Goblin

A goblin merchant

### Race

Common goblin, Cave goblin, Forest goblin, Exodus goblin, City goblin, Soot goblin, Rustroad goblin, Undergrowth goblin, March goblin, Goldtooth goblin, Straggler goblin, Skinburner goblin, Crawler goblin, Trolltamer goblin, Coldcave goblin, Deep goblin

## Appearance

### Skin Color

Dependant on environment, surface goblins, the most notable type are shades of green and sometimes brown

### Hairstyles

Dependant on ethnic group, a good number of male goblins have very little head hair

### Distinctions

Cowardly but very aggressive when stronger or forced to, naturally dexterous, animal senses, big noses, skin has slow adaptation to environment colours similar to orcs (over generations)

**Goblins** are a short and numerous race of goblinoid. They are said to originate beneath the Serpentspine Mountains, traditionally living in caverns and tunnels there. Goblins have long been the enemy of dwarves and have long infested the mountains, and have come to be known as exceptionally crafty in their plots and schemes. By the 18th century goblins in the surface became known for their explosive brand of artificery and cutthroat business expertise.

## History

### Origins

Goblins are said to have originated in the dark caves of the Serpentspine Mountains, and some claim they were the original inhabitants of the mountains, not the dwarves.

Goblins were the primary enemy of dwarfkind for much of dwarven existence, and attacked the dwarves as they carved great holds and roads throughout their history. Goblin incursions were a major factor in the long decay of dwarven civilization, in what was known as the Last Days of Dwarovar, but it was only until the appearance of orcs did a united dwarven Dwarovar fall.

### Recent History

Like orcs, goblins were once uncommon on the surface, only seen in infrequent raids on settlements that border the Serpentspine as well as the Deepwoods, where the forest goblins were often mistaken for fey. This changed in 1424 during the Greentide, when orcs invaded Escann, bringing their goblin slaves in tow.

Goblins also attacked the surface years prior in the Decades of Devastation, when goblins swarmed across Bahar in Bulwar to flee from the Greentide's leader, Korgus Dookanson as he fought to unify the western Serpentspine before the Greentide.

With the death of Korgus Dookanson in 1444, many goblins broke free from their orcish masters and started their own clans in the surface of Escann.

### Adapting to the Surface

The end of the Greentide saw many goblins living in ghettos and slums across the cities of Escann, and eventually became a critical part of the lower income parts of prominent human cities.

In one case many goblin migrants flocked to the city of Bayvic which had oddly accepted them with open arms, and by the 17th century the city became a goblin-majority city with goblin innovations reviving the city and making it an industrial powerhouse in Cannor. This new wave of goblin success in Cannorian society led to a new subculture and type of goblin called the City goblin: one that became known for ingenuity in artificery and cutthroat business acumen.

## Appearance and Biology

Goblins are recognizable for their large sometimes-to-the-point-of-drooping ears, large beak-like noses and large mouths capable of the most mischievous of grins. Goblins come in various skin colours depending on their environment - with prolonged settlement resulting in skin hue shifts over generations: an example of this is cave goblins, who due to the darkness and stone of the Serpentspine, usually have skin tones ranging in the shades of black and gray - on the other hand goblins in the surface have developed the iconic green skin of Greentide fame.

After Korgus Dookanson's death, the goblin's orcish cousins lost their accelerated variant of the goblin skin-changing ability, though goblins retained their much slower variant.

### Tusor Growth Gene

The goblin scholar Tusor claims that the goblin's diminutive nature was in fact due to evolutionary changes attributed to the long-term neglect and malnourishment of the goblin race, which had often been enslaved or killed by their neighbours in the Serpentspine. Tusor states that the original goblins, the Tusoric Goblin, was said to resemble a "less hairy hobgoblin" and stood at the shorter end of a human's average height. He also suggests that other goblinoid races, like bugbears and hobgoblins were the successful evolutionary variants of the common goblin: those that, in pre-history, had *won* and *dominated* their local environments, and was able to procure food and supplies to maintain or even, in the case of bugbears, expand their height.

He attributes this idea of exponential growth to the Tusor Growth Gene, which he says has since become repressed part of the bugbear and hobgoblin genome. For goblins, however, a small percentage of the population have an active growth gene which can allow them to grow to the height of the tallest dwarf at 5 feet if well-fed during the key development stage of childhood. Indeed, some cases of a mutated growth gene also exist, which not only allowed exponential growth in height but also in weight, such as in the wealthy industrialist Srobnak the Large, which grew to morbid obesity of 300lbs and a sitting height of 7 feet!

### Half-Goblins

Goblins have been able to breed with other goblinoids as well as humans, elves and orcs, though as with all goblinoids the offspring as a rule is sterile. Goblin halfbreeds, known as the Half-Goblin, or *Voltoj* (meaning 'Strong ones') tend to look like a more proportioned version of a goblin, both in weight and height. Key goblin features such as the large nose and ears remain, but eye and hair colour unseen in pureblood goblins can occur.

The most interesting type of Voltoj is one with an active growth gene, which, when paired with natural height gained from the non-goblin parent, and the idea of exponential growth from the gene, allowed them to become 7-foot-tall monstrosities. One such case was the famous circus performer Pozlong the Long.

