This is a continuation of articles I’m writing about unique monsters. These serve the purpose of both stretching my legs within the system and clearing out the cobwebs after a big series of articles. A palate cleanser of monstrosities so to speak.
I’ve been working on a campaign about a Beastman invasion of the Borderlands and I’ve been thinking about how most of the Beastmen are just cookie cutter images of each other. A Bugbear is a Bugbear is a Bugbear except of course for the Chieftains who are usually just bigger and meaner versions of the cookie cutter Bugbear. So I thought about interesting versions of the races, sort of support monsters for the tribe. I brought this up on the ACKS Discord and one of my supporters mentioned Goblins.
So over a few days at work I pondered the Goblin. In the ACKS setting they were breed from Dwarves and Gnolls by the Zaharans to fight the Dwarves in their narrow tunneled vaults. Now that the Zaharan empire is gone, sad face, they’re free to do what they want but I think that underground is their preferred environment, they do have the Caving proficiency after all. What kind of creature among that race would standout? I first thought about a sneaky Thief type but that’s been done and boring. Then a Poisoner, but also done and boring. But I thought about the Ogre Warlock I created and kept going back to the Witch doctor.
Classically that Goblin Witch Doctor would be a potion monger, poisoner, arcane support for the tribe and the chieftain. Letting that thought bounce around I wondered what a Witchdoctor that specialized in creating magical items might be like and how possible is that within the scope of the rules. One way to find out.
The rules say that a Goblin witch doctor is equivalent to a sub-chieftain statistically but with Mage abilities at level 1-6. So that would mean that he’d be an AC4, 1+1HD with a +1 damage bonus. Let’s call him Buzbin for now and stat him up. I’ll start with a level 6 build and see what he looks like.
Buzbin, Goblin witch doctor: Str 14, Int 17, Wil 14, Cha 15; MV 20’/60’, AC 4, HD 1+1, hp 9, #AT 1 (Staff 11+, 1d6+1), Save M6, ML -1, AL C, XP 15; SA+2, LA 5, ML+1; Special: Arcane Magic, Minor Magical Research; Proficiencies: Alchemy, Caving, Craft (Weaponsmith) 2, Knowledge: History, Loremastery, Magical Engineering 2; Spells 2 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd; Repertoire: 1st - Beguile Humanoid, Chameleon, Counterspell, Discern Gist, Discern Magic, Sharpness, Silent Step, Slumber, Summon Manes; 2nd - Bewitch Humanoid, Conjure Petty Elemental, Dark Whisper, Energy Protection, Ogre Strength, Physical Protection; 3rd - Boil Blood, Deflect Ordinary Missiles, Dismember, Dispel Magic, Dominate Monster, Flight, Growth; Potion of Physical Protection (Slashing, Piercing), Potion of Ogre Strength, Potion of Silent Step, Potion of Deflect Ordinary Missiles, Potion of Deflect Ordinary Weapons, Potion of Growth, Hammer of the Master Smith
Collegiate Wizardry didn’t make sense as a power for him so I swapped that out with Magical Engineering. Level 6 and his increased INT gave him a total of two additional class proficiencies and four general proficiencies. When your tribe of beastmen roll up a dungeon or kill a group of adventurers this is the guy that you seek out to sell to or trade the loot with. When you’re planning an attack on civilization and you need some potions or magical support this is the little bastard that you hire. Because of that I gave him more spells than normal and a decent selection of potions and a lovely magical hammer that is his pride and joy.
