Hobgoblin Deceiver

Hobgoblin Deceiver (CR 12)

Lawful Evil - Medium - Fey

Lore:	Know (Nature)
24		39
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

22

Perception:
32	+22
Passive	Active

Ambush:

8+

on a d20

Senses:

• Standard Senses
• Darkvision 60 ft.

Movement Types:

• Walk 30 ft.

Defense

AC

33

Man Def

31

Monster Health
289	144	22
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+14
Refl:	+9
Will:	+11

Strong Against:

Weak Against:

Offense

Size:	Medium
5 ft.		5 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+19

Man Off

+19

Action

0

Points

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Hobbic Sword +19 (3d8+9/19-20 x2)
  as slashing (physical, common)
  plus: Uncanny Feint

Full Attack (Melee):

• 3x Hobbic Sword +19 (3d8+9/19-20 x2)
  as slashing (physical, common)
  plus: Uncanny Feint

Standard Attack (Ranged):

• 1x Hob Knob +19 (3d8+13/18-20 x2)
  as bludgeoning (physical, common)
  (Increment: 30 ft.; Max Range: 150 ft.)
  plus: Uncanny Feint, and, upon successful strike, once per round per struck foe, make Reflex save vs DC 22 or be Quelled

Full Attack (Ranged):

• 3x Hob Knob +19 (3d8+13/18-20 x2)
  as bludgeoning (physical, common)
  (Increment: 30 ft.; Max Range: 150 ft.)
  plus: Uncanny Feint, and, upon successful strike, once per round per struck foe, make Reflex save vs DC 22 or be Quelled

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

17

STR

17

DEX

20

CON

14

INT

14

WIS

11

CHA

Skills:

• Bluff: 19
• Knowledge (Local): 17
• Knowledge (Nobility): 17
• Perception: 22
• All other skills: 14 (no ranks)

Languages: Awnsheghlien, Common

Feats:

• Combat Reflexes (EFFECT: Monsters with this feat make up to 4 attacks of opportunity per round instead of one.)

Special Abilities

Uncanny Feint (Ex) Swift Action

Hobgoblins can bend and move in a fluidly repulsive, unnatural way, which makes predicting when and where they are going to attack exceedingly difficult. As a result of this unnatural pliability, as a swift action, the Hobgoblin can use Bluff to Feint in combat, causing its opponent to be flat-footed against that hobgoblin's attacks until the beginning of the hobgoblin's next turn. The DC of this check is equal to 10 + the target's base attack bonus + the target's Wisdom modifier. If the target is trained in Sense Motive, the DC is instead equal to 10 + the target's Sense Motive bonus, if higher. Uncanny Feint does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Pommel Crack (Ex) Free Action 1/Rnd

As a free action once per round, a Deceiver may roll to hit an adjacent foe with the pommel of their sword. This is resolved as a melee touch attack at 1d20 + 23 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die). If they succeed, they inflict 3d8+9 points of bludgeoning (physical, common) damage, and the victim gains the Secured condition until the start of the Hobgoblin's next turn, or until the victim is able to shrug it off. Note that a Hobgoblin Deceiver may use Pommel Crack and Uncanny Feint in the same round, and they often do.

Enslave (Su) Out of Combat

When they catch slaves, Deceivers enact a fearful ritual upon them to ensure their compliance. They take Cold Iron and very carefully craft it into chains, heating it in their red forges to denature the poisoned substance. They take the white hot metal and hammer it into slave shackles upon their victims. This breaks the creature's will to the hobgoblin's, and thus you will see cruelly chained and shackled monsters in hobgoblin encounters. Enslaved: This is a strong status condition that applies only to monsters with an INT score. The monster becomes subservient to the hobgoblins and will do whatever it is told. The reforged Cold Iron shackles give enslaved monsters DR/Cold Iron equal to their CR ÷ 2. Enslaved creatures grant 10% more XP and treasure to reflect their stronger combat stats. Enslaved can be cured only by casting Remove Curse (Cleric Spell), or using an ability with a comparable effect.

Hobgoblin Deceiver

Hobgoblins are the cruelest and most common of the Low Fey. Although technically Outsiders, they live on the Prime material in large numbers, their enclaves generally isolated. By the measures of more 'normal' races, the Hobgoblins, like all fey, are quite insane. Their motives and reasoning are just-so-subtly...off.