## Society

### Survival of the Fittest

Goblin society as a whole can be described as "survival of the fittest". Much of this stems from their ancestral origins in the underground caverns of the Serpentspine, where food and supplies were scarce, and competitors were plenty, whether it be orcs, dwarves and even other goblins themselves.

Due to the large number of goblins, goblins often placed little value on goblin life over other, rarer things, such as treasures and knowledge. A disobedient goblin could find themselves killed and simply replaced with another willing servant, and a goblin could die from any other hazard in the dark caves of the mountain. As goblins often found themselves dominated by other races or focusing on survival, it led to what goblins call "smarts" and "sneak" to be the most prized talents, for goblins often that can outsmart and outsneak their competitors (i.e. other goblins) would often rise to the top of the goblin food chain. This trend has continued to this day and most goblins keep self-interest and self-preservation as their highest priority.

### Family and Clan Structure

Polygamy and open relations were the norm in goblin culture, with many goblins having multiple partners at once. It was common for goblins to have over twenty siblings and half-siblings, which paired with the expectations of goblin society meant that familial bonds were uncommon - with many goblins seeing family as nothing more than other goblins to compete against, only forming the rare bond with their parents. With the brutal self-serving nature of traditional goblin society, those in the Serpentspine were often known to conduct "mating raids", where the goblins of all genders would abduct and mate with their desired partner before leaving them again.

Most goblin children in the Serpentspine were abandoned by their parents, if they knew them, and left to fend for themselves shortly after they were born, as many goblins believed that if the goblin babes were not able to fend for themselves in youth then they did not deserve to survive and take part (and consume resources) in goblin society.

Much of how a goblin clan works is a mimicry of the orcish clans they were usually subservient to during their time in the Serpentspine. However, unlike orcs goblins as a whole did not hold blood and lineage to great importance. A goblins affiliation with a clan was to where their priorities lied or which clanboss (an equivalent of a chieftain) they liked at the time. This did mean that goblin clans were a fluid structure, and many goblins have risen from the lowest rungs of the clan to becoming a boss themselves.

### Surface Goblins

After the Greentide many goblins found themselves leaderless and little more than refugees in the surface, causing many to live in the human cities of Cannor. The core ideas of 'survival of the fittest' still remained amongst the surface goblins, but their place in a world where they were a minority created a sense of goblin unity amongst the disparate peoples. Goblin families were still large but more goblins knew their parents and siblings more than their ancestors did in the Serpentspine, with sibling rivalry a concept encouraged by goblin parents. While a great number of goblins were still orphaned or left to fend for themselves, many were adopted by the rising goblin gangs and even goblin cartels, who raised goblin children as their own, most likely to keep the inflow of recruits strong.

With their innate need to be the best and their pragmatic nature many goblins flourished in modern Cannorian society. Their ingenuity and "making ends meet" thinking led to a new branch of artificery called Goblin Artificery that maximizes result regardless of safety or 'elegance' much to the disparagement of their gnomish counterparts. This also led to a large number of early goblins becoming successful traders and businessmen due to their ruthless approach to all things mercantile, with many goblin cartels evolving from criminal backgrounds to quasi-legitimate enterprises. Despite this, by the 18th century wealth disparity between surface goblins was still incredibly high: you were either very rich or very poor.

## Personality

Goblins tend to be practical and cynical folk, this can be seen in their attitudes against outsiders: depending on the circumstances they easily switch between being subdued servants or trade partners who use their helpfulness to make themselves a good reputation or aggressive plundering and slaving raiders or even cowards who voluntarily retreat into the worst lands to spare themselves from a likely defeat. (As they can follow the same method for centuries, their neighbours sometimes end up very surprised by such a switch.)

They are also infamous for their cuisine, unsurprisingly as in history they tended to either be driven to the worst territories or enslaved by orcs, forcing them to use ingredients which other races normally wouldn't bother to gather or catch or don't even regard as food, like vermin, weeds or blood taped from their livestock. Even those in the surface still make ends meet like this, often using the many rats that infest the largest of cities in their recipes.

Goblin speech is often crass amongst goblins, but with their superiors they often speak in subservient tones and phrases - but one must note goblin wit in these cases, as most are filled with sarcastic remarks and insinuations. Not even their higher-ups are spared of this, as they believe this prevents them becoming too big for their britches. The Common Goblins have, in their subjugation by orcs, developed hiding such remarks below a veneer of praise into an art form.

Militarily goblins believe that fair fights are only for the desperate and the stupid, preferring to use deception, surprise, agility and range in combat, likely due to their place as one of the weakest races. They also are, in general, delighted by wheels, engines and explosions. Preferably in the shape of warmachines, but they are also content in building peaceful devices like cranes, mills and pistons. It is commonly assumed that this fascination has its roots in overcompensation (both militarily and psychological) for being small and weak. In fact in their everlasting quest for better explosives they accidentally invented more dyes and cleaning agents than any other race.

## Spirituality and Religion

Goblin religion generally falls into one of three main groups:

* Traditional Goblin Shamanists, most common in regions that are heavily goblin dominated, such as tribes within the Serpentspine and Escann.
* Pactseeker warlocks, who are a subset of the Forest Goblins in the Deepwoods.
* Followers of The Thought, predominantly worshipped in Bayvic, Anbenncóst and by artificer goblins in Haraf.