Fixing the Goblin loophole

[Skarg]

Originally Posted by TippetsTX

I actually like the twist on stereotype... so much so that I made 'smart' goblins one of the big bads in my homebrew D&D setting I created after HS. They commanded legions of hobgoblins and were among some of the most powerful mages in the world. I had forgotten where I originally got that idea, but it probably came from TFT.

A nation led by goblins was one of the main conquerors in my original TFT campaign (where goblins start at the traditional ST 6 DX 8 IQ 10 + 6 extra) by being the upper castes in a society that also has many hobgoblins and orcs and human, and by being generally not stupid, and taking advantage of their trustworthiness.

I welcome PCs starting goblins as 32 points, but don't like the side-effect of 500 XP as the only way to learn a spell or talent, so that's where I'd house-rule a fix.

Originally Posted by Tenex

Isn't this largely self-correcting? A starting goblin wizard with ST 6, DX 8, and IQ 18 is going to be challenging to keep alive.

It would tend to, if you give out XP awards for combat and not for sitting through a session and roleplaying non-dangerous situations.