Goblins

## Appearance

Goblin appearance varies according to class.  Regardless of class, most Goblins possess pointed ears, eyes with very large pupils, and segmented antennae between the eyebrows. The lower-class workers and mid-class males are smaller and conventionally ugly with no wings, wide foxlike ears, some body hair (more common on males) and two arms each. The royal class are larger and more conventionally attractive, with vestigial wings, thin pointed ears, no body hair and four arms each, the upper pair of arms each having two fingers and a thumb while the lower pair only have two non-opposing fingers.  The males are larger than workers (the smallest caste) and mid-class females, but smaller than royal females.

## Biology

Being insecto-mammals, Goblins have a metamorphic lifecycle.  Year-round, workers hatch from eggs into limbless, jawless larvae who are cared for by nurse workers.  After about one to two years, they pupate for about four months, emerging having fully-formed heads and arms.  Their legs will sprout over the course of the next six to nine months, at which point they learn to walk and begin being differentiated into caste based on epigenetics, and into caste-specific roles based on ability and interest.  Royals and males are born exclusively during the spring, are much larger than workers, and are raised exclusively by royal nurses (the oldest and most experienced nurses still capable if breast-feeding).  They follow much the same growth cycle as lower castes, but at the time of puberty (around nineteen years), the female princesses will pupate a second time for up to eight months, wherein their arms are split in two, their ribcage nearly doubles in length and they sprout wings.

## Social Structure

Goblins live in colonies underground, in forests, or less commonly in human-like towns, depending mostly on the subspecies.  They form a hierarchical caste system, with the queen (*mem*) at the top, then kings/breeding males (*gogim*) and princesses (*bugim*), followed by males and mid-caste females (*gogiû*, [/gogiʕ/]), with other workers at the very bottom (*dugin*).

## Reproduction

Though the majority of a colony are female, only the queen, males and princesses are fertile.  They lay eggs like insects, but the larvae are breast-fed by nurses.  Mating and especially egg-laying usually only occur during warmer months.  Not all members of a larger colony will be direct children of the queen, with many eggs being laid by her elder daughters.  However, royals are nearly always born to the sitting queen of a colony.  Reproductive females will have a harem of males from other colonies, much in the same way as Dwarven queens.

## Reputation

Goblins are known to be industrious, crafty and virulent.  Being genetically predisposed for service to the whole, their workers are often considered prime targets for humanoid trafficking.

## Behavior

Goblin workers are hard-wired to perform their appropriate tasks for the good of whatever entity or group they consider themselves to be part of (their *ûam,* [/ʕam/]).  Mid-class and male individuals may have similar instincts, but to a lesser extent.  These same instincts in the royal caste can make them very accomplished as leaders and rulers, even outside their own species.