Gorons (3.5e Race)

One or more images on this page are unattributed. Please include on this page the name of the artist or copyright holder, in addition to a link to the artist's website if available and appropriate. "Google" isn't a source; it shows web search results. "Pinterest" isn't a source; it's an aggregate of images copied or linked to from other websites. If you own this image, or it is covered by public domain, consider uploading the image to D&D Wiki. If the source of the image cannot be located or the copyright holder wishes for the image to not be on this page, then remove the image. For more information on copyright law, see D&D Wiki:Copyrights. Edit this Page | All pages with an unattributed image

Gorons

Based on the rock people from the Legend of Zelda^TM series.

Physical Description

A Goron.

Gorons are extremely bulky, rocklike brutes (see picture). They stand between 6'8" and 8'4" and weigh between 580 and 2,800 lbs. Most have long arms that reach down to their knees, possibly even lower. Their backs are covered in a layer of chitin resembling the face of a boulder. Hair is uncommon, and generally only seen on patriarchs in the form of intimidating manes and beards. Their eyes resemble dark-coloured gemstones. Unlike humans, Gorons lack external hearing organs; like reptiles, Gorons' ears are simply holes at the sides of their heads. A goron's skin color ranges from charred brown to light beige, and sometimes has a reddish tinge.

Personality

Despite their intimidating and brutish appearance, Gorons are generally a very friendly race--almost to a fault. They enjoy sports, particularly those that have an emphasis on strength and determination, such as sumo-wrestling. Often, disputes between gorons will be settled by such a sport of strength. Gorons are natural-born smiths and craftsmen, and love to build structures, weapons, explosives, and mechanical contraptions in their spare time. Gorons are generally extremely loyal to friends and family--the concept of "brotherhood", both in a literal and metaphorical sense, is very important to them. Aside from immediate family, Gorons give the label of "brother/sister" to anyone who hails from the same tribe, helps the tribe in a significant way, fights by their side in battle, or saves their life.

Common personality flaws among Gorons include laziness, short attention spans, childish gullibility, and a generally overbearing nature--even when being friendly, they come off as being too friendly, such that other races can find them slightly annoying. They also tend to forget that other races aren't as strong or as heavy as they, leading to humorous situations such as a Goron giving an elf a congratulatory pat on the back and accidentally knocking him or her down. Despite their normally very friendly and peaceful nature, a few Goron elders, in times of great difficulty for the tribe, have been known to refuse aid from other races due to their own immense pride, even ordering the tribe to attack well-meaning visitors rather than permit them to assist. This "pride flaw" is not common, and most Gorons are usually more than willing to ask people of other races for help when necessary.

Battle

Gorons are mostly peaceful and try to avoid battle unless it is necessary. However, when battle is necessary, they do not hesitate to answer the call. They have a strong sense of martial pride and honor--they're the type that would always give their opponent time to ready him or herself, and they tend to abhor sneaky and underhanded tactics. Goron tribes rarely have a standing military--instead, each individual goron, regardless of occupation, is trained to be a capable warrior in his own right. Goron cities usually employ a regular unit of guards, however.

Society

Gorons have a patriarchal, tribal society, led by the strongest and most charismatic alpha male, who is often assisted by a council of elders in running the tribe. Goron tribes dig their cities in caves or mountainsides. The tribe has a great emphasis on community and brotherhood, with each individual goron working towards the good and protection of the whole. For leisure, Gorons enjoy music and dance, rolling/racing, games, sumo wrestling, and bathing in hot springs. Most gorons take on occupations such as crafting, blacksmithing, sculpting, demolition, and merchantry.

Relations

The peaceful Gorons tend to get along quite well with most other races. Like the dwarves, Gorons are widely respected for their craftsmanship. Goron artisans and merchants love to show off their work, particularly when it comes to explosives. Outside of trade, however, goron tribes tend to be somewhat seclusive, although they will generally welcome members of non-hostile races into their cities.

Alignment

Gorons tend towards Lawful Good. Less common, but still somewhat abundant, are Neutral Good and Chaotic Good gorons. Lawful Neutral gorons are uncommon. True Neutral and Chaotic Neutral gorons are quite rare. Evil gorons of any kind are almost unheard of.

Lands

Gorons like to live in volcanic mountain chains and caverns, generally within temperate climates. Once a suitable region is found, a goron tribe will dig a cavernous city within the mountain.

Religion

Religion doesn't have much influence in Goron culture. Most goron tribes practice religious tolerance, except for evil deities. Many tribes practice ancestral woship, believing that the spirits of their ancestors will watch over and protect them. Otherwise, a goron will worship just about any deity that matches his alignment, but in any case, religion is not a major part of their lives.

