“Can I lighten that coin purse up for ya?” – Goblin NPC, World of Warcraft

Goblins have been chaff NPCs since the early days of D&D. Low HP and generally, poor damage made them meager threats except when faced in large numbers. In popular media, they are frequently portrayed as ugly, contemptible things and yet we love these strange creatures. So, it is no surprise that Wizards of the Coast would make them a playable class given their massive traction across most of WotC’s intellectual property (i.e. D&D and Magic: the Gathering).

In the right campaign, you could play as Tolkiensien a goblin as you wish, however, in recent years, they have been reenvisioned as creatures with a culture and civilization beyond “bash, smash, bend, break” (though, they still certainly love a fair bit of bashing and breaking). Players drawn to the Goblin tend to be those that would further reinvent the Goblin stereotype and break from previous norms that portrayed them as lesser-than XP fodder. 

Guide Key

Epic

Good

Meh

Bad

Goblin Traits

–ASI: +2 DEX and +1 CON. An excellent boost that perfectly suits a dextrous build that wants to be in the frontlines. 

-Age: Adulthood by 8 and live to about 60 years old.

–Size: Small. You’re going to stand between 3 and 4 feet (40-80 pounds). This intentionally synergizes with your Fury of the Small ability that is going to help you hit the big boys with some surprising damage.

–Speed: 30ft. Pretty excellent for a Small race to get 30ft of base movement speed. 

–Darkvision: Standard darkvision out to 60ft. Dim is considered bright and dark is treated like dim.

–Fury of the Small: Deal extra damage equal to your level to creatures larger than you (that’s probably going to be most creatures). It’s only once per short or long rest, so that’s a bit lame (I’d rather it be a “number of times per day equal to your proficiency score” style ability”). It scales well and is going to start hitting above its weight at around Level 5. Sadly, since it is a flat damage bonus, the critical hit rules wouldn’t double your damage dealt.

–Nimble Escape: Disengage or Hide as a bonus action. No recharge, you just always get it. You’d think, “Oh, so I should play a rogue, right?” Well, Cunning Action would only add Dash to this lineup, so you’re already getting ⅔’s of a major Rogue ability from your race. Going Rogue isn’t a bad idea, but it may feel a little redundant and other classes could benefit from what effectively acts as a free multiclass dip into Rogue. Nimble Escape is a mobility option that could make any other race/class combo envious.

-Languages: Common and Goblin.

-Note: There is no alignment recommendation in Volo’s Guide to Monsters. The assumption is that goblins are going to be Chaotic Evil, but that’s all going to be up to you to bring your spin to the race.

MORE GOBLINS

Officially, there are no “subraces” for the Goblin. However, THREE additional Goblin races have been added to the D&D 5e line-up over the years. One from an Extra Life Charity module (Adventure with Muk). and two from the Magic: The Gathering Plane Shift releases for Ixalan and Zendikar. 

Dankwood Goblin

–ASI: +2 DEX and +1 WIS. Awesome for a dextrous Bloodhunter, or WIS casters like the Cleric or Druid. Monks will be VERY happy to go this route.

-Age: Adulthood by 8 and live to about 60 years old.

-Size: Small. You’re going to stand between 3 and 4 feet (40-80 pounds).

–Speed: 30ft. 

–Darkvision: Standard darkvision out to 60ft. Dim is considered bright and dark is treated like dim.

–Speak with Small Beasts: You can communicate simple ideas to small beasts. You like to take little creatures on as pets. #socute. This ability probably is going to mean very little to most players, but with a cool DM, you can become a Goblin Disney Princess.

–Nimble Escape: The same as the standard Goblin. NOICE.

-Languages: Common and Goblin.

Goblin (Ixalan)

–ASI: +2 DEX. Sadly, no additional stat boost and you won’t get Nimble Escape. This is a pretty awful option.

-Age: Adulthood by 12 and live to about 50 years old (though few live that long).

-Alignment: A penchant toward Chaotic Neutral drives the Ixalan Goblin.

-Size: Small. You’re going to average 3 feet tall with a weight of about 40 pounds.

–Speed: 25ft. Crappy speed when other goblin options offer a speed of 30. 

–Agile Climber: You get a climb speed of 25ft, but it can’t be used with medium or heavy armor (or encumbered). Only interesting if you climb like… everything. 

–Darkvision: Standard darkvision out to 60ft. Dim is considered bright and dark is treated like dim.

