Designing a Hobgoblin Kingdom

[Menelin]

I'm DMing a Pathfinder homebrew urban campaign that is soon to reach a climax. My lvl 11 players have just stopped a hobgoblin army's attempted siege on the city they live in. The players have accepted task of guarding a peace offering (with a magic portrait so the king can spy on the warlord), as well as being diplomatic representatives.

I could use help on creating the hobgoblin kingdom, both in challenging encounters and in theme/roleplay.

I've done research on hobgoblin culture and I imagine their land to be like "300" Sparta mixed with ancient Roman legionaries and a dash of Mordor, with troll slaves and such.

[Genth]

Well, the first question to ask is - how has this kingdom been stabilized? Hobgoblins are, in most sources, massively ambitious, and fond of stabbing their superiors in the back if they see an opportunity to advance. How has this warlord managed to create a structure where the Hobgoblins are able to be a cohesive force for more than a decade or so? Alternatively, is the kingdom very new, so those fractures haven't come about yet?

[Sheogoroth]

The Red Hand of Doom adventure is a good place to start. There's also a Hobgoblin Kingdom in the Dragon Empire Gazeteer for Pathfinder.

I've always imagined of them as a mix between goblins, orcs, Romans, and Nazis with internal goosestepping and ethnic purging of weaker bloodlines of their own, with an air of tolerant disdain for outside races at best and crushing enslavement at worst.
But the Spartan 'Might Makes Right' philosophy flows.

[Thurbane]

You might take a look at the Kingdoms of Kalamar supplement "Strength and Honor - The Mighty Hobgoblins of Tellene" or the Mongoose Publishing "Slayer's Guide to Hobgoblins" for inspiration.

[Menelin]

In the setting of our campaign, the hobgoblin tribes haven't completely integrated, but they've formed a nation in their own right. Each tribe grew into a city-state of sorts that sometimes work with or against other tribes, usually working in tandem when they're on a conquest and quarreling later over the division of new resources and land. The hobgoblin kingdom grew over the last 20 or so years and now neighbors the kingdom the PCs live in.

As an example of how they've been working together: One tribe was able to send siege weapons and berserker trolls to the capital city with primitive napalm as a distraction, while another tribe sent in spies to sneak through the main gate when it was opened for the defending army. After nightfall, the spies were to open the gate and allow another tribe's warriors with multiple Da Vinci tanks (look up Da Vinci Armored Tank on Youtube) to take control over the city.

The PCs found the spies and sabotaged the tanks, and are now preparing to head out with "peace offering" gifts. I'm now thinking about using some stealth scouts for the PCs to potentially spot on the travel, which would get the homeland prepared should they not be seen. Thanks for the information and suggested reads so far, keep em coming!

[Blackhawk748]

You might take a look at the Kingdoms of Kalamar supplement "Strength and Honor - The Mighty Hobgoblins of Tellene" or the Mongoose Publishing "Slayer's Guide to Hobgoblins" for inspiration.

Coming here to say just this. The book is great and im happy i bought it (i love KoK so im biased as all hell) Basically, Hobgoblins are Klingons with all the glorious stupidity that entails