Goblins

**Origin**

As long as there has been conscious life on Aether there have been Goblins. No one is sure of their exact origin however every organised society or group has dealt with them at some point. Goblins can be found living in every biome of Aether and thriving in some capacity.

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**Rarity**

Goblins are a small and common race throughout Aether. Often living in underground caverns near the surface all over Aether.

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**General Overview**

Goblins occupy an uneasy place in a dangerous world, they react by lashing out at any creatures they believe they can bully. Cunning in battle and cruel in victory, Goblins are fawning and servile in defeat, just as in their own society lower castes must scrape before those of greater status.

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All Goblins are symbiotic with species of fungus. All Goblins grow from spores - depending on conditions the same spore may grow to be a mighty leader or harmless fungi. In this Goblins are not just a race but an ecosystem in itself. When Goblins migrate to a new area, this ecosystem grows. It is widely known that once an area is inhabited by Goblins it is never entirely free from them again.

Different types of fungi play a role in Goblin society. Goblin settlements are surrounded by patches of this fungi, cultivated by the Goblins, it is the primal source of food in Goblin society. Some distinct fungi are:

*~ Dog Vomit Mould*

These round fungi contain huge amounts of poisonous spores, which are released after they are broken or crushed. Goblins use them as primitive explosives, placing them under the feet of their enemy. Once stepped on, the victim will suffer a nasty whiff of toxic spores.

Goblins are immune to these spores, it only makes them cough and vomit. Dog Vomit cleaned of spores and stuffed with meat is a popular meal. This fungi also has various medical uses.

*~ Blood-rot Fungus*

In appearance, this fungi is a deep red or purple with yellow or green flecks. It can be eaten by Goblins and has important medical uses due to its effect on the Goblin bloodstream. This fungus is rich in spores found in Goblin blood and skin, so it can be used to enrich the blood as well as slow the flow of blood - a great benefit in treating wounds.

*~ Other*

Other known Goblin fungi include:

~ Red stained stalked Polypore - edible

~ Small honey Oysterling - edible

~ Yellow Earpick Fungus - edible

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*Ecology*

Goblins are genderless and asexual. Goblins live on average about 40 years, over their lifetime they will emit millions of spores into Aether. These spores will travel across Aether, planting themselves and sometimes giving birth to other Goblins.

These spores will plant themselves and grow in almost any condition, preferring dark and moist environments. Most spores develop into different varieties of mushrooms, toadstools and moulds, but some develop more advanced life.

Goblins start life as a plant, within two weeks, depending on the environment, the spore will have grown into a Goblin sized pod. After a  further two weeks, a now living Goblin will burst forth from its cocoon into the world.

Physically an adult, the Goblin, if born into a tribe, will be taught and raised by the other members of the tribe. A goblin born outside a tribe will eat the other mushrooms grown from the spores and await any other pods to hatch. These Goblins will form a new tribe.

A Goblin will reach mental maturity within 6 months on its own and in 3 months with the help of other developed Goblins.

*Personality*

Goblins have a commonly short temper. Leaders often come to power through betrayal or aggression, rather than by more peaceful means, or as a priest of the Goblin Gods. As such Goblins are more easily provoked and often take sadistic pleasure in exacting revenge once crossed.

Goblins who have turned away from tribal life often find it difficult to overcome this short fuse and their sense of greed makes it difficult for them to act altruistically. Though goblins have a poor reputation overall, not all goblins are dim-witted or craven. Some goblins have risen to become heroes, gaining enough renown to be accepted into the civilized world of other races.

Those goblins seeking this path may have found it difficult to overcome their temper and greed, as well as the cultural influence of their brethren, but those who did often found it could be more rewarding, in the long run at least, to serve humanoids instead of other Goblins.

Sometimes expatriated goblins would try to recreate the circumstances of their culture, preying on the weaknesses of others in non-goblin communities. Being bullied by bigger, stronger creatures has taught goblins to exploit what few advantages they have: sheer numbers and malicious ingenuity.

The concept of a fair fight was meaningless in their society. They favoured ambushes, overwhelming odds, dirty tricks, and any other edge they could devise. Goblins preferred to fight battles where the odds were in their favour and often fled or surrendered when outmatched.

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*Beast Masters and Slave Drivers*

Goblins know they are a weak and unsophisticated race that can be easily dominated by bigger, smarter, more smarter more organised, more ferocious or more magical creatures. It is this that drives them to dominate other creatures whenever they can - for Goblins, life is short.

Goblins seek to trap and enslave any creatures they encounter, but they flee from the opposition that seems too daunting. For miles around their lair, they employe pit traps, snares and nets to catch the unwary. When their hunting patrol encounters other beings they attempt to capture instead of killing them. Goblins that run up against the fringes of society will test its defences by stealing and if this goes unpunished they begin stealing people.

The enslaved receive the worst treatment the Goblins can dish out while still getting decent performance out of the slaves. Humanoids and monsters that are especially capable or provide unusual services find themselves treated like favoured (though occasionally abused) pets.

Any kind of creature that can be subdued into service can be found within a Goblin tribe, but rats, wolves and giant spiders are nearly always present. These creatures have lived in concert with Goblins for at least as long as humans have worked with dogs and horses, and in Goblin society these animals serve similar purposes.

