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Goblinville Gazette
Rules of Play
 Contents
4
CHAPTER ONE
Playing the Game

12
CHAPTER TWO
You, Goblins!

15
CHAPTER THREE
The Town

20
CHAPTER FOUR
The Goblin Master

25
ADVENTURE ONE
The Pit of Mirrors
 Welcome to Goblinville
Goblinville is a fantasy adventure roleplaying game about broke goblins and the town they live in.
3-5 players will create and play a band of goblins in search of treasure to support themselves and
their town. Their job is to venture forth into the wilds and see if they survive. One player is the Gob-
lin Master: their goal is to put interesting perils between the goblins and what they want.

WHAT YOU NEED SETUP FOR

The following things are needed to play Goblinville:
PEOPLE
You’ll need one person to be the Goblin Master
(GM), and 3-5 others to play the party of
goblins.
Everyone should have a pencil (never a pen!)
and whatever snacks they’ll need.
DICE
• The Goblin Master needs two matching dice: a
danger die and a harm die.
• Each player needs a single die in a unique
color: their action die.
• You all share a pool of 5 or 6 matching dice for
the middle of the table. These are the dice for
twists, traits, titles, injuries, and illness.
• You all share a single sorcery die. It’s especially
good if this is a weird color.
• Character creation, town events and other
tables use a twenty-sided die (D20)
SHEETS
The Goblinville sheets bundle is available on our
Kickstarter page, and on our Drivethrurpg.com
store Narrative Dynamics. From it you’ll need:
• A copy of the character sheet for each player
• The Adventure Tracker
• The Town sheet
• The Map
THE FIRST SESSION
Each player creates a goblin, following the steps
on page 12. When they get to step 7, they get to
tell the other players about their goblin. They
will fill in details freely and ask others for ideas.
When others introduce their goblins, they ask
questions about what interests them.
The GM listens while the players make their
goblins. They will note which jobs the goblins
have and mark the relevant locations on the town
sheet. The GM will ask questions, suggest titles,
and take notes: especially about jobs, titles, and
bosses.
The GM comes up with an opportunity using
the guidelines in The Goblin Master, p. 20. They
describe the premise of the opportunity and how
the goblins could profit, answering any questions
they have. Play will proceed, following the rules
set out in Playing the Game, p. 4.

3
 CHAPTER one
Playing
the Game
ADVENTURING
THE MARCHING ORDER
At the start of an adventure, players roll initia-
tive: they each roll their action die and they
place them in a line on the Adventure Tracker,
from highest to lowest. If any players roll the
same number, they roll again to break the tie, just
against each other. This line of dice is the march-
ing order.
Players can act in any order they want; they’re
not limited by marching order. However, when
the GM isn’t sure who’s acting next, or who is
most at risk in a situation, it’s the first goblin in
the marching order.
Play proceeds freely, with GM presenting the
situation and goblins describing their actions. If
the goblins hesitate or disagree about a course of
action, and it’s unclear what is happening first,
the GM asks the first goblin in marching order
what they do next. If the party agrees on a course
of action without any one goblin volunteering to
take the lead, the GM has the the first goblin in
marching order roll. The first goblin in marching
order is the informal party leader until they roll
(and someone else becomes first in line).
Goblins are clever, resourceful and versatile.
Most things you’ll do will be resolved with nar-
ration, good use of gear, and job experience. But
when a goblin attempts something risky, the GM
calls for an action roll: the goblin making the roll
takes their action die off of the marching order
and proceeds to the action roll procedure.
When a goblin's die is out of the marching
4
order, that player is not out of the game. They
should offer suggestions, react to the other gob-
lins, suggest twists, and build up the spotlight of
the other players. This is a chance to find out who
their goblins are.
When all dice are taken from the marching
order, a turn passes and the players roll initiative
again. Goblins can remove their die from the
marching order without rolling if they choose to.
TURNS AND LIGHT
In Goblinville, a turn is a measure of activity, not
time. A turn takes as much time as needed for
each goblin in the marching order to take an ac-
tion.
Torches last for two turns. A torch provides
enough light for each goblin in the same room or
immediate area. Being in darkness puts anyone
in it in bad position.
Every four turns, the goblins have to rest by
making camp or they each have to mark a condi-
tion. Drinking a draught of grog allows a goblin
to press on without marking a condition.
Just two goblins
If there are only two goblins in the group, they
will each roll 2 action dice for the Marching Or-
der. This keeps the passage of turns (and burning
of torches) from feeling too rushed.
POSITIONING & EFFECTIVENESS
Positioning indicates how much risk the goblins
are facing in the moment, and how much they
can expect to achieve in a single action.
The goblins share positioning, and are collec-
tively either in good, bad, or standard position.
When one of the goblins is hanging from the
cliff edge, or held at swordpoint by a human, the
stakes are raised for all of them.
Positioning changes when a new threat appears
or as a consequence of goblin actions. Sometimes
the result of a roll will prompt the GM to adjust
positioning. Other times, positioning will shift
based on events in the fiction. Positioning can be
kept track of on the Adventure Tracker.
 Examples
The goblins are running from a giant spider and
have the great idea to hide among stalagmites, the
GM shifts their positioning from standard to good
without the goblins making a roll.
The goblins run into a room fleeing giant bats and
stumble right into a human patrol. The humans are
bigger, better armed, and more numerous. The GM
silently shifts the position marker down to bad.
Good Position
If the goblins are thoroughly prepared or taking
a particularly clever approach, they are in a good
position. Success means they achieve their goal
with some advantage (often good intelligence on
their new situation). Progress counts as success
in this position!
In a fight, Success does 2 harm to a monster (cross-
ing out two of its moves). Progress does 1 harm.
Standard position
Actions against static obstacles like climbing a
rock wall or traversing dense forest are general-
ly in standard position. Success in this position
achieves the goal. Progress does not achieve the
goal, but raises the goblins to good position.
In a fight, success does 1 harm. Progress does
no harm, but raises the group to good position.
Bad Position
If a task is especially complicated or time con-
suming, the goblins are in a bad position. Success
puts them in standard position. Progress has no
effect. It’s tough to recover from a bad situation!
In a fight, bad position means a goblin is
knocked over, disarmed, dazed, etc. Success can
do 1 harm or raise the goblins back to standard
position. Progress has no effect.
ACTION ROLLS
When the goblin describes a risky action, they
must make a roll to see whether they succeed and
what consequences they face. Every Action must
have a possibility of failure and a salient Danger.
If the GM can’t think of how a situation could go
wrong, or how something is immediately at risk,
then there’s no action roll. As soon as it’s clear
that something is at risk, the goblin’s player must
make an action roll to see how it plays out.
GATHERING DICE
1. Action Die: The acting playing takes their
action die from the marching order. Action
is what the goblin hopes to achieve. It can’t be
solely negative (don’t get hurt); the goblin has
to want to succeed at something in addition
to avoiding consequences.
2. Danger: Action rolls always involve a Danger.
The GM tosses them a die and describes
what’s dangerous about the situation. The
specific danger should flow from the goblin’s
action and context. It can’t solely undermine
the action completely (an Action “find the
temple” can’t have “get lost” as a Danger). If
facing a monster, the Danger will usually be
one of the monster’s moves.
3. Harm: If the goblin might get hurt, the GM
says how and tosses them another die. Harm
is a special risk the goblins resolve every time
they are in physical danger. It is resolved in
addition to the contextual Danger of the roll.
4. Traits & Titles: The player chooses whether
to use a trait or invoke a title, letting them
add a die without creating any new trouble.
Each trait and title can be used once per
session. Check off the bubble when used. One
trait and one title can be used on a single roll
for a total of 2 extra dice.
5. Twists: Finally, any player can introduce a
twist. A twist is a dramatic complication or
serious risk. Players offering the twist can put
themselves or their gear at risk (see group
actions), or they can offer ways to make the
acting goblin’s situation tougher. Twists have
to create meaningful new challenges, so play-
ers should bring the kind of trouble they're
interested in. If the acting player and GM
agree to the twist, it adds a die to the roll.
RESOLVING ACTION ROLLS
Players roll all their dice at once and then assign
a die to each outcome in the roll: Action and
Danger, and Harm and Twist if those have been
added. Players can place their dice on the Action
Resolution diagram on the character sheet.
Each outcome and their die values are as follows:
Action
5-6: Success. Their goal is met.
3-4: Progress. A lesser success or an opportunity
is created.
1-2: Failure. Their goal is not met, an opportunity is lost.
Danger
4-6: Doesn’t Happen. The consequence is avoided.
1-3: Happens. The danger is realized to its full po-
tential.
5
Harm
6: Totally fine. No conditions gained (unless that
was the Danger, too).
3-5: Condition. The player chooses what condi-
tion to take.
1-2: Injured. The goblin is Injured. If a goblin is
already Injured, and have to mark it again, they
die (even in the same roll).
Twist
4-6: Doesn’t Happen. The twist is avoided.
1-3: Happens. The twist is realized, and the GM
builds on it.
Example
Hoggle is trying to cross a narrow ledge over a
roaring river. It’s a risky Action, so she grabs her
action die. The GM passes Hoggle’s player another
die and says that Hoggle’s pack could fall into the
river below; that’s the Danger. Hoggle’s player rolls
a 5 and a 2. She can assign the 5 to Hoggle’s Action
(Achieved) and make it across the river but a 2 on
the Danger means it’s realized: Hoggle’s pack will
tumble into the rapids below. Instead, she assigns
the 5 to the Danger (Doesn’t Happen). Hoggle
holds on to his pack, but loses his footing and falls
to the rushing water!
Failing Forward
When an Action fails, it’s never a “whiff ” where
nothing happens. An opportunity is lost and a
new situation is created. Failing to pick a lock
means it’s jammed and must be opened another
way. Failing to sail to shore means you’ve
drifted off course. A player who
chooses to fail an Action in order
to avoid a Danger is choosing to
lose control of the situation rather
than suffer a consequence. It’s on the
GM to follow up on this.
GROUP ACTIONS
When a goblin attempts
to overcome a challenge,
that roll stands for all the
goblins that might rea-
sonably participate. If the goblins
are scrambling up a cliffside, they
don’t all need to roll; one goblin can
take the lead. If a goblin volunteers,
they are making the roll. If no one
leaps to take the lead, the GM directs
the action to the first goblin in the
marching order.
In these cases, the success or
failure of the Action stands for the
whole group. If an Action resolves
6
for the whole group, then Danger is also shared
(all the goblins are lost, or they all drop an item
from their hands). Harm is always individual, so
only the lead has to mark a condition.
If another goblin wants to help, they can intro-
duce a Twist that puts them at risk. If goblins are
separated or trapped, they need to roll for them-
selves. When acting against a monster, goblins
always act on their own.
Example
The goblins are fleeing a burning building, and Put-
ter the Spellbreaker is taking the lead. The Action
is getting through the debris to the exit, the Danger
is exhaustion, and Putter is risking harm from the
flames. If the Action succeeds, all the goblins make
it out. If it fails they’re all stuck. Progress depends
on their positioning (maybe only Putter gets out). If
the Danger happens, all the goblins are Exhausted.
The Harm is specific to Putter; he’s risking a little
more by taking the lead.
Gobta wants to help so she says “I’m getting out
last. I’d rather get burned than leave anyone be-
hind.” This adds a die to Putter’s roll, but if the twist
happens, Gobta will be Injured too.
EXPERTISE
Once per session, a goblin can use their expertise
from their job to gain insight into a situation. That
player may ask the GM a question. This could in-
volve recalling some bit of lore or assessing a situ-
ation with an expert eye. The GM provides
a generous, truthful answer.
If the GM thinks the goblin
wouldn’t have any insight
on the topic, they can say that
the goblin simply doesn’t know,
and the player doesn’t mark the use of
their goblin’s expertise.
CAREFUL STUDY
If a goblin wants to closely study
something, and they are not facing
an immediate threat, they may make
an action roll. The Danger is that
time passes. If this Danger hap-
pens, advance the turn counter by 1
without adjusting marching order.
Torches burn down and the gob-
lins are closer to having to camp.
If there are threats nearby, the
Danger should be more urgent.

