Goblin

Goblins tell their children repeatedly "Hide before they see you. You will never be trusted and always blamed." I've even heard adult goblins mutter this to themselves.

— Duke

To be greeted with fear and hatred, to suffer violence and insult in most communities. Living with the fear of being seen and being killed for merely existing: this is the lot of the goblin. And to drive the dagger home, goblins that travel and try to interact with the other races know full well the majority of their kin would gladly do all the stereotypical fiendish acts gleefully. Still, some do try to change their race's fate, they know evil is not in their blood but the environment. Their appearance is not far from many of the other fae. Yet, their greenish coloration and sharp teeth evoke fear and distrust in humans and halflings.
Manuiqapu The Wise, the mother goddess of the goblins, loved and protected them as any mother would. In some strange quirk of fate, she was killed in a practice duel or died in a tragic accident or was assassinated by jealous rivals. In short, the actual circumstances of her death are unknown to mortals. Her younger brother Puzur-Ishtar The Brute, took control of the goblins and their worlds. Without her careful control Puzur-Ishtar's more base nature manifested and he pushed his sister's creations according to his desires. Puzur-Ishtar turned out to be cruel, harsh, and jealous. Long before humans were encountered the goblin race had been reduced to tunnel crawling fiends embracing the vicious nature of their inherited god. Puzur-Ishtar wanted to be as glorious as his elder sister and so he elevated the most vicious and cunning goblins creating the race of hobgoblins. The hobgoblins soon replaced the goblins in Puzur-Ishtar's favor being stronger and more cunning in battle.
In an impossible attempt to regain Puzur-Ishtar's favor goblins took every chance to attacked humans, dwarves, and all others with glee and pride in the name Puzur-Ishtar hoping to be elevated and yet fearing the results. In spite of being the toys of Puzur-Ishtar, hunted and bullied by the hobgoblins they survived. Many of the older races remember the goblin craftsmanship and clever artificers of ancient times under the care of Manuiqapu with sad tones and looks of sympathy.
All the goblinoids lost their god Puzur-Ishtar to a great disaster. Once again the other gods are vague on details. What is known is that many of the older gods died in The Day Of Fire, giving all their powers to save the world. Puzar-Ishtar is named among the lost gods. The goblins gave in to despair having lost two gods. Many of the older races believe this is a sign of some flaw in the goblinoids. The goblins being the first and greatest of Manuiqapu's creations bear the brunt of this prejudice. The goblins themselves warn their children of their unlucky nature. These duo tragedies have left the goblins bitter and jealous of the other races.
Goblins make no offerings to any god and few remember or know of their ancient beginnings. In general, goblins as a race feel lost, betrayed, and hopeless against their fate which continues to blight their lives, the lives of their children, and worse is the fate for the lives of their children's children. They blame the other gods and races of the world for their downtrodden fate. This racial bitterness is passed on from generation to generation in deeds, words, tales, and actions. It takes a truly incredible resilient soul to resist these generational traits and attempt to interact with the rest of the races. Even when a goblin succeeds in earning the trust of a few others, they live in fear of rejection, persecution, and painful death.
In another twist of fate, the horrible god Maglubiyet the Mighty One, having no other creatures of his own still living, claimed all goblinoids for himself. Maglubiyet is every bit as cruel and harsh as Puzur-Ishtar The Brute. Like Puzur-Ishtar, Maglubiyet favors the race of hobgoblins above all other goblinoids making them the apex species of their tribes. Yet, descriptions of Maglubiyet are more of a giant goblin than a hobgoblin. The goblins, already use to a cruel god, have racially shrugged and accepted their fate as the unworthy, unlucky, and useless beings under the rule of the hobgoblins and the greater god Maglubiyet The Mighty One.

by LArtra

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Green skin, dark eyes, and sharp teeth will steal the breath from people who don't expect such a sight.
These thoughts crowded my mind as I watched helplessly.
"I'm not evil!" He wailed as the farmers closed in wielding shovels and pitchforks. Children and other folks screaming in fear behind the men holding their improvised weapons.
"Kill the beast!" They screamed as they cornered the lone goblin who curled into a fetal position trying uselessly to protect itself.
They beat it until it could not be recognized as a once-living being. I had to turn away and left that very evening. It had begged for mercy after doing nothing more than letting the wind pull its hood back. Now it was dead and hopefully with its god.
What could a lone elf scholar with only a small knife do to help? I wonder now if I should have done more. Could I have done more?
Now I seek out the goblins to write of them. In this small way, I may atone for my inactions of that day.

