Goblins

"You squeal like a gob!" — common insult

Goblins are monstrous race of mortals related to orcs and bugbears. They can inhabit a wide variety of habitats and have spread across all the known continents of Holos. Their morphology varies drastically depending on which group you are looking at but all agree that they are generally small, green-to-greyish skinned humanoids with long knobby fingers, dark hair, and a maw of needle-like teeth. .

Basic Information

Anatomy

Goblins are typically characterized by their small stature, green-to-greyish skin, long knobby fingers, dark hair, and maws of needle-like teeth. Hobgoblins, the elder form of a goblin, look drastically different. Their skin ranges in coloration with males often displaying bright splotches of rust red and brown. Their needle-like fangs are replaced by a more diverse set of canines, incisors, and serrated teeth.

Growth Rate & Stages

The goblin have no restraint—this is both their defining trait and their greatest downfall. This lack of restraint leads to a short life expectancy for most goblins. Goblins reach adolescence at five years old and sexual maturity at seven. Few live past fifteen. However, goblins breed like rats, having litters of around ten though as many as twenty have been reported. This brings us to another great misconception about goblins. Because goblins grow up quickly and die young, many assume that their small stature is a trademark quality of their race.
However, this is only the first stage in a goblin's life cycle. The mature form of a goblin is the hobgoblin. Hobgoblins stand nearly to the height of elves and humans. Their skin ranges in coloration with males often displaying bright splotches of rust red and brown. Their needly fangs are replaced by a more diverse set of canines, incisors, and serrated teeth. Goblins seem to grow into the form of a hobgoblin given a variety of factors, the greatest of which being age. Some have speculated that the hob form of a goblin is its truest, mature form and though goblins reach sexual maturity early in life, they were intended to grow into the hobgoblin form. If this is true, it would explain why goblins were abandoned by Oheilion—their basal instincts and instinctual lack of restraint kept most of the race from actually reaching adulthood. In a sense, the goblin people are a people perpetually trapped in the bodies and emotions of carnivorous toddlers.

Additional Information

Social Structure

This odd transition from goblin to “hob” is reflected in goblin society. Goblin clans are organized around the Hob, the chieftain or leader of the group. In fact the word “hob” in many archaic goblin tongues means “top”—literally top goblin. So while many hobgoblins appear to be physically and mentally distinct from other goblins, the distinction is as much cultural as it is truly biological. When the Hob of a clan dies, the clan is taken over by the next largest hobgoblin. If there is no hobgoblin in the clan, in fighting is bound to occur and the clan often breaks up. Few clans survive more than a few generations.
These clans tend to be nomadic or subterranean, as goblins lack the desire to perform any kind of agricultural work. Most clans are actually pastoral or hunter-gatherers. Pastoral clans breed giant rats called thygoden as well as a unique kind of intelligent wolf known as worgs. Their patterns for breeding and control of these animals has been likened to that of human shepherds and their horses. Thygoden are used for both food and as pets and develop a strong bond with their goblinoid masters.
Like children, goblins are easily influenced. The death of a clan’s hob is a dangerous time for the clan, and they are frequently exploited by more intelligent or crafty races. Bugbears, orcs, and other humanoids can convince a clan to impart the title of hob onto a non-goblin, if they can make a strong argument for it. Mercenaries, bandits, and even conquering armies will absorb leaderless clans under their control. Goblin loyalty is always tenuous but their lack of foresight and predictably chaotic nature makes them ideal dogs to unleash in war. After a war however, goblins tend to develop a taste for bloodlust, and even the most mature hobgoblins will sometimes give in and become warlords in their own right. Goblin raids are not unheard of, and every village fears when a clan moves into the area to graze their thygoden for this very reason.

Average Intelligence

There are a number of misconceptions regarding goblinoids and their kin. The first is their inherent evil nature. Unlike the troglodytes or yuan-ti or any of the dark, corrupted races of the Shadowfell, goblins are not born with darkness in their hearts. Goblins represent the basal instincts within all mortal beings—they are deceitful, envious, aggressive, and also cowardly. These traits show themselves in unfortunate ways when goblins encounter other races. They tend to distrust other mortals, and so they lie. They envy the possessions of mortals, and so they steal. They are quick to anger, and so they lash out. But they are also fearful, and so frequently submit rather than endure pain. Hence, the old adage, “to squeal like a goblin.” The goblin have no restraint—this is both their defining trait and their greatest downfall.

Civilization and Culture

History

The religious texts are uncertain as to where goblins and their kin, hobgoblins and bugbears, originally came from. Goblins themselves build no great cities or repositories of lore, making any further speculation problematic. However, our strongest clue as to their mythic origins comes to us from their own religious practices. Goblinoids worship Oheilion, the Bloodied Lord.
Legend says that Oheilion was created by the Heavenly Council during the War of the Dawn with Valdra expressly to defeat the Dread Dragoness. Oheilion beat Valdra to submission while the other gods entombed her in the earth’s crust. But Oheilion’s power, his rage, was uncontrollable and during the Mithril Age, he nearly destroyed all of civilization on the fields of Maurencali. In this scorched landscape, he and his monstrous warlike creations were finally defeated. But rather than kill the Bloodied Lord, the other gods decided that Oheilion may yet come in useful should Valdra break from her chains beneath the earth. So Oheilion was banished to the charred fields of Maurenchali.
At some point, Oheilion created the orcs, his legions of followers who lived and died by his creed. However, around this same time, the goblinfolk appear in Mithrilic sources. Some scholars have suggested that the goblins were an earlier draft of the orcs, but lacking their brute strength, they were abandoned by Oheilion. Next came the bugbears, who were close to orcish in their violent nature, but preferred stealth over outright battle. Oheilion abandoned them as well before finally crafting his ideal champions. Despite being apparently abandoned by Oheilion, goblins still worship him as their creator.

Origin/Ancestry

Maurenchali

Lifespan

Goblin: 15 years; Hobgoblin: 60 years

Average Height

Goblin: 2'6" Hobgoblin: 5'10"