage dealt by the painful strike. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier. Replacement Domain Spells: 2nd—pain strike, 5th—symbol of pain, 8th—demand. Instead of gaining +1hp or +1sp for every level in your favoured class, you can choose to have one of the following (as appropriate).   Alchemist: Gain fire resistance 1. Each additional level gained, increase fire resistance by +1. This fire resistance doesn't stack with fire resistance gained from other sources. Bard: Add 1 to the goblin’s total number of bardic performance rounds per day. Cavalier: Add +2 hit points to the cavalier’s mount companion. If the goblin ever replaces his mount, the new mount gains these bonus hit points. Druid: Add +2 hit points to the druid’s animal companion. If the goblin ever replaces her animal companion, the new animal companion gains these bonus hit points. Gunslinger: Add +1 to critical hit confirmation rolls made with firearms. Oracle: Add +1 on concentration checks made when casting spells with the fire descriptor. Ranger: Gain a +1 bonus to damage inflicted on dogs (and dog-like creatures), horses (and horse-like creatures) and on creature types the same as your highest favored enemy bonus. Rogue: Add +1 skill rank—this skill rank must be spent on Ride or Stealth. Sorcerer: Add one spell known from the sorcerer spell list. This spell must be at least one level below the highest spell level the sorcerer can cast, and must have the fire descriptor. Witch: Add 1 skill rank to the witch’s familiar. If the goblin ever replaces her familiar, the new familiar gains these bonus skill ranks.

[Ange]

Posting Guidelines I'd love a post every day, but I'm okay with less if that's all you can manage. If you're holding the group back for more than a couple of days (especially in combat) I will just move on ahead without you. If you disappear for an extended period of time with no warning, you might find yourself eaten by a giant leech. Please try and tell me if you're busy or going away. In combat posts, please add the following information either to the title of your post or to an OOC fieldset or spoilerbutton: name, current HP, AC, Fort/Ref/Will, and anything else pertinent such as on-going effects or conditions. If you're doing a specific mechanical action, especially in combat, please summarise the specifics in an OOC fieldset or spoilerbutton, and link to any pertinent dice rolls. Feel free to make a roll in a [tt*] tag if you wish.

[NEON725]

I laughed so hard while reading these descriptions... and now I want to read comedic goblin fanfic.

Some things that might amuse you and will probably end up in the character build:

Advantageous Distraction, with the condition that the distraction is always a shiney, or on fire.
Does anyone smell sulphur? No wait, that's me. I didn't fart, you did!
Look! I made another boom! I know it was a quest item you dummy, I meant it exploded nicely.
You stink, and not just because you're on fire.
Don't drink that, you'll- DRINK IT DRINK IT DRINK IT!
Let's play a game of hide-and-go-boom. I'll go first.

[NEON725]

I was looking over the Alchemist pathfinder class you linked, and noted that it's all essentially the same as a wizard class, but with flavor changes. It's so similar that the costly material components are consumed as the potion is, not when created, and you still need to keep a book of formulas. I'm sure you see my problem.

[Ange]

I actually considered the problem of the alchemist. My first thought was to lump it with wizards in the "writing = bad mojo" camp, but then, one of the pregen NPC goblins that come with the module is actually an alchemist... So Paizo at least thinks they're okay!

Here's what the Goblins of Golarion book says about alchemists.

Alchemist: Goblin alchemists are a dilemma. They
make brilliant explosions and bombs, but they write things
down, an act no sane goblin would ever do. As such, most
goblin alchemists operate in secret, or else have to develop
unique methods of recording their formulae through nonwriting
methods. The goblin hero-god Zarongel is blessed
with hair of fire, and is most often associated with goblin
alchemists. Some goblin cults (most notably the seldom
heard of Cult of Belching Fire in Isger) have incorporated
alchemy into their ceremonies and teachings, and, although
hidden as a dark and terrible secret, these goblins inspire
awe and terror in fellow goblinoids. When a goblin studies
alchemy alone, he often does so in blatant disregard for his
life and sanity. Which, to most goblins, is a great reason to
study alchemy.

