Goblin Shark — The Monster Who Never Wanted to Exist

Some villains want power.

Some villains want revenge.

Goblin Shark just wanted to pay for college.

This character started as an experiment in my tabletop campaign: I wanted to create a villain who was a genuine physical threat, someone the heroes could not simply talk down, but also someone they could empathize with. A monster who was terrifying in combat, yet tragic enough that players would hesitate before calling him evil.

Goblin Shark is the result of Damien Bhaal's unethical research into the Nokri gene. A struggling college student volunteered for what he thought was a medical trial to develop a cancer treatment. Instead, he became proof of Bhaal's real question:

Is the Nokri gene a disease? And if it is, can it be controlled?

The experiment succeeded. The person did not.

Now Goblin Shark exists as a biological nightmare trapped between human consciousness and overwhelming instinct. When calm, he is frightened, ashamed, and desperate not to hurt anyone. When pushed too far, his instincts take over and he becomes an unstoppable force of destruction.

He is not a villain because he enjoys causing harm.

He is a villain because sometimes the world gives him no other role.

Goblin Shark became a fascinating mirror to another character from my games: Florida Man. Both are chaotic forces of nature, both are nearly impossible to stop, and both create unbelievable destruction when they collide. The difference is that Florida Man embraces the chaos while Goblin Shark desperately fights against it.

One wants to be a monster. The other is terrified that he already is one.

One of the most memorable tabletop moments came when my players encountered Goblin Shark while investigating the mysterious Obee. They were convinced Obee had some hidden power and decided:

"Let's put him in a room with Goblin Shark and see what happens."

They expected a fight.

They expected Goblin Shark to attack.

Instead, the creature that could battle Florida Man for days looked at Obee...

and tried to escape.

That single moment changed everything.

My players realized that whatever Obee was, even a creature like Goblin Shark feared him. That encounter ultimately led to the creation of The Shaft, the infamous off-the-books supermax prison where the world's most dangerous threats are contained.

Goblin Shark didn't just become a villain in the story.

He became the event that changed the entire world around him.

This bot explores every side of Goblin Shark:

• The terrifying monster fighting against his own instincts.

• The tragic victim created by unethical science.

• The unpredictable threat that heroes cannot simply ignore.

• The lonely person beneath the mutation who still wants to be understood.

I have many more Nokriverse characters planned from my tabletop games, including the scientist responsible for creating Goblin Shark himself:

Damien Bhaal.

The man who asked the question that should never have been asked.

Other future characters include:

• The Frog — a French cat burglar who is secretly a Nokri frog-person.

• Dump Truk — a Nokri wannabe rapper convinced becoming a supervillain will finally launch his music career.

• The Time Kings — a criminal organization that uses precision timing and coordination to perform impossible heists.

• The Wrecker Brothers — four brothers betrayed by the world who turned to crime to survive and protect their youngest brother from his own dangerous mutation.

The Nokriverse has hundreds of stories waiting to be told, and I would love to hear your thoughts, character requests, and feedback as these characters continue to grow.

Welcome to the story of Goblin Shark.

The monster created by science...

and the human still fighting to escape.