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*Tribes*

Goblins have little concept of privacy, living and sleeping in large common areas; only the leaders live separately in their private chambers. As such Goblin lairs are often stinking or soiled, though easily defended when under assault.

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*Teachings*

Young Goblins are taught from an early age to rely only on themselves and to survive, they need to be aggressive and ruthless. To a Goblin, it didn’t seem logical to treat others as well or better than you would treat yourself; rather, they believed in preemptively removing potential rivals before they became a threat.

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Goblin religion is a convoluted and difficult mess, that not even the Goblins fully understand, though some claim to. There are two Goblin deities, the eternally squabbling twins Arsus and Susra. Both are revered amongst the Goblins, however, one is usually preferred over the other.

Arsus is known for being cunningly brutal and is the primary deity for smashing, breaking, clobbering, killing and pummelling everyone into submission. This resonates strongly with the more single-minded Goblins.

Susra is known for being brutally cunning and is the primary deity for stabbing, thieving, lying and cheating. Susra will happily wait for his enemies to turn their back before raising his weapon to beat them. This resonates strongly with Goblins who like to think, before beating their enemies into a red paste.

The difference between Arsus and Susra causes great debates between Goblins, often ending in bloodshed. This is because most Goblins don’t know the difference between the two Gods and most make their own opinions. Many tribes have split because they could not agree on which God they were worshipping.

Humanoids who have studied the Goblin deities have found many contradicting stories between the two. Some theorise the two Gods are the same, but others theorise they are two different Gods, but because of Goblins limited capability to understand their stories have been muddied and confused.

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*Society*

Goblins society is tribal by nature, these tribes are organised into a four-tiered caste system made up of warriors, tenders, hunters and pariah. The status of every Goblin in the tribe is based on it’s importance to the tribe’s survival. Goblins belonging to higher-ranking castes keep their position by not sharing knowledge or skills with the Goblins, while those in lower castes have little hope of escaping their plight.

Outsiders who do not understand this social system are sometimes surprised by how different castes interact with them. A single humanoid warrior might scare away a dozen pariahs, only to be viciously attacked by two hunters. A captured group might hang in a net while dozens of Goblins pass them by paying them no heed until a group of tenders show up.

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**Race Alignment**

Neutral Evil

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**Natural Race Abilities/Affinities**

The closest a Goblin tribe has to nobility is the warrior caste. Goblins trained in the ways of battle, possessing the key skills such as strategy, trap-building, beast taming, mining, smelting, forging and religion. If the tribe has any spellcasters this caste includes them. Warriors follow the lead of the tribe’s boss and enforce their will on other Goblins with whips.

*~ Tenders*

Goblins in the second caste are responsible for gathering food and tending to the fungi in the surrounding area. They are also charged with the checking traps for captured humanoids or beasts. Tenders aren’t usually armed with weapons more deadly than a sling or knife, but they frequently carry nets, caltrops, lassos and nooses on poles for controlling captured creatures.

These Goblins cook for the tribe and in times of war are responsible for concocting positions and treating the injured warriors.

*~ Hunters*

This caste of Goblins are skilled in the use of weapons but not privy to any other special knowledge have the third-highest status in the tribe. Hunters are often the best wolf/spider rides and know the most about the territory farthest from the tribe’s lair. These individuals hunt hame in peaceful times, and in combat, they serve as scouts, foot soldiers and cavalry.

*~ Pariah*

Some Goblins are the lowest of the low, composed of the most dimwitted, least educated and weakest Goblins. They get the worst job; mucking out animal pens, cleaning up after other goblins, and doing any hard labour such as digging mines. If the tribe has any slaves to do some of this work, the pariahs enjoy the opportunity to supervise and dominate such creatures, which have no status at all.

Pariahs greatly fear for their lives in battle, believing the higher castes have special knowledge of how to survive. It is this caste that gives Goblins their reputation for cowardice.

*~ Goblin Bosses*

Goblin bosses are generally the biggest, strongest, sometimes the smartest Goblin around. They tend to have the tribes best weapons and sit at the top of the caste system above Warriors.

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*~ Magic*

Goblin magic is unlike that of typical humanoid magic on Aether. Goblins believe their magic is derived from their Gods and by summoning magic they are summoning the power of the gods.

Goblins magic is based entirely on belief, the stronger a Goblin believes a spell is going to work the more likely it will. This is down a Goblins mind, their magical energy is focused and generated by the mental energy of other Goblins around them.

This effect cascades over most things Goblins do, for example, if a Goblin believes enough that their armour will be more protective because it’s painted red, then it will be. Goblins are not intuitive enough to understand this phenomenon and believe it’s one of their Gods protecting them.

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**Appearances**

Goblins, a small race that many consider little more than a nuisance or pest. They have flat faces, broad noses, pointed ears and small sharp fangs. Their foreheads slope back and their eyes vary in colour from red to yellow. Their skin colour ranges from a light yellow through any shade of green, usually all members of a Goblin tribe share the same colour.

Goblins are typically dressed in dark leather soiled by poor hygiene and coloured similarly to their skin. Goblins stand between 3’4” - 3’8” and weigh about 40-55 lb on average.

**History**

*(See Origin)*

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**Created by MrBiscuits**

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