My thought is that your formula book is actually a bunch of scribbled diagrams of ingredients and preparations, etc. So if you want to make an extract of cure light wounds, your goblin's formula book has a drawing of a dead goblin next to one that's standing up looking strong, followed by what might go in it (I'm thinking rat tails, a cup of pond scum and 1cc of blood).

[Batfan Brett]

I will run with the goblin bard idea and will have my character sheet ready to post tonight.
Thanks for the invitation Ange !

NEON725: If there is going to be fart jokes based on gas and alchemy I am on ! And will also start thinking about suitable quips

[Ange]

Fabulous! Can't wait.

[NEON725]

A picture book is perfectly fine, so long as it's written in crayon. Now I just have to find writing material that's both suitable crappy, and can stilol function the way it should...

[Alesch]

My sheet should be ready later tonight.

[NEON725]

Some more pathfinder questions:

I can't seem to find where in the Alchemist's description it states how many spells are known in my picture book, nor how the intelligence modifier affects the number of extracts per day. (It says it does make a difference, it just doesn't give me a formula.)

[Ange]

Alchemist - Alchemy (Su) An alchemist may know any number of formulae. He stores his formulae in a special tome called a formula book. He must refer to this book whenever he prepares an extract but not when he consumes it. An alchemist begins play with two 1st-level formulae of his choice, plus a number of additional forumlae equal to his Intelligence modifier. At each new alchemist level, he gains one new formula of any level that he can create. An alchemist can also add formulae to his book just like a wizard adds spells to his spellbook, using the same costs and time requirements. An alchemist can study a wizard’s spellbook to learn any formula that is equivalent to a spell the spellbook contains. A wizard, however, cannot learn spells from a formula book. An alchemist does not need to decipher arcane writings before copying them.

Alchemist - Alchemy (Su) In addition, he receives bonus extracts per day if he has a high Intelligence score, in the same way a wizard receives bonus spells per day.

To compare it to a wizard...

Wizard prepares spells in the morning from his spellbook.
Alchemist prepares extracts in the morning from his formula book.

A wizard's spellbook contains the instructions to cast a spell.
An alchemist's formula book contains the formula to prepare an extract.

A wizard can cast a maximum number of spells per day equal to what's listed on the Wizard class table, plus bonus spells based on his Intelligence modifier (see Abilities and Spellcasters).
An alchemist can prepare a maximum number of extracts per day equal to what's listed on the Alchemist class table, plus bonus spells based on his Intelligence modifier (see Abilities and Spellcasters).

A wizard casts a spell as per what the spell requires (somatic, verbal, material, focus, whatever).
An alchemist gains the effects of an extract by imbibing it (as you would a potion.)

Make sense?

[NEON725]

Yup, and thanks for the links.

EDIT: A question on Reduce Person. You'd think that being teeny-tiny would be a disadvantage, but aside from a strength penalty, all of the listed modifiers are positive. Would it be a better tactical decision to make a person biggerer?

EDIT#2: And weapon damage, thank goodness.

EDIT#3: I also sorta want a bomb that makes people go bald, then explode into tiny bits instead of just reaching -10. If I can't use their leg as an improvised weapon, bombs are not being funny enough.

EDIT#4: Is the "Burn! Burn! Burn!" feat valid with bombs?

[Ange]

1. Reduce person's use depends entirely on your character/build. If you're a meleer, you're hardly going to enjoy being smaller because of much reduced damage and, for a goblin, inability to make AoOs and having to enter another's square to attack then. But for spellcasters, for example, it's a boon! So it's really dependent on circumstances.

The thing with alchemists is that you can focus on different parts of your class abilities as you will. e.g. you could hulk up and become like a barbarian, or focus on bomb throwing, or extracts. If you focus on bombing, actually becoming Tiny would be useful, since it gives you a bunch of bonuses, and your damage stays static. But if you're more interested in Str-based mutagens, enlarge person is better.

2. Well, you can describe this every time you kill something with a bomb, if you like... lol

3. Hmm. I'd say yes. It's such a minor bonus (especially considering that bombs are a limited resource for an inexplicable reason) that I'd allow it.