MONSTERS
Goblins will face adversity in the form of beasts
both mundane and fantastic, other humanoids,
and even their own kin.
MOVES
Monsters are comprised of moves which illus-
trate their capabilities and danger to goblins.
Taken as a whole, they measure the monster’s
health, threat, and staying power in a fight.
When a goblin takes Action against a monster,
the Danger will most likely be one of the mon-
ster’s moves: Grasp, Slash, Corner, etc.. When
a goblin is successful in their Action, the GM
crosses off a move, reducing its capability to
threaten the goblins.
When monsters have no relevant moves, they
will flee. If reduced to no moves and the context
is appropriate, the monsters are killed.
Finishing moves
Some monsters also have finishing
moves with more dire effects that they
can only use when the goblins are in bad
position. In the monster's stat block, fin-
ishing moves are indicated by the
icon.
Like regular moves, finish-
ing moves risk Danger. Finish-
ing moves always risk Harm. In
addition to this Harm, they also
inflict another effect: either a specific con-
dition, or to take a goblin out of the fight entirely.
ARMOR
Monsters gain 1 armor if they are a group, and 1
more if they outnumber the goblins. When harm
is done to a monster, armor is crossed off first be-
fore moves.
POSITIONING
When monsters appear, determine the goblins’
positioning. If most of the factors below are in
the goblins’ favor, they are in a good position. If
most of the factors are in the monster’s favor, the
goblins are in a bad position. Otherwise, it’s stan-
dard positioning.
• Outnumbered • Ambushed
• Bigger • Better Armed
MOVES IN ACTION
Monster moves always risk Danger, often that
the goblins are put in worse position by being
Pinned, Grabbed, Knocked Over, Dazed, etc. If
this danger comes to pass, reduce the goblins
position by one level. Sometimes the Danger is
to the goblins’ equipment or their surroundings.
Monster moves can risk Harm to a goblin in
addition to the Danger if the move involves a
weapon or harmful feature.
CAMP
Every four turns, the goblins need to make camp
and rest. Drinking grog lets the goblins skip
camp and press on without marking a condition.
Usually, goblins must find a safe camp site, or
get back to an established camp. This may be a
risky undertaking and may require an action roll.
CAMP PROCEDURE
1. Eat. Each goblin must eat a ration or mark a
condition.
2. Rest and restore. Each goblin may choose to
sleep or take a camp action (recover, repair,
forage, or make supplies).
CAMP ACTIONS
All camp actions require a roll and include
Danger. Twists, traits and titles can be added
to this roll as normal. Sleep does not require
a roll.
Sleep
Sleeping allows a goblin to recover
from Panicked and Exhausted.
Recover from illness or injury
This action allows the goblin to recover
from Sick or Injured. The Danger for this roll
is the goblin loses an inventory slot (Head, Neck,
Hand, Torso or Feet) to a scar. If all of these slots
are already lost, the goblin can’t recover. A single
camp Action roll allows for recovery of Sick OR
Injured, not both.
5-6: Cleared
3-4: Reduced to Exhausted or Panicked.
1-2: Failed.
Repairing gear
When gear is damaged from a twist or other
circumstance, it will be marked with an X. The
Danger here might be damaging tools or a relat-
ed item, or becoming Exhausted from working
through the night.
6: Repair 2 damage
4-5: Repair 1 damage
1-3: Failed.
Foraging
Foraging is only possible if there’s a reason rations
might be around. The Danger for foraging might
be alerting monsters to your campsite, getting sep-
arated from the group, or marking a condition.
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 Good position: Goblins get two rations on a 5-6,
one ration on 3-4.
Standard position: Goblins get a ration on a 3-6.
Bad position: Goblins get a ration on a 5-6 and fail
on 1-4. The Danger here could be getting am-
bushed or becoming Sick from sampling dubi-
ous food sources.
Making supplies
Supplies are created for specific purposes, and
take up 1 inventory slot each. While adventuring,
supplies can be used up to add 1d6 to a relevant
roll.
A goblin may also make torches (2 torches to 1
inventory slot) while in camp.
In either case, suitable materials must be near-
by for the Action to be attempted.
Making (or gathering) supplies only succeeds on
a 5-6. Like repairing gear, the Danger when mak-
ing supplies could be damaging tools or becom-
ing Exhausted from working through the night.
Example
Geist wants to gather supplies to help climb over a
stone wall. Geist's player describes walking around
gathering lengths of vines and tying them together
to make a weak rope. The Action is that she as-
sembles a rope (which would grant an extra die on
a single future roll). The Danger is that she might
be Exhausted from taking on this ambitious proj-
ect rather than sleeping. She rolls a 4 and a 5. She
wraps the rope around her torso and sets off to
wake up the others.
CAMPING TWICE
The goblins can camp twice in a row if they want
to, but each goblin must eat another ration, and
one goblin must keep watch as their
camp action. If a goblin doesn't eat
a ration, they don't take a con-
dition, but they cannot take
another camp action.
Keeping Watch
The goblin on watch makes
a Grim Favor roll:
6: Uneventful.
3-5: Goblin keeping watch
must mark a condition.
1-2: Camp is interrupted by a
monster or calamity.
RETURN TO ADVENTURE
When the goblins break camp, the
turn counter resets to turn 1.
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CONDITIONS
Conditions represent the mental and physical toll
of adventuring. There are five conditions in total.
Exhausted: A possible danger for any action
that requires great exertion or endurance.
Panicked: A possible danger for any action that
puts the goblins under great stress or con-
fronts them with something terrifying.
Sick: A possible danger for actions in extremely
toxic environments or for the Finisher moves
of venomous monsters. The Sorcery roll
includes a specific risk of sickness.
Injured: A possible danger for actions that are
physically perilous or for the Finisher moves
of monsters. The Harm roll includes a specif-
ic risk of injury.
Dead: The final condition. Irreversible. Death
should only be a danger for the most des-
perately perilous actions and the Finishing
moves of the most dangerous monsters.
Conditions escalate
If a consequence requires a goblin to mark Ex-
hausted or Panicked, but these conditions are
already marked, they must mark Sick or Injured
instead. If a goblin is already Sick or Injured, and
they would mark the same condition again, they
die.
SORCERY
Sorcery is the art of commanding pixies to per-
form acts that goblins cannot. Any goblin can
learn sorcery. To cast a spell, they must fulfill
three requirements:
They know the spell. Spells can be gained
during goblin creation, found in dun-
geons, or purchased from a witch. Once a
goblin learns a spell, they know it forever,
unless that knowledge is lost
magically.
They have the spell materi-
als. When a goblin learns a
spell, they gain the materi-
als needed to perform the
casting ritual. These materials
may be lost as a Danger or
Twist. Replacement materials can
be crafted in camp or purchased
from a witch.
They meet the spell’s conditions.
Each spell has specific conditions
for its casting. These need to be
fulfilled in the fiction before the
spell is cast. If it’s unclear if the con-