I still think he’s stats are a little weak so I’m going to bump him up to a Chieftain in stats …
Buzbin, Goblin witch doctor: Str 14, Int 17, Wil 14, Cha 15; MV 20’/60’, AC 5, HD 3, hp 16, #AT 1 (Staff 8+, 1d6+3), Save M6, ML +1, AL C, XP 50; SA+2, LA 5, ML+1; Special: Arcane Magic, Minor Magical Research; Proficiencies: Alchemy, Craft (weaponsmith) 3, Loremastery, Magical Engineering 2; Spells 2 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd; Repertoire: 1st - Beguile Humanoid, Chameleon, Counterspell, Discern Gist, Discern Magic, Sharpness, Silent Step, Slumber, Summon Manes; 2nd - Bewitch Humanoid, Conjure Petty Elemental, Dark Whisper, Energy Protection, Ogre Strength, Physical Protection; 3rd - Boil Blood, Deflect Ordinary Missiles, Dismember, Dispel Magic, Dominate Monster, Flight, Growth; Potion of Physical Protection (Slashing, Piercing), Potion of Ogre Strength, Potion of Silent Step, Potion of Deflect Ordinary Missiles, Potion of Deflect Ordinary Weapons, Potion of Growth, Hammer of the Master Smith
There. That makes him a little tougher but still seriously weak in a melee fight. He’d be doing his utmost to avoid danger but as an ambush spellslinger he’s a pretty rude surprise.
I also think that Buzbin would leverage his abilities and take on some journeymen and apprentice weaponsmiths. With three ranks in Craft weaponsmith he can handle a team of 2 Journeymen and 4 Apprentices and boost their productivity by 50%. That means if they’re collectively working on a project they can construct 160gp a month. With the boost from his Hammer of the Master Smith he would be boosted to a grandmaster for the length of that project. That would let him create masterwork items and boost the entire team to a total of 200gp per month.
Now that doesn’t seem like a lot of construction value but think about this. Beastmen aren’t exactly rolling in craftsmen. The Hobgoblins likely have the most and very unlikely they have anyone with more than two ranks. They simply don’t have the educational system or the solid civilization base to get a society of tradesmen.
Most Beastmen tribes are going to have really shitty quality armor and weapons without their own smiths. They raid for the good stuff.
Now someone like Buzbin and his crew roll in and start making swords. Simple no-nonsense swords. 10gp a piece in construction value. So they can make 16 swords a month which is pretty damned good. Spears would be even better at 53 per month. Battleaxes, an Orc favorite, at 23 a month. Using the sword example they can equip a platoon of Hobgoblins with swords in two months. In addition his crew can support a battalion of 480 Infantry on campaign, doing the repairs and maintenance, avoiding the -1 Morale penalty that comes from making the troops do their own work.
Buzbin becomes even more dangerous to civilization by simply teaching tribes how to craft better weapons. He moves in before winter and spends the quiet months training up Hobgoblin smiths and moves on leaving an ugly force multiplier in his wake.
With his magic hammer he can construct masterwork weapons, with a +1 to damage or +1 to hit, at a rate of almost 3 per month. A true masterwork weapon, with a +1 to damage and to +1 to hit, that would cost 650gp would take him just a little over three months. So a Chieftain might hire Buzbin and his crew to create a masterwork weapon for him. Thankfully for the side of Law Buzbin isn’t capable of creating magical weapons … yet. But over a winter his team could easily rearm a tribe with better weapons and create a few potions for the use of the Chieftain and the Sub chieftains.
Buzbin would not be traveling alone. A group like his needs protection from adventurers and just plain old Chieftains that decide that they don’t want to pay up when the bill comes due in Spring. I could see a mixed force of Hobgoblins that he’s hired as protection. A platoon of Hobgoblin Light Infantry would cost him 450gp a month and a second platoon of Composite Bowmen another 990gp per month. Expensive especially with the small wagon train that he would need to haul supplies and the workshop but not unaffordable. Especially when a potion sale a month would pay for the mercenaries. But a train of 60 mercenaries seems a little heavy. Let’s go with 15 of each. That mixed platoon would be 720gp a month which is more reasonable. Add in the Apprentices and Journeymen payments and Buzbin is looking at 800gp a month to maintain his crew. He’s also looking at a few wagons to haul everything. One wagon for the workshop and tools, a second to haul a small smelter and a third for materials and goods.
Buzbin would be on the look out for supplies of ore and other raw materials. It’s not like he go to the closest market and buy a ton of ore. He’d have to rely on smugglers and the few mines that are run by Beastmen. A iron mine keeping Buzbin and his crew supplied is a nasty thing for a nearby civilization to let fester away.