Goblin Ambush Walkthrough
This random encounter can occur during or after the quest Mother of Monsters, and it’s yet another way to find the location of the Goblin Village, should other attempts fail, somehow.
You’ll appear on the southern end of an area map, from which just follow the road north until you overhear [Perception 23] some critters hiding behind a rock to the west of the road. Advance with your most perceptive character to spot [Perception 24] a trap [Trickery 24] on the road, which the overly-chatty would-be ambushers gave away.
Disarm it, then weigh your options. There’s a coin purse on the road you can investigate – part of a painfully juvenile trap. If you interact with it, you can get the best of the ambushers – several goblins, unsurprisingly – by either passing an [Athletics 14] check, hopefully teaching them that there’s no sense in starting a tug-of-war with something stronger than themselves. Should you fail this check, you’ll get a chance to make a [Reflex 12] check, which will introduce the goblins to your pal, Newton. Fail both and they’ll have, despite all the odds, managed to successfully ambush you. Succeed at either and you’ll expose the goblins and spoil their ambush.
Alternatively you can simply sneak behind the rocks they hide between (make your way to the west while staying south of the larger rock) to spot the goblins. Once you see them, you’ll get a few options assuming you pass a [Stealth 10] check, the most amusing of which is to scream “LOOK OUT! GOBLINS!”, which for some reason frightens them.
Either way, once exposed, the goblins will complain about your poor sportsmanship. Respond with “It was a trap? For whom?” then pass a [Diplomacy 17] check to learn where the Goblin Village is located. After this, you can decide the fate of the goblins. Should you let them go ([Neutral Good]) you’ll gain a fair experience reward and the little monsters will scamper off, undoubtedly destined to cause more mischief. The [Chaotic Neutral] action may be the more honest approach, but unlike the Neutral Good alternative, it doesn’t come with an experience reward.
- Reward: For sparing the goblin ambushers
660 XP
If for any reason you end up having to fight the goblins, whether you pick one of the [Attack] options after exposing them, or if you… well, simply walk into them at some point, be warned that they’re not exactly harmless. While you probably don’t need to spell-buff or anything fancy, their sneak attacks can hurt, at least initially. On the plus side, you’ll get more experience for killing them than for any other solution, and you can sell their weapons, should you need further encouragement.