-Languages: Common (the rules stipulate that they only speak Common if there is a common language in your campaign) and Goblin.

Goblin (Zendikar)

–ASI: +2 CON. Sadly, no additional stat boost and you won’t get Nimble Escape. This is a pretty awful option.

-Alignment: Same as the Ixalan Goblin

-Age: Adulthood by 8 and live to about 60 years old.

-Size: Small. You’re going to average 3 feet tall with a weight of about 40 pounds.

–Speed: 25ft. Crappy speed when other goblin options offer a speed of 30. 

–Darkvision: Standard darkvision out to 60ft. Dim is considered bright and dark is treated like dim.

–Grit: RESISTANCE TO FIRE AND PSYCHIC DAMAGE!!!!!!! Very few things offer psychic resistance and fire is one of the most common damage types in 5e. Insanely good. Also, you get a base AC of 11+DEX when not wearing armor. This is the ONLY reason to go Zendikar Goblin.

-Languages: Common (the rules stipulate that they only speak Common if there is a common language in your campaign) and Goblin.

-Tribe: This is a built-in mini-subrace specifically for the Zendikar Goblin. The tribes give you an idea of how your Goblin might behave and mechanically gives you some proficiencies:

—Grotag Tribe: Proficiency in Animal Handling. Make animal friends! However, I think Animal Handling is only going to be as relevant as you try to make it. So, go this route only if you want to lean into animal husbandry. When the Dankwood Goblin already talks to small beasts, this feels a bit lackluster.

—Lavastep Tribe: Advantage on DEX (stealth) checks, but only in rocky or subterranean environments.

—Tuktuk Tribe: Proficiency with thieves’ tools. If you didn’t have it already, this will help you in a pinch.

Best Classes and Archetypes for Goblin

I’ll save you some time and pair the archetypes with my preferred race/alternate-race combination. Generally speaking, I assume that your Ability Score array is not already maximized with 18’s from perfect score rolls at character creation and that you plan to lean into the existing strengths of the Goblin.  At the end of the day, the reasoning comes down to three things:

1) Does the race satisfy the expectations of the class?

2) Does the class synergize with subclass abilities?

3) How easy would it be to get started with this race-class/subclass combo?

You can try to turn D&D 5e into as much exact science as you want, but at the end of the day, you need to figure out what works best for your playstyle, your campaign, and your playgroup. Alrighty, here we go!

Artificer

No INT bonuses on any level. Since you don’t ever want to be in the fray Nimble Escape could come in clutch. Get an INT bonus and this could be okay. 

Standard or Dankwood Goblin

Alchemist: I do love an Alchemist Goblin as a thematic element. Pathfinder has long used a Goblin as their Iconic Character. If you get some INT boosts down the line, this could be perfect.

Armorer:  The Armorer could try and make use of the DEX options for their primary source of damage until you get an INT boost.

Artillerist: The INT is going to be central to making your damage and utility options viable in any way. But you’ll really want INT bonuses on top of preexisting racial bonuses. 

Battle Smith: Same with the Artillerist. Your battle buddy is going to flounder without a high INT.

Barbarian

DEX and CON are a beautiful pairing for a Barbarian. Your AC is going to love you and your attacks do not require STR-based weapons. The DEX Barbarian is a completely valid approach. You may want to boost your STR since many of your class abilities lean into STR saves. 

Standard Goblin

Ancestral Guardian: Goblin spirits attacking your enemies and helping your allies. A one-man Goblin incursion. Pretty sick.

Battlerager: Dwarf only, but a Goblin in a full suit of spiked armor is a cool visual. Not very strong though. 

Beast: Love the versatility and utility options. A solid choice for a frontline fighter that wants a larger toolkit than just “hit, hit, hit”.

Berserker: Classic Barbarian. Exhaustion is a pretty steep penalty to pay for rage bonus attacks.

Depths: Cool theme, hits like a wet noodle without a major focus on STR.

Juggernaut: Siege Goblin. Breaking all the things. Also wants more STR for their Thunderous Blows ability.

Storm Herald: I like their variability (similar to the Beast Barbarian).

Totem Warrior – Eagle: Movement is going to be huge for you so take advantage of the Nimble Escape feature.

Totem Warrior – Elk: Needs more STR to knock people over.

Totem Warrior – Tiger: Jumping around is fun. Additional proficiencies on a Barbarian are fine, but not really what you’re looking for. One additional attack at level 14 could be huge, but it uses your Bonus Action, so no Nimble Escape on that turn.

