Color Coding Goblin Spellcasters

[durron597]

Ok so it's pretty clear that there are goblin wizards too. Duh. So the colored cloaks mean:

Red: Redcloak
Blue: Cleric
White: Acolyte (low level cleric??)
Brown: Wizard

Brown-cloaked wizards also have three different colors of belt, 2 - red and green - in the most recent comic and a blue belt in comic 512.

Original Post below:
Title: Dancing Lights isn't a cleric spell

I apologize if this has been said before, but dancing lights isn't a cleric spell in D&D 3.5. Since there are no 0th level domain spells...

I suppose this is a hack for the sake of story, but just sayin.

[Deca]

Who said all goblin spellcasters were clerics?

[durron597]

Who said all goblin spellcasters were clerics?

Do the different robe colors mean different class?

Brown robes, blue robes, the goblin at the end is wearing a different color belt...

[Kish]

This is disappointing. I thought when I saw the title the point of this was going to be, "...so stop saying those hobgoblin sorcerers/wizards/bards are clerics, people on the forum," and I was going to be right there with you, but when I click on the thread, you're assuming Rich made a mistake because they just have to be clerics.

[FoE]

Can't tell the difference between hobgoblin clerics and wizards? Whatsamatter, those people look all the same to you? :smalltongue:

[Neopolis]

The ones with the brown robes are wizards (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0512.html), the ones with the blue robes are clerics.

[Asta Kask]

Goblins - color coded for your convenience!

[Allan Surgite]

And acolytes have white cloaks.

Are you keeping up?

[Ancalagon]

The ones with the brown robes are wizards (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0512.html), the ones with the blue robes are clerics.

... those with white cloaks as well (they are the lowbie clerics).

[Fallbot]

Wait, what about that one guy with the red cloak!? Where does he fit in? :smalltongue:

[Asta Kask]

The ones with pink cloaks are walking in the Pride Parade.

[Graymayre]

isn't there a domain that gives dancing lights?

[Ancalagon]

Wait, what about that one guy with the red cloak!? Where does he fit in? :smalltongue:

SoD:
He's Xykon's personal bitch.

[Mercenary Pen]

Has to be said, if you look carefully, the goblin wizards (or possibly sorcerers and bards) weren't wearing anything that could be considered heavy armour in 706- using for reference the heavily armoured types alongside them in the same strip.

[Threeshades]

Wait, what about that one guy with the red cloak!? Where does he fit in? :smalltongue:

What Ancalagon wrote is not entirely correct. In fact it's completely unrelated to that.
The red cloak has a special purpose and meaning that is explained in Start of Darkness so if you still want to read it, DON'T open this spoiler:

The red cloak is a magical artifact that greatly improves its wearer's powers it was made by the Dark One to help Goblinoids and other Monster Manual races to further their goal of becoming a civilized race with equal rights to those of other civilized humanoids and only the High Priest of the Dark One is allowed to wear it.

[Zevox]

isn't there a domain that gives dancing lights?
No, domains don't give level 0 spells.

Zevox

[Ancalagon]

What Ancalagon wrote is not entirely correct. In fact it's completely unrelated to that.

It's entirely correct. That there is more to it does not change the fact it's correct. You also might want to take some things less seriously. You could have deducted that someone who read SoD might also have gotten that there are more things in that.
Geez, you ate a broomstick this morning? ;)

[Gift Jeraff]

I think this is how the cloaks go:

Red: Bearer of the Crimson Mantle (dur)
Grey(?): High-ranking goblin cleric
White: Low-ranking goblin cleric
Teal: Supreme Leader of the hobgoblins
Purple: Hobgoblin general (Probably has nothing to do with spellcasting)
Dark Blue: High-ranking hobgoblin cleric (i.e. Jirix)
Light Blue: Low-ranking hobgoblin cleric
Brown: Wizard

[Asta Kask]

It's entirely correct. That there is more to it does not change the fact it's correct. You also might want to take some things less seriously. You could have deducted that someone who read SoD might also have gotten that there are more things in that.
Geez, you ate a broomstick this morning? ;)

She (?) took a paladin level.:smallbiggrin:

[hamishspence]

I think this is how the cloaks go:

Red: Bearer of the Crimson Mantle (dur)
Grey(?): High-ranking goblin cleric
White: Low-ranking goblin cleric
Teal: Supreme Leader of the hobgoblins
Purple: Hobgoblin general (Probably has nothing to do with spellcasting)
Dark Blue: High-ranking hobgoblin cleric (i.e. Jirix)
Light Blue: Low-ranking hobgoblin cleric
Brown: Wizard

The greycloaked cleric (he casts Invisibility Purge, a Cleric-only spell) in the Dungeon of Dorukan:

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0090.html

may be the same guy who is referred to by the goblin teenager as "the high priest of this big demon prince guy"

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0093.html

If so, he may not be a part of the hierarchy.

