Goblinoid
“If you want soldiers or thugs, hire hobgoblins. If you want someone clubbed to death in their sleep, hire bugbears. If you want mean little fools, hire goblins.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Description
Goblinoids had a typical humanoid anatomy, though their skin tone and texture was often somewhere between that of a human and a snail. The notable exception of this rule was the bugbears whose entire bodies were covered head to toe in thick fur. Heights varied greatly among different species of goblinoids, ranging from 3 to 7 feet (0.91 to 2.1 meters). The build of goblinoids was usually thick and muscular, with their faces possessing similar attributes. Their appearance was often regarded as repulsive by other peoples.Species
Goblin -
the widespread and namesake species, known for their low intelligence and, ah, varied diet.Grodd goblins
were particular variety, possibly subspecies, that arose from goblins trapped in the demiplane of Grodd.The Batiri
were a collection of goblin clans and tribes that dwelled the land of Chult.Bugbear -
perhaps the largest species, but nonetheless remarkably stealthy, though still brutish and dull-minded.Hobgoblin -
middling in size but smarter and more orderly than other goblinoids; hobgoblins typically dominated any goblinoid community they lived in.Dekanter goblin -
a horned species purpose-bred for fighting by an alhoon living in the Dekanter mines.Koalinth -
a species often described as a marine hobgoblin.Norker -
a lazy, brutish, and tough-skinned species that preferred subterranean habitats.Snow goblin -
an arctic species.Varag -
a primitive, near-feral species bred by hobgoblins as beasts of war.Bakemono -
a type of goblinoid endemic to Kara-tur.Goblin rat -
natural goblinoid lycanthropes, also endemic to Kara-tur.Verdan -
a continually-shifting species created by goblinoid exposure to the power of That-Which-Endures.Blue -
a psionic species Additionally, two other varieties were recorded in the form of nilbogs (goblins possessed by a nilbog spirit) and worghest (planetouched descendants of goblin-barghest hybrids).Behaviour
Personality
The typical goblinoid was lewd, cruel, sadistic, power-hungry (or in the case of goblins just plain hungry), extremely lacking in any intelligence or sophistication, and proud of it. Known for their habit of abusing those (at least by their reckoning) lesser than them, and worshiping those greater than them, goblinoids were not popular amongst other races.Civilization and Culture
History
The various goblinoid races (with the exception of the Dekanter goblins, which were created from goblin stock) were not native to Toril. Instead, they migrated to the world in small waves when they discovered portals leading to it.
Ancient elven histories described the various goblinoids as brutish invaders raiding into their realms, so it seemed that the goblin races had been present on Toril for at least as long as the elves had been.
The Horde of the Wastes was a large goblinoid horde that destroyed the Kingdom of Phalorm in 615 DR.
It was believed by some scholars that some of the goblinoid races were purposefully bred by the hobgoblin race, who often dominated goblinoid communities.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Relations
Goblinoids rarely got along with themselves better than their enemies, though they were known to come together under a common cause on occasion. In such situations, hierarchy was usually determined by whoever would win in a fight, and it was not uncommon for them to find out through physical methods. To goblinoid thinking, elves and dwarves were particuarly nasty arch-enemies, humans were things to kill if possible and run from if not, halflings were perfect targets, and drow were creatures to be feared.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Scientific Name
Animalia, Materia, Humanoidus, Bipedia, Goblinoid
Origin/Ancestry
Humanoid (Monster Goblinoid)
Related Ethnicities
5E Statistics
Goblinoid
| Type | Humanoid |
| Vision | Darkvision |
| Average Lifespan | ~60 years |
| Homeland(s) | Prime Material Plane |
| Subraces | Goblin Hobgoblin Bugbear Dekanter Goblin Varag Norker |
See Also: Hobgoblin on Forgotten Realms Wiki
I really do try to make most of this original, but since Forgotten Realms is an integral part of the world I can't help if anything is used without formal permission, but is still "fair use" as I am just using this for my private games.