THE SPELL LETS YOU
Dead tongue talk to ghosts
create a flame the size of a
Fiery gaze candle on any surface you
can see
make a sound like a drum or the sound is, like, really loud blow on a nail or hollow reed.
Liar's whistle bird call in any direction
fill a room (or room sized
Breath of fog space) with dense, soupy fog it starts raining, hard
put a creature (human-sized you fall asleep, too
Heavy eye
or smaller) to sleep
translate any writing into
Enlightened quill goblin
hold a door or chest closed
Iron claw
as if bound in heavy chains
hold your breath for almost
Frog's lung
half an hour
dition is met (for example, if it’s dark enough
to cast Fiery Gaze) ask the GM. Acting to
meet a spell’s conditions may require a test, or
it may not be feasible at the moment.
THE SORCERY ROLL
It is not an Action to cast a spell. There is no
Danger, and no risk of failure. When the require-
ments are met, spells are always cast successful-
ly. However, frequent use of sorcery can take a
toll on goblins, leaving them weak and feverish.
When a goblin casts a spell, that player must roll
the sorcery die to see if their goblin is stricken
with spell sickness:
6: They’re totally fine.
3-5: Mark a condition of the player’s choice
1-2: They are Sick.
Sorcery Twists
Players may introduce twists to grant themselves
(or another player) an extra die on the sorcery
roll. Each spell includes a suggested Twist. Play-
ers may also risk using up their spell materials or
invent a Twist of their own. Sorcery twists are a
great way to add some unpredictable side effects
of spell casting.
OPTIONAL RULE: WILD MAGIC
This is an optional rule that will likely shift your
game to more fantastical results. If a goblin
wants to use a spell in a risky or unconvention-
al way, they can roll the sorcery die in addition
to an Action and Danger die. The Action is get-
ting the spell to do something it normally can’t
or attempting to magnify its result. The Danger
should be proportionate to how much the in-
tended effect differs from what the spell typically
SPELLS
BUT SOMETIMES AND IT ONLY WORKS WHEN YOU
ghosts lie or drone on about have evidence of a death (e.g. a
how unfair life is skeleton).
there is a bunch of
are in darkness.
foul-smelling smoke
spit out a mouthful of grog or water.
catch them at ease and unawares.
the pixie reorders the words trace the words with a raven's
to mess with you feather.
You’re locked in place, too keep staring at it continuously.
you lose the ability to speak
are very damp.
for a day
does. It’s important to set a standard for plausible
uses of spells, and to introduce significant dan-
gers to wild spell casting. This keeps things un-
predictable, rather than making sorcery the ideal
solution to every problem.
OVERLAND TRAVEL
When traveling overland, first the goblins choose
their destination. The goblins must have a specif-
ic destination– no walking North until you find
something. The destination could be a vague lead
in a specific hex or a previously visited location.
Exploration
Finding a lead on an unexplored hex is a good
way to establish waypoints for longer journeys.
Hexes are only considered explored once the
goblins have traveled explicitly to that location.
Hexes traveled through (or stopped in during
trouble on a journey) are still, for the most part,
a mystery.
The goblin taking the lead (or first in marching
order, if uncertain) rolls to make it to the desti-
nation.
PREPARATION AND POSITIONING
How well supplied you are determines your po-
sitioning.
Preparation
Three factors improve your positioning:
Mounts, or other climate-appropriate travel aids.
Rations. One ration per goblin for every two
days traveled (no camp action granted)
A detailed map to the place you're going,
bought in town or made in camp.
9
Positioning
Compare the preparations made against the dis-
tance of travel to determine the party’s position-
ing:
One day or less: One factor (mounts, rations, or
a map) puts you in a good position.
Three days or less: two factors (mounts, rations,
or a map) puts you in a good position. Having
no factors puts you in a bad position.
One week or less: Three factors put you in a
good position. One or zero factors puts you in
a bad position.
Goblins cannot travel more than a week in one roll.
WEATHER
Adverse weather or especially difficult terrain
reduce your position by one level (from good to
standard, etc). If the goblins are already in a bad
position and facing adverse weather or difficult
terrain, make the danger of failure catastrophic.
To determine the weather, make a Grim Favor
roll before the goblins set out:
6: Particularly favorable weather for this environment.
3-5: Common weather for this environment.
1-2: Particularly nasty weather for this environment.
RESOLUTION
The travel roll is made like an Action roll. The
goblin taking the lead (or first in marching order,
if uncertain) rolls to make it to the destination.
Success and progress results depend on how well
the goblins are prepared for the trip:
Good position: Success is making it all the way
there. Progress is making it two days before
travel is stalled (maybe this is far enough to
reach your destination).
Standard position. Success is making it all the
way there. Progress is making it one day be-
fore stalling out (maybe this is far is enough
to reach your destination).
Bad position: Success is making it all the way
there. Progress has no effect. On anything
less than a 5, progress stalls out as soon as the
goblins are out of familiar territory.
DANGER
The Danger depends on the length of the jour-
ney and how well the goblins are prepared for the
trip.
As with any Action roll, players may add a
Twist to gain an extra die. However, it might be
worth cautioning players on whether their Twist
will potentially derail their progress into a new
encounter. Goblins can use relevant traits and
titles to add a die to the roll, with the typical re-
strictions.
GRIM FAVOR
Sometimes there are things that are uncertain
that are totally outside of the goblins control. In
many cases, the GM can reasonably decide the
state of these things. If the uncertainty is: “who
does this affect first or most?”, they'll look to the
first goblin in the marching order. If the uncer-
tainty is: “how favorable is this situation?” the GM
can make a Grim Favor roll.
They roll 1D6 or, better, ask a player to roll
1D6. The result determines the state of the world:
6: Particularly favorable to the goblins
3-5: Indifferent
1-2: Particularly unfavorable
DEATH
When you die, each goblin will say a few words
for you, honoring you with your full name and
titles. When (and only when) they do, they may
respectfully loot one item off your body. You
choose the order (it’s your funeral). Everything
else gets lost somehow.

SUGGESTED TRAVEL DANGERS BY DISTANCE AND POSITIONING

POSITION ONE DAY OR LESS
Good Leader item damaged, leader
extra grog or ration spent
Standard Leader Exhausted, leader item
lost, followed by enemy
Bad Whole party Exhausted, whole
party ration or grog spent,
Ambushed.
THREE DAYS OR LESS
Leader Exhausted, two rations
or grog spent.
Whole party Exhausted, Leader
Sick, followed by enemy. Whole
party ration or grog spent.
Whole party Sick, ambushed
by enemy.
ONE WEEK OR LESS
Whole party Exhausted. Fol-
lowed by enemy
Whole party Sick, ambushed
by enemy
Whole party Exhausted and
Sick, Surrounded by an espe-
cially dangerous threat.

It’s important to note that most of these Dangers do not derail travel progress into a whole new encounter. The Action roll
determines whether the goblins reach their destination. The exception to this principle is the Dangers from a bad position
(or standard position on a long journey). Ambushed goblins might have to fight or flee their way out of a tough situation.
If goblins want to arrive with minimal complications, it behooves them to improve their positioning before setting out.

10

END OF SESSION
Each player reviews how their goblin’s outlook
developed and whether they achieved their
goal. They will recount the experience that most
shaped them during this outing. This is a fireside
tale. Maybe they embellish, or tell a different side
of things than we saw.
Receive a new title
The rest of the group listens and comes up with a
1-4 word title to reflect the experience. See step 8
of Goblin Creation on p.12 for guidelines. If all
of their titles are filled, the goblin advances.
Replace a Trait
If a player chooses, they may remove one of their
goblin's traits. Maybe it doesn't fit anymore, or
maybe they proved it wrong. The other players
give them a new trait based on their actions this
session, of the same category of the removed
trait. That goblin’s player should agree that it
makes sense or help develop it.
ADVANCEMENT
When a goblin would gain a title, but they al-
ready have three, they advance. When they ad-
vance, they clear all their titles. The other players
must give the goblin another title that sums up
all of their experiences so far. This title reflects a
new level of experience and begins the goblin's
well-established reputation in Goblinville.
Veteran
The first time a goblin advances, they become a
veteran. Veterans may recruit hirelings in town.
Boss
The second time they advance, they
become a Boss. When Bosses enter
town, they roll for Being a Boss
instead of Going to Work. Bosses
may also recruit hirelings.
Big Boss
The third time a goblin advances,
they become a Big Boss. Big Bosses
have the same priveleges as a Boss,
plus these two:
Big Bosses don’t have to pay room
and board.
Big Bosses can pay 40 scratch to
build a new location in town.
Retirement
Goblins cannot advance a fourth
time; instead they must retire to rel-
ative luxury. They are now a part of the vibrant
backdrop of Goblinville.
When a goblin retires, they may give one item
to each other goblin and pass one item on to an
heir, who can either be a hireling (if still alive
themselves) or a new goblin. Next session, the
player takes over playing as the heir.
TOWN
When the goblins return to Goblinville, they
will be able to do several things including rest,
restock, a work their jobs. They will then plan
their next adventure and embark from Goblin-
ville once again!
HIRELINGS
Hirelings are goblins that mostly do what you say.
You must be a Veteran or higher to recruit a hire-
ling. Recruiting a hireling costs 8 scratch and you
must pay them 2 scratch every time you return to
Goblinville, or they find a new job.
Hirelings have two hands to carry equipment
and two slots in their pack to lug your stuff. They
only carry the equipment you buy for them.
Commanding hirelings
When you command your hireling to do some-
thing, they do it. If there is no risk involved, they
succeed. If the task is risky, you have to roll:
If there is a risk of failure or exertion, roll 1D6.
If you are stretching the hireling’s capabilities
or placing them in direct harm, roll 2D6 and
take the lower result.
5-6: They succeed.
3-4: They succeed but are Injured or Ex-
hausted.
1-2: They are lost or killed.
This is not an action roll and cannot
be modified in any way.
Sustaining hirelings
Hirelings do not perform actions
in camp, they just sleep. They car-
ry their own rations, so you don’t
have to feed them, but if you run
out so do they. If Injured or Ex-
hausted, they recover when you
camp, no test required.
11
 CHAPTER two

You, 4. Name your boss and choose (or roll) wheth-

er they:

