Hey you.
Do you want a new goblin stat block that you can terrorize your unsuspecting players with? Oh boy, do I have a deal for you in that case.
This one came up as a result of me thinking “what would goblin martial arts look like?” Often times you can tell a lot about a culture or society based on how they choose to fight. And this is what I came up with. It’s definitely on the sillier side of stat blocks that I’ve produced (and that’s saying something at times), but that doesn’t mean that this little guy shouldn’t be taken seriously as a threat – this goblin is capable of outright dropping several lower level classes with its Flying Kick ability if they fail their saving throw against the attack. This ability was the one that went through the most rewrites as I worked on the stat block, and I originally had it making Athletics checks to determine if the goblin landed on it’s feet or not, but ultimately decided with the damage output the attack generated, it was simpler just to make it land prone and eat up it’s movement to get back up after it launches the kick. A couple of these warriors and some really lucky recharge rolls can really put the hurt on even the most prepared party, eating up a lot of resources as they push deeper into the goblin warrens, especially since their hit points means they’re likely to stick around for a few turns and can take full advantage of their reaction ability to turn some hits into misses.
That said – these guys should be played fully to the hilt. “Ki Focus” is 112% meant to be a send up of your favorite martial arts anime series where the characters will spend long sections of time powering up for their next attack. It’s a silly move that won’t impact the battle all that much considering how many of their attacks are likely to be made at disadvantage, but it’s a fun way to open the battle and make your players underestimate them before they come out literally swinging in the following round.
And there you have it – short and (not so) sweet, and surprisingly brutal when they catch a party unaware. Put some of these guys in with a mixed group of attackers and you have a supremely dangerous lower level encounter brewing. How would you use these guys in your games?
Ben Erickson