— Athmen of Bethy's Travels With Goblins Journal, 12040

Quick Attributes

Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity, +1 Constitution, -1 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom, -2 Charisma
Age: 17 to 120 years adulthood
Size: between 3 and 4.5 feet tall / Small
Speed: 25 ft
Vision: Nearsighted 30, Microscopic Vision 100x, Darkvision 30
Languages: Common, Goblin
Elemental Resistance: resistance to cold
Goblin Tunneling: ability to quickly tunnel through dirt.
Playable Subraces:
1. Trap Maker
2. Rat Keeper
3. Wolf Rider

Backstage Pass Content

Ready Made Goblin NPCs

Blackhearted Blood

The stereotype for goblins is that they are all small, black-hearted, selfish humanoids that lair in caves, abandoned mines, despoiled dungeons, and other dismal settings. Individually weak, goblins gather in large-sometimes overwhelming-numbers. They crave power and regularly abuse whatever authority they obtain.

Goblinoids

In truth, goblins belong to a family of creatures called goblinoids. Their larger cousins, hobgoblins, and bugbears like to bully goblins into submission. While generally not over achievers' goblins are raised to be greedy, self-serving, and opportunists. This makes them lazy and undisciplined and thus poor servants, laborers, and guards. They are still captured as slaves and can be forced to work. Most societies that have this type of slavery sell goblins very cheaply or have given up on using them.
However, hobgoblins have some technique for making goblins attentive enough to serve them individually. Goblins so taken will only be loyal to the hobgoblin they work for. If their master hobgoblin is killed all the goblin servants will run away at the first opportunity taking as much as they can carry.
Some goblin parents try to better themselves and their children. But they have to deal with a lot of cultural backlashes. Goblins are slightly less intelligent than their larger cousins but not necessarily evil. Their blood is black, but that is not from any nefarious or evil influence.

Malicious Glee

Their cultural upbringing makes them motivated by greed and malice towards all others. Hence goblins see nothing wrong, in fact, they can't help but celebrate the few times they have the upper hand. If a goblin wins anything, a fight, a game of cards, or even just finds a coin on the ground, it is very likely to dance and caper with the sheer joy of its victory. Once their revels end, goblins delight in the torment of other creatures and embrace all manner of pranks and verbal insults. In large numbers, this can be incredible to witness and very hard to not see as some kind of racial slant towards wickedness.

Leaders and Followers

Goblins are ruled by the strongest or smartest among them. A goblin boss might command a single lair, while a goblin king or queen (who is nothing more than a glorified goblin boss) rules hundreds of goblins, spread out among multiple lairs to ensure the tribe's survival. Goblin bosses are easily ousted, and many goblin tribes are taken over by hobgoblin warlords or bugbear chiefs.
The exception to this is goblin-wise-ones. Should a wise-one appear they will be the undisputed leader of all goblinoids for a hundred miles. Hobgoblins and bugbears will even come to kneel before the wise-one. Goblinoids will do all a wise-one asks with enthusiasm and surprising dedication.

Challenging Lairs

Goblins are devious and master trap builders. They have the ability to read natural and mechanical structures spotting their weaknesses. Generally, goblin lairs are rampant with alarms designed to signal and slow the arrival of intruders. Oddly goblins employ no deadly traps. All goblin traps are designed to slow or sound the alarm, often both, if the trap maker had additional time there will always be complex additional elements designed to humiliate and frustrate those entrapped. Even animal traps set by goblin hunters will not seriously harm animals caught in them and only hold caught animals for a few hours at most while ringing bells or making loud noises.
Goblin warrens are always riddled with narrow tunnels and bolt holes that human-sized creatures can't navigate, but which goblins can crawl through with ease, allowing them to flee or to circle around and surprise their enemies. Goblins can create such tunnels rapidly. Many a hunting party has run a goblin into a cave only to find it has dug an escape tunnel and vanished.

Rat Keepers and Wolf Riders

Goblins have an affinity for rats and wolves, raising them to serve as companions and mounts, respectively. Like rats, goblins shun sunlight and sleep underground during the day, but this is not because they cannot take the light. Like wolves, they are pack hunters, made bolder by their numbers. When they hunt from the backs of wolves, goblins use hit-and-run attacks.

For The Children

Although goblins are generally cowards, greedy, self-serving, and grungy they see hope in children. Goblins will do practically anything to protect children. They will lay down their lives to save a child in danger. This applies to children of all races. Goblins have been known to steal children from abusive families and cities delivering them hundreds of miles away to safe havens like temple orphanages which honestly look to their charges' health and education. A goblin may befriend a lost child, help it find its home, and then look in on it from time to time leaving secret gifts to help in growing up. No one, in their right mind, will threaten a child or use one as a hostage if goblins are present.
It is quite possibly the goblin protective nature toward kids combined with their great delight in using every means in their cunning minds to annoy those who live in the free open-air world is what earned them the vilest and bad myths. Yet, many times other fae races are given credit for goblin deeds, such as repairing shoes or mending fences for poor but good people with many children.

