Hobgoblin

Like Orcs Hobgoblins were created as the ultimate warrior species but instead of the mad Gruumsh who created beings guided entirely by rage the vicious Maglubiyet the Corrupter who created hobgoblins to be keen strategists.
Hobgoblins dedicate their lives to martial perfection drawing arms at any insult or slight and driven by a desire to demonstrate their superiority. They hold themselves to a supreme standard rejecting frailty, disease or any such weakness as an excuse to perform any less than their total duty to their Legion and creed. In religion the Hobgoblin hold their creator as a mythical being often conflated with Marvos whom they believe to hold a grand eternal war for their afterlife if they prove themselves.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Hobgoblins are humanoid in shape with skin colours raging from red to dark brown. Their noses are wide and ears sharp with facial hear often growing most pronounced at their cheeks with thin hair more common around the mouth. Hobgoblin hair is almost exclusively black greying as they grow older and often grows thin yet coarse to the touch.
Their bodies are naturally muscular and quickly grow muscles as they work to develop their own strength. Their nails sharped to claws on their fingers which serve as a weapon to be used only when left without alternative and their canine teeth are slightly longer and sharper than their others able to tear apart raw meat or the flesh of their foes. Hobgoblin skin is also notably resilient able to endure surface cuts without bleeding.

Biological Traits

Hobgoblins born on the feast day of Noxia are born into a twisted aberration known as a Bugbear. Quieter and more ferocious than their normal cousins Bugbears exist largely outside the hierarchy of Hobgoblins travelling across various legions until they are given an offer that entices them to stay, often one of blood, coin or magical items. Bugbears can travel far and wide sometimes even sneaking onto ships as stowaways traveling the entire route unseen thanks to their quiet nature and other times even seizing control of the boat with their raw untamed power.

Genetics and Reproduction

Hobgoblins reproduce sexually similar to other mammals. Male Hobgoblins produce semen which fertilises an egg in the womb of a female hobgoblin. Eggs are prepared for insemination when a female Hobgoblin, of age, is in a place of heightened adrenaline. Usually this comes from following combat or intense athleticism and often leads to female Hobgoblins seeking out the first mate they encounter. 
Once impregnated a Hobgoblin carries the child for six months during which the mother needs near constant care by their peers due to the demanding needs of the developing foetus which far exceed those of other mer. After being born Hobgoblin children and their mothers remain largely incapacitated for a further month with the child being 'aired' but still connected through the umbilical chord to their mother. The placenta is ejected after the month when the child is considered fully birthed.

Growth Rate & Stages

Hobgoblins live to usually around a century developing slower than humans but also experiencing the effects of old age at a later point.
On average Hobgoblins reach adulthood by the age of twenty with puberty beginning to emerge between their sixteenth and eighteenth birthdays. Pre-adolescent Hobgoblins tend to be more aggressive and outwardly emotional which they are trained to focus into learning to use weapons and martial skills. During puberty they begin to calm their anger and supress their displays of emotion as their education shifts from leading at the front to studies of strategy and tactics that allow them to understand their position within the legion. By they reach the end of puberty they are thus well schooled in war and able to effectively act as leader and soldier as needed.
Hobgoblin adulthood lasts usually seventy years before any sign of decline in their health in seen. The first sign of this is most often the greying of hair which is met with a ceremony acknowledging the end of a Hobgoblin's life somewhat akin to a funeral. Shortly after the hair of a Hobgoblin has fully whitened they begin to experience signs of joint stiffening and memory decline which eventually leads to respiratory or cardiac arrest over the course of a decade. Most Hobgoblins however choose to find a worthy foe and die in battle before old age claims them unless in aging they believe their wisdom and guidance may yet prove greater value to the legion.

