Bugbear Lore

     One of the 10 dominant races in the Fesden area.

     Bugbears are distrusted even among the three goblinoid races, and this distrust has led to the Bugbears becoming even less trustworthy than they already were. Bugbears have a reputation among civilized folk of being master thieves and assassins, but in reality they fare about as well as rogues of other races, but that reputation makes hiring a Bugbear assassin a luxury good as well as the service provided. Bugbears tend to keep to small populations of themselves, acting just as distrusting of others as others act of them. They originated from a land far away just as the other goblinoids.

     The Bugbears originated on the continent of Heneron and dwelled there having been created there alongside the Goblins and the Hobgoblins, and it was here that they began to develop as a civilization. The Bugbears inherently were different from their Goblin and Hobgoblin neighbors, as while the others liked gold, and all things that were shiny, it seemed like only the Bugbears were willing to do anything to get it, including murder and theft. This led the others to distrust the Bugbears. History really only starts about 500 years ago, when the Hobgoblins decided that they wanted more from existence than merely interacting with their two racial brothers on a regular basis; they yearned to be respected as great leaders, but in order to get that, they first needed a mighty nation to lead. This lead to the Hobgoblins approaching the Bugbear cities with a mighty army, one that might have been capable of slaying a dragon, but instead their weapons were pointed at the Bugbears with a simple offer, join them, or be destroyed. The Bugbear chief, Grimthal Selvestihad, being a clever goblinoid posed a counter-offer, pay us, and we will serve as your spies, assassins, and thieves against the goblins, as the goblins were sure to put up a greater resistance than the Bugbears, simply due to their mastery of smithing and enchanting, and their inherent skill was already an advantage before the goblins discovered a pool of Gar'harad, building their major city around it. With it, they could infuse an entire plate of armor with magic simply by touching one of their very limited shards of the Conduit to it, which made the pool invaluable. The Hobgoblins took a full five days to consider this offer, during which they stopped any Bugbears from entering or exiting their city, until the general of the Hobgoblins, one General Porumth Urugall, himself went into the city with his personal squadron and accepted the counter-offer of Grimthal, procuring the proper documentation in one hand, and a small chest of gold in the other. Grimthal eagerly signed the agreement, and the rest of the Bugbears cheered on his ability as a leader, as they would now be paid in gold to acquire gold. Shortly thereafter, the first of the Bugbear's assignments came it. There was a shipment of Gar'harad weapons being shipped from one Goblin city to another, and it was required of the Bugbears to ensure that not only should the weapons never arrive, but those weapons should also find their ways into the hands of Hobgoblin soldiers. The task was done with minimal complications by a band of Bugbears, and after the weapons were secured, the Bugbears were paid. The Unification War continued from there as a long, hard conflict, but at the end of it all, the Nation of Urugall was born. Meanwhile during the Unification war, the Dragonborn merchants had arrived, and had begun trade between their two peoples. There were many Bugbears who decided to go with the Dragonborn back to their home, and possibly earn more money doing what their people loved to do.

     Many years passed, and it seemed that the reputation of Bugbear thieves or assassins for hire had exploded among the forces of men as well as the draconic races, and many Dragonborn merchants had sailed directly to the Bugbear civilizations to hire Bugbears for that line of work, and from that day on, the Bugbears have had a legacy for travellers who sought out and obtained money through any means necessary, and they came to be known as the best that money can buy. There were, of course, a few Bugbears who after an illustrious career of thievery in one way or another, finally settled back down, and while many returned to their homeland, there were a great deal who settled instead on the continent of Gelrick.

Lifespan

~100 years