Like many people have probably discovered, goblins make for great characters.
They're a small race with Darkvision, who still retain 30ft of movement speed, they get great bonuses to Dexterity and Constitution, their Fury of the Small provides a damage boost that scales rather well, and they're Nimble Escape gives them some of the best bits of a Rogue by providing a bonus-action Hide and Disengage.
...but recently, I've been looking at the hobgoblin race, and I must say, there's a lot to like here for a Wizard.
The first and most obvious is the bonuses to Constitution and Intelligence...which are exactly what you want as a Wizard.
But adding to that, the hobgoblin also gets proficiency in Light Armor, which is just a big relief for a Wizard, as well as proficiency in any TWO martial weapons of their choice (!).
The inner character-builder in me immediately thinks of reach weapons like Whip or Pike, and taking "Spell Sniper" in order to deliver a risk-free Booming Blade.
In addition, hobgoblins get the racial ability Saving Face, which lets them add a number to any attack roll, ability check, or saving throw equal to the number of allies within 30ft of them they can see.
That's nothing to scoff at...for a spellcaster, it's the difference between making that one particularly-damaging spell hit...or resisting a particularly nasty saving throw against an effect.
I like the roleplay possibility of Saving Face, as well...you could flavor it as a hobgoblin trying to look "cool" in front of their allies...or you could go full-blown anime by saying that your friends make you stronger (and actually having a mechanic that backs that bullsh*t up).
This DOES depend on enough allies being within 30ft of the hobgoblin...but I'd say that's still at least a 2-3 point boost on average.
A hobgoblins Saving Face competes against a goblins Fury of the Small for a short-rest feature...while the weapon & armor proficiencies of the hobgoblin oppose a goblin's Nimble Escape.
Anyway, so I'm a bit conflicted in actually choosing between these two VERY nice races for a future Wizard character.
I'm leaning towards being an Evocation Wizard, so the backstory boils down to either a Goblin who studied under a kind wizard mentor...or a Hobgoblin who became disenchanted by the horrors of war and decided to strike out on their own.
I'm curious to hear if anybody can weigh the pros & cons between these races...they both seem REALLY solid for a Wizard.
In the upcoming book, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, you'll be able to modify racial ability scores. The Adventure League rules are out. Here is the relevant bit:
ABILITY SCORE INCREASES Whatever D&D race you choose for your character, you get a trait called Ability Score Increase. This increase reflects an archetypal bit of excellence in the adventurers of this kind in D&D’s past. For example, if you’re a dwarf, your Constitution increases by 2, because dwarf heroes in D&D are often exceptionally tough. This increase doesn’t apply to every dwarf, just to dwarf adventurers, and it exists to reinforce an archetype. That reinforcement is appropriate if you want to lean into the archetype, but it’s unhelpful if your character doesn’t conform to the archetype. If you’d like your character to follow their own path, you may ignore your Ability Score Increase trait and assign ability score increases tailored to your character. Here’s how to do it: take any ability score increase you gain in your race or subrace and apply it to an ability score of your choice. If you gain more than one increase, you can’t apply those increases to the same ability score, and you can’t increase a score above 20. For example, if the Ability Score Increase trait of your race or subrace increases your Constitution by 2 and your Wisdom by 1, you could instead increase your Intelligence by 2 and your Charisma by 1.
That means you'll be able to make your goblin more intelligent if you choose. That might change the equation for you a bit. Goblins might be a fun option! Hobgoblins of course remain a good option.
Both are really good races, especially for Wizards. I have a Hobgoblin Necromancer in one of my campaigns, and he is great.
If you take Hobgoblin, keep in mind that if you have Find Familiar (which you should) you can count them as an ally. He also uses his undead minions to count as allies for this Saving Face, so he almost never has lower than a +5 bonus when he needs it. The proficiency in light armor just allows him to save a first level spell slot for Shield or Absorb Elements instead of Mage Armor, which is nice. For his first ASI he took Moderately Armored, which increased his AC so much.
If you're going to be an evoker, you will be less likely to make the most out of Saving Face than a Necromancer, Bladesinger, or Conjurer, but due to Hobgoblin Devastators existing, Evocation fits.
However, Fury of the Small is a very good ability. If you're allowed the variant rules from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything that lets you move around stat bonuses, I would be extremely tempted to be a goblin. Otherwise, I recommend Hobgoblin.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
I’m running a Hobgoblin Wizard right now in a homebrew campaign and I’m having a blast!
He actually shares the same awesome concept of your proposed backstory — he neglected the battle inclination of his race and became a fanatic pacifist! My character doesn’t have a single cantrip/spell capable of doing damage and refuses to cause direct harm to any form of life. Just got level 2 and chose Divination school — main purpose is utility and control.
I’m planning to get Moderately Armored feat by level 4. This will round up DEX to 14, grant medium armor & shield proficiency. Expected 19 AC with Half-Plate — alongside Shield spell, it will be really hard to hit my peace&love Hobgoblin.
I've been playing a Hobgoblin Wizard since Volo's came out and it is very fun. Being an armored wizard is a blast. I went with a more generalist wizard (not specializing in any one school) and that's gone very well for me. In the end make what you want but Hobgoblins have a lot more interesting lore attached to then than Goblins if you ask me, and being hunted down by my old Legion has made the game much more interesting.