Totem Warrior – Wolf: Take advantage of the Nimble Escape feature to set up big attacks for your allies from round to round.

Wild Magic: Fairy Goblin Magic. Would be hilarious to play, you have solid damage options at all times, and it would be a fun option. I recommend it.

Zealot: The Goblin that Maglubiyet wouldn’t let die. They’d make a movie about you in Goblinland.

Goblin (Zendikar) – Lavastep Tribe

Totem Warrior – Bear: With racial resistance, you’ll have resistance to everything when you rage. Amazing tank opportunity.

Bard

No CHA boosts on any level. While extra damage could be nice from time to time to help boost your numbers and add to your toolkit, you’ll need to boost your CHA ASAP. Going Standard for the CON boost could be great for your HP and resiliency. 

Standard or Dankwood Goblin

Creation: For the very “creative” Goblin.

Eloquence: For the very chatty Goblin. Best Bard, ultimately a poor build.

Glamour: For the very flashy Goblin. 

Lore: For the very capable Goblin. Love the skills with WIS.

Maestro: For the very versatile Goblin.

Swords: For the very slashy Goblin. Medium armor is nice and you’ll have the DEX to make it worthwhile.

Valor: For the very outdated Goblin. Pass. Always.

Whispers: For the very edgy Goblin. 

Blood Hunter

This class functions like most martial classes, in that it can lean into STR or DEX and be pretty happy. However, with the addition of WIS from the Dankwood Goblin, you have the exact things you’re looking for to highlight your combat abilities and WIS-based class abilities. 

Dankwood Goblin

Ghostslayer: Slay ALL the undead things. 

Lycan: While it looks like it would favor STR more, it still gives bonus melee damage that doesn’t care at all about your weapon.

Mutant: I love immunity to poison and the poisoned condition. Boost the stats that need it while taking penalties elsewhere. I dig it.
Profane Soul: A perfect choice for a Blood Hunter that wants to cast spells and be everything an Eldritch Knight wishes it could be.

Cleric

DEX and WIS. Beautiful. A sign from the gods that you have been chosen for wondrous things. While you don’t have Fury of the Small for bonus damage, you still have Nimble Escape. Cleric’s always want more options for things to do on their turn, so having free Opportunity Attack avoiding movement is HUGE. It’s not epic just because you really want a +2 to WIS.

Dankwood Goblin

Arcana: Massive versatile spell options. Great pick. 

Blood: You can take control of Large creatures (or smaller, and eventually Huge or smaller) and make them attack their allies. No one will want to leave corpses around you.

Death: The Death Cleric is already one of my favorite options in the game, so I am biased here. Your abilities are excellent, and you’ll especially love this if you face undead regularly. 

Forge: Solid utility options. Free +1 AC or Weapon boosts at level one are pretty amazing. Boost yourself or your allies. Everyone will be happy. 

Grave: Powerful abilities. Loves the bonus to WIS, but is greedy for more. Good pick.

Knowledge: Likes having INT as well, but that’s something you can pick up at level 4 or try and prioritize at level one as you pick your stat array.

Life: You’ll be a very formidable healer and it’ll be hard to keep you down. Don’t use heavy armor unless it’s better than what you’d get with your DEX bonus.

Light: Pretty incredible abilities. Your enemies will be clutching their eyes, trying to avert their gaze from your holy radiance. 

Nature: A Druid that’s more willing to get a permit from the local city office.

Order: You won’t want the heavy armor this one gives you unless it’s better than what you’d get with your DEX bonus. Otherwise, this is an awesome pairing, and Voice of Authority may be one of my favorite cleric reaction abilities.

Peace: This guy is pretty broken just because you get to add so many dice to people’s rolls. The party will pick who has the most powerful build, and then you’ll just make them unstoppable. Love it.

Tempest: My personal favorite out of all the Cleric domains. I just like zapping people when they try to hit me, however, without a better CON score you’re not going to enjoy taking those hits.

Trickery: You’ll want a better CHA score to keep up the deception rolls you’ll inevitably be making.

Twilight: Powerful, powerful, powerful abilities. I love these guys. Just keep up the Advantage to Initiative rolls and you’ll be golden.

War: Huge hit potential. You shouldn’t miss (too often) when you’re using Channel Divinity.

Druid

The Dankwood Goblin wants to whisper to critters all day. This is the best thematic fit for any of the Goblin/Class combos you’ll see today. 

