Page 79 - Ultimate-Bestiary-Revenge-of-the-Horde-5E

Cave Goblin Trinkets
e following items might be carried by a cave goblin:
d10 Trinket
1 A tiny skull; whatever creature it belonged to lacked eyes
2 A glowing green mushroom
3 A talisman inscribed with wings used by travelers to bring good luck
4 A dwarven signet ring
5 A bat’s spindly hand, picked clean of webbing
6 e broken head of a pickaxe, rusting
7 An obsidian statuette of a drow with opals set in the eyes
8 A small shard of unidenti ed bone, sharpened into a ne point
9 A scrap of mildewing cloth, frayed on one edge
10 A recently-deceased fat, round beetle

Cave Goblin Lair Details
An area controlled by cave goblins might display the following:

d10 Lair Detail
1 Splintered and scattered bones litter the oor
2 Several large mushrooms pulse a dim light over the area
3 Cramped tunnels of various sizes snake away from this area at several di erent levels
4 A scrappy wooden platform has been erected upon which stands a sagging and splintered throne made of discarded wood
5 Slimy green lichen coats the walls; in places it has been gnawed at
6 A few smooth stone blocks are scattered, carved with unrecognizably ancient and alien runes
7 A squat, pale fungus which lets out a low, guttural wail and a pu of spores in response to nearby movement
8 A cluster of translucently pale, eyeless newts wetly scatter away
9 Beads of condensation and a stale, damp smell ll the area
10 A faint clicking, chattering noise, and the sound of small padding feet reverberate around the walls, seemingly emanating from
all around

Goblin Troops

Crookblades
Warlord Rithnuk of the Crookblade hill goblin troop worked his disappeared a er the battle, and the Crookblades soon learned not
way to the top with an advanced (for a goblin) understanding of to bring him up.
psychology, planting seeds in the higher ups’ minds that rivals had Rithnuk quickly assimilated the remainder of the troop into the
plans in play to take their place, and allowing the more powerful Crookblades, who now total a disquieting number and are a
goblins to ght amongst themselves until the upper ranks were constant menace to travelers. Caravans passing through the area
rather thinned out. At this point, Rithnuk unleashed his secret have taken to loading up a few poor quality wagons or old mules
weapon; his manipulation skills had also proved useful in building with worthless junk (known as ‘the Crookblade tax’), which move
the troops’ worgs from a pack of feral hounds—which barely ahead and behind the caravan to trigger traps and occupy any
tolerated the goblins’ presence—into a formidable and loyal force attacks from the rear while the rest get away. Any attempts to drive
which allowed him to easily cow the remainder of the troops’ elite. the goblins out have so far been thwarted by the defenses of the
Turning his sights to greater things, Rithnuk continued his upward fort, the inaccessibility of the surrounding tunnels, and Rithnuk’s
trajectory, bullying the Crookblades into a war with a neighboring newest weapon and personal bodyguard, Zhik.
troop in order to take control of their strategically placed (and Zhik (‘Tiny’) is a ten-foot-tall ogre the Crookblades lured into
highly defensible) lair built into a hill underneath a ruined fort. one of the fort’s ruined cells before blinding, beating, and starving
One of these neighbors, vying for leadership, opened a back gate him. Over a period of months, Zhik was trained to associate the
for the Crookblades, thinking that Rithnuk would take care of sound of a bell (which Rithnuk now carries with him at all times)
his rivals and leave him with the spoils. is goblin mysteriously with food, and now fairly reliably rushes to the noise at full speed,

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Chapter 3: Goblins