Hobgoblin (5e Race Variant)

This material is published under the OGL

Hobgoblin

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

Hobgoblins have dark orange or red-orange skin, and hair ranging from dark red-brown to dark gray. Yellow or dark brown eyes peer out beneath their beetling brows, and their wide mouths sport sharp and yellowed teeth. A male hobgoblin might have a large blue or red nose, which symbolizes virility and power among goblinkin. Hobgoblins can live as long as humans, though their love of warfare and battle means that few do.

Hobgoblins belong to a family of creatures called goblinoids. They are often found lording over their cousins, the smaller goblins and the ferocious bugbears.

Society

A hobgoblin measures virtue by physical strength and martial prowess, caring about nothing except the opportunity to demonstrate skill and cunning in battle. Hobgoblins of high military rank attain their positions by force, then hold those positions by imposing authority through draconian measures. Hobgoblins train to fight with a variety of weapons, and have great skill at crafting arms, armor, siege engines, and other. military devices. Organized and disciplined, they take exceptional care of their weapons, armor, and personal possessions. They favor the bold colors associated with their tribes, and trim their often-elaborate uniforms with blood-red piping and leather dyed black.

Hobgoblins organize themselves into tribal bands known as legions. In their martial society, every hobgoblin has a rank, from the powerful leaders and champions, to the rank-and-file foot soldiers, to the goblins that find themselves driven into the front lines at spear point. A legion is headed by a warlord with several captains serving under its command. A hobgoblin warlord is a ruthless tyrant more interested in strategy, victory, glory, reputation, and dominion than leading troops into battle. As loyal and disciplined as hobgoblins are in their own legion, rival legions compete constantly for reputation and status. Meetings between legions erupt in violence if troops aren't restrained, and only exceptionally powerful leaders can force legions to cooperate on the battlefield.

Hobgoblin Names

Hobgoblins have names in the Goblinoid tongue. Some typical names are as follows:

Male: Aronok, Bankanir, Dorduken, Fentanas, Grur, Hagors, Kalmant, Malgroar, Slatark, Talogan

Female: Arinet, Eloqi, Eskani, Horinnia, Korumun, Moranassa, Moritla, Nimanisi, Noranillim, Vortiga

Hobgoblin Traits

Fierce and militaristic, hobgoblins survive by conquest.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength, Constitution, and Intelligence scores each increase by 1.
Age. Hobgoblins tend to reach adulthood in their early teens and have a lifespan similar to humans.
Alignment. Hobgoblin society is very rigid and militaristic. As such they tend toward lawful alignments, usually evil.
Size. Hobgoblins are similar in height to humans, and are slightly heavier. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Hobgoblin Martial Training. You have proficiency with light armor and two weapons of your choice.
Martial Adept. Because of your training, you can perform special combat maneuvers. You gain the benefits of the Martial Adept feat.
Military Genius. Hobgoblins are master tacticians. If you miss an attack roll with a weapon, you can choose to draw upon your knowledge of warfare, gaining a bonus to your roll equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1). Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you complete a short or long rest.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Goblin. Goblins, bugbears, and hobgoblins share the same language. There are dialect differences, but they can be overcome by speaking very clearly. However, the races do not share a script. While hobgoblins use a complicated pictographic script, goblins use a simple phonetic script using heavily modified Dwarven characters.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
4′ 8″	+2d10	110 lb.	× (2d4) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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