Night Goblin

By Mark Gunton
© The Evil Quest Team

The Night Goblins are a race apart from their surface dwelling brethren. Centuries ago, the Night Goblins retreated beneath the ground, living in tunnels and strongholds abandoned by the Dwarfs. They lived there in almost total darkness, surviving on the mushrooms and fungi that grew in their new homes and on their daring night-time raids to the nearby human towns from which they were given their name. Living in those same tunnels unbeknownst to the Goblins was a race of vicious flesh-eating creatures that had evolved from the strange fungal species deep below the mountains. This were the Cave Squigs. The first encounter between Night Goblin and Cave Squig was rumoured to be very brief and, on the part of the unfortunate Goblin, fatal. From this point on the Night Goblins hunted the Squigs in two-Gobbo teams. The Squigs’ inbred viciousness and destructive nature was desirable to the Night Goblins, whose neighbouring kin were beginning to encroach into their tunnels. Certain unhinged members of the tribes of Night Goblins got a little closer to their psychotic charges, choosing to ride the monstrous creatures, risking being gored, swallowed whole or being trampled after toppling from the backs of the Squigs. These individuals are known as Squig Hoppers, because of the way the Squig and rider bound madly here and there, causing mayhem and death wherever they land.

Goblin Profile

Wounds D6+2
Move 4
Weapon Skill 3
Ballistic Skill 5+
Strength 3
Toughness 3 (5)
Initiative 2
Attacks 1
Pinning 3+ (4+ mounted)
Special Rides Animal, Pinning
Equipment Axe, Club or Sword
Armour Leather armour (+1T), mount (+1)

Squig Profile

Wounds 2D6+4
Move 9
Weapon Skill       4
Ballistic Skill -
Strength 5
Toughness 3
Initiative 5
Attacks 2
Pinning Special
Special Bounce, Never Pinned, Wild Squig Attack (Dismounted)

Special Rules

Goblin

Rides animal
The Goblins with the Rides animal rule may ride the animals stated above as per their denomination (i.e. Night Goblins will ride Cave Squigs, Forest Goblins Spiders, etc.)

Pinning
The Goblin rider is almost always riding his mount, but there is the chance that he may want to dismount, to perform an action (like searching a room or chest, etc.). In these situations, when there are no monsters in close combat with the Goblin and mount, then the Goblin may dismount. If the Goblin is in combat, then he has to take not one, but two pinning rolls. The first test is shown in brackets as (Mounted 4+), this must be passed to represent the Goblin leaping from the mount’s back. If this is passed, then the Goblin is safely clear of his mount and may not count any Toughness bonuses inferred by riding (he is at -1T). The second roll is to allow him to break pinning with the opponent he is fighting. Once this is passed, then the Goblin may move normally.

Squig

Bounce 
The Squig has highly developed leg muscles with which it propels itself at a great rate of speed. The Squig, when trained to do so, is also able to leap great distances on command. When it is mounted, the Squig may bounce over a square, ignoring anything or any opponent in the square, and land two squares away from it’s original square. This may be attempted only once per turn.

Never Pinned 
The Squig is a bad tempered ball of muscle driven teeth and as such is hardly the ideal opponent in close combat. Coupled with that is the fact that the Squig when ridden tends to leap and bound around, making it hard for an enemy to get to grips with it. The Squig may move out of combat without having to roll for pinning.

Wild Squig Attack! 
When the Squig is not ridden, it tends to revert to it’s natural instincts, those that tell it whether it should sleep or eat. When a Squig rider dismounts from his Squig, it is subject to the Wild Squig rules in the Warhammer Quest Roleplay book.

Advancement for mounts. 
The mounts that the Goblins ride, like their masters, gain advances and skills as they become more and more advanced, but unlike their masters do not advance when they earn enough ‘gold’, since all gold from kills is the Goblin’s anyway. Instead the mounts earn their experience by the number of kills they make in a dungeon. Mark a section off on your Character sheet and name it ‘Mount kills’ or something similar. If the mount kills a foe outright, ie. it kills the foe before the Goblin attacks, it gains a kill, either put the model into the section or put a dash accordingly, as well as increasing the Goblin’s gold total. For every ten kills the mount makes it is allowed to roll on the advancement table below. (Note: If a mount is killed outright and is not resurrected, the replacement mount will not have any advancements.)

