Goblini (5e Race)

Design Note: It is highly recommended that you refer to the Tiny Player Characters (5e Variant Rule) if selecting this race.

The Goblini

While no-one is quite sure of the true beginning of this unassuming race, the standard presumption among those academics in the know is that the Goblini first arrived as a result of a stray spell hitting a group of Goblins, one must assume that the spellcaster in question was not out to murder the Goblins, or was perhaps, just a terrible magician, as the Goblins were clearly not destroyed, and in fact have thrived in the wild (and not so wild) parts of the world. In either case, the Goblini (or Miniature Goblins) were born, and now reside, often hidden, in quiet communes and burrows, eking out their existence away from prying eyes.

While being shrunk down may present a problem to many, to the Goblini, it has been nothing but a boon. You see, a gold piece can go a lot further when you only eat a small percentile of what you once did, or wear a sliver of the cloth. Plus very few people notice when a Goblini raids their pantry at night.

This reduction in size (when compared to the standard Goblin) has resulted in much lower competition for resources between fellow Goblini, and as a direct result, the Goblini tend to be less vicious, and more reasonable than their larger cousins, at least amongst their own race. The Goblini tend to have generally amicable relations with the other races when they come upon them, with occasional trading of goods or information being the most common interactions.

The Goblini do have limited mobility however unlike other Tiny races, being a very small race without the benefit of wings, the Goblini tend to have a stronger reliance on their animal companions than other races, often seen riding on the backs of stray dogs, chickens, squirrels, and the like. Due to the assistance provided by these creatures, animal husbandry is actually a staple, and one of the most important professions within a Goblini community.

Physical Description

An artist’s render of a Goblini.

Goblini are visually identical to Goblins. The only notable physical difference is that of size and weight, however, it must be said that odor is often much improved over a standard Goblin.

A Goblini is a Tiny-sized creature, standing between 2 and 5 inches in height.

History

Theorized to have been borne from an a-typical conflict between two great magical entities, the Goblini are almost unknown amongst most civilized races. Due, in part to their size, the Goblini tend to shy away from the public eye. With limited mobility when on foot, the Goblini have not populated all areas of landmasses like some races, and tend to live in quiet, close-knit pockets, close to population centers.

Goblinis obvious martial disadvantages, when compared to regular folk, coupled with reduced dependence on resources (unlike their regular sized cousins), lends the Goblini to skew towards a more stealth-based lifestyle. They're known rather by the messes they leave behind than by any solid sightings. When they have been spotted, however, they tend to leave their viewers stupefied by their incredible acrobatic feats, made more incredible due to their seeming lack of any fear of heights, as they wiz around pantries, larders, and smoking huts in search of easy grub.

This has had the beneficial effect of course, of making tales of those sightings all the more unbelievable to others, and thus, while not as rare as some may think, the Goblini have remained the subject of many tales and folklaw, and inspired little actual academic research.

Quors, The Mountain

The Goblini have their own creation myths, which refer to an event they call the 'Great Shrink':

“	Long ago, Quors the Goblin was born fully grown, so large was he who split his mother. Quors grew and grew until he was Giant and took the Goblins and lorded his size over all Goblin kin. The Goblins grew weary of Quors demands, but most Goblins were scared and would rather live as slaves. However, there was one group who became angry with hatred for big Quors, and could not stand to be enslaved for one more second. These brave Goblins tried to kill him in his sleep, but Quors' skin was thick, and their weapons did nothing. Quors was furious with this attack and roared as he stomped the attackers again and again until they shrunk down, becoming the Goblini, the group was now too small for Quors to see, who laughed in victory. The Goblini climbed the mountain of the Goblin called Quors and snuck in through his nose and his ears and hacked at his insides until he fell to the ground dead. The Goblini took our animals and rode away to find our new home while Quors slowly turned to earth, becoming the hills which roll.	”
—An unknown Goblini elder.

Society

Goblini society is similar to its progenitor Goblin society, in that it is very tribal, with a clear hierarchy of control, ruled by a single entity. However, this is where the similarities end.

As their primal needs are met with abundance, and given they are less likely to be bullied or enslaved by the other races, Goblini choose their leaders based on their ability to protect the clan from danger, and the success of their gathering.

They are much less prone to violence than they were prior to the ‘Great Shrink’, swapping their historical reliance on weapons and savagery for a cultural push towards play, physical acrobatic prowess, and some education (through shared storytelling and song).

Like the Worg Riders of the Goblin-folk, the Goblini are often seen riding. Forming close symbiotic relationships with small animals such as birds and mammals, they provide food, shelter, and protection to their companions in return for the ability to ride them, greatly increasing their hunting territory. Due to the closeness of the bonds, these animals will often fight for their Goblini handlers.

Goblini Names

The Goblini have some distinct naming conventions. As the Goblini revere their small statures as the cornerstone to their society as a whole, their names tend to be monosyllabic.

However when forming a bond with an animal companion, or Goblini partner, many Goblini will choose to take on additional syllables that they share with, or which refer to, these companions.

Male: Uuns (also it’s variants: Uun, and Uus), Yon, Wit (and it’s variants: Wis, Chit, and Chis), Fes (and it’s variants: Fis, Fus, and Fet)

Female: Kon (also it’s variants: Con, Kott, and Klon), Dra (and it’s variants: Drax, Dre, Dah, and Duss) Kas, Tel (and it’s variants: Til, Till, and Tull), Gon (and it’s variant Gin)

Gender Non-Specific: Vet (and Vin), Moss (and it’s variant: Muss), Xop, Slip (and it’s variant: Slim), Sliss and Slos, Nin

Goblini Traits

The Goblini are visually similar to Goblins, though, of a much smaller size, they are agile and cunning, and tiny.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age. Goblini are certainly longer lived than their larger goblin cousins, living roughly 30 - 50 years, assuming they're not eaten by a bird.
Alignment. While within their own society, their alignment is skewed lawful, this must be taken with a grain of salt however as they consider the theft of food from 'Giants' to be entirely acceptable behavior.
Size. Goblini height ranges from roughly 2 to 5 inches tall. Your size is Tiny.
Speed. The base walking speed of a Goblini is 15 feet, their climbing speed is 25 feet, and their swimming speed is 10 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.
Animal Companion/Pantry Raider. You are proficient in either the Animal Handling or the Stealth skill.
Lightweight. You are proficient in the Acrobatics skill. In addition, due to their lightweight, Goblinis take no fall damage for any drops from a height equal to or less than 50 feet, however, if they are hit by a melee weapon attack whilst on foot, due to their light weight they are also pushed back 5 feet.
Unassuming Presence. You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Goblin. As the Goblini written language is a bastardization of the two, a few Goblini are fluent readers and writers of Common.

Random Height and Weight

Table: Goblini Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
0′ 2″	+1d4 x 1"	1 lb.	+1d3 x 1 lb.

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