Goblins!
1. Died 3. Went broke 5. Got kidnapped
2. Fired you 4. Ran off 6. Got tossed in the brig
5. Come up with one experience from your job
that shaped you. Choose the tone of this experi-
Goblins are the backbone of this game. You aren’t ence or roll for it:
just adventurers. You are important figures in 1. Personal insight 4. Humbling failure
Goblinville. The choices you make when you 2. Trial by fire 5. Modest accomplishment
create your characters shape the tone, spirit, and 3. Motivating loss 6. Indebtedness to another goblin
(ask who)
features in play.
6. Choose two traits. Choose one based on your
GOBLIN CREATION appearance: small, hairy, extra green, etc. Then
choose a trait based on your personality: ner-
Character creation is a group process. To start, vous, loud, grumpy, etc.
players can work through steps 1-7 on their own.
7. Choose your name. Something like Hoggle,
1. Choose your job or roll a D20 for one. Each Creeper, or Blix.
job has a starting item. Find a place for it in your
inventory. Tell the GM your job, so they can PAUSE.
mark the relevant location on the town map. Steps 8-13 will be done one by one, by each player
1. Witch (herbs) 11. Warg-keeper (whistle) in turn.
2. Hornblower (horn) 12. Scavenger (twine)
3. Thief (bag of sand) 13. Woodcutter (hatchet) 8. Tell the story of your experience to the oth-
4. Scout (spyglass) 14. Trader (pack) er goblins. Answer their questions. They come
5. Charlatan (fake coins) 15. Sapper (wire cutters) up with a 1-4 word title to reflect your tale. It’s
6. Pit fighter (iron knuckles) 16. Cook (pot)
7. Sailor (dice) 17. Tinker (wrench)
important to keep in mind that titles aren’t just
8. Forge Smithy (nails) 18. Hunter (javelin) nicknames. They must imply that something
9. Ditch digger (shovel) 19. Sawbones (bonesaw) happened, for good or ill. Something like: Exile
10. Spear carrier (spear) 20. Miner (pick) Witch, Friend to Thieves, or The Unburied.
2. Choose your age or roll 1d6 for it.
9. Introduce yourself to your friends based on
1. Green-ear 4-5. Longtooth
2-3. Roughneck 6. Greybeard what you know so far. Talk through how your
goblins know each other. You’re going out into a
3. Choose or roll your garb. This is a distinctive
dangerous world together; talk about why. May-
item of clothing or feature that you are known
be you’re coworkers or rival cousins?
for. Note it in your inventory.
1. Goat skull 11. Tooth necklace 10. Determine Esteem trait: The other goblins
2. Tunic 12. Eyepatch all know you and trust you enough to travel into
3. Hood 13. Warm hat
4. "Fancy" shoes 14. Scarf
the dangerous world world at your side. That
5. "Fancy" hat 15. Heavy boots means they have a relationship with you. The
6. Leather pauldron 16. Bloody apron other players will now give you a third trait based
7. Striped pants 17. Goggles on what their goblins think of you and how you
8. Iron mask 18. Ragged pelt
9. Loin cloth 19. Heavy gloves seem. Something like: Sagacious, Quarrelsome,
10. Warpaint 20. Cloak or Reliable.

12
11. Decide on an outlook: How you see the
world, what you care about, etc. Think about how
you might feel about your life as a goblin: adven-
turing, avoiding monsters, working for scraps, all
of it.
12. Ask the GM what’s going on. Where is
there treasure? Where did your missing boss go?
What’s a creepy place around here? The GM will
give you an opportunity to pursue based on the
group’s conversation thus far.
13. Write a goal for this session when you have
a sense of your opportunities and risks.
THE PLAYERS CAN TAKE IT FROM HERE
INDIVIDUALLY
14. Choose or roll for a weapon. Find a place for
it in your inventory.
1. Club 3. Rusty knife 5. Sharpened stick
2. Staff 4. Broken bottle 6. Sling and stones
15. Adventuring gear: You get 2 torches, 2 ra-
tions, and a full grog skin (two good quaffs: fill
in both bubbles). You also get a satchel with 5
inventory slots. Most items take up 1 inventory
slot. Big things take up more. Gold coins, torches
and rations fit 2 to a slot.
16. Choose or roll for one more thing. Fit it in
your inventory.
1. 20 feet of rope (2 inventory / 1 torso)
2. Small hammer (1 inventory)
3. Useful herbs (1 inventory)
4. Rat (1 inventory)
5. Spell (1 inventory)
6. Burlap sack (1 inventory when empty / 2 hands when filled
17. If you get a spell, roll to see what it is. No
choosing!
1. Dead tongue 3. Liar's whistle 5. Heavy eye
2. Fiery gaze 4. Breath of fog 6. Enlightened quill
18. That’s it! Go get some treasure and learn valu-
able stuff. Try not to die!
TOWN CREATION
BUILDING THE TOWN
Work through the following steps using the town
sheet or in your own notes.
• Starting Locations: Each character’s base
location (from their job) is open at the start
of the game.
• And one more: The GM chooses or rolls for
one additional available location.
STARTING THE MAP
On the map sheet, put Goblinville near the mid-
dle, and work through these steps:
• Home terrain: Determine, based on the jobs
in play, the main terrain that your town is on.
• Surrounding Terrain: Each player chooses
one adjacent hex to town and decides the
main terrain feature in the hex. Forest, river,
tundra, jungle etc.
• Road: Choose one hex and draw a road start-
ing from town.
The wider world
Each hex around Goblinville represents a day’s
travel. Don’t worry about counting miles or any-
thing. A good guideline is having the farthest
edges of the map about a week away from Gob-
linville.
LOCATIONS IN PLAY
When a location is open, goblins have access to
equipment and benefits available there. Starting
goblin characters still only have access to the ba-
sic choices offered during goblin creation.
Other locations are opened through adventur-
ing. Securing a location’s requirement allows the
location to operate and unlocks its benefits. Most
of these requirements mean retrieving an item
from a dungeon, finding a goblin to make into a
boss, or clearing a route to a resource.
13
 INVENTORY
A goblin's inventory is organized not just by what
they are carrying, but where they are carrying it.
A goblin has fourteen inventory slots, each with
some restrictions.
Body
Head is for wearing hats, helmets, crowns, and
masks.
Neck is for necklaces.
Hand: Worn is for wearing bracelets, gloves,
gauntlets, and rings.
Hand: Carried is a particularly flexible slot. In
addition to carrying almost any object (weap-
ons, torches, shields, etc), hands can be used
to haul large objects like salvage and corpses.
Goblins can haul 2 inventory in each hand. (It
takes 3 goblins to haul a 12 inventory statue).
Feet is for wearing boots and shoes.
Torso is for wearing cloaks, armor, coils of rope,
and satchels or packs. A satchel takes up 1
torso inventory, a pack takes up 2.
Belts have two slots for most items that only
take up one inventory slot. You can tuck items
like weapons and torches into your belt, or
put smaller items like gems and coins into
belt pouches. Belts also have a special slot to
store 2 quaffs of Grog.
Pockets are two inventory slots for small objects.
Things like coins and gems fit here, weapons
and torches do not.
14
Luggage
A goblin might also have additional inventory
slots if they have a satchel or pack. In addition
to these, they might have a burlap sack. Goblins
always start with a satchel and may gain posses-
sion of a pack or burlap sack in play.
A satchel takes up one torso slot and holds five
inventory slots of items.
A pack takes up two torso slots and holds eight
inventory slots of items.
A burlap sack takes up one inventory slot when
empty and two hands when full. A burlap
sack holds five inventory slots of items.
Get the most out of
playing a goblin!
Keep in mind your goal and outlook.
Pursue it, be obvious. Ham it up.
Respond to the other goblins' outlook.
Say what you think of it.
Don’t push for rolls, push for outcomes.
Trust the GM to call for a roll when
there’s danger.
Try to come up with a clever solution to a
problem. It might not require a roll.
Use your traits. Describe your key features
and find ways they are useful.
Invoke your titles when you think they're
appropriate. You'll earn more later.
Create Twists that bring the kind of trou-
ble you're interested in.
 CHAPTER three
The Town
Goblinville is about adventure, but the adventures
are meaningless without the town to come home
to. The needs and wants of the town will drive the
adventures you undertake: Its fate and yours are
intertwined.
COMING HOME
After an adventure, the goblins will return to
their town to rest and regroup. But it’s not all grog
and good times. Business must be done.
TOWN PROCEDURE
Whenever the goblins get back to town, follow
these steps.
1. Town Events. The GM makes a Grim Favor
roll to determine events in town.
2. Gather Scratch. Goblins should pool all the
scratch they plan to spend in town and have
one player track how much is spent.
3. Room and Board. Goblins pay 2 scratch each
for a place to stay and food to eat.
4. Sleeping in the Street. All goblins without
somewhere to stay must mark a condition for
roughing it.
5. Go to Work. Every goblin has to work. They
must find work at an available location in
town.
6. Gear up. Goblins spend their scratch freely at
the available locations.
7. Looking for Leads. The goblins may know
what they want to do next, or they may go
looking for leads.
8. Leave Town. Once the goblins are ready,
they go back out into the wilds on another
adventure.
TOWN EVENTS
When entering town, the GM makes a Grim Fa-
vor roll to determine town events.
If there are no active crises, roll 2D6 and take
the highest. If there is one active crisis, roll 1D6.
If there are multiple active crises, roll 2D6 and
take the lowest.
6: A boon
3-5: A precarious situation
1-2: A catastrophe
The GM should feel free to choose the prompt
that best builds off of prior events. Otherwise, they
can roll on the tables below. When a result refers
to a boss or keystone, roll 1D20 on the jobs table
to find out which. If that location isn’t available,
choose the next highest one that is. If you roll an
already active crises, another crisis occurs instead.
Crises
Four types of crises threaten Goblinville: Mon-
sters, War, Disease, and Famine. Each crisis
contributes to the Town Events roll. Track which
crises are active. Goblins can use town locations
to address crises or undertake quests to resolve
them. If all four crises are active at once, Goblin-
ville falls into chaos and is lost.
Examples
The goblins are returning to town after their first
adventure. There are no active crises, so the GM
rolls 2D6 and keeps the higher result, a 6: Boon.
The GM rolls 1d6 to determine the detail, a 6: ru-
mors of where to find a keystone. The goblins over-
hear one of their bosses talking about an ancient
temple with a device of magical light that could
illuminate their watchtowers.
Many sessions later, the goblins are entering town
again. From previous town events rolls, Goblinville
is beset by Monster and Famine. Since there are
multiple active crises, the GM rolls 2D6 and keeps
the lowest, a 2: Crisis. The GM rolls 1D6 on the Ca-
tastrophe table. She rolls a 5: A boss was killed in
the recent monster attacks. She describes Big Toe,
Boss of the Scout’s Camp, getting dragged of into
the swamps by a swamp cat. The goblins will have
to find a new boss to replace him.
15
 TOWN EVENTS
BOON PRECARIOUS SITUATION CRISIS
1 Festival: no need to go to work. Storms: add Harm to Work Rolls. Disorder: No work to be found.
2 Plenty: Room and Board costs 1 Scarcity: all goods cost +1. Extreme scarcity: all goods cost
Scratch less. double.
3 Calm: A crisis (monsters, disease, Monsters on the prowl. Famine strikes.
war, famine) subsides.
4 Opportunity: Rumor of where to Disease breaks out. War breaks out.
find valuable treasure.
5 Expansion: New boss arrives. Disappearance: Boss goes missing. Death: Boss dies.
6 Rumors: Hint to where to find a Theft: Keystone goes missing. Destruction of a Keystone.
keystone.

