First Thoughts On Goblins

[S. J. Digriz]

I am 'tee hee!' level of happy that goblins are in the core rules. My first thought was to make a goblin bard (jester). I soon realized that the play test document really didn't have any particularly cool ancestry feats for this character concept. I hope that the final document contains a wider variety of ancestry feats for goblins. I don't see a lot of useful feats for a goblin rogue, either.

I really like the razor teeth feat. It would be especially good with a goblin alchemist, as you could use them with certain mutagens for extra bite damage. But I have questions about how these improved natural weapons work.

The section on unarmed strikes on page 178 say, “Use the statistics for a fist even if you’re kicking, kneeing, or attacking with another part of your body. Some ancestry feats, class features, class feats, and spells give access to special, more powerful unarmed attacks.”

Do unarmed attacks, like those made with a goblins razor teeth ancestry feat, or the Feral Mutagen class feat have all of the traits of a fist, or just those traits mentioned in the feat description? If the latter, should either of these have the finesse trait? Should the goblin teeth have the agile trait? Should either have the unarmed or non-lethal traits?

The mechanics of razor teeth matter quite a bit to a goblin rogue, because if the teeth have the finesse trait, a goblin rogue does a lot more damage with them and can use them to sneak attack.

[Elfteiroh]

From what I've seen, usually jaws attack are almost always STR based, and never have the "Agile" or "Finesse" Tag. That's mainly from a flipping through the books though.

Goblin Rogues are the only Rogues that can use their Sneak Attacks with the Sneak Action with the "Very Sneaky" feat.

[extinct_fizz]

Thanks for starting this thread Digriz. Here's my quick thought on Goblin:

I really wish Goblins had +Dex/+Int or +Dex/+Con or +Con/+Int with -Str, like the other small races. I think +Dex/+Con definitely makes the most sense for the race, overall, but with their reputation for craftiness and inventions (as well as the iconic being Alchemist) I could definitely see a +Int as well.

[Fangled]

I liked the flavor they gave as to why Goblins are a base race now and how this can be incorporated gameplay/roleplay wise. I was a little confused as to CHA over INT but I can see arguments going both ways on that. I especially liked how easy it was to see a playable goblin and wind up making a alchemist with a background as a magician in a circus and who is basically a raccoon digging through trash for shinies. Still early in playtesting but this was a great way to kickstart the action.

[Vaku]

Also, remember, jaws are piercing damage