Totems

Placeholder Giblin by Katy Smith

Made from crudely carved and poor quality stone, these objects should have little to no power but the shamans of the more spiritual clans of goblins draw power from them nonetheless. The totems are initially carved into a rough blood-drop shape pointed upwards. The centre of the stone has further symbolic carvings which appear to emulate that of dwarven rune carvings with one main distinction. They are powered by the blood and essence of the unfortunate and sacrificed. The more powerful the entity that is offered to the stones and the larger the belief of the wielder in the power they hold, the more potent they become.
The stones are then able to be encased within other objects such as staves, headdresses or armour to be used as a portable and potent magick catalyst. The shamans of the tribes are powerful entities all on their own but through the use of these totems, they are able to modify the properties of the very ground they stand on. Forming a substance called “quickrock” which modifies hard surfaces to make them act much like a fine powder. Goblins regularly use this to conduct attacks and raids on other goblin encampments or even dwarven settlements from time to time.
There have been reports that describe goblin raids starting in the dead of the sleeping hours in which the goblins just phase silently through the outer wall en masse. It’s a terrifying thing to witness and then to have the knowledge of. The safety of a dwarven city is paramount and this relatively recent discovery of the shamans pulls that safety into question. As such, the reports of these raids often gets dismissed or swept under the very stubborn rug. All chaos would be unleashed if the general populace of dwarves knew about this as a possibility. Although, as the method to enter the city takes a lot of energy out of the shamans, it’s often a one-way carnage trip for the goblins as there is almost no method of escape once they’re in. The goblins, fortunately for the dwarves, haven’t worked out that they can send a shaman through with the raiding party for a door back out.
Goblin intelligence at its finest!

This is a submission for my first ever Summer Camp in 2024 - I hope you enjoy my writings and I'm looking forward to hearing your feedback!