Lockout: Faction Overview 1- Despot Goblins

I'm going to be previewing some of the factions from Lockout and, since the following was the only faction the original party encountered, I thought it would be appropriate to start here. I'd post up some statblocks, but I've yet to find a good, Mac-friendly utility for generating them in 4e form. Might play around with html and see if I can devise something that looks acceptable.

Despot Goblins

The largest faction active in the Lockout campaign, Despot Goblins comprise the majority of the Tran Empire's domestic military force. Unlike the rabble in a typical fantasy campaign, Despots are well-organized, well-equipped, and extremely disciplined. The Despots have control of much of the city, because their role as city guards and protectors of the nobles put them in position to seize significant areas quickly. While the Despots outwardly claim to be maintaining the stability of the Empire, their methods are brutal; in particular, they've made a habit of arresting any non-citizens of the city, not just the Empire, on sight.



Despot forces include large numbers of Goblin Points and Goblin Scuta, some of the lowest-level soldiers in the army (and representatives of the Tran habit of naming goblin ranks according to a significant piece of equipment). These goblin infantry are lightly armored and trained to fight in concert with one another, darting into battle long enough to distract a foe, then wheeling away as their allies strike from behind. Points and Scuta are usually commanded by psionic goblins called Crookcatchers, and a command force of 4-6 goblin infantry and a Crookcatcher is usually sufficient to quell any unrest in a residential neighborhood.

The more overtly military arm of the Despot forces is comprised primarily of heavily-armored hobgoblins. The lowliest, untested soldiers are called Presences, and their metal-hafted spears and wide shields stand against hordes of beastmen or frightened citizenry with equal immovability. The Bricks, the strong center of the army, forgo spears for wide-bladed short swords and an even greater cohesion when fighting as a unit. Bricks are adept at using their height and armored mass to shift and distract foes, leaving them open to strikes from their companions.

The Despots supplement their forces with a variety of dwarf-crafted constructs, as well as specially trained goblins who harness their innate psionic ability in frightful ways.