Goblyn

Goblyns are a race of strange, twisted, malevolent humanoids born through magical fleshcrafting, where dark magic is used to warp men into the semblance of goblinoids, creating pseudo-constructs that live to torture and kill.

The goblyn race is native to the Demiplane of Dread, having been introduced in the module Feast of Goblyns. Man-sized, they are distorted and ugly creatures, with distorted craniums, partially bald (hair sprouts only from the rear of the skull), pointed ears, glowing red eyes, clawed fingers, a warty greenish-brown hide, and too-wide mouths full of fangs, described as either shark-like or needle-like, depending on edition. There are technically two separate kinds of goblyn; Standard and Forfarian, although neither their abilities nor their appearances differ.

Standard goblyns are mindless minions, existing only to obey the whims of their creators. They don't sleep and never grow bored, and can also sustain themselves on anything organic, so they are prized as custodians for evil mages - they even have a handy telepathic link with their creator, which can compensate for their lack of initiative. Ironically, in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, it's stated that goblyns are useful as components in spells and magical items that control humans.

Forfarian goblyns were created by the Dark Powers, and thusly have more initiative and a semblance of a personality than the usual goblyn - although still warped and evil! Whilst loyal to the Darklord Tristen ApBlanc and under his telepathic communion, the goblyns of Forlorn are capable of betrayal and conspiracy against their master when he is not actively commanding them. They spend much of their time ravaging the wilderness of Forlorn, seeking to destroy the pure lands surrounding them, but also organize themselves into quarrelsome tribal and clan units, which spend much of their "free time" engaged in rowdy and violent games or outright war amongst each other. Torture is held up as an "art" by these goblyns. Whilst they have no spellcasters, they hold a deep religious devotion to the Celtic death god, Arawn.

Both strains of goblyn are best known for their go-to attack; "Feasting". This entails leaping at their foe, grabbing them by the neck, and then gnawing on their face, something that typically leaves the survivors so hideously scarred that it increases their Outcast Rating.

Publication History

As mentioned above, goblyns debuted in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition module Feast of Goblyns, in 1990. A year later (1991), they were reprinted in the Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix.

In Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition, goblyns appeared three times; in Denizens of Darkness (the first Ravenloft Monster Manual) for 3.0 in 2002, then in its 3.5 updated version Denizens of Dread in 2004, and then finally in the article "Campaign Classics" featured in Dragon Magazine #339 (January 2006).