EQUIPMENT, BY AVAILABILITY
HAVING A LETS YOU BUT COSTS AND TAKES UP
bundle of rations (2) camp without marking a condition 2 scratch 1 inventory
ALWAYS

bundle of torches (2) see in the dark 2 scratch 1 inventory

crude weapon attack things when you catch them off guard 0 scratch 1 inventory
satchel carry five inventory of stuff 4 scratch 1 torso
1 inventory (empty) / 2
burlap sack carry four inventory of stuff 2 scratch hands (full)
(when in hand) add a 'hammer damaged' twist
small hammer 2 scratch 1 inventory
to a repair roll
cloak stay warm and sneak around better 4 scratch 1 torso 2 inventory
MARKET

1 inventory (2 free hands

quiver fire a bow 2 scratch to use)
bow attack things from far away (if you have a quiver) 4 scratch 2 inventory
pack carry eight inventory of stuff 4 scratch 2 torso
20' rope climb things 4 scratch 2 inventory / 1 torso
jug carry more grog (4 quaffs) 4 scratch 2 inventory
rat scout and search for things 2 scratch 1 inventory
good rations (3) camp without marking a condition 4 scratch 1 inventory
ABATTOIR

(when on torso) add an 'armor damaged' twist to

leather armor 6 scratch 2 inventory / 1 torso
a harm roll
good weapon attack things 6 scratch 2 inventory
(when on head) add an 'armor damaged' twist to
FORGES

helmet 6 scratch 1 inventory / 1 head

a harm roll
(when in hand) add an 'armor damaged' twist to
shield 6 scratch 2 inventory / 1 torso
a harm roll
big weapon attack things much bigger than you 12 scratch 4 inventory
FORGES &

(when on torso) add an 'armor damaged' twist to

MINES

chain armor 12 scratch 4 inventory / 2 torso

a harm roll (2x)
(when on torso) add an 'armor damaged' twist to
plate armor 18 scratch 6 inventory / 3 torso
a harm roll (3x)
summon a pixie (Roll for a spell. If you already
WARG HLH

spell 6 scratch 1 inventory

know it, choose.)
space in the goblin town
PEN

warg ride long distances and attack with speed 12 scratch kennels (1 scratch per
session)
row long distances and carry extra stuff (8 inven- 14 scratch space in the Goblinville
DOCKS

rowboat tory + 6 goblins) docks (1 scratch per session)

quaff of grog skip camp without marking a condition 2 scratch 1/2 a grog skin or 1/4 of a jug
TAVERN

60 scratch real estate on the town

tavern revel for free and quit your job square
lockpick kit
TG

open locked doors and chests 6 scratch 1 inventory

16
GO TO WORK LOCATIONS
When a goblin is in town, they've got to show up
to work. Make an action roll. LOCATIONS IN PLAY
The Action is getting paid (success: 1 scratch, When a location is open, goblins have access to
progress: nothing). The Danger is marking a con- equipment and benefits available there. Starting
dition of the goblin's choice. goblin characters still only have access to the ba-
If their boss is around, they can involve them sic choices offered in goblin creation.
in the Twist. Maybe the boss sends them on some OPENING LOCATIONS
mad errand. Other locations are opened through adventuring.
BEING A BOSS Securing a location’s requirement allows the loca-
You still have to work, even if you're a Boss. But tion to be built, opening it and unlocking its ben-
it's a little different. Make an Action roll. efits. Most of these requirements mean retrieving
The Action is getting paid (success: 2 scratch, an item from a dungeon, finding a goblin to make
progress: 1 Scratch). The Danger is the item you into a boss, or clearing a route to a resource.
use to do your job breaks or is lost. Once the requirement is secured, the other
If you want to put some real work in, you can things necessary to build the location coalesce
risk a condition as a Twist. in the background. The location is then open for
business.
LOOKING FOR LEADS
The goblins may have a plan to go after some- KEYSTONES
thing the town needs, or to follow up on a rumor Locations also have a special benefit that is only
they heard. available when the goblins have secured a key-
stone for the location. This is a special thing:
Finding an opportunity some machinery, a formula, something magical,
If they're not sure what to do, they may find an something symbolic.
opportunity at a town location that offers such Keystones are often the object of quests. Some-
leads. Doing so costs 1 scratch, representing times goblins can happen across the perfect ob-
something in trade to someone for the tip. ject when on a mission for something else! Key-
In either case, the GM The GM should con- stones should be a collaborative and creative part
nect the opportunity to the lead the goblins pur- of the campaign and should reinforce the unique
sued. If the goblins went looking for hauling op- flavor or your Goblinville world.
portunities at the Scrapyard, make that the focus
of the adventure.
HIRING HELP
Some locations include hired help: guides, camp
guards, and heavies. Guides improve your posi-
tioning for travel, camp guards secure your camp
site and keep watch for you (skipping the roll)
and heavies will smooth over dealings with other
goblins.
Hired help never act outside of their job de-
scription. Only hirelings will risk their necks for
you.
LEAVING TOWN
Once business is taken care of and the goblins
know what they want to do next, it's time to leave
town for another adventure. Roll for the march-
ing order and ask the first goblin where they’re
headed.
Proceed to Overland Travel (p.9) and you're off!

17
 LOCATIONS IN DETAIL
5. Town Square
1. Henlegged Hut Where urchins, wanderers and ne'er-do-wells ply
Where witches commune and concoct. their schemes.
Requirement: Witch Requirement: Charlatan
Supplies to known spells: 2 scratch Listen to rumors: 1 scratch
Cure Curses: 6 scratch each Find a goblin you've met before: 1 scratch (requires an
action roll).
Keystone: Learn new spells: 4 scratch each

2. Watchtower 6. Fighting Pits

Where sentinels and watchers can see threats coming. Where tough goblins batter each other for fame,
Requirement: Built with a Sawmill
riches and the entertainment of the townsfolk.
Requirement: Bookie
Hire camp guards: 6 scratch
Enter the pit yourself: 1 scratch
Keystone: Ignore monster crises for the town events Hire heavies: 6 scratch
roll.
Keystone: Pay bookie 1 scratch to bet 1-4 scratch on a
fight (Grim Fortune roll).
3. Thieves Guild
Where sneaks, bandits and criminals lurk, assessing 7. Docks
their ill-gotten gains. A place to moor, build and repair boats. On a river,
Requirement: Guild contact lake or seacoast.
Access to lockpicks Requirement: Boat or ship
Find thieving opportunity (Grim Favor roll to avoid Access to boats
entanglements) Find a pirating opportunity
Keystone: Fence for valuable goods, pays 2d6 scratch
for unique objects. 8. Forges
Where metals are banged and grinded into weapons
4. Scout Camp and tools.
Where scouts plan expeditions, compile their findings Requirement: Forge and anvil
into maps, and rest between excursions. Access to good weapons, helmets and shields
Requirement: Spyglass
Build an outpost within 3 days of Goblinville: 8 Scratch 9. Latrines
Buy map: 1 scratch per hex A touch of civilization, improving the sanitation of
Hire guide: 6 scratch Goblinville.
Find an exploration opportunity Requirement: Ditchdigger
Keystone: Build an outpost anywhere the goblins have Find drudgery work (Grim Favor roll to not get Sick.)
explored.
Keystone: Ignore disease crises on the town events roll

18
10. Barracks
Where warriors live and train between skirmishes, 16. Tavern
and a place for others to bed down in a pinch. Where that lifeblood of Goblinville - GROG - is
Requirement: Built with Sawmill brewed and imbibed. Where tall tales are told.
Requirement: Cook
Hire camp guards: 6 scratch
Room and board costs 1 less Revelry: 1 scratch to remove Panicked or Exhausted
Find a fighting opportunity Access to grog
Keystone: Ignore war crises on the town events roll. Keystone: Grog can be consumed any time to recover
Panicked.

