On Hobgoblins

Some more goblins from Jim Henson's 'Labyrinth'.

Hobgoblins: 

HP: 4 // ARMOR 6

Hobgoblins were once children who showed a definite mean streak in their nature. The Witch Magobia lured them away from home with many promises, and fed them her special food, disguised as gingerbread cakes. Eventually her corruption deformed them as well. 

The following are all true:


• Once the gingerbread is eaten, they can no longer get sustenance from any other food. They need her food to survive. This is how she controls them.


• These children grow up looking like very wrinkly teenagers in much the same way as the babies turn into goblins. Their skin-tone remains closer to their original one, if not a bit less vibrant.

• The hobgoblins are cruel and have less of a need to be fearful, compared to the goblins. Instead they just take joy in causing pain and strife.

When encountered ‘in the wild’ they are:


1. Preparing a trap, and hiding. The trap is possibly lethal, which they would find very funny.


2. Torturing a small animal. 

(check with table for lines and veils/X-card, safety rules. This is a common hard no.) 

Depending on how the encounter goes you might end up with an animal companion of the small and cute kind. Unless they leave the hobgoblins to it, the creature should survive. It might need to be nursed back to health or not, depending on your group.


3. Waiting in ambush, with a set trap, intent on capturing the PC’s alive to strip them of arms, armor and valuables and to bully them. The longer the bullying goes on, the less careful they become and they might slip up and make mistakes the PC’s can take advantage of.


4. Playing an insult game. They each insult each other in turn, trying to one-up each other with creative insults. Ends when inevitably a fight breaks out, or if the PC’s interrupt.


5. Breaking/destroying something valuable. They have a pile of stuff they stole from somewhere next to them and are taking turns breaking and destroying the items. It is hilarious to them. Some items are valuable, others aren’t.


6. Drinking stolen alcohol. The longer they are allowed to do this, the more drunk they become until they fall asleep, pick a fight or start sobbing, depending on what type of drunks they are.