Fierce and militaristic, hobgoblins survive by conquest. The raw materials to fuel their war machines come from raids, their armaments and buildings from the toil of slaves worked to death. Naturally ambitious and envious, hobgoblins seek to better themselves at the expense of others of their kind, yet in battle they put aside petty differences and fight with discipline rivaling that of the finest soldiers. Hobgoblins have little love or trust for one another, and even less for outsiders. Life for these brutes consists of duty to those of higher station, domination of those below, and the rare opportunities to seize personal glory and elevate their status.

Physical Description: Burly and muscled, hobgoblins stand a few inches shorter than the average human, and their long arms, thick torsos, and relatively short legs give them an almost apelike stature. Hobgoblins' skin is a sickly gray-green that darkens to mossy green after long exposure to the sun. Their eyes burn fiery orange or red, and their broad faces and sharply pointed ears give their features a somewhat feline cast. Hobgoblins lack facial hair, and even hobgoblin women are bald. Except for their size, hobgoblins bear a strong physical resemblance to their goblin cousins.

Society: Hobgoblins live in militaristic tyrannies, each community under the absolute rule of a hobgoblin general. Every hobgoblin in a settlement receives military training, with those who excel serving in the army and the rest left to serve more menial roles. Those deemed unfit for military service have little social status, barely rating above favored slaves. Despite this, hobgoblin society is egalitarian after a fashion. Gender and birth offer no barrier to advancement, which is determined almost solely by each individual's personal merit. Hobgoblins eschew strong attachments, even to their young. Matings are matters of convenience, and are almost always limited to hobgoblins of equal rank. Any resulting baby is taken from its mother and forcibly weaned after 3 weeks of age. Young mature quickly—most take no more than 6 months to learn to talk and care for themselves. Hobgoblins' childhoods last a scant 14 years, a mirthless span filled with brutal training in the art of war.

Relations: Hobgoblins view other races as nothing more than tools—implements to be enslaved, cowed, and put to work. Without slaves, hobgoblin society would collapse, so reliant is it on stolen labor. An injured, sickly, or defiant slave is like a broken tool, useless waste to be tossed out with the day's garbage. Not surprisingly, hobgoblin communities count no other races as their friends, and few as allies. Elves and dwarves earn special enmity, and are devilishly hard to break into proper slavery as both races hold blood feuds against goblinkind. Halflings and half-orcs make especially prized slaves—the former for their agile skills and the ease of breaking them to the collar, and the latter for their talent at thriving under the harshest of conditions. Hobgoblins have little love for the rest of goblinkind, though they typically treat goblinoid slaves better than they do other races.

Alignment and Religion: hobgoblin life is nothing if not ordered and hierarchical, and hobgoblins lean strongly toward the lawful alignments. While not innately evil, the callous and brutal training that fills the too-short childhood of hobgoblins leaves most embittered and full of hate. Hobgoblins of good alignment number the fewest, and almost exclusively consist of individuals raised in other cultures. More numerous but still rare are hobgoblins of chaotic bent, most often exiles cast out by the despots of their homelands. Religion, like most non-militaristic pursuits, matters little to the majority of hobgoblins. Most pay lip-service to one or more gods and occasionally make offerings to curry favor or turn aside ill fortune. Those hobgoblins who feel a stronger religious calling venerate fearsome, tyrannical gods and devils.

Adventurers: hobgoblin adventurers tend to be iconoclasts, loners who chafe under the strict hierarchy of military life. Others have fled or been exiled in disgrace for showing weakness or cowardice. Some harbor dreams of one day returning to the hobgoblin flock flush with wealth and tales of great deeds. A few serve farsighted hobgoblin generals, who send the most promising youths out into the world that they might someday return as mighty heroes for the hobgoblin cause. Hobgoblins lean toward martial classes, particularly cavaliers, fighters, monks, and rogues. The arcane arts are distrusted in hobgoblin society and consequently their practitioners are rare, save for alchemists, who gain grudging praise and admiration for their pyrotechnic talents.

Male Names: Arak, Bekri, Doruk, Fethi, Grung, Hagla, Haluk, Kurat, Malgrim, Mevlut, Oktar, Saltuk, Turgut.

Female Names: Afet, Ceyda, Ela, Esma, Huri, Kurmu, Maral, Masal, Melda, Nisa, Nural, Sekla, Sena, Tansu, Vesile.

Standard Racial Traits

• Ability Score Racial Traits: Hobgoblins are fast and hardy. They gain +2 Dexterity, and +2 Constitution.
• Type: Hobgoblins are humanoids with the goblinoid subtype.
• Size: Hobgoblins are Medium creatures and thus have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Base Speed: Hobgoblins have a base speed of 30 feet.
• Languages: Hobgoblins begin play speaking Common and Goblin. Hobgoblins with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Draconic, Dwarven, Infernal, Giant, and Orc. See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.

Feat and Skill Racial Traits

• Sneaky: Hobgoblins receive a +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks.

Senses Racial Traits

• Darkvision: Hobgoblins can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet.

Alternate Racial Traits

The following alternate racial traits may be selected in place of one or more of the standard racial traits above. Consult your GM before selecting any of these new options.

