The plural of Gobbo is Gobbos (Gobbo-s). Gobbo is slang for goblin.
Players should never refer to themselves except by third person - "He hates little rats, we hates them much.", instead of "I hate rats". Gobbo's don't see themselves as individuals, but as a single group with many parts.
So when talking you need to refer to yourself as if you were another person talking about you. This is a mental flaw of Gobbos stemming from their clutch beginnings where the group is primary and the individual subservient.
Option: If you want you may allow the violation of this rule to be something the players themselves can enforce. Each time the rule is violated and someone notices it they may declare it and the offender must lose a Respect point to them. See the Respect chapter for details. This will vary from group to group, depends on whether you have real gamers or just people who have nothing better to do.
Primary Characteristics use the tier system outlined in the System Chapter, so a value of 1 indicates a dice type of 1d3. In some instances the actual tier level is used as a value (for working out HPs for example).
All creatures will have the following traits (starting Gobbo values are indicated in brackets):
Brawn (1) - BR: physical strength, your damage dice. Humans are average 4, elephants are 7-8, mature dragons would be 9.
Brainz (2) - BZ: mental strength, human average is 4-5. Animals will have a nominal Brainz of 1, but will be given a higher pseudo value (4) to resist mental attacks. Brainz 6-7 are exceptionally intelligent creatures, higher values should be extremely rare.
Body (1) - BO: health and general robustness, human average is 4. Creatures with powerful metabolisms, superb athletes and magical beings may have high Body values. Most creatures will have a Body of 3-4-5.
Bulk (2) - BU: actual physical size. Gobbos start with Bulk=2. Humans average Bulk= 4. Orcs are 5. Each level of Bulk is roughly double the previous one in actual kilograms. An elephant has a mass of around 4-5000kg, which would be Bulk A (see table below). A Blue Whale has a mass of 136,000kg and is way off the scale. T-Rex were upto 6500kgs, and Apatosaurus going upto 16000kg. Really large creatures such as Rocs and Great Dragons might have the size but due to flight requirements (ignoring magic) would not weigh as much.
Bulk
1 - 10kgs
2 - 20kgs
3 - 40kgs
4 - 80kgs
5 - 160kgs
6 - 320kgs
7 - 640kgs
8 - 1280kgs
9 - 2560kgs
A - 5000kgs
B - 10000kgs
C - 15000kgs
D - 20000kgs
E - 25000kgs
In Gobbo's creature's tend to have set physical values, eg humans tend to be 4/4/4/4. Which means the weakest beggar in the village is exactly the same as the strongest knight in the kingdom, they each have 32 hps and a rating of 5 or 6. You can say the beggar has a Body of 3 due to being sickly (for a human), and the knight might have a Body and Bulk of 5, but the general variation in values for a species is small - must humans are the same physically. Where they do vary considerably is in their skill sets. Compare the skill levels of the two people above when it comes to combat - vastly different. Skillz need to be used to create variation within a type of creature.
Avoid Giftz (if you make your own) that duplicate what you can gain with an improved skill level, eg Striking Defence can be improved by increasing your Striking skill, so avoid having a Gift that gives you +1 to Striking. Further you should avoid Giftz that give more than one level of advancement such that it is cheaper to buy the Gift than to buy the same benefit in Skillz. Examine the costs in Respect points to implement a Gift vs improving a Skill or Characteristic. Players will always take the most efficient path, so decide which path you want them to use.
These extra characteristics are used by Gobbo's only, they do not apply to NPC's who use only BR-BZ-BO-BU
Cunning (3): innate sneakiness, stealth, chance to critical. Other creatures are sneaky and stealthy, but with Gobbo's its in their genes, literally. This is a very important trait for Gobbo's, it is used to enhance or supplement quite a few rolls.
Blood (2): limiter on Giftz that you can incorporate into yourself (Snicker and Smelter). The accumulated value of your Blood is the number of points of Giftz you may activate in your body. Blood of 3 means you have 1+2+3=6pts. Blood of 5 means 15pts. You lose Blood every time you die, so it is important to recover it. You dont lose Giftz you have gained, but you wont be able to gain new ones if your Blood drops too low.
Flee (3): survival, fear, instinct; the higher the value to braver you are. Its a survival trait! But the higher the value the better you are at it! Gobbo's may cry "FLEE!" at any time, a blood curdling sound that makes all creatures flinch and recoil, and in that moment Gobbo's may Flee. Simply roll your Flee characteristic equal to or greater than 4 and you have successfully left the encounter...sorry about the guys who didn't. This collective run-away can only be called once per encounter, and is referred to as TPFO -Total Party Freak Out.
Voice (2): echo location ability and vocally based interaction skills modifier. Aspire to the Voice of God! When light is a restriction, limiting the dice type that may be used, Gobbos may use Voice without restriction (echo location). So a Gobbo in pitch dark may be Attacking with limited dice of -3 tiers, such that d8 drops to d3. They can elect to use their Voice to replace one of their dice at whatever level their Voice is at.
