Goblin
by Prince Phantom
Ah, the humble Goblin. We’ve all killed a few dozen of them at the start of our campaigns, and likely never thought twice about it. That makes the thought of a level 20 Goblin Wizard player character who can reshape reality all the more silly, and I’m here for it. I’ve got a big soft spot in my heart for these mischievous gremlins, and thankfully they’ve got some decent mechanics to justify my love.
Goblin Features
Darkvision: Always good to have.
Fey Ancestry: As mid as I am on all goblinoids now being connected to the Feywild, I’m very happy to have this feature. Charm effects come up often enough to make this very relevant and something that any character would love to have.
Fury of the Small: This is a small burst of damage that we can reliably apply a few times per day. Notably, we can use this on a spell like Fireball, but we can only deal extra damage to one creature effected by the spell. Also, this damage can be applied on subsequent damage rolls from spells like Wall of Fire, but again, still to only one creature at a time. You’ll be happy to have this, and racial bonuses to damage are pretty rare, but this isn’t setting the world on fire (shame, as that’s something that most Goblins would love to do).
Nimble Escape: Simple of a feature as this is, this is the Goblin’s claim to fame. This is most easily compared to the Rogue’s Cunning Action, the difference being that we can’t dash with this. Any caster or ranged attacker would love to have a bonus action disengage, allowing them to easily stay out of melee. Hiding as a bonus action is the real meat here though. The easiest way to combat a spellcaster is to break their concentration, but if the enemy can’t find the Wizard, they can’t target him with attacks. A creature that is hidden cannot be targeted by creatures who they are hidden from. Sure, they could potentially catch you in the area of a Fireball or something, but that’s severely less likely than being attacked normally while you’re not hidden. Granted, if your DM uses flat, featureless maps with nowhere to hide, this will be less useful. But if that’s the case, your DM needs to get more creative. If you pick this race, invest a little bit into your stealth and it will pay dividends.
Despite being commonly portrayed as weapon wielding maniacs, Goblins are actually best suited for spellcasting classes thanks to their ability to cast a big control spell and hide in safety. That’s something that no other race can provide, and most caster classes aren’t willing to delay their spellcasting progression to take a 2 level Rogue dip. Any race that can provide a feature as unique and powerful as this deserves your attention, so consider this race next time you roll up a spellcaster.
Final Rating: 4/5
Goblin (Legacy)
The old Goblin doesn’t have Fey Ancestry, making this already a downgrade. This Fury of the Small deals damage equal to our level, but only once per rest. This equates to more damage at once, but less damage overall at pretty much all levels. I could see picking this if you were building for burst damage, but there are better races for that type of build.
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