Rites of Triumph

The Rites of Triumph are performed by some malevolent goblins as celebration of victory.

History

Long ago, goblins were mostly ruthless bandits who took pleasure in causing suffering to others, and while some never abandoned these ways, by the time the Great Cataclysm happened, most had abandoned this lifestyle and joined the societies of other humanoids, and while some resentment remained, they had generally been accepted. After the cataclysm, however, when humanoid societies had almost completely vanished on the planet's surface, many goblins returned to a tribal lifestyle of raiding and killing, though now they fought mostly with each other. "The Rites of Triumph" refer to any number of varieties of debased celebration of victory that these goblins engage in.

Execution

Not all evil goblin tribes perform the rites, and those that do each have their own particulars. Singing and dancing are universal, however. The more tame versions of the rites are little more than that, but most are quite gruesome. It is common to collect the corpses of enemies and perform the rites around them, and if living captives are acquired, they are often tortured to death. Their remains are frequently fashioned into trophies, tools, or weapons, and the most heinous tribes engage in cannibalism. Most commonly, the dead are roasted on spits while the living are boiled alive in an oversized cauldron to make stew. Any who try to escape the pot will be gleefully pushed back in by the revelers using sticks or clubs.

Cultural Significance

Those goblins that have refused to fall like their kin view the rites as emblematic of the terribleness of the entire lifestyle. "Learning the rites" is slange among these goblins for the act of joining one of these tribes and abandoning one's old values.