In the Dragon Magazine strips, we see other cults- the Cult of the Bloodied Overlord, who wear deep orange cloaks, and the Cult of the Shrouded Overlord, who wear dark blue cloaks (more navy-coloured, than the gray-blue of Jirix's cloak)

So maybe the grey-cloaked cleric, is similar.

Come to think of it, aside from Jirix, have we seen any goblin or hobgoblin spellcasters who combine cloaks with shoulder pads?

(DStP confirms Jirix to be a cleric).

[Gift Jeraff]

The greycloaked cleric (he casts Invisibility Purge, a Cleric-only spell) in the Dungeon of Dorukan:

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0090.html

may be the same guy who is referred to by the goblin teenager as "the high priest of this big demon prince guy"

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0093.html

If so, he may not be a part of the hierarchy.
Well, IIRC, there was an older cleric in SoD with a goatee and a grey cloak. Of course, it's hard to tell what colour it actually is given the art, but I'm assuming it's grey to fit with the other 2 greycloaks seen in the Dungeon of Dorukan. (I'm also assuming the high priest of that "big demon prince guy", the Invisibility Purger, and the other cleric present in Xykon's throne room are all different people.)

[hamishspence]

It's possible- still, we see the high priest, and his spouse, a dark-brown-haired female goblin with a ponytail, in strip 93, and in the scene in Xykon's throne room, one of the female goblins has dark-brown hair.

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0105.html

While the greycloaked goblin in the throne room appears to have a pink belt, in this later pic:

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0107.html

the greycloaked goblin has a purple belt- same shade as High Demon Priest and Invisibility Purger.

Maybe they are the same goblin (I can't see more than one in the throne room), but the belt colour wasn't done exactly the same- art issues?

[Deca]

Maybe they're not colour coded? Maybe a spellcaster just wears whatever colour of cloak he wants to?

Except Redcloak of course.

[Procyonpi]

Who said all goblin spellcasters were clerics?

SoD Spoiler:
Well, recloack admits goblins are genetically bad at arcane magic when discussing alternatives to Xykon in SoD

[Gift Jeraff]

Maybe they're not colour coded? Maybe a spellcaster just wears whatever colour of cloak he wants to?

Except Redcloak of course.
Doubtful, considering SoD suggests the white cloak is for goblin acolytes (lower-ranking clerics) and Haley correctly identifies a brown cloaked hobgoblin as a wizard prior to him casting Dancing Lights (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0512.html).

[salinan]

SoD Spoiler:
Well, recloack admits goblins are genetically bad at arcane magic when discussing alternatives to Xykon in SoD
Pork!

(There, that's guaranteed that if you haven't read SoD, you'll be even more confused if you read the spoiler than if you don't. :smallwink:)

[Ancalagon]

Pork!

I'd like to express the theory that we suddenly get to see more more able goblin casters (arcane) has to do with the fact Redcloak tries to make his race more useful in that regard.

At least it would be quite along his lines of thinking: His race has a lack there, so he somehow sets up some academic training program to create more useful wizards/sorcerers.

That way, the appearance of brown-cloaks would not be a coincidence.

Hurray, another probably plausible, but totally unsupportable theory. :)

[Optimystik]

Or maybe Hobgoblins are just better at wizardry than Goblins are. We still haven't seen a goblin wizard (besides possibly Ridizak), and Redcloak would have had no reason to search for one in their ranks since he hated Hobgoblins before the siege.

[Ancalagon]

Or maybe Hobgoblins are just better at wizardry than Goblins are. We still haven't seen a goblin wizard (besides possibly Ridizak), and Redcloak would have had no reason to search for one in their ranks since he hated Hobgoblins before the siege.

Yes, or maybe that. But all the brown-cloaks so far did only display low-level magic (Dancing Lights & variants), which would support the theory they are relatively fresh in their magical training.

I am also not sure for which reasons Goblins should be the total losers in regard to magic while Hobgoblins are significantly more able (the degree of difference cannot be explained with more discipline, duty, and all those things that made Xykon decide the new green was orange).
So I find it somewhat more likely Redcloak told someone to steal some human textbooks and ordered them to create some sort of systematic schooling system.

edit: I thought it might be a reference to goblins' lower Int, but both Goblins as well as Hobgoblins have a base int of 10.

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

They are clerics with a level in wizard, they only took the level in wizard so they can cast dancing lights.