D8 Roll Result
1 Roll on Advancement Table
2 +1 Weaponskill
3 +1 Damage
4 +1 T
5 +1 A
6 Extra D6 wounds
7 +1 Initiative
8 Roll on Advancement Table

Squig Advancement Table

Result Skill
1 Sniffer
The Squig’s sense of smell intensifies until it can catch the scent of even the most well concealed enemies. If an enemy has an Ambush ability, the Goblin player may negate the effect on a D6 roll of a 6. The enemy model is then placed and may only attack in the Monsters Phase. Further Sniffer skills add +1 to the dice roll.
2 Grip
The Squig bites down into it’s foe’s flesh, holding the unfortunate while the Goblin sets about him, smashing his head with it’s spiky club (Sword, axe, whatever..). If the Squig uses a Grip attack, it must give up any other attacks it may have and rolls to hit. If it hits, it rolls to damage as normal. If the hit is successful, the Squig clamps it’s jaws around a delicate part of it’s foe, holding it tight. The Goblin is a +2 to hit each turn for as long as the Squig gives up it’s attacks each turn to hold the foe. The opposing model is at -1 to hit, due to the fact that it has a rather large, evil creature gripping tightly to it’s body.
3 Nutter
The Squig’s temperament, which is already bad, gets worse, turning the creature into little more than a walking mad mincing machine. The Squig gains a Frenzy skill which can be activated when in combat on a roll of a 6 on a D6. Further Nutter skills add +1 to the dice roll, although a 1 is always a fail.
4 Chew
The Squig locks it’s jaws around it’s enemy’s arm and starts to grind it’s teeth together, ignoring the agonised squeals from it’s victim... The Squig causes double damage for each attack which scores a 6 to hit. This doubling takes place before adding any extra modifiers, but after adding the Squig’s strength. Further Chew skills add +1 to the required score, although a 1 is always a fail.
5 Fungus Finder
The Squig becomes adept at finding delicious little morsels for itself and it’s master in the dungeons and between adventures. In each room or corridor where the Squig is not in combat, roll as many D6 as you wish (up to a maximum of ten). Add the scores rolled together (hard for a Goblin, I know) and divide the total by three. The resulting amount is the amount of fungus that the Squig has found and they may be eaten by any warrior or animal to heal 3 Wounds. Any odd fractions are left out. If any ones are rolled, do not add them to the total. If the number of dice with a 1 on them is more than half the number of dice rolled, the Squig’s noisy and destructive search has triggered an Unexpected Event as if a 1 was rolled in the Power Phase. Between adventures, the Squig finds 1D3 fungus portions for each uneventful week rolled.
6 Barge aside
The Squig’s burly form is ideal for forcing it’s way forwards through crowds. It gains a Barge aside skill. To use the skill in combat, roll 2D6 and add the Squig’Strength, next roll 1D6 and add the Strength of one monster in base to base contact with the Squig. If the Squig wins, the monster is moved back one square and the Squig moves into the square that the monster occupied. If the monster cannot move into the square behind it due to another monster directly behind it, move that monster as well, the Squig’s impetus forcing the group to move. If a Monster cannot move due to an intervening wall, subtract the Monster’s D6+ Strength roll from the Squig’s and the Monster loses that many wounds unmodified as the Squig crushes it into the wall..
7 Regenerate
The Squig’s metabolism become accelerated and it shrugs of injuries that would kill lesser mortals. It may now recover wounds on a D6 roll of a 4, 5 or 6 per wound.
8 Swallow weapon
The Squig eyes it’s foe, then with it’s jaws wide, lunges and rips it’s foe’s sword from his hand. There a moment of silence, before the sound of crunching and a long swallow. The Squig grins and it’s opponent sees fragments of metal between the Squig’s teeth. The Swallow Weapon attack can only be done on it’s own, no other attack can be made. The Squig rolls to hit, but instead of wounding when it hits, the Squig eats it’s opponent’s weapon. If the Swallow Weapon attack hits, the opposing model is at -1 to hit for the rest of the combat. If the weapon is magical, it may have an interesting effect on the Squig’s violently changing metabolism. Roll a D6, if the result is a 5 or 6, the weapon’s magic is absorbed into the Squig. All the effects of the weapon are transferred to the Squig (assume the Squig is ‘using’ the weapon). This effect will last until a 1 is rolled in the Power Phase, or until the end if the adventure. If the result is a 1, the magic has made the Squig ill and it may only make a Vomit attack in the next turn (see the Troll section in the Bestiary for details).