Maglubiyet the Mighty One

Most goblins refuse to worship any god. However, they believe to their core in a god entirely unique to all goblinoids named Maglubiyet. Maglubiyet the Mighty One, the Lord of Depths and Darkness, is a greater god who has adopted all goblinoids. Asking any goblinoid what Maglubiyet looks like will produce a horrifying description of an eleven-foot-tall battle-scarred goblin with black skin and fire erupting from his eyes.
Goblins do not worship Maglubiyet unless they have to, and they'll do almost anything possible to avoid his notice. Goblinoids believe that if they die in battle, their spirits join the ranks of Maglubiyet's army on the plane of Acheron. This is a "privilege" that all goblins dread, fearing the Mighty One's eternal tyranny even more than death. For this reason, they will always run from a deadly confrontation.
They are so concerned about Maglubiyet's notice they refuse to build deadly traps or to kill any sentient. If a sentient creature is killed in combat they are associated with there is as much probability of them running in panic as falling to the ground weeping in fear that Maglubiyet noticed the fight.

Backstage Pass Content

GM's Notes on Maglubiyet

Goblin Names

by LArtra

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Goblin names are unique and appear to have no similarities with any other race. In spite of settling across the world, their naming remains unusually similar despite distances and time removing various tribes from the rest. Goblins have one core name they use occasionally and prefer to find a nickname that makes them feel right.
Random Names: FantasyNameGenerators.com/goblin-names.php
Male Goblin Names: Grurd, Chird, Steebs, Juigz, Cuizz, Glioznulx, Gezeeq, Ihalb, Wriekvolx, Otnet
Female Goblin Names: Clial, Keeth, Truhe, Khofs, Cholalmi, Wypiq, Broipvyfz, Trylaze, Crifinx

Goblin Traits

All goblins share these racial traits.

Ability Score Adjustments

Your Dexterity score increases by 2, your Constitution score increases by 1, your Intelligence is reduced by 1, and your Charisma is reduced by 2.

Age

Goblins have lifespans slightly longer than humans. They enter adulthood at the age of 14 and generally live about 130 years.

Alignment

Goblin society is deeply suppressed under the tyranny of their god and the hobgoblins. Their lives of squalid poverty and subjugation make them generally greedy and self-serving with little loyalty for anyone.

Languages

You can speak, but not read, or write Common and Goblin.

Vision

You are Nearsighted 30, Microscopic Vision 100x, Darkvision 30.

Powerful Build

You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Size

Gablins are between 3' and 4'6" tall and weigh between 30 and 80 pounds. The males and females have no size difference. Your size is Small.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Underworld Resistance

You have resistance to cold.

Goblin Heritage

You move through dirt rat-like at 5 ft per round leaving a 4" tunnel or may dig tunnels through dirt large enough (barely) for humanoids to follow with little waste at a rate of 1 foot per round.

Goblin Upbringing

You have proficiency with two skills, choice of Athletics, Nature, Stealth, or Survival.

Goblin Subraces

Goblin Trap Maker

- Artificer Talent: roll with +2 for mechanical construction , traps (detecting, building, or disarming), or lock-picking
- Hunter Training: proficiency with choice of Deception, Insight, Investigation.
- Maker Training: proficiency with Perception, and one set of Artisan's Tools for choice of Carpenter, Cobbler, Cook, Leatherworker, Potter, Smith, Thief, Tinker, or Woodcarver

Goblin Rat Keeper

- Rat Senses: roll with +2 for Hearing Perception Skill checks
- Speak with Muroids: Ability to speak with rodents in the Muroids family (house mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, lemmings, and voles.)
- Call Giant Rat: Ability to call a giant rat which will act tame and perform as a mount.
- Rat Keeper Training: proficiency with Animal Handling (Rodents), and Perception

Goblin Wolf Rider

- Wolf Senses: roll with +2 for smell Perception Skill checks
- Speak with Carnivora: Ability to speak with animals in the Carnivora family (domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes, foxes, jackals, and dingoes.)
- Call Wolf: Ability to call a wolf which will act tame and perform as a mount.
- Wolf Rider Training: proficiency with Animal Handling (Carnivora), and Perception

Basic Information

Anatomy

Small thin Humanoid
Head and facial hair in various natural colors from but mostly a deep forest green that is often mistaken for black. Males have full facial hair as well. Females generally have no facial hair and lighter skin tones.
Older goblins have dark skin blemishes that look like large birthmark spots. The male and female head hair remains may lighten slightly becoming more obviously green as they age.
Males tend to baldness and rough patchy beards in their late years.

