You’ve encountered, killed, and perhaps even played plenty of goblins. Often, they are stereotyped as simple-minded, cruel, maniacal, or even mindless. They are humanoids though, and I’d like to encourage you to view them less as foes and more as NPCs. Thus, I bring you the Goblin Wizard.

What can they do?
They aren’t very smart, at least at low-levels, but they are still more intelligent than your average goblin, though all that time with their nose in a book leaves them a little less dexterous than the rest of their kin. Their spell choices will be fueled by three things: Spells to keep foes at bay, spells to get them out of trouble, and spells that are really interesting.

Fire is frequently associated with goblins, and a smattering of fire spells feels appropriate for fulfilling the offense category. To that end, I chose to give them fire bolt and burning hands.

When needing to get out of trouble, a goblin wizard is going to adjust their strategy based on the source of trouble. A Hobgoblin or Bugbear looking to subjugate them might be scared off by the fire spells above. Of course, that same strategy isn’t likely to work on a human peasant; they may get scared, but sooner or later that means they’ll be looking to “get rid of the goblin menace,” so making friends via charm person is a much better strategy. The goblin can then state their case to a friendly face, and even have someone willing to vouch for them in a tricky situation.

When it comes to other goblins, using wonder and awe might be better options. Luckily, a goblin wizard is likely to show much interest in learning dancing lights and prestidigitation for their curious and versatile abilities, making those perfect for keeping their kin in awe of their abilities.

How should I use them?
While it might be tempting to throw a goblin wizard at your players as an unexpected foe amidst other goblins, let’s buck some of those stereotypes and have the party encounter them as a friendly (or at least neutral) creature in need of their help. Try some of these plot hooks.

• The wizard needs help locating spell components from in town, where they’d stick out like a sore thumb.
• The wizard is an apprentice to a non-goblin mage the party interacts with, and the mage leaves much of the minutiae of interacting with strangers to the apprentice.
• The wizard is attempting to free their fellow goblins from the yoke of slavery under hobgoblin rule, and is asking for your help.
• The goblin discovered magic when the party fought something else nearby, and is now following the party around trying to get the party wizard to teach them magic.
• The wizard has created a new spell that does something silly, but doesn’t know how to control it and it is getting out of hand.
• The wizard is accused of committing a crime and pleads the party to prove them innocent.

The potential for new and interesting stories is nigh unlimited when we step away from traditional monster views. Take them for a spin, or even try making a copy and switching up the spells a bit. If you have a good idea for a goblin wizard plothook or a silly goblins-plus-magic story, pop it in the comments below for others to use as inspiration.