For example. Hobgoblins are quite formidable beings. If they formed armies and marched on their neighbors, they could establish nations and empires easily enough. But they do not. They don't care about such things, being content to live in small towns and thorps, a few dozen here, a few hundred there.... That is all that they are interested in. Hobgoblins are far more interested in their byzantine social lives and the torment of their slaves than they are about worrying over living space, to be honest.

Hobgoblin Deceivers are an example of what a 'normal' hobgoblin is like...if there can be anything normal about a Fey-spawned monstrosity.

Deceivers are clever, sly things, interested in tricks and traps and cruel pranks of all sorts. Their social life and their status is all they truly care about, that and having 'fun' at the expense of those weaker than themselves. Deceivers are respectable Hobgoblins, even though they seem to have no useful skills or add any worth to their community. They do, however, own many slaves, although they usually keep those slaves tucked out of harms way. It wouldn't do to mess up the torments they've planned for them with somebody else's cruelty.

Deceivers tend to be quite active outside the community, for Hobgoblins, and they can often be seen working for other monstrous races, for cash, for fame, for ideas of cruel pranks to play, for access to victims, for many twisted reasons.

Combat Tactics

Hobgoblin Deceivers are as cruel and cold as all other Hobgoblins. If they have any Enslaved, they will use them as cannon fodder and close in under the cover of their attack. Hobgoblins want to catch you as a slave, not kill you, and as a result they will use their Hob Knobs early in a battle to knock down their foes and then wade in with Pommel Crack and Hobbic Sword.

If they cannot over-run a battle quickly with a wave of Enslaved and Hob Knob strikes, they will fight cautiously, backing away with five foot steps when possible to force foes to close in and suffer attacks of opportunity. The hobgoblin closest to the enemy will fight defensively, and strive to make foes move past them to easier targets and thus gain many attacks of opportunity.

Agile foes will be hit with Uncanny Feint and attacked first, in an effort to thin the numbers of their enemies, and heavily armored foes will be left for last if possible. If there is a heavily armored foe, one Deceiver will engage them and fight defensively, with Uncanny Feint and Pommel Crack, while the rest of the Hobgoblins attack softer opponents.

If the battle goes badly for them, Deceivers will steadily back away with five foot steps, seeking to inflict enough damage with opportunity attacks and Pommel Cracks to force a withdrawal. Hobgoblins are disciplined sorts: If they cannot force a break in the fighting to withdraw in an orderly fashion, they will fight to the death, drawing out the battle as long as possible to inflict the most damage they can before their end. Deceivers are, like Torturers, unlikely to try and negotiate a surrender.

Out of Combat

Hobgoblin Deceivers are popular with other monsters. They are inventive, fun, full of gossip, and can make torturing a prisoner into a whole afternoon of fun. As muscle for the weak they tend to be reliable and durable thugs. As hired help for the mighty, they are useful to have around and much, much more capable of following and interpreting complex orders than an ogre, or heaven forfend, a hill giant. It is not unusual to find a few hobgoblins as advisors, trainers, and general useful hands, even as butlers.

You can imagine the horrible sorts of fiends who would hire a hobgoblin as their butler...but they turn out to be remarkably good at that sort of thing!

Deceivers have respectable households in Hob Society, and hold a good number of decent slaves. They also use Hob Knobs of good quality, although their decorations are more restrained and tasteful.

Rewards

XP: 19,200

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 12,875 gp.

Weight: 120 lbs.     Volume: 4.8 cu. ft.

Optional Treasure Rules: Roll a d20 on Table 1 below once per encounter (NOT per creature). Any items discovered are in addition to the normal treasure for the encounter.

Table 1: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 10	Nothing Found
11 - 14	1 Languid Remnant (tier 1)
15 - 17	1 Pale Remnant (tier 2)
18 - 19	1 Bright Remnant (tier 3)
20	Roll on Table 2
###	Nothing to see here!
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 2: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Languid Remnants (tier 1)
6 - 10	3 Pale Remnants (tier 2)
11 - 14	1 Intense Remnant (tier 4)
15 - 17	1 Blazing Remnant (tier 5)
18 - 19	1 Vital Remnant (tier 6)
20	Roll on Table 3
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 3: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Bright Remnants (tier 3)
6 - 8	3 Intense Remnants (tier 4)
9 - 11	3 Blazing Remnants (tier 5)
12 - 14	3 Vital Remnants (tier 6)
15 - 17	1 Prime Remnant (tier 7)
18 - 19	1 Mythic Remnant (tier 8)
20	1 Empyrean Remnant (tier 9)