11. Warg Pens

Where the giant wolf mounts are bred, trained and 17. Workshop
Where finished goods are produced.
sheltered. Requirement: Tinker
Requirement: Warg-keeper
Repair gear: 1 scratch per damage
Access to wargs Replace limbs: 2 scratch to get a peg leg or hook hand.
Kennel a warg: 1 scratch
Keystone: Call wargs from up to a day away. 18. Abattoir
Where hunters dress and butcher their quarry, and
12. Scrapyard produce animal-based goods.
Where scavengers collect and root through their own Requirement: Hunter
junk and the detritus of other civilizations.
Access to good rations and leather armor.
Requirement: Scavenger
Keystone: Ignore famine crisis on the town events roll
Roll on the Strange Item Table: 1 scratch
Find a hauling opportunity
19. Surgery
Where Injured goblins are mended, and diseases
13. Sawmill cured.
Where trees felled by woodcutters are milled into con-
Requirement: Sawbones
struction materials.
Requirement: Wood source Treatment: 4 scratch to remove Injured or Sick
Requisite to Barracks, Parapets and Watchtower
Build one of those structures for 10 scratch 20. Mines
Where the raw ores of the earth are chipped and blast-
ed free.
14. Market Requirement: Ore vein
Where peddlers of all sorts hawk their wares.
Requirement: Trader Access to big weapons, chain and plate armor (if you
have a forge)
Access to many goods
Keystone: Tunnel to a hex 2 days from Goblinville.

15. Parapets
A raised, fortified wall to protect Goblinville STRANGE ITEMS TABLE
Requirement: Built with Sawmill 1. Box of rusted silverware 11. Glass marble
2. Stone skull 12. Horned doll
Ignore the first time a catastrophe destroys a keystone.
3. Straw goblin 13. Cup of tar
Keystone: Ignore the first time a catastrophe destroys 4. Lizardfolk boots 14. Bit of soap
Goblinville. 5. Foul-smelling fluid 15. Plowshare
6. Metal box 16. Bone flute
7. Wooden mask 17. Broom
8. Mittens 18. Saddle
9. Wind chime 19. Illegible book
10. Poison oak leaves 20. Belt buckle

19
 CHAPTER FOUR
The Goblin
Master
As the Goblin Master, your goal is to describe
the fantastic, perilous world the goblins live in,
to place adversity between the goblins and what
they want, and to present plausible dangers when
they take risky action. But you aren't just a mere
overlord. You will fling monsters and opposition
in the goblins way, to be sure, but you're also their
biggest fan. When they succeed by the skin of their
pointy teeth, you triumph as well.
SUMMARY OF THE FIRST
SESSION
Goblin Creation. The players begin creating
their goblins following steps 1-7 of Goblin
Creation.
Introductions. When the players get to step 8,
they will introduce their goblins and perform
steps 8-12 one by one in turn, asking each
other questions about what interests them.
They will fill in details, elaborate on their
goblin, and begin to create their Goblinville
world together.
Listen! You listen to this conversation, sug-
gesting titles, and taking notes of the cool
things they come up with. Everything the
players choose is important and interesting
to them, so it should be interesting to you. As
the Goblin Master, be sure to highlight these
choices in play.
Opportunity. Whether using the Pit of Mirrors
or writing and adventure, you should find
hooks in the players’ choices to logically
20
connect them to the imp’ending adventure.
Alternately, you may use the Opportunities
tables to figure out why they’re striking
out and add this to the conversation. It is
implied that the goblins are gathering for an
adventure, but it should feel organic as to
their impetus.
Finishing touches. From step 13 on, the players
can resume the creation process on their
own until their goblin is complete.
Embark! The goblins are now ready to set out
on their adventure. The party rolls initiative,
sets the marching order, and goes forth!
CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY
1. Find or draw a dungeon: Goblinville works
well with many one-page dungeons and classic
modules for fantasy adventure games. Find a lo-
cation (or a couple) and convert them ahead of
time or on the fly.
Goblinville abstracts money into much larger
units. 1 scratch in Goblinville is roughly equal
to 5 Gold in a classic module. Ignore silver and
copper or round up large amounts to 1 scratch.
2. Give the players a hook: The goblins need a
reason to enter the dungeon. A reason should
become obvious during goblin creation, espe-
cially regarding the goblins’ bosses. If players
suggests interesting complications, try to incor-
porate them. If nothing comes up naturally, roll
on the Opportunities tables.
3. Stat Monsters. For each monster, write 2-8
moves it might make. Write what gear and loot
they carry. Monsters drop about 1 scratch worth
of stuff per move on their list (gear, valuable
parts, gold, gems, etc). Write any special rules
(immunities, spells, weaknesses, etc.)
Remember that the goblins themselves are
monsters. Other monsters are never just a list of
things for the goblins to kill on the way to trea-
 OPPORTUNITIES
TYPE OF WORK BOSS OFFERING THE WORK
1. Find ingredients 11. Capture beast 1. One of the goblins’ bosses offers a great opportunity.
2. Deliver message 12. Recover missing artifact 2. One of the goblins’ bosses threatens to crush you if you
3. Steal item 13. Protect beast don’t do it.
4. Steal information 14. Smuggling 3. A rival of their boss discreetly presents an opportunity.
5. Cheat rube 15. Sabotage 4. The _____ their boss owes money needs the debt cov-
6. Intimidate 16. Poisoning ered (3D6 scratch).
7. Explore lost site 17. Map hostile territory 5. Their boss’ boss needs them out of the brig (2D6 scratch
8. Recover artifact 18. Kill beast bail).
9. Kidnap human 19. Rescue goblins 6. Their boss’ family needs you to help the missing or
10. Assist warband 20. Retrieve valuables kidnapped boss.

sure. Give your creatures a biome, and a motivation for spending

time in a dungeon. All the better if the monsters’ goals are not in
opposition to the goblins. If you can find dungeons that already do
this, great. That makes it easier to bring the creatures to life.
More on monster creation can be found on p.22.
4. Create Loot: Put some loot in every room. Additionally, the
goblins can pick up any gear a monster was carrying. If it might
be damaged from a fight or Danger, roll 1d6 (4-6 it’s fine, 1-3 it’s
damaged- mark it with an X if a goblin takes it).
For objects other than what might be found on the equipment
list, roll to see how many inventory slots found loot takes:
Normal (1d6) Large (2d6) Huge (3d6).
Salvage is worth 1/2 scratch per inventory slot.
Fancy stuff is worth 1 scratch per inventory slot.
Gold, gems, and magic items are 2 scratch per inventory slot.

DANGERS, CURSES AND TRAPS

PRESENT INTERESTING DANGERS ... THAT INCLUDES CURSES
1. Cursed 11. Attracted wild beasts 1. Mute (no sorcery) 11. Hated by animals
2. Noticed by a threat 12. Lost 2. Deaf 12. Clumsy
3. Captured 13. Gear destroyed 3. Stone Hand 13. Hated by plants
4. Led into a trap 14. Robbed 4. Blind 14. Horrible Stench
5. Weariness (can’t recover
5. Decieved 15. Satchel/pack lost 15. Heavy as stone
from exhaustion)
6. Knocked unconscious 16. Ration spoiled 6. Unlucky (GM adds twists) 16. Insatiable appetite
7. Separated from the others 17. Armor damaged 7. Storms (Travel risks harm) 17. Highly magnetic
8. Lost an eye 18. Ambushed 8. Eerie glow 18. Necromancer's Eye
9. Exhausted 19. Lost a limb 9. Stone Foot 19. Undeath (can’t heal Injured)
10. Cut in two 20. Crushed by collapsing room 10. Betrayal 20. Pestilence (can’t heal Sick)
... AND SOMETIMES TRAPS
Traps can either be:
Obvious but sudden. Make them obviously dangerous but challenging to avoid. Inflict a condition
without a roll when the goblins trigger the trap with their actions.
Hidden but slow. If a trap is designed to go undetected until triggered, give the goblins time to
react:. “The room is filling with poison gas. What do you do?”
Don’t use traps to abuse unwary characters. It is far more effective and fun to introduce the threat
of a trap and watch the characters scramble to address it, than to just drop a punishment bomb on
them for no real reason.