Pity (3): cuteness or harmlessness, visual social skill modifier. Gobbo's look just like kittens - after they have been chopped with a really sharp axe. Pity conflicts with Bulk, people (human scum) expect Gobbo's to be Bulk 2 or 3, anything bigger than this is disconcerting and will gain a penalty on Pity rolls equal to their BU-3. In many ways Pity relies on the target being unaware, Bulk is very visually obvious, but Brainz can have the same effect if displayed. Nobody likes a smart Gobbo! Still, after everything, a cute Gobbo is still a cute Gobbo. Some races are naturally resistant to this effect, Dwarves for example increase target numbers by 2 levels automatically (because they know!). Orcs are racially repulsed by this - NO PITY! - so increase target numbers by 3 levels. Elves are too smart or observant to be fooled so increase target numbers by 2 levels. Humans are total saps.
Starting characteristic values, in tiers, for a Gobbo are indicated above against the various traits - 1, 2 or 3. You begin with 3 pts that you may add to any of these values, but no more than one point to any one. Remember you are starting out as a teenage equivalent gobbo - who is afraid of ratz - and isnt very big.
Thus for average humans, with 4/4/4/4, would have the following values:
Shields may add to your defence if used in that fashion, but they may be used to reduce damage as well (see below and Equipment chapter).
Gobbos may add their Cunning dice to either their Attack dice or their Damage dice, as an extra dice to chose from. So in an Attack roll they could chose to roll 3 dice and select the best result. IN a Damage roll they would roll Weapon + (Brawn or Cunning), and select the best result, then add Bulk to that. This must be decided before any rolls are made, and only applies to ONE of the rolls.
Gobbos may use their Cunning as a second determiner of their Defence score (best of Body or Cunning tier).
Gobbos may use their Co-operation skill to modify each others rolls, as explained under that Skill.
When light is a restriction, limiting the dice type that may be used, Gobbos may use Voice without restriction (echo location). So a Gobbo in pitch dark may be Attacking with limited dice of -3 tiers, such that d8 drops to d3, they can elect to use their Voice to replace one of their dice at whatever level their Voice is at.
Playing Gobbo's isn't about always winning, in fact the nature of being a Gobbo is initially one of surviving, running away, grovelling for mercy and persistence.
Most players do not like to lose, its a fact. So right from the very beginning make it clear that winning is not the point, surviving is!
And winning is subjective, for a Gobbo the target may be some specific object that can still be obtained, even if they suffer enslavement and physical abuse. Often the objective is to get a DNA sample and get away to use it. This also includes 'who' gets it, although Gobbo's work as a team they are all trying to evolve better than the next guy.
The game will provide a mechanism to ensure that your character never dies, you will always revert back to your last egg, and your last egg always survives. The only changes in your character when you die will be to revert to the start of Adventure values, and to drop your Blood level 1 tier, which reduces your ability to smelt new Giftz until you replace it. You do not lose any Respect you have gained as your brothers and sisters know what you have done, and belief is a magical thing. Basically it means that it is not a good idea to improve your character during an Adventure, do it at the start or the end of an Adventure. Changes made during an Adventure should be noted in pencil in case they need to be wiped out.
Did I mention that Gobbo's lay eggs? Yes they do, and a Gobbo egg is very difficult to distinguish from a rock, hence they nearly always survive. For our purposes we just assume one of them always survives and hatches a new you. Of course the new you may not be anywhere near where the old you was (location wise) but for game purposes we assume the new you simply needs a little time to catch up, so will rejoin the group after any Camp action. For game mechanics we assume that the newly hatched gobbo has a telepathic link to the group and an ability to travel to them without being eaten, and they magically grow into adult form... magic stuff. If you think this is just too much you might start the new Gobbo at some general penalty to all actions (eg -3) and the penalty reduces one each time they take a Camp action. You might include a Respect loss but this should be a percentage value so as not to remove all their points.
Equipment will not be lost either as your brothers and sisters are sure to collect them for you, and pass them on when you return, less any that got lost, or misplaced, or never existed... "what do you mean my sword looks a lot like your old one?"
The only time equipment will be lost is when you have a TPK (total party kill), or a TPFO (total party freak out... ie you did the party Flee). In a TPK you lose everything, period (and this is where Scrounging becomes useful). In a TPFO as long as you get away you wont lose anything.
As you develop several changes will become quite noticeable. A Gobbo with a Bulk greater than 3 is unusual. A Gobbo with Brainz greater than 3 and that displays it will be unusual. Body and Brawn can be hidden to a large degree so are not too big a problem till they get above 4.
Some Giftz will become a problem when used or gained. A Magic using Gobbo is unusual, especially if it is magic other than Arcane. Generally Gobbo's are not known for being Divine Casters and following, for eg, a Human god.
When you gain a Gift consider its' visual and mechanical effects, if they are significant you should volunteer their impact on your characters interactions. If Curse Cards are being used then such manifestations can be added to a card as a reminder to the GM.