Goblins are one of my favorite Foes to throw at Parties. A quirk of their Stat Block in early presentations is that it is expressed as HD 1-1, meaning you roll a die and subtract 1 from the results (1d6-1 for the earliest versions, later upgraded to 1d8-1.) Naturally, most Referees choose to treat the total as 1 if the lowest result is rolled, but lately I’ve been enamored with using the HP as the die lands. This of course occasionally results in Goblins that begin the Encounter with 0 HP.
But what are these 0 HP Goblins? Obviously they aren’t much of a threat in a standard Combat Situation (and usually I would rule that any attack roll by a Character...successful or otherwise can “Defeat” them instantly.) But they can also certainly serve to swell the ranks in addition to providing a little bit of Comic Relief when we start seeing those Goblins appear in larger numbers. Still perfectly suitable for Parley or a quick Chase, but when a portion of the horde is hapless in this way, it can make for a more interesting Encounter and lean a little more into the more whimsical side of them that I sometimes prefer.
Here are a hundred ideas for incorporating those “Zero Hit Point Goblins” in your games, as mentioned most might render the situation a little more on the slapstick side, but some are a little darker and still might serve as a Surprise for Players that have done their time in the trenches frequently fighting these foes in the past.
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