Goblin Sergeants and lieutenants

[Roninblack]

Silly question: goblins get a Sargeant or lieutenant for every 20 adults, is that only counting the fighters or the adult portion of the noncombatants?

Also how do you determine their class levels? Do you use pc levels or npc levels?

[liquidformat]

it never specifies so you could either go based on the number of combatants or come up with the a percentage of noncombatants that are adults.

Heros of Battle pg. 61 talks about goblin raiders. pg. 140 breaks down the number of goblins and types in different military units, this could be used to design your group of goblins, pg. 148-150 has some premade goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears you could add into your band, warband, or tribe

[Biggus]

Silly question: goblins get a Sargeant or lieutenant for every 20 adults, is that only counting the fighters or the adult portion of the noncombatants?

I'm fairly sure this would be only counting the fighters.



Also how do you determine their class levels? Do you use pc levels or npc levels?

From similar things I've seen elsewhere, level 1 soldiers are warriors unless they're an elite unit, level 2-3 can be warriors or PC classes, level 4+ are nearly always PC classes.

[AnimeTheCat]

Silly question: goblins get a Sargeant or lieutenant for every 20 adults, is that only counting the fighters or the adult portion of the noncombatants?
From page 7 of the Monster Manual I,

Organization
This line describes the kinds of groups the creature might form. A range of numbers in parenthesis indicates how many combat-ready adults are in each type of group. Many groups also have a number of noncombatants, expressed as a percentage of the fighting population.
So the goblin entry of,

Organization:
...or tribe (40-400 plus 100% noncombatants plus 1 3rd level sergeant per 20 adults, 1 or 2 lieutenants of 4th or 5th level, 1 leader of 6th-8th level, 10-24 worgs, and 2-4 dire wolves)...
would indicate that you're looking at every 20 of your 40-400 combatants.


Also how do you determine their class levels? Do you use pc levels or npc levels?
Here's the beauty of the game; that's up to you. The Monster Manual gives you the level of the leader, lieutenants, and sergeants (6-8, 4-5, and 3, respectively). Depending on the CR of what you want the tribe to be, that could be a combination of NPC and PC classes, NPC classes only, or PC classes only. The same holds true for your combatants as well. They are level 1, but you aren't confined solely to making them level 1 warriors if your campaign is at a higher power level, or if your group is higher level (levels 4-6 should be able to handle 1st level PC classed enemies that at least seem more capable or threatening).

Based off of the goblin society outlined in the Monster Manual, I would think that the leader would likely be some sort of Fighter, Warblade, or Barbarian; or perhaps a particularly cunning rogue or wizard. That's because it says that,

Their leaders are general the biggest, strongest, or sometimes the smartest of the group.
So I would start there and decide if that flavor fits your setting. If goblins are refined and cultured if your world, perhaps they're more likely to be governed by a Bard, Sorcerer, or Paladin. If they more uncivilized, perhaps they're governed by Barbarians, Druids, or Rangers.

Bottom line, the possibilities are endless and the choice is completely yours to make.