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Well, it's the last day of "this" year, 2022, so I figured I would make a post about Goblins... in honor of 2022's "word of the year".
When we look at Goblins in their various forms [as presented], we get a decent variety consisting of the following hierarchy:
Barbarian 1
Warrior 1
Ranger 2
Rogue 2
Barbarian 3
Fighter 3
Alchemist 4*
Rogue 5
Ranger 6
Witch 6
Alchemist 7
Fighter 10
Of which, only the marked "Alchemist 4" is specifically archetyped as a Winged Marauder. This provides a lot of wiggle room for optimization, me-thinks. For anyone willing to put in a little time, you can add a plethora of flavor and variation to your average Goblin tribe.
For example; both of the Rogues can be changed to UnRogues, saving them the need to take Weapon Finesse... freeing up feat slots, and/or Talents. The Rogue 5, "firestarter", should probably be given the Knife Master, Scout, and Undergound Chemist archetypes... the one Rogue Talent should be Bomber.
Both of the Rangers have "rider" in their titles... Grizzled Rider and Outrider... so we will give them both something to ride. As Rangers, they both have easy access to Animal Companions, and archetypes like Falconer start at level 1. Perfect for our Ranger 2 "outrider", who van ride a Vulture (or whatever). The Ranger 6 "grizzled rider" has a lot more opportunity, but I like to still stick with a flying companion to use as a mount... usually using Beastmaster or Falconer or Raven Master, but there are plenty of other options. I find that giving both the Rangers flying mounts goes very well with the Winged Marauder Alchemist.
I like to make the Barbarian 1 into an archer using the Primal Hunter archetype since Monkey Goblins do not have a penalty to strength like other Goblins. Can't afford an Adaptive bow at level 1, so Exceptional Pull actually does something for this. The Barbarian 3 has the freaking Mutant Goblin template applied to it, and makes a great Feral Gnasher... absolutely awesome for what it is. This little guy has an acid breath weapon, and can take Noxious Bite.
Fighter 3 is exactly enough for Archer or Mutagen Warrior or Weapon Master to give you something fun. Fighter 10 is enough to give an Eldritch Guardian something like a Hellfire Ignis as an Improved Familiar... seems fitting given how Goblins like fire. Lots of opportunity for both Fighters.
Witch 6 is enough for a Venom Siphoner to get some fun stuff... a poisonous frog Familiar seems fitting for a Frog-Talker. Although, a Toad would be able to spit its venom as a ranged attack due to lacking a bite of its own. Hmm...
Has anyone else just casually retrained the base Goblins available? Or VMC'ed any of them?
Don't even need change their given class or number of levels or stats... just give them archetype(s) and change feats and [sometimes] gear.
If you have ideas, please post them here.
Your standard Warrior 1 could probably use Weapon Finesse more than Improved Initiative... going first doesn't matter of you can't hit anything. If you're going to have them using their pathetic 11 Strength for attack and damage, then at least give them Bardiches and Combat Reflexes. Using their bows, they can capitalize on their 15 Dex, and it's hard to beat Point Blank Shot's +1 to attack and damage on a CR 1/3 archer. They could all give each other a +2 competence bonus to attack for a move action if they each took Combat Advice... bunches of Goblins surrounding you barking to each other... a foul symphony of tips and tricks on how to cut your guts out.
The [Un]Rogue 2 could easily be a Vexing Dodger... this would give them the Limb Climber ability, and Improved Dirty Trick. They get Weapon Finesse for free, so they could still take TWF if you want them to. Another archetype that makes sense for our "Sneak" is the Earthshadow... regardless of it being originally for Dwarves, maybe Goblins stole the technology, or whatever... we are talking about Goblins, after all... Goblin Rogues, specifically. Earthshadow would allow them to cast Blend 2/day, for a 20 minute duration each time. Goes well with the Witch 6 "Frog-Talker" if you decide to keep her Mud Witch Hex. It makes sense, I promise. Speaking of witches, you could give these Rogue 2 sneaks a Witch Hex with the Sylvan Trickster archetype... with the 8 Intelligence, you may want to avoid anything with a DC... but still lots of options there. Two levels in Carnivalist gets our Goblin the Distraction Bardic Performance, and a Familiar that shares its Sneak Attack... a Familiar that could be a medium-sized Mauler.