Crafting a compelling narrative for your Hobgoblin adventurer begins with selecting the perfect background, and in this guide, we present a curated list seamlessly aligning with their disciplined and strategic nature.
Join us as we delve into the realms of D&D, uncovering backgrounds that will shape your Hobgoblin fate in a world full of mysteries.
Contents
What Are Backgrounds in D&D 5e?
Backgrounds are more than simple stat boosts in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. They reveal where your character came from, why you became an adventurer, and your place in the world.
Before choosing your Background, ask yourself a few questions:
- What was I before I became an adventurer?
- Why did I stop doing what my Background explains and become an adventurer?
- Where did I get the money to buy my starting equipment?
- Where did I learn the skills used in my class?
- What’s different about me compared to others with the same Background?
Best Backgrounds for Hobgoblins
5. Feylost
Skill Proficiencies – Survival, Deception
Tool Proficiencies – One type of musical instrument
Languages – Choose one among Sylvan, Goblin, Gnomish, or Elvish
Equipment – A set of traveler’s clothes, a musical instrument (choose one), three trinkets (determined by rolling the Feywild Trinkets table), and a pouch with 8GP.
Why the Feylost?
Feylost characters have the Feywild Visitor feature, being visited by a creature of the Feywild whenever they take a long rest or are put in a deep trance.
Visits can last minutes or hours, and you remember each visit upon waking. These visits can bring messages, red herrings, nonsense, and insights controlled by the DM.
Conversations are always held in a language you can understand.
Hobgoblins originate from the Feywild, so if you’d like them to have some sort of connection with the Fey realm, consider taking Feylost.
4. Criminal
Skill Proficiencies – Stealth, Deception
Tool Proficiencies – Thieves’ tools, One type of gaming set
Languages – None
Equipment – A set of dark common clothes including a hood, a crowbar, and a pouch with 15GP.
Why the Criminal?
Criminals have the Criminal Contact feature, where you have a contact who acts as your liaison to a vast network of criminals.
You can easily get messages to and from your contacts at great distances, and you also know the local messenger, seedy sailors, and corrupt caravan masters who can deliver messages for you.
Hobgoblins brutes make hardy criminals because of their physical prowess and aptitude to intimidate other common races.
3. City Watch
Skill Proficiencies – Insight, Athletics
Tool Proficiencies – None
Languages – Choose two
Equipment – A set of manacles, a horn with which the summon help, a uniform in the style of your unit and indicative of your rank, and a pouch with 10GP.
Why the City Watch?
Characters with the City Watch background have the Watcher’s Eye feature, giving you experience with enforcing the law and dealing with lawbreakers.
You can find local outposts of the watch or even sniff out criminal organizations, though newer locations might not welcome you with much grace.
Hobgoblins aren’t only bad. Some of them are fed up with the evil of this world and try to put their strength toward fixing their towns and cities.
2. Mercenary Veteran
Skill Proficiencies – Persuasion, Athletics
Tool Proficiencies – Vehicles (land), One type of gaming set
Languages – None
Equipment – A gaming set of your choice, an insignia of your rank, a uniform of your company (traveler’s clothes in quality), and a pouch with the remainder of your last wages (10GP).
Why the Mercenary Veteran?
Mercenary Veterans have the Mercenary Life feature, letting you identify mercenary companies, find places where mercenaries abide, and get mercenary work between adventures.
Hobgoblins are exposed to violence from a young age, making them innately violent, and if they wanted to, they could make a living out of killing by becoming a Mercenary Veteran.
1. Soldier
Skill Proficiencies – Intimidation, Athletics
Tool Proficiencies – Vehicles (land), One type of gaming set
Languages – None
Equipment – A trophy you took from a fallen enemy (a piece of a banner, dagger, or broken blade), a set of common clothes, a deck of cards or a set of bone dice, an insignia of rank, and a pouch with 10GP.
Why the Soldier?
Soldiers receive the Military Rank feature, allowing you to exert your rank and impose authority over soldiers lower than you.
This authority can grant you and your party access to fortresses, encampments, simple equipment, and horses.
Hobgoblins are similar to Goblins, as they fare well in physical combat and often end up in Goblinoid armies or commanding lesser Goblinoids like Goblins.
Final Thoughts
Whether infiltrating the shadows as a Criminal, embracing the martial discipline of the Soldier, or once fighting for coin as a Mercenary Veteran, your chosen background becomes the battlefield upon which your character’s story unfolds.
Choose with purpose, delve into the intricacies of your selected background, and let it infuse your Hobgoblin’s journey with depth in the expansive realms of D&D.