• Authoritative: Hobgoblins often develop a knack for controlling others. They gain a +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy and Intimidate checks. Both skills are always class skills for them. This racial trait replaces sneaky. Source PCS:ISR
• Bandy-Legged Bandy-legged hobgoblins have an even more exaggerated stature than other hobgoblins, with bowed legs and massive shoulders. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Climb and Ride checks, and a +2 racial bonus to their CMD against bull rush or trip attempts while on solid ground. The base speed of bandy-legged hobgoblins is reduced to 20 feet.
• Battle-Hardened Incessant drills make defense second nature to some hobgoblins. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain a +1 bonus to CMD. This racial trait replaces sneaky.
• Engineer hobgoblin engineers tinker endlessly with fire, explosives, and the engines of war. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy) and Knowledge (engineering) checks. This racial trait replaces sneaky.
• Fearsome Some hobgoblins scorn caution and subtlety for swagger and bluster. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain a +4 racial bonus on Intimidate checks. This racial trait replaces sneaky.
• Magehunter Hobgoblins hate and fear arcane casters. A magehunter gains a +2 racial bonus on Spellcraft checks made to identify a spell being cast and a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against arcane spellcasters. He only gains this bonus against creatures that use spells, and not against those that only use spell-like abilities. This racial trait replaces sneaky.
• Pit Boss Slave blood fuels the hobgoblin war machine. Pit bosses extract the last breath of labor from their charges with a liberal touch of the lash. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain proficiency with whips and a +1 racial bonus on combat maneuver checks made to disarm or trip with a whip. This racial trait replaces sneaky.
• Scarred A hobgoblin can scar himself with both blade and fire to toughen his hide into a mass of horny scars. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain a +1 natural armor bonus to Armor Class. However, the repeated exposure to fire permanently damages their eyes. This racial trait replaces the darkvision racial trait.
• Slave Hunter hobgoblin slavers excel at tracking down runaway slaves and surviving in filthy conditions. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Survival checks and a +2 racial bonus on Fortitude saves against disease. This racial trait replaces sneaky.
• Unfit Hobgoblins who failed to secure a position in the military hold the lowest status in hobgoblin society, and quickly learn the value of currying favor with their betters. Hobgoblins with this racial trait gain proficiency in a single martial weapon and +1 racial bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks. This racial trait replaces sneaky.

Favored Class Options

The following favored class options are available to all characters of this race who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the favored class reward.

• Alchemist Add +1/2 to the number of bombs per day the alchemist can create.
• Cavalier Add a +1/2 bonus on Intimidate checks and Ride checks.
• Cleric Add +1/2 to negative energy spell damage, including inflict spells.
• Fighter Add a +1/2 circumstance bonus on critical hit confirmation rolls with a weapon of the Fighter's choice (maximum bonus +4). This bonus does not stack with Critical Focus.
• Gunslinger Add +1/4 to the gunslinger's grit points.
• Inquisitor Add a +1 bonus on concentration checks made to cast inquisitor spells.
• Monk Add a +1/4 bonus on combat maneuver checks made to grapple or trip.
• Ranger Add +1/4 to a single existing favored enemy bonus (maximum bonus +1 per favored enemy).
• Rogue Reduce the penalty for not being proficient with one weapon by 1. When the nonproficiency penalty for a weapon becomes 0 because of this ability, the rogue is treated as having the appropriate Martial or Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat for that weapon.

3rd Party Publisher Favored Class Options - Jon Brazer Enterprises

• Barbarian Add +1/6 the number of attacks of opportunity per round. This does not stack with the Combat Reflexes feat. (Source JBE:SF:FCO)
• Bard Reduce the penalty for not being proficient with one weapon by 1. When the nonproficiency penalty for a weapon becomes 0 because of this ability, the bard is treated as having the appropriate Martial or Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat for that weapon. (Source JBE:SF:FCO)
• Druid Add a +1/2 circumstance bonus on critical hit confirmation rolls with one of the druid’s natural weapons (maximum bonus +4). This bonus does not stack with Critical Focus. (Source JBE:SF:FCO)
• Magus Add a +1/2 circumstance bonus on critical hit confirmation rolls when using spellstrike (maximum bonus +4). This bonus does not stack with Critical Focus. (Source JBE:SF:FCO)
• Oracle Add +1/2 damage to oracle spells that deal negative energy damage, including inflict spells. (Source JBE:SF:FCO)
• Paladin Add a +1/2 circumstance bonus on critical hit confirmation rolls with a weapon of the paladin’s choice (maximum bonus +4). This bonus does not stack with Critical Focus. (Source JBE:SF:FCO)
• Sorcerer When casting sorcerer spells with the fear descriptor, add +1/3 to the effective caster level of the spell, but only to determine the spell’s duration. (Source JBE:SF:FCO)
• Summoner Add +1 hit point to the summoner’s eidolon. (Source JBE:SF:FCO)
• Witch When casting witch spells with the fear descriptor, add +1/3 to the effective caster level of the spell, but only to determine the spell’s duration. (Source JBE:SF:FCO)
• Wizard When casting wizard spells with the fear descriptor, add +1/3 to the effective caster level of the spell, but only to determine the spell’s duration. (Source JBE:SF:FCO)

Racial Archetypes

The following racial archetypes are available to hobgoblins:

Racial Feats

The following feats are available to a hobgoblin character who meets the prerequisites.

• Deafening Explosion
• Demoralizing Lash
• Focusing Blow
• Hobgoblin Discipline
• Taskmaster
• Terrorizing Display