Language

Gorons speak Common and Terran--it's said that their ancestors were descended from the earth spirits. They also tend to pick up the languages of other mountain-dwelling races.

Names

A goron child is usually named by his father. Many name their children after an honored ancestor (see Religion, above). Additionally, gorons will often name their children after individuals that have earned the respect of the tribe, regardless of that individual's race. This can lead to a single tribe having a mix of goron, human, dwarven, gnomish, and even elven names. There are no "last names" in the traditional sense--the entire tribe is considered to be "brothers" and "sisters", and so a goron simply uses the name of his tribe in place of where other races would use a last name.

Racial Traits

• +4 Strength, +4 Constitution, -4 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence: Gorons are strong and hardy, but also very clumsy and not too bright.
• Humanoid (Earth)
• Medium size: Despite their great weight due to their dense bodies, Goron's height allows them to function as a medium creature, with the powerful build racial feature.
• A Goron's base land speed is 20 feet. However, Gorons can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations).
• +4 natural armor bonus. Gorons have rock-hard skin.
• Darkvision: Gorons can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and Gorons can function just fine with no light at all.
• +4 racial bonus on all craft checks.
• Gorons gain Tumble as a class skill for all classes.
• Stonecunning: This ability grants a Goron a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A Goron who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if he were actively searching, and a Goron can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A Goron can also intuit depth, sensing his approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.
• Powerful Build: The physical stature of a Goron lets him function in many ways as if he were one size category larger. Whenever a Goron is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the Goron is treated as one size category larger if doing so is advantageous to him. A Goron is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature's special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect him. A Goron can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject's size category.
• Lithovore: Gorons are a lithovoric species, which means that their bodies can get their nutrients directly from the minerals in the earth. They can literally eat rocks for sustenance.
• Dense Body: Because of their very low size-to-weight ratio, Gorons have a -6 racial penalty to their Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, and Ride skills, and a -12 racial penalty to their Swim skill but they can hold their breath for 30 minutes at a time so they can walk under the water. They also suffer twice as much damage as normal from falling from a height.
• Slam: A Goron can use his high body density as a weapon, giving him a natural slam attack that deals 1d6 points of damage on a successful hit and x3 damage on a successful critical. If the Goron is wearing spiked armor add 1d6 points of damage, this damage does x2 damage on a successful critical.
• Goron Roll (Ex): A Goron can curl into a ball and roll around with surprising swiftness. Curling and uncurling are move actions. While curled, a Goron has a +30 bonus to base land speed over mostly level terrain, a +50 bonus to base land speed when moving mostly downhill, and a -10 penalty to base land speed when moving mostly uphill. Wearing spiked armor adds a +10 bonus to land speed over all grades across any surface that would allow extra traction such as dirt, or undergrowth. In addition, a curled Goron has a +4 bonus to Overrun attempts and Tumble checks and can use the Tumble skill untrained, but cannot attack or cast spells, and will count as flat-footed if attacked. A Goron with 10 or more ranks in Tumble can curl and uncurl as a swift action, rather than a move action. A Goron with 20 or more ranks in Tumble can curl and uncurl as a free action. On a successful overrun, the Goron's roll can be used as an attack vs prone AC, dealing 1d4x the Goron's strength modifier to any enemy in the path of a Goron rolling through their square. If the Goron is wearing spiked armor the damage die for this attack is increased to 1d6. If an opponent chooses to avoid an overrun attempt of a Goron wearing spiked armor, make an attack against their flat footed AC, if successful the roll for this attack is multiplied by half of the Goron's strength modifier.A Goron with the spring attack feat may make a sideswipe melee roll attack vs AC without fully entering his opponent's square, negating the need for an overrun attempt, the roll for this attack is multiplied by half of the Goron's strength modifier. When a creature with the Evasion ability would take damage as a result of a Goron Roll, it may make a reflex save vs the attack that would have damaged it to avoid all damage.

• Fire resistance 20.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Terran. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Giant, Gnome, Ignan, Orc, Undercommon.
• Favored Class: Fighter
• Level Adjustment: +3

Vital Statistics

Table: Goron Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
35 years	+1d6	+2d6	+4d6

Table: Goron Aging Effects

Middle Age1	Old2	Venerable3	Maximum Age
80 years	130 years	175 years	+4d20 years
At middle age, −1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At old age, −2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At venerable age, −3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

Table: Goron Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	6' 8"	+2d10	200 lb.	+20d6 × 20 lb.
Female	6' 6"	+2d10	180 lb.	+20d6 × 20 lb.

---

Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Races