Ecology and Habitats

Hobgoblins prefer arid climates or grasslands where their cattle herds can graze but that otherwise provide a daily test on the survival of the legion preventing it from growing weak and lazy. Legions tend to operate out of a single large stronghold at the centre of their territory the borders of which are marked by a series of totem posts.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Hobgoblins tend to be temperate in their diets eating smaller meals than many of their counterparts and needing only two meals a day usually one in the late morning and one in the evening. Their meals are vegetable heavy with thin cuts of meat to add flavour and nutrients alongside heavily flavoured garnishes. Most Hobgoblin meals come in the form of breads or baked pouches of vegetables bound in rice paper or leaves which are dipped into communal pots of flavoured sauces.

Behaviour

Hobgoblins are extremely orderly and obedient with little artistic or emotional outlets after their adolescent years. Hobgoblins view themselves as part of a larger society be that their legion or a larger entity entirely and seek to most effectively fulfil their own duties within it.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Hobgoblins live in martial societies called Legions . Each legion is governed by a Warlord whose position is earned through a contest of martial prowess. In a challenge both sides must rally forces to their side which are then represented by figures on a board representing the territory controlled by the Legion . The pair engage in a game of strategy observed by the foremost commanders of the Legion who determine the feasibility and outcome of their comparative tactical decisions until a final deciding battle is reached upon the board. Both sides are then able to rally forces relative to the final confrontation and engage in the battle in real life under the observation of the Legion with the victor earning the title of Warlord.
Beneath the Warlord society is divided into commands each of which is managed by a Captain. Captains are responsible for an aspect of the Legion livelihood such as food, education, defence, offence, livestock or otherwise. Within these all Hobgoblins fall into a standard military hierarchy serving and rising as the needs of the Legion demand.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Hobgoblins like other mer possess natural arcanum in their blood which allows them to use magic favouring evocation above other schools.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Hobgoblins names take the form of (Legion) (Title) (Name).
Their Legion name refers to their place of allegiance but is often localised in cases of allegiance to large states such as the Falaran Empire or The Golden City.
The Title name refers to their position within their Legion . The strain of the Goblic language spoken by Hobgoblins has specific titles that refer to every rank including the order it was received to ensure that any Hobgoblin knows their exact position within the Legion .
The final name is that given to them by their mother. It is often a short one syllable name and is the name used in shorthand to refer to the Hobgoblin. Other species often use this name exclusively with the Legion o as their surname though Hobgoblins view this as a failure of translation.

Gender Ideals

Hobgoblin's only acknowledge one gender which they call 'Ko'. The division of gender into male and female is considered by Hobgoblins to be a luxury affordable to weaker societies who are able to allow portions of their population to be wasted or specialised in idle pleasures. When speaking other languages Hobgoblins tend to use he/she/they interchangeably when referring to themselves and their kin and struggle with the use of chosen gender in others.

Relationship Ideals

Hobgoblins do not acknowledge permanent relationships as sustainable or beneficial believing that they place an individual above the needs of the Legion . Children are raised collectively and taken from their parents shortly after birth to be indistinguishable from the other new-borns and are at times traded between legions to diversify their genetic pool.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Hobgoblins speak Goblic amongst themselves favouring it as their core language but are often also able to speak Common or Orcish dependent on those they most reguarly encounter.

Common Dress Code

Hobgoblins tend to wear their military attire at all times wearing chainmail and other armours at all times of the day and year. In winter times they favour heavy furs but only where they have been taken from a creature that the Hobgoblin has killed themselves.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Hobgoblins have historically close relations with Goblins often viewing them as younger brothers who they should protect. It is common for Hobgoblin Legions to have neighbouring Goblin Thaigs who they protect against larger neighbours in exchange for access to metals and other precious materials.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Hobgoblin
• Human

Genetic Descendants

• Hobgoblin

Scientific Name

Sovok Enderek

Origin/Ancestry

Primate

Lifespan

90-110 years

Average Height

1.5-1.9m

Geographic Distribution

• Aesalia

Related Organizations

• Order of Tatham