Dankwood Goblin

Dreams: Really fun abilities that expand roleplay/gameplay options beyond the waking world. 

Land: Decent abilities, but I think they are outshined by the newer, shinier druid subclasses. Though it is a classic, and it’s not like it can’t do awesome damage. 

Moon: My understanding is that you should still be able to use your racial features when you transform: “You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so”. So, this could be a beautiful pairing with Nimble Escape.

Shepherd: Awesome conjurations spells and abilities that rival the Conjuration Wizard’s abilities well into the late game

Spores: Pretty tanky druids with all of their abilities taken into account. I think they’re just “okay” in nine out of ten situations, but they can be a pivotal last line of defense in a sticky situation.

Stars: Love these guys. They are top-tier druids. Their efficiency is unrivaled. They can do a bit of everything and frequently do it better than the people who do it as their “main” thing.

Wildfire: The Arson Druid. A solid pick for the Goblin Anarchist.

Fighter

You’re going to be able to hold your own in melee and ranged combat, take a hit, and pump out some big numbers!

Standard Goblin

Arcane Archer: Needs INT to succeed, but loves the DEX. Boost INT at level 4 and you should be pretty happy.

Battle Master: Endless variety. You should never face combat the same way you did in the past.

Cavalier: You’re small so there are more things to ride, but it wants a high STR score for you Unwavering Mark.

Champion: More crits mean a happier Goblin. If you get to level 15, criting on an 18-20 is kind of unheard of. However, you’ll be taking the Barbarian approach to most fights “hit, hit, hit”. 

Echo Knight: You’ll be able to take all sorts of creative approaches to combat encounters, and if you think laterally social ones.

Eldritch Knight: Needs INT to succeed, but can make use of the DEX to overcome its shortcomings until you boost INT.

Gunslinger: Will absolutely destroy using the +2 DEX bonus. Bonus action disengages mean you’ll be running all over the place without worrying about Opportunity Attacks.

Psi Warrior: Uses INT to hit smarter, not harder, but can make use of the DEX to make up the slack. Boost INT ASAP. 

Purple Dragon Knight: Loves boosting allies. Nimble Escape mobility will help you get where you need to be while mitigating the risks of attacks.

Renegade: Your life is the same as the Gunslinger (except you’re played by Clint Eastwood).

Rune Knight: It’s kind of a “meh” subclass just on its own, but it has some decent options. You can go straight from Small to Large. Scales poorly in the long run.

Samurai: Without CHA, you will lack a major social component of the class. But a Goblin Samurai is a dope visual.

Monk

WIS and DEX are going to boost your AC and are the EXACT things you’re looking to take advantage of as a Monk.

Dankwood Goblin

Ascendant Dragon: Super fun to pair with Goblin mobility. You can hide until the moment requires it, and blast people with draconic powers. Amazing.

Astral Self: The powers are simple but powerful. Enjoy!

Cobalt Soul: Punch the truth out of enemies. Great for turning a combat scenario into a roleplaying opportunity.

Drunken Master: It’s just Jackie Chan. It feels great to play mechanically and immensely fun to roleplay.

Four Elements: I think the Four Elements Monk is a bit clunky mechanically. They apply the Dungeon Master’s Guide variant spellcasting, but with Ki points instead.

Kensei: Specializes on atypical monk weapons, so that gets pretty wild (like using a Warhammer and a Blowgun… who does that? A Kensei). 

Long Death: Brutal attacks and strong utility. Thumbs up.

Mercy: Punch the souls back into people. Is it a bit silly? Maybe, but I like it.

Open Hand: Classic monk. More interesting options have come up since it first came out, but I like the simplicity and ease of access. 

Shadow: Unbeatable in dark-setting campaigns. Like… seriously unrivaled.

Sun Soul: Turn every attack into a Kamehameha blast and have a good time.

Paladin

No CHA boosts in sight are going to make your spells a bit flimsy (or potentially useless). However, you’ve got great DEX and CON options available to you to build a solid frontline character.

Standard Goblin

Ancients: The Aura of Warding may be one of the most useful Paladin auras in the game. Resistance to ALL spell damage is huge. 

Conquest: Just be a War Cleric. It’s the same Channel Divinity and you’ll be useful.

Crown: Great combat options but your spellcasting will suck.

Devotion: Just be a Cleric of Order or Peace. You’ll be in a much better position.

Glory: Gives you one of the best mobility boosts in the entire game and your allies can benefit, but you have to make it to the mid-game. Also, the utility of giving temp HP after using your divine smites is immense. You won’t be as sad to have a crappy CHA, but you’ll still want to boost it.