Genetics and Reproduction

Goblins mate for life. Goblin females have a seasonal cycle. If fertilization is successful they produce a single fetus in a soft-shelled wrap with only the head exposed at three weeks. The fetus/egg is slightly smaller than a chicken egg. The embryo is kept clean and placed in a birthing pouch under the breasts of the female. The embryo receives nutrients from chemicals produced by the inner lining and a special teat inside the pouch. Any goblin female may take over the raising process once the baby has come fully out of the shell wrap which happens at about two pouch-month-old. Goblin babies are taken out of the pouch at five months and begin a growing period similar to other sentients achieving maturity at twelve years of age.

Growth Rate & Stages

Goblin Growth by Leeland Artra

embryo

fertilization to three-weeks-gestation - embryos in their mother

fetus

birth to six-weeks-old - goblin fetuses are birthed contained in thin leathery eggs with a rudimentary head exposed and must be constantly kept in their mother's birthing pouch

infant

six-weeks-old to two-months-old - infants need constant care, cleaning, and their mother's milk until they shed the leathery shell at about two months

pouchling

two-months-old to five-months-old - pouchlings need careful care and a female goblin's milk from an exterior teat. Female goblins will begin producing milk within 24-hours of taking on a pouchling

child

five-months-old to 3-years-old - considered a child as soon as they are able to crawl on their own. Goblin children learning language and becoming fully self-aware by three-years-old.

kid

3 to 12-years-old - youth/kid being educated, trained, and matured according to tribal customs. A goblin kid has a reasonable chance of surviving if lost, stolen, or abandoned in the wilderness.

squire

12 to 18-years-old - required to take care of themselves and help their clan with societal tasks, taking care of kids, caring for the ill and elderly, patrolling, and hunting

adult

18 to ~120-years-old - full adult allowed to chose a mate and establish own home or live with larger family

elder

120-years-old + - when their spots begin to show and their skin lightens to bright greens.

wise-one

180-years-old + - rarely a goblin will live beyond the normal lifespan, these individuals' skin brightens to a lime green with no spots with leaf green hair, and their eyes become pure white. These rare individuals do not become senile and gain the ability to see and hear as in scrying even through magical barriors. They easily find anything they seek within hundreds of miles. No goblin will disobey or disagree with a wise-one.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Goblins are generally carnivores eating bugs, animals, and other protein sources. But, they can also eat vegetables but will complain constantly while doing it.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Goblins live in almost late stone-age warrens with clear leaders. Leaders are not chosen but become dominant through cunning and strength. If a goblin warren has a wise-one, the wise-one will be the undisputed ruler of all other warrens for a hundred miles in all directions. Goblins hunt and work in groups of three to eight. They cherish their children and will show no mercy to anyone who threatens or harms a child of any race especially a goblin child. Whole groups of goblins have been known to combine together to utterly destroy villages or towns where a villain lived. They will capture the children present and deliver them to some other settlement(s) or farm(s).

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Goblins are used as workers and guards for hobgoblin settlements. Hobgoblins feel a kind of parent-child relationship with goblins but only so far as taking them in as general laborers.

Facial characteristics

Goblin's noses and chins continue to grow their entire life. They have the same light nearly invisible fuzz hair all mammal races have. Their faces have sharp noses, long pointed ears which tend to go out more than up. Both male and female goblins have thick eyebrows with about 30% of the population having enough eye ridge hair to count as unibrows. Young and adult goblins have some faint freckling which grows more prominent and large with age.

Average Intelligence

Goblins are generally less intelligent than humans. But, they have an innate ability to understand mechanical principles.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Goblins are normally nearsighted with darkvision limiting their ability to distinguish things to 20 to 40 feet at any time. They have internal eye lenses which they can use to see near items at magnification levels up to 100x. Meaning they can see cellular structures, micro-bugs, and the individual grains of salt.

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Goblin Warrior Token by Leeland Artra

Origin/Ancestry

Created by Manuiqapu, adopted by Puzur-Ishtar at the death of Manuiqapu. Abandoned when the hobgoblins were made. When Puzur-Ishtar died no god took them up until Maglubiyet the Mighty One and they wish he hadn't.

Lifespan

160 years

Conservation Status

Goblins live in squalid hidden warrens in all areas of Niya-Yur except for elven and dwarven controlled regions.

Average Height

3' - 4' 6"

Average Weight

40 to 70 lbs.

Average Physique

Generally, slim going to gaunt. This is likely dietary-based.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Goblins have a similar variety in skin tones as humans and halflings, except instead of being pink-based their skins are shades of leaf and stem greens including some so dark as to be mistaken for black. Goblins have yellow or red eyes. Goblins over 140 years old have skin that lightens to a bright lime green skin, deep leaf green hair, and their eyes become pure white.