I’ve discussed story a little bit in the past articles and how I see this adventure going. We have the party do a few things around the island to get stronger, like finding a cave where the goblinoids are preparing for an attack. They defeat the hobgoblins and hailed as heroes and then hired to be an archaeologist’s guard and go off to another island. Upon their return, their city has been ransacked and they must take off into the archipelago to save them.

Upon going out into the archipelago, they must map it and find their way through beautiful islands and violent locales. They travel to an island that is a giant prison and must hatch a rescue mission. Then they must track down a hobgoblin general and steal his magical figurehead and they can pierce through the magic storm/mist/haze that protects the leader of the hobgoblin sea raiders and put an end to them.

And that’s all well and good, but now that we have mechanics for this adventure mostly figured out, let’s jump into some of the key characters in our story, and the best place to start is our antagonist, the hobgoblins.

What are the Hobgoblins?

Hobgoblins are goblinoids, though they stand as tall as a man and are far more disciplined. They have an innate love of war and violence, and their culture is built up to focus on strategy, power, glory, reputation and dominion.

These traits by themselves don’t make them evil, for many fighters and barbarians that see themselves as heroes share these same traits. Instead, they are evil because they care not for others who are not hobgoblins, and even then a commander of hobgoblins isn’t concerned about their soldiers so long as they can succeed in battle.

This innate selfishness is what drags them into the path of evil, and whether it is selfishness or not, really impacts how the rest of the world sees them.

Outside Perspective

From an outsider’s perspective, hobgoblins are disciplined, well-trained, violent and vain. They charge into battle with superior strategy, though many of their number think they would do a better job in coming up with the plan.

When looking in at them, its easy to see why no one trusts them for they hold little value of lives, and are willing to use slaves and their lesser cousins, goblins and bugbears, in dangerous plans that will more than likely kill them. They are a martial society, and if you ever question their prowess, they will take that personally and either gut you there, or begin a plan to destroy you completely.

Never get on the wrong side of the hobgoblins if you can, their culture of reputation and glory almost completely ensures they will take any slight against them or their strategies and armies as a grave, personal insult. They are prideful, and that is something you can use against them… though, even sucking up may cause strife as they will not be pandered too.

Hobgoblins and the Sea

Now, when we think of massive hobgoblin armies, we think of castle sieges and marching armies wiping all before them, and I have ideas for future adventures of just that. But this adventure is different, instead they are going to be our sea-faring pirates/raiders who will be the main enemies and opponents of our heroes.

When we create our hobgoblins for this campaign, there will be a greater focus on their sea-ness. Captains and higher ups will have swim speeds because they are expected to be far better swimmers, and it may even be a place of pride for many hobgoblins. There will be hobgoblins that, like the Hobgoblin Shadow in Volo’s, will be the Hobgoblin Nanti, expert swimmers who will be more like rangers in their flavor than monks. Nanti is latin for swimmer by the way.

And that will be another important part of our Hobgoblins, the naming convention for them. I like the idea of their military heritage leaning on our latin words for them. Other isles and locales can borrow heavily from our Caribbean culture during the golden age of pirates, but our Hobgoblins are much more focused on order than that. Hobgoblins are in legions, they are ordered and they follow orders.

And the fact that they are so ordered flies in the face of them being on the ocean, which is chaotic and despises order. Waves ebb and flow, and while that is driven by the moon, it is far more chaotic than an army would like. So our Hobgoblins have another term for their navigators, the Hobgoblin Iuris are focused on their navigation and stilling the seas.

The Iuris, which means law, can use their powers to quiet the storms that might rock their ship, or control the winds into some sort of order. They are a vital part of a Hobgoblin ship, and are expected to go to naval academy and learn the ocean, they will be wizards and will have their focus on the mind.

But What’s Gotten Into Them?

Now, its great and all that we are defining terms for our Hobgoblins and we could spend all day creating titles and flavor for statblocks, but why exactly are the Hobgoblins attacking now?

Something is causing the Hobgoblins to attack, and its due to their culture. When all the islands in the archipelago have been discovered, how do you gain valor and glory? How do you spread word of your name when everything else has been done already? You begin finding enemies and opponents to throw yourself against. The inhabitants of Nepu-Nepu, while mostly non-combatants, can still be a prize to attack and raid. Hobgoblins, by their very culture, are forced to risk life and limb for the chance that others will talk about them.

Why the Hobgoblins are attacking now is because their new Rex, which is king, has taken control of the Legion of Sea and must now prove himself. The Rex must prove to all that he is worthy of the glory, and has begun inviting more attention on himself in the forms of adventurers trying to save the people of Nepu-Nepu.

Other Types of Hobgoblins

Alright, so for the sake of our sea adventure we are going to need more Hobgoblins with the appropriate flavor and abilities. Here is what I’m thinking of:

Hobgoblin Nanti (ranger) - Silent strikers that are one with the waves. They are able to swim great distances and fight with the power of water. They sneak up on vessels by swimming up to them, and then strike out sending sailors overboard into the water where their comrades can easily kill them.

Hobgoblin Iuris (wizard) - Smart, deadly and rather be in tune with nature, use their power to inflict order. They can be found navigating ships and, just as they impose their will on the ocean, they impose their will on the battlefield. They seek to control, rather than deal damage, and they use many of the same spells they use to quiet the ocean that they would use on their enemies.

Hobgoblin Princeps (fighter) - Talented and highly trained in their martial powers, they are the leaders of their ship. Instead of calling them Captain Durum, you would call them Princeps Durum. They bring forth their might for the glory of their name.

Hobgoblin Fabula (bard) - One of the most important roles on the ship are the fabula. They are the story tellers and record keepers, and are the hobgoblins that are looked to when it comes to the validity of a princeps’ valor and glory. If the fabula onboard disagrees, their word is taken above a princeps.

Hobgoblin Rex (paladin) - The rex is the ruler of the hobgoblins and is much like a king, except their title is not hereditary but earned. Their martial power is infused with the power of their valor, and they can strike out at enemies with the divine force of their will. They radiate courage and are constantly being watched by the fabula, for if their valor could ever be questioned, can they really be the rex?

Statblock for Hobgoblin Ocean Raiders

Ripe for Battle

Hobgoblins are ready for battle whenever the time comes, and make dangerous opponents. Those who underestimate an opponent who seeks renown will be surprised at the ferocity of a Hobgoblin being spurred on by their fabula, or when the Iuris sweeps them aside like a stray wave being pushed to the side by a ship.

Hobgoblins are dangerous opponents and will be a major story point for our players. They are hard, relentless and make great opponents for any campaign looking for an opponent to fight.