21
 RUNNING THE GAME
Follow these guidelines a if they were rules and
you can’t go wrong.
Throw the goblins into danger
When they enter a room, make the peril obvious
and immediate.
Put situations on a knife’s edge, trouble that is
about to boil over if the goblins don’t act.
If they look at you to see what’s next, it’s another
danger or signs of monsters.
Foreshadow trouble with crumbling walls, spi-
der tracks, and mysterious carvings, etc.
Help them engage with the fictional situation.
Describe the room and the dangers in visceral
detail, using two or three senses.
Answer their questions, or ask how they are
exploring, then answer based on that.
Listen for great ideas and clever solutions.
Don’t skip over problem-solving by rushing
to roll
If they figure out how to circumvent a danger,
then they overcome the problem without a roll.
If they describe sacrificing gear to do so, the gear
is lost but the roll is still avoided.
Dig into their traits and titles
If they use either to help themselves, ask about
how they do it and what it looks like.
Sometimes, ask for more or say no. Not all expe-
rience is helpful in all contexts.
If they connect how a title was earned to the
situation at hand, they’ve nailed it.
Give detail and context to each roll
Consider how effective the goblin’s action might
be in a given situation. An unarmed attack
might only provide an opening for another
goblin. An attack with a magic sword might
send a bandit running with one strike.
' Overwhelming success: remove the danger or
cross off two monster moves.
' Success from a good position: reduce the dan-
ger or cross off a monster move.
' Partial success/ success from a bad position:
create an opening or opportunity.
Also consider how risky their action is. Are they
facing death? Or just inconvenience?
22
MONSTERS
Monsters are often the most interesting, interac-
tive parts of an adventure. The moves system is
designed to enhance that. Here are some guide-
lines for creating monsters
HOW TO WRITE MOVES
Monsters have 2-8 moves. The number of moves
a monster has determines how many times gob-
lins will face danger while resolving a conflict
with that monster. The type of moves a monster
has determines both the nature of a likely conflict
and the degree of danger that goblins face by op-
posing them. When writing moves for a monster,
consider:
Approach: What does this monster do when it
first engages with the goblins?
Recovery: How does it recover from being
caught off guard?
Maneuver: How does it gain control of a situ-
ation?
Follow-up: What does it do when it has control
over a situation?
Finishing moves
If the monster's follow-up action involves a se-
rious consequence, that monster should have a
finishing move. Finishing moves either introduce
the risk of Harm in addition to a specific condi-
tion (like a poisonous bite making a goblin Sick)
or an effect that takes a goblin out of the fight en-
tirely (like paralysis).
Moves are flavor
It’s worth noting that not all monster moves have
to be attacks. A monster that cajoles, threatens,
or pleads as part of their behavior can make a
conflict mush more interesting and dynamic. A
move like this can be just as intense as a slash or
bite.
ARMOR
Then consider whether this monster should gain
armor:
Number: Does it travel alone or in packs?
Monsters gain an armor when there is more
than one in a group and another armor if they
outnumber the goblins.
Natural defenses: Is it physically tough to injure?
Tough monsters have an armor. Really tough
monsters have two. Dragons have three.
Armor is crossed out before moves, so an ar-
mored (or numerous) monster stays in a fight
longer and has more options.
BRIEF BESTIARY Dogbrother Mage
Here are a few monsters to use in your dun- Many of the dogbrother leaders have a little skill in spells.
geons, or to base your own off of. Moves are in Howl, Strike Cast Web or Sleep
bold italics, and finishing moves are noted with Web traps 1 goblin. Sleep exhausts 1D4 goblins.
a . Loot is indicated by a . Exhausted goblins pass out.
Staff, pouch of gems
Gnoll
Hyena men with mercenary sensibilities and a Stone Spider
knack for capturing their foes alive. Wizened by years but still spiteful in judgement.
Threaten, Flank, Trip, Tackle Bind in Chains Roughly the size of a horse. Tough hide, like leather.
Climb, Leap, Flurry of Bites
1 scratch, a ration, flail or halberd
Bind in Silk, Venomous Bite
5 scratch in assorted loot in nest
Giant Rats
Big teeth, healthy appetites, and a sour disposition.
Swarm, Bite Human Guard
1/6 chance (roll 1D6) their bite (and meat) is diseased Well armored and equipped. Generally unreason-
2 make a ration when cooked able. Half carry shields, half carry torches.
Distract, Bash, Stab
Sword, chainmail, knife
Human Captives
Confused, distrusting, and eager to escape their
captors. Skeleton
Stab, Run Away Come in all types. Typically cursed to guard an an-
Danger or Twist: they'll blow the goblins' cover cient site or magic creature.
Rags, knife Shamble, Grab, Bite
If moldy, 50% chance of making the attacker Sick
Gelatinous Cube when destroyed (coin flip)
They slide around engulfing all within their reach. Silver skull pendant (1 scratch)
The hallways they choose to rest in are very tidy.
Slide, Engulf Paralyze, Liquefy
Paralysis locks target in place until they rest. Skeleton Warrior
Lockpick, 2 scratch of random dungeon valu- Some of the dead remember their skills from life,
ables, spear deep in their bones.
Shamble. Push over, Slash
Lizardmen Chainmail, sword, pendant (1 scratch)
Clever creatures with a love of underhanded tactics
and grilled human.
Carrion Crawler
Hiss, Hide, Ambush, Disarm
A large worm with slimy tentacles and a great
Paralysis locks target in place until they rest.
toothy maw. Feeds mostly on the dead.
Blowgun (1d2 uses), spear, poison vial
Skulk, Pin Paralyzing Bite, Feed
Paralysis locks target in place until they rest.
Centipedes 4 scratch in assorted loot in nest.
Great, many legged creatures that hide in dark cool
places of the earth.
Small Bats
Venomous bite
They hate light, especially magical.
A single bite makes you Sick
Knock you over
Shiny red chitin (Salvage 1/8)
Paralysis locks target in place until they rest.
4 make a ration when cooked
Dogbrother
Pack-oriented creatures, hesitant to ally with other monsters. Minotaur
Howl, Pounce Take hostage Bull headed humanoid that always serves a master.
Knife, 1 scratch Rear, Charge, Gore, Slice, Throw Dismember
Battleaxe, pouch of gems, nose ring

23
Disembodied Mouth
Though they are invisible, the effects of their bite are not.
Bite, Bite, Bite
Guarding a treasure chest of 3 scratch in loot.

A weaver!
 Adventure one
The Pit of
Mirrors
Before you start!
Tips for Running The Pit of Mirrors
Read this entire chapter so you know the full
picture of what's going on. Read it a few
times. It's short!
Use your own words. When describing what
the goblins see in each room, try not to
just read our description off the page.
Nothing screams "railroad!" like reading
dungeon text verbatim. Make eye contact;
use your hands.
The weavers and the adventurers have
their own agendas. They're not just there
as obstacles to kill. Play to their desires
and instincts and the goblins will react
accordingly.
Use the timeline! Every time the players
reroll initiative, something happens in the
background. This helps you keep things
moving.
Avoid the instinct to "make it hard". The
adventure is plenty hard on it's own. The
action roll mechanics and the dungeon
layout rules create the challenge. It's not
on you to add more– it's on you to make it
exciting and interesting.
SECRET BACKSTORY
Around 100 years ago, human mages discovered
(or perhaps created) an unusual creature who
absorbs all light around it: the Tenebrous Ooze.
No one can describe the ooze because even a
peripheral glance draws all light from your vi-
sion, replacing it with a painful black (like star-
ing straight into the sun). Sounds are warped in
its vicinity, becoming slow and seeming to echo
from far away.
An ornate prison was built arond the ooze
both to celebrate this discovery and to keep the
creature in a weakened state, using a series of
mirrors and a strange reflective device: the Cor-
uscate Orb. Last fall, the mages guarding the ooze
were poisoned by one of their own and the prison
was left abandoned. The light from the mirrors
has encouraged the rapid growth of unusual
plant life and now dense vines crowd out the
mirrored rays and the Tenebrous Ooze is grow-
ing in strength. It is only a matter of time until
it breaks free.
The new inhabitants of the prison (besides
blind cave fish and venomous flies) are the Weav-
ers: a family of intelligent spider-folk. The Weav-
ers spend most if theit time fly-farming, either
gathering fly eggs from the corpses they leave
in what remains of the prison’s lab or drawing in
lines they thread across the ooze’s pit and shed-
ding them of flies. The paste they make from the
venomous flies (spread thin and oven-baked) is
delicious. The weavers have no love of fighting,
but they could use goblin corpses for fly farm-
ing...
WHAT THE GOBLINS KNOW
One of their bosses hears (dubious) rumors of an
ancient temple deep in the jungle which contains
a powerful talisman of light. They need you to go
get it to (pay bail, pay ransom, buy your job back
etc.). As usual, coming back with a bunch of trea-
sure is fine, too.
HOW THE GOBLINS CAN LEARN MORE
The notes in the Old Lab (Room 4) describe the
Tenebrous Ooze in great detail, and the ex-
periments to test its behavior (no survivors).
These are encoded, but the code key is in
the Mouldering Hall (Room 5). Goblins also
could figure out the code on their own using
careful study (a=b, b=c, etc.) or use the spell
‘Enlightened Quill’ to decode it.
Conversing with the Weavers. The Weavers
have been fearfully observing the ooze.
They cannot speak goblin, and their clicks
are indecipherable. If the goblins somehow
convince the Weavers to converse, one of the
spider-folk could attempt to explain the ooze
to the goblin, by drawing a charcoal fly on a
piece a paper then drawing more and more
flies until none of the paper showed through,
just a square of black ash. They could also try
25
 to gesticulate, covering their many eyes and THE PIT OF MIRRORS, INTERIOR
gnashing their mandibles hungrily.
The ghost of Pemith, one of the mages who
guarded this prison, still lingers here. She
suspected the traitor might try to steal some
ooze, but failed to act on her suspicion and
now she and her colleagues are dead. If
3
contacted with Dead Tongue (or other clever
means) she will express regret for her inaction
and will warn of the danger of the ooze. She
wants it destroyed.
Experimentation. The goblins might find clever
4
ways to test the ooze with their senses. A
torch lowered on a rope will stop giving off 5
light when within 20’ of the ooze (but will still
be burning when hauled back up); if lowered
all the way down, it would be dissolved by the
ooze. The smell of the ooze (acrid and faintly
metallic) is not very telling. If the goblins lis-
ten carefully, there is a very slow water sound,
like a shifting tide. Once they realize the
sound is being slowed by a magic entity (the
ooze) it’s clear that they can hear something
sloshing around in the water of the pit, like a 6
large animal pacing.
GETTING TO THE TEMPLE
This part of the adventure uses the Overland
Travel rules (p.9). The rumored temple is three
THE ADVENTURE
days travel from Goblinville, through dense jun- ROOM 1: FAINT TRAILS, RUSHING RIVER
gle inhabited by dangerous creatures. The trails to this temple are washed out and it’s
The goblins begin in standard position. If they easy to get turned around. There is a faint path
have at least 2 factors of preparation (mounts, a along the banks of the Wide River leading to a
map, 1 ration per goblin), they will be in good po- green hilltop. A squat stone structure is barely
sition for a 3 day trip. If they have none of these visible on the hill's peak. The temple is in sight,
factors, they are in bad position. but treacherous terrain makes getting to the hill
A goblin must make an action roll to lead the path difficult.
group there. If no one immediately volunteers to DANGERS
lead, the GM should prompt the first goblin in Quicksand pits rapidly draw down the unwary
marching order to make the roll. The Action for The river will drag you under a mass of rotting
this roll is traveling to the temple. The Danger is logs, where you drown
that the goblins might be followed (you can say MONSTERS
this to the players... just don't tell them what they
might be followed by). Tremendous crocodiles (1d4)
If the goblins succeed, the first scene is at the They float like massive dead logs, awaiting prey. Their
temple exterior, atop the hill at the Ring of Mir- hide is like leather.
rors. The river is in view below. If they progress, Pin, Flail, Bite Bite and drown
the first scene as at Faint Trails, Rushing Rivers. Drowned goblins are Dead.
The Ring of Mirrors is just out of sight up the hill. One crocodile has a mage’s skeleton in it’s stom-
If they fail, they are lost in the jungles. ach. See loot.
If the Danger happens, the great cat is on the LOOT
goblins’ trail. The first goblin in marching order One crocodile has a mage’s skeleton in its stom-
hears rustling in the vines and has a moment to ach, carrying: warded iron bottle, seer stone,
react before the cat pounces. pouch of gems
CONNECTIONS
26 To Room 2: up an overgrown hillside.
ROOM 2: THE RING OF MIRRORS LOOT
Each mirror is 8 inventory (2 goblins can carry,
or it takes up an entire pack) and worth 12
scratch. They are very breakable.
CONNECTIONS
Room 1 in any direction.
Room 3: Through broken window or bolted iron door.

