Hobgoblin
Most sophisticated of the Goblinoids, there are many Hobgoblin city states surrounding the Torlmah Sea, especially the lands in the north, though poor for agriculture they have many iron deposits and they craft their weapons and armor. Though spread out there are also many Hobgoblin city states on the Mende Sea.
Many of these Hobgoblin cities war with each other and occasionally they may ally to go raiding to take a weak city state as a vassal for a time. This area is also rife with other gobliniods.
Hobgoblin mercenaries are not unheard of, but few nation states are going to hire them unless all-out war is likely. The amount of collateral damage and destruction they cause is largely unwanted. They also demand looting rights in addition to payment. Hobgoblins may honor an order to vacate once hostilities are over, but their bugbear and goblin minions cannot be held to those agreements.
Hobgoblin adventurers may be trying find fame and fortune outside of the legions, or are interested in spheres of knowledge that get little support in the militaristic culture of the legion.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Humanoids that stand around 6' tall. They have builds similar to humans their face is flat and has a larger nose and curved pointed ears.
Genetics and Reproduction
Hobgoblins share the same genetic pool as other goblinoids. Hobgoblins produce 2 to 3 children in each pregnancy, which lasts around 8 months, and some portion of those children will be born as either goblins or bugbears. In a typical litter one might be another race. Every citadel or city state has a goblin enclave, hobgoblin goblin offspring are dumped off. Bugbears are raised separately, those with promise and slightly more ambition join special forces, the rest are free to leave.
Growth Rate & Stages
A hobgoblin matures at the same rate as a human, and is a physical adult at age 17.
Ecology and Habitats
Hobgoblins like the other goblinoids are adaptable and prefer cold climes, but can be found all over the world.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Hobgoblins are omnivores and try to eat a balanced diet, and probably eat foods most humans would be able to eat and find good. Hobgoblins practice advanced agriculture and ranching.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Hobgoblin culture is militaristic. In the ages of the Star Walkers they were a stellar empire that had dozens of conquest worlds under their control. Then they decided they could take a world from humans and elves living under the auspices of the Star Walkers. This turned into a war that broke them. However they agreed to surrender and join the Hegemony of the Star Walkers. Soon they became a valuable asset in expanding and defending the Hegemony.
Each hobgoblin city state on Alterra is run by a legion that is commanded by a war lord. The title is hereditary, but can be contested and taken by combat. Life in the legion is brutal, everyone is trained and raised to be a soldier along with their other skills. Drilling and fighting are a way of life. Their discipline is absolute and the center of their relationships with themselves and each other.
The central unit of Hobgoblin life is the banner. Each banner is a clan of families and relations. A banner can have members of various ranks and duties in it. The highest ranking member of the banner is the leader. Each banner may have a few buildings to city blocks to whole wards depending on it's size, reputation and spoils.
Facial characteristics
Hobgoblins have angular faces with large flat noses that can range from blue to red which intensifies when emotionally aroused or excited. They have facial hair and thick mains of hair, though they typically keep it in tight buns. The hobgoblins have curved pointed ears.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Most Hobgoblins are found in East and West Gorgandra. Over the centuries they have spread out and there are many hobgoblin colonies across Mende minor, New Lumeria, Uthgart vastness, Eridani, and several other locations.
Average Intelligence
Hobgoblins are intellectual equals to humanoids, and have extremely strong self control.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Hobgoblins have darkvision and can see in dim light easily, and darkness in shades of grey. Other than that their perception is on par with humans.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Hobgoblins use their rank, banner, family, and finally their name. All hobgoblin names are unisex.
Major Organizations
Iron Shadows. These monks are the intelligence apparatus of the legion. They don't answer to the War Lord but to a philosopher of war who serves as the War Lord's advisor. The Chief War Philosopher's goal is to make sure the War Lord is keeping his legion focused and disciplined and ready to march or defend at any given time. If a War Lord becomes lax, or allows deviation in tradition the iron shadow operatives may groom a replacement who will keep the standards high. Externally the Iron Shadows operate spy rings and infiltrators across the world to keep an eye on threats and weak targets that demand exploitation.
Beauty Ideals
Hobgoblins dream of combat, war, and triumph. All of their ideals revolve around this. They glorify the victor, the spoils and the acts of discipline in the face of overwhelming odds.
Gender Ideals
Males and female roles are firmly established in Hobgoblin life. Males are front line troops, females are ranged and support. Membership in a banner paternal, and child rearing is a woman's job. Females guard the camps and keep the goblins and bugbears in line at the camp.
Courtship Ideals
When the legion is in the field there are no relations, previous couples have to separate. When not at war most Hobgoblins will pursue a female by courtly means first, then conquest. If she thinks he is a worthy mate there are gauntlets, quests, and finally combat between the two. Other suitors can try to intervene, out do or challenge for combat. To the victor goes the spoils. If the female wins she can claim the mate and then reject him or keep him. A male has to keep her.
Relationship Ideals
Relationships are monogamous and life long. Hobgoblins don't remarry or divorce. Often if the relationship isn't working out they just drift apart. It would be dishonorable to cheat on a spouse.
