Goblin, Coggleborn (3.5e Race)

Author: Eiji-kun (talk) Date Created: 9-1-13 Status: Complete Editing: Clarity edits only please

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Coggleborn Goblin

Within the vast and varies climates in the world, various races have adapted to their environments and adopted different cultures to fit. The elves and their many subraces are testament to this fact, but they are not the only ones. Among the goblinoid races the lowly goblin has proven to be as genetically varied as any elf. One has sprung up from deep below the Brassblood Mountains, technologically talented goblins known as the Coggleborn.

Coggleborn goblins are far more technologically advanced than much of their goblinoid kin, pioneering gadgets and machines to make a dwarf or gnome proud. Yet the origin of these goblins are a bit of a mystery, for the one day literally dug themselves from underground to a world not ready to accept them.

Personality

Coggleborn goblins have a very hands-on approach to things. Everything is a puzzle, and one just need to know how the pieces fit together to make something work. This is useful for figuring out machines, but sometimes comes off as emotionally careless to others. Their curiosity can also get them in trouble at times, resulting in many a lab-side explosion from a spur of the moment alchemical experiment gone wrong.

Notably though coggleborn goblins have more in common with gnomes than goblinkind, typically being fairly peaceful in mindset. They still retain a goblin's sense of mischief and mayhem, however, when it comes to reckless stunts and pranks.

Physical Description

Coggleborn goblins are short green humanoids with who, likely due to their higher standing in the world and superior health conditions compared to most goblins, are not frail or deformed and actually moderately stocky for a being of their short stature. Their noses are much shorter than others, slightly upturned, and they retain the long pointed ears like an elf with rounder edges to account for their higher bulk. They also retain their pronounced sharp teeth revealing their meat-heavy diet. Their hair is notable for being wildly variable and multicolored, sometimes with different colors on the same head (which some coggleborn claim was the result of an old experiment gone wrong in the goblin's early history). Their skin tones cover various greens, blues, oranges, and greys, but never any human skin tones. Eyes are as colorful as their hair.

Coggleborn goblins have an unusually high concentration of heavy metals in their bodies, which does not harm them but causes their blood and flesh to give off a strong copper scent. It's uncertain if this is a result of their diet or their location around various machines and working with metals.

Relations

The coggleborn goblin is in a strange place in history, having literally dug themselves to the surface only in recent times. They hail from the depths under the Brassblood mountain range where they made contact with the surface races. Many are unsure how to treat these "new" goblins, holding former grudges against their kind. This is especially true for dwarves and gnomes who often have clashed with goblins and now have goblins who have more in common with them then other races. They appreciate having other metalsmithing races to trade with, but they suspect them so especially since coggleborn goblins are often vague on their own history. Though much has been recorded about science, technology, and other experiments coggleborn social history is patchwork and often forgotten.

The rumor goes that the coggleborn were normal goblins who had been destroyed by dwarves, but a kindly dwarf (or in some tales a gnome) had taken in goblin children he found and raised them. These goblins, though mischievous, grew up good and well and soon revealed that they were much better at then the dwarves for getting into smalll spaces and working on their grand machines. And so an entire goblin civilization arose from these humble beginnings, until eventually the dwarves faded away and were supplanted by their effective children. This is how the coggleborn tell it, though they admit it is probably just a story and they don't have record of it. Yet others would say they are cursed gnomes who were smote by an angry god to live as goblins, or goblin invaders who conquered a dwarven settlement and took their technology, putting it into their own culture.

In the end, the dwarves have a suspicious and cautious friendship with the coggleborn goblins. The gnomes, less prone to traditional thoughts, have accepted them more openly. And others have mixed opinions but have largely accepted them for who they claim to be. They see other goblins as pitiable, and have a slight distrust of elves, for it seems their first contact with another race was with the far more deplorable drow.

Alignment

Coggleborn culture trends towards chaotic, and a slight trend towards non-evil.