Goblin Battle Level Table

Battle Level Gold Title Weapon Skill Ballistic Skill Strength Damage Dice Toughness Wounds Inititive Attacks Luck Will Power Skills Pinning
1 0 Git 3 5+ 3 1 3 1D6+2 2 1 0 2 0 3+
2 2,000 Boy 3 4+ 3 1 3 2D6+2 2 2 1 2 1 3+
3 4,000 Boy 3 4+ 3 1 3 3D6+2 3 2 2 3 1 3+
4 8,000 Boy 4 4+ 3 1 4 4D6+2 3 2 2 3 2 3+
5 12,000 Boss 4 3+ 4 2 4 5D6+2 3 3 2 3 2 3+
6 18,000 Boss 4 3+ 4 2 4 6D6+2 3 3 3 3 3 3+
7 24,000 Boss 4 3+ 4 2 4 7D6+2 3 3 3 3 3 2+
8 32,000 Boss 5 2+ 5 2 4 8D6+2 4 3 3 3 4 2+
9 45,000 Big Boss 5 2+ 5 3 5 9D6+2 4 4 3 4 5 2+
10 50,000 Big Boss 5 2+ 5 3 5 10D6+2 5 4 4 4 6 1+

Goblin Skills

Roll 2D6:

Result Skill
2 Evade

You hug the floor as the Dwarf’s axe glances over your head and your attacker staggers with the blow.

If hit your Warrior may attempt to evade the incoming blow. On a score of 5 or 6, the Goblin deftly side-steps the blow and it causes no damage and the Warrior moves into an adjacent square. If there are no adjacent square free, then the Goblin takes the hit as normal. Should moving to an adjacent square move the Goblin into contact with another monster, it will have no effect this turn, the Goblin may attack the monster nest turn. Also, if the Goblin was in contact with another monster that was going to attack him, it will move to attack him, if possible (ie. it isn’t pinned by another Warrior). This may not be used if the Goblin is mounted.

3 Dodge 

With a yelp you side-step the Elf’s death blow and sigh with relief as the blade hisses past you.

This skill allows your Goblin to dodge an attacker’s blow as it is struck. When the Goblin is hit roll a D6. On a 4 or more the Goblin avoids the attack and takes no damage. This skill may not be used while the Goblin is mounted.

4 Dirty Blow 

With an evil grin, you drive your attacks into a weak point in your opponent’s defence and snigger as he howls in pain.

This skill works whether you are mounted or not. When your roll to hit, every 6 you score means you have thrown a dirty blow. This evil tactic ignores 2 points of armour and creatures with Ignore Blow or Ignore Pain may not use these abilities.

5 Insult  

You howl a stream of vile abuse at the towering human knight and are rewarded with his attempts to shout you down.

This skill means that as you fight a foe you reel off a mouthful of foul language, which can sometimes cause the creature to try to shout you down, losing their attacks. When you attempt this, roll a D6 and attempt to get equal to or more than the number below:

Git 6+
Boy 5+
Boss 4+
Big Boss 3+
If the score is beaten, then the monster loses all it’s attacks this turn. This may be used while the Goblin is mounted.
6 SCARPER!! 

You duck your head and sprint with all your strength, hoping that you can move faster than your foe’s blades.

This skill allows your Goblin to attempt a massive burst of speed. On a D6 roll of 5 or 6, your Goblin may double his movement rate and may not be pinned for this turn. This may not be used while the Goblin is mounted.

7 Lucky Shoota

You draw your last arrow, knowing there’s almost no chance you’ll hit, but lo and behold, your arrow hits your foe dead on.

This skill allows you to re-roll one missed roll to hit with a missile weapon once per turn.

8 Sticky Fingers

You watch as the other Warriors ransack the room for more treasure and smile to yourself as you slip the small bag of gold you found into your pack.