A circular hilltop in the middle of a dense, humid
jungle. While the surrounding flora is ancient,
nothing atop the hill is older than a few decades.
At the top of the hill is what appears to be a small
stone temple with six large windows- one shat-
tered. The stonework is ornate, with carvings
in the shapes of drifting smoke and billowing
clouds. The temple is not actually ancient, but it is
lousy with moss. A huge mirror points roughly at
each window, but the light is blocked by crowded
heaps of bright green vines and yellow fungus.
Two of the mirrors have been totally crushed. A
bolted iron door (of recent human make) seals
the entrance. Flies swarm all about.
DANGERS
Vines are coated in poisonous thorns and bound
tight as springs. The whip wildly when cut.
They are watery and cannot be burned.
Mats of yellow fungus cover you in spores that
make you stink like rotting meat.
MONSTERS
Great cat
Color indeterminate, as its fur is matted with green
plant growth, knotted tendrils of moss and lichen
Flank, Pounce, Maul, drag off Knock into pit
ROOM 3: THE UPPER HALL
Broken
window
Mirrors
Spiral
staircase
(down)
The circular hall has six huge windows and six
mirrors (one broken) slightly offset. The mirrors
project the dull light from the windows straight
down into what appears to be an infinitely deep
pit (it’s not) with a burning bright pinprick of
light in its center. The hall is swarming with fat
black flies, pelting themselves against the glass.
The pit is dense with spiderwebs. A curving stair-
case leads down into a room below.
DANGERS
The edge of the pit is smooth and crumbling. It
would be easy to lose your footing.
Fly bites leave those who linger feverish (Pan-
icked, then Sick)

TIMELINE
As the goblins navigate this adventure, other things will be in motion in the background. As the goblins
move through their turns, check them off below. The events will occur unless something has prevented
them.
TURN 2: Adventurers arrive and set up a base camp just outside the ring of mirrors.
TURN 3: Adventurers enter the temple and set a tripwire trap across the broken window.
TURN 4: The Tenebrous Ooze grinds a pillar in Room 6, causing half of Room 5 to collapse and
creating a means of escape (it’s own)
TURN 5: The weavers set fire to the lab and flee into the jungle.
TURN 6: The adventurers confront the ooze and are absorbed
TURN 7: The Ooze breaks out of the lab into the jungle.
TURN 8: The Ooze hits the Wide River and joins with it. Darkness spills out from the banks and
the waters absorb all life it touches. It never overtakes the sea, but this part of the world is forever
hostile to goblin life.

27
 MONSTERS
None, unless the great cat stalks the goblins
inside.
On turn 3, the adventurers enter through the
broken window and set a tripwire.
LOOT
Ornate iron table (inv 8 /4 scratch) and chairs
(inv 4/ 2 scratch) with broken cups, plates.
Framed paintings (inv 4/ 4 scratch each: paint-
ing of a bearded human, diagram of an orb
made of spiked scales, painting with thick
layers of black on black, inscrutable.
CONNECTIONS
Room 2: Through broken window or bolted iron
door.
Room 4: Down stairs Room 6: 100’ drop
Rooms 4 & 5: 50’ climb down to glass windows.
LOOT
The oven is 16 inventory / 20 scratch.
A note in the lab materials reads: “ufofcspvt
ppaf ”. If the goblins decode it or cast en-
lightened quill, it describes the ooze in great
detail.
Inside the locked safe is a warded bottle.
CONNECTIONS
Room 3: Up the stairs
Room 5: Through locked wooden door.
Room 6: 50’ drop out window
ROOM 5: THE MOULDERING HALL Dead humans

ROOM 4: THE OLD LABORATORY Tunnel to Pit

(enclosed) Stairs
(enclosed)
Hole trap to observation cage below

This is where the Weavers have made their nest. It

Windows is dense with webs. In chairs, the bones of mages
into Pit (several months dead) rot and gather idle flies.
Door to Poisoned chalices sit at their feet. The Weavers
Room 5
are scared to go near them. The weavers’ nest is
Stone safes
an amalgam of human comforts (pillows, blan-
Oven
kets, tapestries) and matted webs (bones, fur, 1d6
Lab tables
large eggs).
DANGERS
The room is full of fat buzzing flies that leave un- The loose webs conceal a pit trap that leads to
comfortable welts. There are a few stone and iron the cell below
tables. Lab equipment is piled neatly in the cor-
MONSTERS
ners. A dead crocodile lays on one table, a human
corpse lays on another. Both are cut open pre- Weavers (4)
cisely, displaying the eternal organs. Two stone Gathering flies off lines of silk, or (if they have heard
safes are in a corner, one open; they are magically anything) lying in ambush.
cold as ice. A fire burns in a quality brass oven. Web whip, Stab Bind and stab
DANGERS Bound goblins are immobilized until cut free
Fly bites leave those who linger feverish (Pan- Dagger, fly crackers (2 rations), human doll with
icked, then Sick) added arms and eyes
LOOT
The lab materials are unusually flammable. If
4 golden chalices
a torch is held close (as in search), they will
burst into uncontrollable flame. A bottle of lethally poisoned wine (though not
obviously)
MONSTERS
On turn 5, the Weavers emerge to set fire to the 2d6 scratch in assorted items in the nest
lab and flee. A note on one of the skeletons reads “code key -
dpef lfz”. This can be used to decode lab notes
(a=b, b=c, etc.)
CONNECTIONS
Room 4: Locked wooden door
Room 6: 30’ drop to observation cell through
28 trap door
 ROOM 6: THE OOZE PIT
Column
collapsing on THE ADVENTURERS
Turn 6 These humans arrive on Turn 2.
Blance - Warrior
Bash, Cleave, Kick Knock out and boot
Knocked out goblins are unconscious till camp.
Observation Chainmail, Runed Axe, Torch
Cage
Tree Ratclip - Thief
root
Disarm, Throw knife Hobble and slash
Coruscate Hobbled goblins are always at the back of the march-
Orb
ing order.
Whip, Hidden Blade

This entire floor will appear to be pitch black no

Coucham - Mage
Cast Heavy Eye, Cast Fiery Gaze, Stab
matter how much light is brought in. The Tene- (If at ease, heavy gaze puts a goblin to sleep.)
brous Ooze absorbs all visible light. It also warps Dagger - Spell supplies for FG and HE.
sound, rendering nearby sounds slow and echo-
ing. There is a locked cell in one corner, , about Solm - Porter
Hide, Surrender
20’ off the floor of the pit, where the mages would
4 Rations, 2 Torches, Rope, Tripwire Trap
drop subjects to experiment on the Ooze. Under-
neath the veneer of “ancient” stone are a series of
warded lead tablets that keep the Ooze trapped
in here. MAGIC ITEMS
DANGERS
It is impossible to see anything where the ooze is. Warded bottle
The water is just deep enough to drown in. Stoppered bottle of lead, cold to the
touch and covered in carved runes.
MONSTERS
Contains a tiny section of Tenebrous
The Tenebrous Ooze! See below.
Ooze. Unfathomably dangerous.
LOOT
The Coruscate Orb Seer stone
The water at the base of the chamber is dense A carved stone ring you can look
with blind cave fish, the primary source of the through. Paints a faint glow over
ooze’s nutrients. They thrive despite constant hidden wards, making them visible
absorption into the ooze by disappearing into to the eye (even through walls)
cracks in the wall. The Coruscate Orb
CONNECTIONS A fist sized met-
Loose wall: The stones of one wall have been al ball of sharp
worn loose by a great tree root. If pried loose, scales, like a
a goblin would have to dig up through 100’ of shark's skin,
loamy soil to reach the surface. or overlapping flower petals.
Reflects any light that touches
it's scales with ten times the radi-
The Tenebrous Ooze ance and duration. Valuable beyond measuring.
Goblins are almost always in a bad position Runed axe
unless they can find a way to fight what they Does one additional harm to magic
cannot see. If killed, leaves a hole in reality the creatures (such as the Tenebrous
size of a fist. Anything put in the hole is de- Ooze) and cannot be conven-
stroyed instantly. If the Coruscate Orb is put
tionally destroyed.
in the hole, it closes.
Slide, Engulf, Bind, Dissolve gear
Paralyze and burn, Sap and liquefy
Paralyzed or sapped goblins cannot move.
Liquified goblins are Dead.

29
And later this year:

Two alternate settings taking the Goblinville engine

further than you ever thought possible.
 Colophon
Core concept, design, writing Michael Dunn-O'Connor
Editing, development, writing, Eric Swanson
illustration, layout
Typefaces Avera Sans TC
Eight Days A Week
Minion Pro
Pokoljaro

©2019