Lands

Coggleborn goblins come from under the Brassblood Mountains, an area rich in heavy metals and caves. The only reason it hasn't been mined is because it supposedly had been by the brassblood dwarves who set up camp there many many years prior. No one had heard from the highly insular dwarves for ages, and so no one questioned their non-appearance until long after they had been forgotten and apparently displaced with not dwarves, but goblins. From there they spread out over the surface and through the underdark seeking out other races. They can be found in many lands now still exploring a world which is new to them. In their homeland it is highly defensible, and had only recently found paths to the surface and underdark. The latter is ill explored, and the goblins show little interest in digging too much deeper than they have. The rumor goes that they may have found something under there and had to seal it away. Now they wander the world in search of power and magic to bring back home and handle a threat which will eventually devour the world.

Religion

Coggleborn goblins are largely non-religious. Few have time for it, and religion is something they cannot often "puzzle out" and break apart into its base components to see how it works. Mysteries are no interest when they cannot be solved.

Language

Coggleborn goblins speak Common and Goblin. Most also choose Dwarven as one of their bonus languages.

Names

Coggleborn goblins have a suspiciously dwarven naming scheme, giving credence to the idea that the Coggleborn were either raised by, or conquered, dwarves.

Racial Traits

• -2 Strength, +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom: Muscle and might aren't as important as being able to endure rough and toxic environments and work for a long time. They are quite smart, but also quite foolish and reckless at times.
• Humanoid (Goblinoid): Coggleborn goblins are still goblins after all. 
• Small: As a Small creature, a coggleborn goblins gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –4 size penalty on special attack (bull rushes, grapples, overruns, and trips) checks, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but it uses smaller weapons than humans use, and its lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
• Coggleborn Goblins base land speed is 30 feet.  
• Darkvision: A coggleborn goblins can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and a coggleborn goblins can function just fine with no light at all. 
• Coggleborn Resistances (Ex): Coggleborn goblins receive a +4 racial bonus to saves against poison. 
• Construct Hunter (Ex): Coggleborn goblins gain a +1 racial bonus on attack and damage rolls against constructs and objects, and may critical hit and sneak attack them as if they had no immunity. 
• Insightful (Ex): A coggleborn goblin may not be the wisest, but they can still figure out many things through intelligence and cunning. They may replace their Wisdom with their Intelligence for the purposes of skill checks and ability checks (but not for saving throws and other effects). 
• Rapid Assembly (Ex): Coggleborn goblins can make craft checks x10 faster than others, and subsequently can disable a device in a shorter time as well, taking as long as a device one step less complex (Wicked to Difficult to Tricky to a minimum of Simple). 
• Trap Mastery (Ex): Coggleborn goblins receive Trapfinding as a rogue, and trap sense of a barbarian of their level. If they gain trapfinding from a class or other ability they instead gain a +2 bonus on rolls to find or disable traps. Their trap sense stacks with trap sense gained from classes and other sources. 
• We Can Rebuild It (Ex): When repairing a broken magic item, a coggleborn goblin can restore the magic it had before it was broken by paying 1/20th the cost of the item in additional gold. 
• Skills (Ex): Coggleborn goblins have a +2 racial bonus on appraise and craft checks with metal items and a +2 racial bonus on disable device and open lock. They may use said skills untrained.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Goblin
• Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Giant, Gnome, Ignan, Terran, Undercommon
• Favored Class: Fighter or Wizard
• Level Adjustment: +0
• Effective Character Level: 1

Vital Statistics

Table: Coggleborn Goblin Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
13 years	+1d4	+1d6	+2d6

Table: Coggleborn Goblin Aging Effects

Middle Age1	Old2	Venerable3	Maximum Age
40 years	60 years	80 years	+2d10 years
At middle age, −1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At old age, −2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At venerable age, −3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

Table: Coggleborn Goblin Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	3' 0"	+2d4	50 lb.	× (x1) lb.
Female	2' 10"	+2d4	45 lb.	× (x1) lb.

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