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This is among the most well known of Tolkien's Orcs (keep in mind that in Middle-Earth, Orcs and Goblins are interchangeable terms). They appeared  in ''The Hobbit'', ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', and ''The Two Towers''.


'''<BIG> Moria Goblin</BIG>, 1st Level Warrior''' <br>
'''Small Humanoid (Orc)''' <br>
'''Hit Dice:''' 1d8+2 (6 hp) <br>
'''Initiative:''' +0 <br>
'''Speed:''' 30 ft. (6 squares), Climb 20 ft. <br>
'''Armor Class:''' 13 (+2 leather armor, +1 size), touch 11, flat footed 13 <br>
'''Base Attack/Grapple:''' +1/-2 <br>
'''Attack:''' Short sword +2 melee (1d4+1 damage), or shortbow +1 ranged (1d4 damage) <br>
'''Full Attack:''' Short sword +2 melee (1d4+1 damage), or shortbow +1 ranged (1d4 damage) <br>
'''Space/Reach:''' 5ft./5ft. <br>
'''Special Attacks:''' Battle-shriek <br>
'''Special Qualities:''' Resistance to Poison, Light Blindness <br>
'''Saves:''' Fort +4, Ref +2, Will -1 <br>
'''Abilities:''' Str 13, Dex 11, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 6 <br>
'''Skills:''' Hide +2, Move Silently +2, Climb +12, Craft (Siegecraft) +4 <br>
'''Feats:''' Lightning Reflexes <br>
'''Environment:''' The Mines of Moria <br>
'''Organization:''' Solitary, swarm (5-20), troop (15-35 plus 1-4 Cave Trolls plus 1 3rd level leader for every 10 goblins), or tribe (100-850 plus 5-10 cave trolls plus 1 3rd level leader for every 10 goblins plus 1 8th level leader for every 200 goblins plus 1 14th level chieftain) <br>
'''Challenge Rating:''' ½ <br>
'''Treasure:''' Standard <br>
'''Alignment:''' Often Lawful evil <br>
'''Advancement:''' By character class <br>
'''Level Adjustment:''' +0 <br>


''A small, pale green orc with a bat-like face charges, sword drawn. It shouts out orders to its inferiors, with a bloodlust in his eye.''

''A small goblin with black skin and red eyes appears out of the dark tunnel ahead. Running swiftly, it heads towards you, gnashing its teeth.''

''A squat, swarthy bug eyed goblin can be seen climbing on the wall. It draws its sword, and drops itself onto one of your companions, shrieking all the way down.''


'''Light Blindness (Ex):''' Sudden exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds Moria for 1 round. In addition, they take a –1 circumstance penalty on attack rolls, saves, and checks when in bright light (as though dazzled). In addition, for every hour left in the sun, a Moria Goblin must make a fort save (DC 10 + number of hours in sunlight), or suffer 1d6 nonlethal points of damage. This damage does not heal until the Moria Goblin is in complete darkness, and even then, the damage heals by one point per hour.

'''Battle-Screech (Ex):''' Once per day as a standard action, a Moria Goblin can emit a horrible shriek as a 15-foot-radius burst centered on itself. Any creature in the affected area gets a -1 morale penalty to attacks and skill checks. A successful Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 the Moria Goblin’s character level + the Moria Goblin’s Con modifier) prevents the morale penalty. A barbarian can use it’s shriek when raging.
The shriek’s penalty increases by 1 at 3rd level and every three levels thereafter (-3 at 6th, -4 at 9th, and so on), up to a maximum of a -5 penalty at 12th level.

'''Resistance to Poison:''' Orcs are infamous for their use of poisoned arrows, and the Goblins of Moria are no exception. Unlike others of their kind, the Moria Goblins regularly war with each other over the scarce territory. As a result, after centuries of poisoning each other, they have adapted to poisons of many kinds and get a +2 bonus to all Fortitude saves to prevent the effects of poison.

'''Skills:''' Due to their longer arms and ape-like build, Goblins of Moria have a +4 racial bonus on Climb checks. All Orcs (creatures with the Orc subtype) have a +5 bonus to Craft (Siegecraft) checks.


===History===
The Orcs of the Misty Mountains are a nasty breed indeed. Among the worst are the Goblins of Moria, small but cruel Orcs that inhabit the old Dwarven kingdom of Khazad-Dûm. Long have they lived under the earth, like a stain beneath the Misty Mountains since the first age of the world ended. They lived in Mount Gundaband for a time, before conquering the Dwarven city after its original inhabitants were killed by a powerful demon of smoke and fire. Khazad-Dûm was forever known afterwards as Moria, or “Black Chasm” in the tongue of the Wood-elves.

They inhabited the Mines of Moria for many years, and slowly corrupted and twisted it. They maintained Moria through several conflicts, including the War of the Dwarves and Orcs (in which their leader, Azog, fell), and the Battle of Five Armies (which resulted in the death of Bolg, son of Azog, and the routing of many Orc-holdouts by the Beornings afterwards).

===Campaign Notes (War of the Ring===
Now, the Goblins of Moria are amassing in power once more. They are multiplying and attacking in numbers that have not been seen since their assault on Erebor. Under the leadership of a new king, they are allying themselves with several other natives of the Misty Mountains. Currently, they are attempting to ally with Dol Guldur, while emissaries of the White-Hand arrive from the south to sway them to Isengard’s will. Regardless of who they ally with, the combined forces of both factions will be able to gain unrivalled dominance in the land west of the Misty Mountains, Eriador.