Average Technological Level
Hobgoblins are capable of building complicated mechanisms such as cannons, clocks, navigational tools, rifles and other fire arms. They have advanced agriculture, engineering, civil works, industrial facilities and are knowledgeable in numeria, cyphers, relics and magic. Their approach to magic is brute force and they only focus on offensive spells. Artistically they expend little energy, money or time on personal pursuits, but a legion may invest in a monument to a great leader, a grand victory, or the defeat of a hated foe. It is not unheard of for them to patronize a non-goblinoid artist to create the work.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Hobgoblins speak and write goblin, they often know other languages such as Elvish, dwarven, common, draconic and most leaders will learn additional languages. Members of the Iron Shadow know Gith.
Common Etiquette Rules
Hobgoblins are driven by respect, discipline and control. As such they have a complicated set of social norms, etiquette, forms and manners they observe as perfectly as they can. They are extremely civil and will be civil to other non-goblinoids. They will study the ways of other cultures so they can perform the correct etiquette and manners with guests and hosts. They however, react violently to breaches of etiquette. Their expectation is that everyone (save goblins and bugbears) is capable and should follow these rules of interactions.
Common Dress Code
Hobgoblins when not training, in combat on or on duty usually wear tunics, loose pants, socks and either boots or sandals depending on the weather. The colors are solids and reflect their rank and status with prints, badges, or patterns. They keep their armor in mint condition, taking extra time to buff out scratches and dents, replace loose rivets, and broken links.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Their military culture follows ranks (see Volo's Guide to Monsters for details). Their scholars study war and keep fastidious records, histories, take interviews, and this study is seen as vital to Hobgoblin way of life. Study is another discipline everyone must master. Their poets, bards, and writers are historians that write biographies and collect heroic deeds relating to their legion. Artists are rare, but those with talent will be warriors who oversee murals, works and public art to glorify their legion. If you can't find a use for legion in what you are doing, your are squandering your time, and by extension the legion's resources.
Common Taboos
- Always follow orders, to not do so is a great failure.
- Always honor the philosophy of war. One must acknowledge that everything is conflict and a conflict must have resolution
- Suffering an insult, or insulting another. Insults are a loss of face and dishonorable, likewise an unanswered insult is a loss of face for the legion.
- Reward Glorious action, it is taboo to belittle another's achievements, deny them their due honors, rewards or ranks is dishonorable.
- Uphold the legion, to not put the legion first, to abandon your post, to leave a comrade behind, to allow yourself to be captured dishonors the legion.
History
Hobgoblins after the crash took several lifters and orderly moved Gorgandra central command to a secure location, once established came back and took all of the surviving hobgoblins to assemble. Then they came for what ever goblins and bugbears they could find and put them to work building their new home.
For a solid 500 years there was one central command and it kept the Gith, Aerolend, and Atlanteans at bay and used their lifters to drop troops around the world to quell hostilities, outbreaks of disease and other missions. But eventually their ability to project force was lost, communications between their far flung bases and outposts were becoming more and more sporadic, and in 691 all out civil war broke out. It never ended, and all of the legions are essentially on their own. Goblins and bug bears migrated spread out and the hobgoblins had to turn inward to maintain their own facilities. The hobgoblins hit a dark age for about 5 centuries and were not involved in the world, constantly fighting each other, and anyone else they ran across.
In 1989 the five most powerful legions signed the Gorgandra Accord. In this accord it recognized that there was no central authority and each War Lord was master and commander of their headquarters. These five agreed to recognize each other and besides these signatories, if two other signatories officially recognize another true warlord the other three would as well. The accord also established rules of warfare between goblinoids and non-goblinoids.
Hobgoblins were the last to adopt magic. They were so shocked by the advancement of other culture's magic they made a crash development program. There were two the war lords focused on, Philosophical magic and wizardry. Hobgoblin warlocks, sorcerers, druids are outcasts, and usually exiles. (or not members of goblinoid culture). Some legions developed war academies to train either devastators or war clerics. This revolutionized their culture and created the current power structure.
Common Myths and Legends
The Star Walker's last order. It is a common Hobgoblin myth that the Star Walkers left one final order for the goblinoids; to organize a defense of the planet from the star spawn. The first settlers had supposedly put resources into building a planetary defense network, but where it is or what it was is lost to time.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Hobgoblins see themselves as this planet's rightful defenders and should have deference and support from all other races to defend this planet. On one hand everyone is subject to their legion's ambitions, but they should also be defended if the planet is attacked. As such they are active diplomats with other major city states and cultures. But they think outsiders would rather side with the cosmic enemy rather than rally behind the Hobgoblins.
Hobgoblins are in general enemies of the Gith. The Githyanki waste resources with their petty and pointless raids, the Githzerai are bent on destabilizing anyone they can to pit them against the Githyanki. Several Legions have banded together to land invasions on the Githyanki, but have never been able to conquer them.
Hobgoblins are in competition with the Atlanteans for Mende Minor resources and there is often wars and conflicts throughout that region. Hobgoblin legions have colonies around the world they extract resources from. Theses are treated as field encampments and settlers are cycled out every couple of years with fresh reinforcements.
Origin
Gorgandra
See Goblin for biological notes.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Origin/Ancestry
Goblin
Lifespan
100 years
Average Height
6'-0" tall
Average Weight
150lbs to 200lbs
Average Physique
Most hobgoblins are in excellent physical shape, well toned and in good health.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Hobgoblins are sallow skinned and may have lighter bellies and chests, but are generally the same color. They may range from sallow to olive to light green.
Geographic Distribution
Related Ethnicities
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