For today's
Monster Monday, I'm adding a new member to the goblinoid family tree. Gobbits are tiny, knee-high goblinoids that can form up into swarms and wreak havoc.
My initial inspiration for these little guys came from the Warhammer universe. Warhammer has a plethora of little goblinoid creatures, like gretchins, gnoblars (pictured above), grots, and
snotlings. Snotlings in particular captured my attention, because they are tiny little guys that attack in swarms. I wanted something similar in my campaign setting, so years and years ago I statted them up under 3.5 rules as 'Glabouters'. Glabouter comes from
Klabautermann, a type of goblin or kobold from German mythology. Upon reassessment, Klabautermänner should be nautical goblins or kobolds, which is pretty awesome, so I had to come up with a new name. Gobbit fit because it sounds like a diminutive form of goblin, plus it is close to '
gobbet', meaning "a lump or chunk of something, especially of raw meat."
As an added bonus, the third definition of gobbet ("an extract of text, or image (especially a quotation), provided as a context for analysis, translation or discussion in an examination.") is a commonly used teaching and testing tool in history education, so naming a monster after it makes me happy.
Presented below are the stats for a solitary gobbit warrior and a mighty gobbit swarm. I think a swarm of humanoids should feel different from a swarm of rats or vermin, so you may notice that the gobbit swarm is more versatile in combat, able to bristle with longspears and launch volleys of arrows.
The following text in
gold is available as Open Game Content under the
OGL. Open Game Content is ©2015 Jonah Bomgaars.
