Level 1 Goblin
An RPG about being little guys
Level 1 Goblins is a tabletop RPG. You will need a group of friends and a bunch of 4- and 6-sided dice. One person is the GOBLIN MASTER (GM). The rest create a horde of goblins.
Making Goblins
Everyone makes 3 goblins and controls all of them
Goblin Schemes
How to be tricky little goblins
Goblin Fights
How to be stabby little goblins
Goblin World
What goblins do and why adventurers suck
Making Goblins
Every player creates and controls 3 goblins. Every goblin is Level 1.
If a player doesn't want to control all their goblins they can let the GM take over if the GM promises to follow orders.
There is one step to creating a goblin and that is naming the goblin. Every goblin has a 3-part name.
First name
A goblin has 2 possible first names: TRICKY or MIGHTY.
Goblins named TRICKY have d6 dice. They are good at goblin schemes.
Goblins named MIGHTY have d4 dice. They are good at goblin fights.
Middle Name
A goblin's middle name is Goblin.
Last Name
The last name of every goblin is what about themselves they are most proud of.
Nickname
Take your favorite syllable out of the goblin's name. That is their nickname.
Other Goblins
The GM makes as many goblins as they want who are other members of the goblin clan. They are busy doing their own goblin stuff but each has a way they can be convinced to help.
The following are a few of the players' fellow goblins. The GM can make more if they like. Their nicknames are in [brackets].
Tricky Goblin Great With Bow Can Shoot Bug Even [Bug]. Wants a magic arrow. Has never seen magic arrows before.
Mighty Goblin Once Punched A Bear For Real [Bear]. Wants a smooch from Mud. She does not think he punched a bear for real.
Tricky Goblin Covered In Mud Where Did She Go? [Mud]. Wants the finest hat from the human-town's haberdashery.
Mighty Goblin Pick Up Rock Size of Goblin [Rock]. Wants an obstacle course he can train his powerful muscles on.
Tricky Goblin Best Whistler In Entire Planet Maybe [Tire]. Wants the human-town minstrel's flute.
Mighty Goblin Wow So Fast [Wow]. Wants you to beat her in a footrace. Insists on extremely hazardous tracks.
Tricky Goblin Climb Tree and Catch Bird No Problem [Bird]. Wants to eat the mysterious Phoenix Bird.
Mighty Goblin Hold Breath For Like Five Minutes [Min]. Wants a trained war wolf.
Goblin Schemes
When Goblins get together and come up with a plan, the GM decides how many things could go wrong with it and tallies up the total. That’s the plan’s DIFFICULTY. Each goblin tells the GM what they’re doing. If the GM thinks they’re being useful for the plan, they get to add their die to the pile, plus any dice from their last names.
The Result
The pile is rolled. A die that has a 4 or higher on it is a SUCCESS.
The GM subtracts the number of SUCCESSES from the plan’s DIFFICULTY. If the result is 0 or below, the plan was a total success.
Messing Up
If the result is 1 or more, the plan has MESSED UP and that many things go wrong; the GM picks which from the list of challenges.
Once a plan has MESSED UP it’s every goblin for themselves. Until they all get away and have time to catch their breath they roll everything solo—no more dice piles.
Goblin Fights
When Goblins get in a fight, they pile up all their dice and roll them all at once. The other side does the same.
A character may add as many d4s to a pile as they have levels. Goblins are always level 1, but their enemies are often higher level than they are.
Any die that shows a 4 counts as a STAB. Whichever side has the most stabs wins. Subtract the loser’s stabs from the winner’s stabs. The winner gets to stab that many people.
Goblins (being very cunning) decide who on the loser’s side gets stabbed.
After the stabbings, every goblin may choose whether to fight again and roll another pile of dice, or run away.
Stabbed
Anyone who gets stabbed is rolling around on the ground and can’t add their dice if the fight keeps going.
When a goblin is stabbed, flip a coin. On heads the goblin pops back up. On a tails the goblin has been dealt a DIRE WOUND.
Dire Wounds
A goblin dealt a dire wound must give a Moving Soliloquy. If it’s moving enough that everyone claps the goblin dies beautifully. Otherwise the goblin is dragged back to the goblin tree and sewn back up over the course of 3 turns. Flip another coin. If it’s heads they survive the Goblin Surgery. When they come out they append “Who Also Survived [whatever wounded them] By The Way” to their last name.
Goblin World
Turns
The game is done in turns. Each turn is about an hour. On a turn, every goblin gets to spend one action. Actions are things like:
Getting in fights
Doing goblin schemes
Catching a wild boar
Entering a dungeon
Begging other gobs for help
Getting sewn up after a fight
When a goblin spends an action, it starts a scene that other goblins can decide to be a part of at any time, even after the scene has already started, as long as the GM is ok with it. In order to be helpful or useful during that scene, or roll any dice in it, they need to spend their action too. Otherwise they are just there to laugh, throw small stones, etc.
