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The Hob: Parent of the Hobgoblin

by Sean Meaney

The Hob is an Ancestor to the Elf (Specifically Elf, Sprite, Fairy) and the Hob is one of the parents to the Hobgoblin (the other being Goblin). But how do we get the Hob? Well we define the Hob as a Parent of the Hobgoblin – so let’s take the two D&D monsters we do have: The Goblin and the Hobgoblin, and generate a D&D Rules Cyclopaedia Entry we can build on.

  GOBLIN HOBGOBLIN HOB
SIZE Small Medium Large
AC 6 6 6
HD 1-1 1+1 1+3*
MV 90'(30') 90'(30') 90'(30')
AT 1 Weapon 1 Weapon 1 Weapon + Curse
DA Weapon +1 Weapon +2 Weapon +3 & Curse
NA 2d6 (6d10) 1d6 (4d6) 0 (2d3)
SA Normal Human Fighter L1 Fighter L2
ML 7-9 8-9 9
TT (R)C (Q)D (P)E
INT 9 10 11
AL Chaotic Chaotic Chaotic
XP 5 15 25

Here we have a Large creature – bigger than human so let’s say 6 ½’ – 7 ½’ tall. And on the family tree he is the ancestor of the Elf, Sprite, and Fairy and one of the two parents of the Hobgoblin so let’s look at the idea that the Sprite Curse power comes from its ancestor so we add a * to the HD of the Hob. But what of our Curse power? Well let’s look at the Hob as different from the Sprite who can put that curse on others – our Hob is the victim of a terrible curse that gets worse with experience. Now Goblins have a King with 3HD/15hp & 2HD bodyguards and Hobgoblins have a King with 5HD/22hp & 4HD Body guards – so our Hob should have a Hob king (Basically the Biggest Hob) with 7HD/29hp & 6HD Bodyguards.

Description: The Ancestor to elves, sprites, fairies and Hobgoblins; the Hob is the Neanderthal of Elves- physically stronger – and far larger even than humans (ranging from 6 ½’ – 7 ½’ tall).They are a damned people – where the Sprite has the power to curse others – the Hob is plagued by a horrible curse of increasing effect (see special abilities on experience progression table). The most powerful of the Hob is up to 7HD and defended by Bodyguards of 6HD.

Hob as a Character Class: Every Hob must have Strength and Constitution of 18 and may use any large weapon.

First off let’s look at what we do know – HD comes with a +3 bonus so let’s call that a 1d8+3 (or a +3 constitution bonus so a minimum Constitution of 18. Likewise Damage with a Weapon comes with a +3 Bonus so let’s call it a +3 Strength Bonus (or 18 Strength Minimum). His largest HD is equal to the King of Hobs so let’s call it 7HD limit. Our big Hob has a Save of Fighter L2 for every 1HD so let’s consider this guy to be big and tough – the Neanderthal of Elves. So his saving throws progress at twice the rate of the Fighter.

HOB EXPERIENCE PROGRESSION TABLE

LEVEL EXPERIENCE TITLE SPECIAL ABILITIES*
1d8 0 Hule-Bhe Curse (sets fire to kindling or other dead/dry plant-matter on death)
2d8 5,000 Leaf-feller Curse (cause the leaves to fall from a tree on death)
3d8 10,000 Tree-blighter Curse (Causes a Tree to become blighted and diseased on death)
4d8 20,000 Wood-twister Curse (causes a whole wood to become twisted and cruel on death)
5d8 40,000 Forest-plague Curse (causes all the trees of a forest to become diseased on death)
6d8 80,000 Dynastic Guardian Curse (A Black Unicorn emerges from corpse on death)
7d8 160,000 Erl-King Curse (Limited Future Sight-can see own death 1/day)
7d8+1hp 240,000 AR1 Curse (Summer: Whole clan Ages +10 years – dominion territory becomes trapped in perpetual summer)
7d8+2hp 320,000 AR2 Curse (Autumn: Whole Clan age to Ancient on Death of Dynastic Heir-dominion territory becomes trapped in perpetual autumn if no new heir is produced within a year)
7d8+3hp 400,000 AR3 Curse (Winter: Whole Clan Perishes on Death without Dynastic Heir – all magical creatures in dominion territory die- dominion territory trapped in permanent winter)

*CURSES CAN ONLY BE REMOVED BY A DRUID OF GREATER EXPERIENCE POINTS THAN CURSED HOB

HOB SAVING-THROW TABLE

LEVEL 1 2-3 4 5-6 7 AR1 AR2 AR3
POISON/DEATH-RAY 12 10 8 6 6 5 5 4
MAGIC WANDS 13 11 9 7 6 6 5 5
TURN TO STONE/PARALYSIS 14 12 10 8 7 6 6 5
DRAGON BREATH 15 13 11 9 8 7 6 5
SPELLS/MAGIC STAVES 16 14 12 10 9 8 7 6

ATTACK ROLL TABLE

Level AC9 AC8 AC7 AC6 AC5 AC4 AC3 AC2 AC1 AC0
1 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
2 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
3 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
4 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
6 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
7 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
AR1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
AR2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
AR3 2* 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

*Kill on a Natural 20

So anyway there is the Elder Elf - or Hob (which in proto-indoeuropean is Hule-Albho meaning 'Forest White or Forest Spirit - no that's not a spelling error- the Wight is originally White - a reference to 'albho' referring to Spirits, elves, etc. So a Barrow Wight of Lord of the Rings fame would originally be a Barrow Elf).