Oathbreaker: In the right scenario, this can be one of the strongest Paladin subclasses, however, I think they tend to be beaten out by the Conquest Paladin. So, go War Cleric (for the raw power) or Death Cleric (for the vibe).

Open Sea: Works best at sea. Otherwise, pass.

Redemption: The Rebuke the Violent Channel Divinity used against a powerful enemy is huge. But you’ll want a very high spell DC to make their save harder to pass. Boost your CHA!

Vengeance: You’ll be moving around the battlefield like every Goblin-kid dreams with your Nimble Escape, but be careful to use your reaction wisely!

Watchers: Solid class skills, but needs to be used in a planar campaign. With the Spelljammer setting, this will likely see a lot more play.

Ranger

Dankwood is an excellent way to go to take advantage of your class traits since they lean into WIS. And it’s the exact direction you want to go with a ranged/spell-focused ranger (plus, your ability to chat with animals is a great thematic boon). More melee-focused, front-line rangers will want to go Standard.

Standard or Dankwood Goblin

Beast Master: Needs to make access to all the Tasha’s optional features to be viable. Lean toward Standard Goblin for survivability.

Drakewarden: A solid pairing. Dragon buddies are always welcome.

Fey Wanderer: Best in campaigns that involve the Feywild. Otherwise, their kit feels a little limited. But what they have is good! 

Gloom Stalker: Incredible DEX and solid WIS mean you’re going to be able to hit enemies very reliably with your level 3 class features and perform well as a competent ranger. And you only become more fearsome as the game goes on.

Horizon Walker: Like the Watcher Paladin. We will likely be seeing a lot more play in the coming years of D&D. Solid teleportation options in the mid-late game.

Hunter: Basic Ranger. They have a lot of options and can put out A LOT of damage in the right situation. The difficulty with them is that they basically ask you “when do you want to deal damage” and outside of that scenario, you might feel less capable.

Monster Slayer: You want a higher STR score for these guys, so this won’t be your optimal fit.

Swarmkeeper: In a word – mediocre. They have some solid control options against single targets, but these guys fall flat for me.

Rogue

Fury of the Small paired with your sneakiness is going to make for some big numbers on the first rounds of combat as you pull off big attacks. Nimble Escape is pretty redundant for these guys. Since they overlap, it’s hard to say that their combo is epic since they don’t add anything new to one another (neither the Ixalan nor Zendikar Goblins factor in here since they are almost entirely passable as a general rule).

Dankwood Goblin

Arcane Trickster: Boost INT at your nearest convenience and enjoy using your bonus actions to freely move around the battlefield. 

Assassin: Expanded. Crits. Are. Powerful. You’ll have a 10% chance to crit. I like those odds.

Inquisitive: Your WIS will be put to good for some class abilities since it will help you land a lot of sneak attacks with Insightful Fighting. And as a rogue, you want as many of those as possible.

Mastermind: 30ft help bonus actions are beautiful, so maneuverability on a reaction means you can use that more reliably and strategically plan your bonus actions on the enemy’s turn more proactively. That’s cool.

Phantom: Needs mobility anyway, so this is a happy addition. Turns the Phantom into a very worthwhile choice.

Scout: Your class abilities and Nimble Escape/Cunning Action make for a nice of mobility options on and off your turn.

Soulknife: Super powerful with high DEX, especially in the late game. You’ll really enjoy this pick.

Swashbuckler: You can already turn off Opportunity Attacks on your movement by taking the disengage action as a bonus action, but it’s nice to free up your Bonus Action with an attack so you could Dash or Hide instead. But, we don’t have to be a Swashbuckler to enjoy this synergy if we take the Mobile Feat!

Thief: Classic Rogue that loves a boost to DEX. Use the WIS for skills. 

Sorcerer

No CHA boosts on any level, but I have to add that it’s a fairly decent pairing if you get an ASI to CHA ASAP. Go Standard for the CON boosts so you can concentrate more consistently.

Standard Goblin

Aberrant Mind: The abilities are solid but they will always come off suboptimal without higher CHA.

Clockwork Soul: A fine pick if you want to multiclass for their level 1 ability, but will suffer in the long run.

Divine Soul: There are better ways for you to heal (Life Cleric/Mercy Monk). 

Draconic Bloodline: Love a dragon, but this is not the fit for you.