Personally I think that goblin would be better. Even though Hobgoblins get weapons, the fact that goblins get actions that rouges can do, and that they can add their level damage to any attack, as long as they are larger then you, can give you a damage boost even from range. Now you may want those bonuses to constitution and intelligence, but if you are a goblin the extra dex will help with not having to get hit, meaning you won’t take too much damage. Sure the face thing is epic, but only really if you have a large party. If it’s just 3 people, sure a 2 will come in handy sometimes, but not as much as a 5 or 4. That is why I say go with that goblin.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Greetings all.
Like many people have probably discovered, goblins make for great characters.
They're a small race with Darkvision, who still retain 30ft of movement speed, they get great bonuses to Dexterity and Constitution, their Fury of the Small provides a damage boost that scales rather well, and they're Nimble Escape gives them some of the best bits of a Rogue by providing a bonus-action Hide and Disengage.
...but recently, I've been looking at the hobgoblin race, and I must say, there's a lot to like here for a Wizard.
The first and most obvious is the bonuses to Constitution and Intelligence...which are exactly what you want as a Wizard.
But adding to that, the hobgoblin also gets proficiency in Light Armor, which is just a big relief for a Wizard, as well as proficiency in any TWO martial weapons of their choice (!).
The inner character-builder in me immediately thinks of reach weapons like Whip or Pike, and taking "Spell Sniper" in order to deliver a risk-free Booming Blade.
In addition, hobgoblins get the racial ability Saving Face, which lets them add a number to any attack roll, ability check, or saving throw equal to the number of allies within 30ft of them they can see.
That's nothing to scoff at...for a spellcaster, it's the difference between making that one particularly-damaging spell hit...or resisting a particularly nasty saving throw against an effect.
I like the roleplay possibility of Saving Face, as well...you could flavor it as a hobgoblin trying to look "cool" in front of their allies...or you could go full-blown anime by saying that your friends make you stronger (and actually having a mechanic that backs that bullsh*t up).
This DOES depend on enough allies being within 30ft of the hobgoblin...but I'd say that's still at least a 2-3 point boost on average.
A hobgoblins Saving Face competes against a goblins Fury of the Small for a short-rest feature...while the weapon & armor proficiencies of the hobgoblin oppose a goblin's Nimble Escape.
Anyway, so I'm a bit conflicted in actually choosing between these two VERY nice races for a future Wizard character.
I'm leaning towards being an Evocation Wizard, so the backstory boils down to either a Goblin who studied under a kind wizard mentor...or a Hobgoblin who became disenchanted by the horrors of war and decided to strike out on their own.
I'm curious to hear if anybody can weigh the pros & cons between these races...they both seem REALLY solid for a Wizard.
In the upcoming book, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, you'll be able to modify racial ability scores. The Adventure League rules are out. Here is the relevant bit:
That means you'll be able to make your goblin more intelligent if you choose. That might change the equation for you a bit. Goblins might be a fun option! Hobgoblins of course remain a good option.
Both are really good races, especially for Wizards. I have a Hobgoblin Necromancer in one of my campaigns, and he is great.
If you take Hobgoblin, keep in mind that if you have Find Familiar (which you should) you can count them as an ally. He also uses his undead minions to count as allies for this Saving Face, so he almost never has lower than a +5 bonus when he needs it. The proficiency in light armor just allows him to save a first level spell slot for Shield or Absorb Elements instead of Mage Armor, which is nice. For his first ASI he took Moderately Armored, which increased his AC so much.
If you're going to be an evoker, you will be less likely to make the most out of Saving Face than a Necromancer, Bladesinger, or Conjurer, but due to Hobgoblin Devastators existing, Evocation fits.
However, Fury of the Small is a very good ability. If you're allowed the variant rules from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything that lets you move around stat bonuses, I would be extremely tempted to be a goblin. Otherwise, I recommend Hobgoblin.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
I’m running a Hobgoblin Wizard right now in a homebrew campaign and I’m having a blast!
He actually shares the same awesome concept of your proposed backstory — he neglected the battle inclination of his race and became a fanatic pacifist! My character doesn’t have a single cantrip/spell capable of doing damage and refuses to cause direct harm to any form of life. Just got level 2 and chose Divination school — main purpose is utility and control.
I’m planning to get Moderately Armored feat by level 4. This will round up DEX to 14, grant medium armor & shield proficiency. Expected 19 AC with Half-Plate — alongside Shield spell, it will be really hard to hit my peace&love Hobgoblin.
I've been playing a Hobgoblin Wizard since Volo's came out and it is very fun. Being an armored wizard is a blast. I went with a more generalist wizard (not specializing in any one school) and that's gone very well for me. In the end make what you want but Hobgoblins have a lot more interesting lore attached to then than Goblins if you ask me, and being hunted down by my old Legion has made the game much more interesting.
Personally I think that goblin would be better. Even though Hobgoblins get weapons, the fact that goblins get actions that rouges can do, and that they can add their level damage to any attack, as long as they are larger then you, can give you a damage boost even from range. Now you may want those bonuses to constitution and intelligence, but if you are a goblin the extra dex will help with not having to get hit, meaning you won’t take too much damage. Sure the face thing is epic, but only really if you have a large party. If it’s just 3 people, sure a 2 will come in handy sometimes, but not as much as a 5 or 4. That is why I say go with that goblin.