Adventurers
Adventurers cause all kinds of problems for goblins. To start your game, have 2 or 3 of them running around. The more adventurers you have at once, the harder your game is going to be.
Each adventurer is of a level around how many players are playing. To make an adventurer, roll a d4 to pick which kind, and then give them one Powerful Thing for each level they are.
Powerful Thing examples are included—roll a d8 to automatically pick from them.
Types (1d4) & Powerful Things (1d8)
1: | Cleric. Has the authority to boss other humans around. |
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1 | They are particularly powerful: +1d4 levels |
2 | They have a reliquary dragged around by a posse of servants, with a magical artifact inside that creates thunderstorms |
3 | They’ve subjugated a frightening abomination of double their level, hailed by the church as an Angel |
4 | A mob of 2d6 level 1 peasants are convinced they are a living saint |
5 | They may Lay on Hands to turn open wounds into gross mutations |
6 | They possess a holy hammer that causes small earthquakes |
7 | Their God is an invisible, bloodthirsty demon who follows them around |
8 | They command 2d4 church knights of half their level. |
2: | Rogue. Gets to add an extra point to their goals per turn. |
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1 | They’re particularly powerful: +1d4 levels |
2 | They’ve tricked a big dumb ogre of double their level into working for them |
3 | They have a sword that they can command to animate by singing |
4 | They’ve conned a town into thinking they’re the mayor, and have 3d6 level 1 guards fooled |
5 | They’re head of a gang of 1d4 fellow thieves of their level |
6 | They have the map to a great treasure which will make them super-rich if they get it |
7 | They’ve got a warrior of 1 level lower hopelessly infatuated with them |
8 | They have a bag of seeds, each of which grows into a perilously tall beanstalk |
3: | Warrior. Loses a level when stabbed, instead of going down. |
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1 | They’re particularly powerful: +1d4 levels |
2 | They command a horde of 2d6 horsemen |
3 | They have constructed a Keep right on your Borderlands |
4 | They are crazy strong--bending bars, lifting gates, and deadlifting cattle. |
5 | They have a cursed sword that can raise the dead |
6 | They've married a very bored princess; her dad furnished them with a nice carriage and 2d4 level 3 royal guards |
7 | A wizard of their level believes them to be part of a great prophecy, and will seek to keep them safe |
8 | They have a suit of holy armor that keeps them from being harmed by weapons |
4: | Wizard. Gets 1 extra Powerful Thing. |
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1 | They may cast Fireball |
2 | They may fly |
3 | They may animate golems out of mud |
4 | They know how to hypnotize people |
5 | Their shadow can detach and do things--it's invisible without light |
6 | They may summon magical palisades from trees |
7 | They may summon clouds of devil-bees |
8 | They have a set of 2d6 retainers, each a warrior of half their level |
Goals
Every adventurer has goals, which will cause problems for the goblins once they complete. Each turn, they get a number of adventure points equal to their level, which they can add to their goals--the total keeps increasing until the goal is completed or rendered impossible.
At the end of a turn, each adventurer rolls a d20. If the result is equal to or lower than the number of adventure points they've added to a goal, the adventurer begins their goal as the next turn starts, and accomplishes it by the turn's end.
When an adventurer completes a goal, they level up and start a new, even more ambitious goal.
Example goals (in order of ambition) | |
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1 | Steal a treasure from the goblin clan |
2 | Poison a goblin well, forcing the players to find a new one for the clan |
3 | Slay one of the players' clan-mates |
4 | Martial a town guard that prevents goblin theft |
5 | Raid a dungeon that will wake up a monster the goblins have to deal with |
6 | Use a treasure from that dungeon to become lord of the land, and put a bounty on goblin heads |
7 | Convince the king to send an army in from the capital |
8 | Wipe the goblins out |
Weaknesses
Every adventurer has a weakness that the goblins can exploit. It's not the only way to stop them but it's a really good one. Adventurers try to hide their weaknesses.
Example weaknesses | |
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1 | A tragic backstory that they weep upon remembering |
2 | A deathly allergy |
3 | A pet they are devoted to and will do anything to protect |
4 | A weapon hidden in a dungeon that is fated by prophecy to slay them |
5 | A debt with a dragon they keep defaulting on |
6 | A nagging addiction they can never quite kick |
7 | They are secretly a vampire and can't be out in the daytime |
8 | They'd secretly much rather be a famous dancer and will abandon adventuring if given the right opportunity |