Rune Child: You will spend all your sorcery points trying to be barely useful.

Shadow Sorcery: Love the flavor, but I don’t savor this combo.

Storm Sorcery: Like the clockwork soul, you might take this for the level one ability, and the mobility is nice, but your damage would always be garbage.

Wild Magic: The chaos of the fae is super exciting to play around with, but this is not the fit for you since Wild Magic seldom triggers.

Warlock

No CHA boosts on any level, but I have to add that it’s a fairly decent pairing if you get an ASI to CHA ASAP. Go Standard for the CON boosts so you can concentrate more consistently.

Archfey: Without getting CHA soon, you’ll just be having a bad time. You have so few spell slots that wasting them with a bad spell attack bonus or spell save DC is just a sad use of your time and effort. Too much of the Warlock is purely CHA-focused to ignore it. However, I will recommend a few Invocations here that could make your Goblin Warlock a little more worthwhile. Invocation recommendation: Devil’s Sight makes quick work of magical darkness. Can be very nice in the right situation.

Celestial: See “Archfey”. Invocation recommendation: Eldritch Mind will help you make the most of your CON bonus to maintain concentration.

Fathomless: See “Archfey”. Invocation recommendation: Mask of Many Faces will make it much easier for you to move about non-monstrous society. Depending on your campaign, this may be required to feel like you’re not constantly bothered in cities.

Fiend: See “Archfey”. Invocation recommendation: Repelling Blast. Pushing enemies around the battlefield is a massive utility 

Genie: See “Archfey”. Invocation recommendation: Aspect of the Moon (requires Pact of the Tome) is one of the keys to unlocking a Sorcerer/Warlock combo that is used to break the game. If you play using Errata, it’s been fixed. If you don’t… Google the Coffeelock and watch your DM weep.

Great Old One: See “Archfey”. Invocation recommendation: Eldritch Sight is pretty awesome. Detect Magic without a spell slot or components is hot.

Hexblade: See “Archfey.” Invocation recommendation: Eyes of the Rune Keeper will make a DM second guess writing anything down.

Undying: See “Archfey”. Invocation recommendation: Fiendish Vigor for False Life as an at-will 1st level spell is gorgeous for the first few levels.

Wizard

No INT bonuses on any level. CON boosts are great for your concentration checks, but you’ll be pretty focused on maximizing your INT from the get-go.

Abjuration:  No INT makes a great defensive class a no-go.

Artificer: They already made it a class and it’s not the right fit for you.

Bladesinging:  Takes what you don’t have (INT) and uses it as its main combat focus. Stay away.

Chronurgist:  Any good wizard knows that the most powerful magic of all is chronomancy. Manipulating time is awesome, but again, the lack of natural INT bonuses hurts too much. 

Conjuration:  Just go for the Shephard Druid unless you’re starting at level 14.

Divination: Some additional daily rerolls can be an excellent way to save the day. 

Enchantment:  Your spell saves are going to be too easy to pass without a high INT.

Evocation: You won’t be able to hit anything with a low INT. 

Graviturgist:  A fun class whose addition adds some fun new spells to the mix for the Wizard, but right now, it’s not the best pick for you.

Illusion: The only illusion here is thinking that a Goblin would naturally make for a good wizard.

Necromancy:  Just be a Spore Druid, a Death Cleric, or a weird guy that hangs around the morgue.

Order of the Scribes: A cool subclass that doesn’t shine when piloted by a Goblin. Look elsewhere. 

Transmutation: Turn yourself into something other than a Goblin. 

War Magic:  War is not your priority as a Wizard Goblin. Survival is.

Racial Feats/Best Feats

Racial Feats

–Squat Nimbleness: Technically this is a racial feat for you since it applies to any Small race. You’ll want to take the boost to DEX unless you want to round out your weaker stats (and STR is likely to be one of them). Walking speed boosts are no joke. Your prof bonuses and advantages to STR and DEX checks to escape are solid. Thematically, it totally makes sense, but I think you would be better off taking a full +2 to an Ability Score.

Considerable General Feats

–Lucky: Double down and infuriate your DM when you can reroll for days. Mwahaha! Priority number one.

–Mobile: A +10 bonus to speed will make you as fast as a Centaur, ignore difficult terrain, and turn every class into a Swashbuckler (attack and avoid Opportunity Attacks). Blessed be the Mobile Feat! 

–Alert: A plus +5 to initiative, are you kidding me? That’s a lifesaver. The other bonuses are solid as well.