Correction 10/15/23: An earlier version of this article speculated that the mod reused Goblin faces already in the game. The mod's usable faces are actually custom work by mod creator Tripsadin.
Let's be real, the weird, vaguely villainous and nonhuman fantasy races in RPGs are the most fun way to play. Half-Orcs, Dragonborn, Tieflings, they're just more fun, especially in a game as reactive as Baldur's Gate 3. It's felt like only a matter of time until modders started opening up options for BG3's unplayable NPC races, and modder Tripsadin has implemented playable Goblins with their mod, Whispers of the Fey - Goblins Race.
The mod adds Goblins as a character creation option, with custom faces created by Tripsadin, and according to comments on the Nexus, the Goblins play nice with the vanilla game's armor sets too. Goblins get the pre-existing Fey Ancestry and Darkvision bonuses, and Tripsadin also implemented two special Goblin abilities from tabletop 5E Dungeons & Dragons.
Nimble Escape is a lite version of Rogues' Cunning Action, giving you Disengage and Hide as bonus actions, while Fury of the Small lets you double your proficiency bonus to damage a set number of times per long rest—just as long as the creature you're fighting is larger than you.
It's a cool mod and great proof of concept for future playable races, but one major caveat is that modded races will likely lack those cool racial dialogue options other characters get. In the long run, Whispers of the Fey might benefit from somehow swiping another playable race's unique dialogue. Half Orcs' lines might be close enough to feel right, and that strikes me as a more reasonable ask of a modder than trying to create all-new dialogue options.
I also have to wonder if expanding the roster of playable races is something Larian itself may consider for a potential Baldur's Gate 3 Definitive Edition or expansion pack—Hobgoblins and non-Hob Goblins are non-playable races already in the game that come to mind, while old D&D standbys like Yuan Ti Purebloods, anti-Githyanki Githzerai or elemental Genasi are always a fun hang.
Whispers of the Fey requires the BG3 Mod Manager and ImprovedUI mods to function. Don't do what I did and forget the latter—it actually sent me straight to the Realm of Naked Men.