Once all the Monsters in a room are dead or once an event that results in gold for another Warrior has been resolved, roll 2D6x10 gold for yourself. If either dice comes up a 1, there is no gold to be found.

9 Frenzy!

Sitting atop your Squig, you get this odd twitch in your arm, it feels like you want to pound your foe to pulp, then stamp on the pulp till that’s well and truly pounded.  

This skill is the same as the Barbarian’s frenzy, for rules see the Warhammer Quest rulebook.

10 Sneaky

You slip into the shadows to dodge around the back of the two Elf guardsmen and in through the door they were guarding.

You may use this while your Goblin is on foot. The Goblin may attempt to mingle with the background or even slip between his enemies, by virtue of his small size. The Goblin may move as many squares as his Move allows him without having to roll to break pinning, but he must roll a D6 for each square he moves. On a roll of 1 or 2, the Goblin is spotted and if he is adjacent to a opponent, he must test to break pinning.

11 Fast Shoota

Your bow thrums as you release arrow after arrow at your foes.

This skill allows you +1 Attack when you use a missile weapon.

12 Stronga Shot

You strain your muscles to get your little bow screeching, before you release the arrow with a ‘K-thwang!’.

This skill allows you to fire a bow with +2 Strength.

Should you roll any duplicate skills on this table, then re-roll until you get one that you haven’t got.

Spunky ‘da Mad’ clambered down from Evil Zogga, his pet Squig, to look at the medallion that the Elfen Lord had dropped before his demise at the teeth of ‘Zogga. There was a small emerald set in the pure golden disc and the unmistakable flicker of magic around the runic letters on the edge of it.
"Cor, dat’s gotta cost a bomb back at da tahn.", he murmured, reaching for the gem.
A clatter from the other side of the room made him recoil as Gargor, the Savage Boy from the distant continent of Lustria emptied the contents of a large chest on to the floor with a hearty shake of the chest in question. Fergus ‘Gitboy’ Toadstoolnibbla sat in a corner playing catch with an Elf archer’s head, giggling to himself. The constant ‘bonk-splat’ of the Fanatic’s new plaything was starting to get on Spunky’s nerves. Growls from the corridor outside heralded the entry of the fourth member of the band. Skummy Wulfboy had acclaimed himself as the ‘Slayer of a Pansy Elf Lord an’ ‘is Softy Dragon’, but Spunky gravely doubted the truth to Skummy’s constant bragging. Spunky prised the amulet from the dead arm with a strained expression on his face. It would have been easier to do, but Evil Zogga didn’t leave much of the Elf for Spunky to apply leverage to. The gem finally came away with the sound of snapping finger bones, and the Goblin stuffed it into his pouch, along with the healing potion he had nicked from Gargor, while the Orc was sleeping during his ‘guard duty’, the night before. Skummy tottled over to the Night Goblin and swung his lantern into the other’s face.
"Find anyfing?", he asked, his high-pitched even higher after several days constant trekking in the saddle over rough terrain.
"Nah, jus’ lookin’ fer some toadstool. I fort I saw sum dahn ‘ere."
"Oh, er, awright den. Lerrus know if ya find any, like, loot."
"Yeh, no probs."
Moron, thought Spunky as Skummy wandered off again, it’d be great to watch Evil Zogga eat a git like him.
Noises from further up the corridor drew the attention of the group. Gargor spat on his palms before wieghing up his flint axe, murmuring something about ‘zogging panzies nicking me zogging healing potion’. Skummy was already in his saddle, stnding in his stirrups, to avoid the rough leather saddle for as long as posible and Furgus was cramming some green-topped mushrooms into his mouth and chuckling as he punted his gory toy off down the corridor. From the darkness came cries of horror as the Elf guards encountered the disembodied head of their companion. Furgus howled with joy as the effect of the mushrooms reached his Mad Cap Mushroom-addled brain and he bounded off, shouting the tuneful ‘Yore Gonna Git Yore Zoggin’ ‘Eads Kicked in’, closely followed by Gargor. Skummy was left flat as Spunky leapt onto the top of Evil Zogga’s head and bounded over the Wolf Rider. Skummy cried a half hearted ‘Charge’, then followed them down the dark path. The Elves cries of fear reached new octaves as they encountered the force of greenskins.........