Goblin
The goblins are the only shadow race that seems to make an effort to get along with all the other races. These beings emphasize the value of cooperation within their own race, avoiding
the establishment of specialized tribal doctrines or cults, though they do maintain a firmly structured hierarchy in their government.
Goblins regard humans and elves as their worst enemies, dwarves and gnomes particularly
so, because they tend to inhabit the same regions as goblins do, and are sometimes angered that the other humanoid races, who might better be aiding or abetting the goblins’ cause by battling them, are instead so occupied with inter-tribal squabbling and power struggles.
Goblins try not to portray themselves as a threat to other humanoids, so as to avoid direct confrontations with them. They are, at the least, generally successful in winning the grudging goodwill of kobolds and bugbears, and are tolerated by other races. Goblins, like kobolds, are respectful of authority figures. Though they may be more accepting of non-goblin leaders than kobolds are of non-kobolds, they also see less need to knuckle under to such rulers, too, and are more likely to draw a line defining what their leaders may expect of them.
For all their tendencies to shy away from the limelight, goblins do desire power over the other races and generally prefer them over kobolds or other small humanoids as slaves and servants. They see torture and other public diversions like it to be instructive to their slaves in pushing home the slave’s proper place in the world.
Goblin chiefs and shamans are usually preoccupied with conquests of territory, and often perform or advocate robbery and theft as a way of gaining those things that goblins and
other humanoids should have. In some senses, goblins have a slight inclination toward lawful neutral alignment, though they nearly always retain the part of their evil nature that reflects their desire to loot and to rule others.
Goblin shamans of Maglubiyet often serve as intermediaries between hobgoblin and goblin folk and try to ensure that the former group doesn’t take extreme advantage of the latter. Shamans of the deities governing goblins more exclusively, like those of Khurgorbaeyag, devote their attention to the specific problems and needs of goblins in general and reinforce the oppression of the other races as the best course of action in the long run to ensure the well-being and security of goblinkind.
RPG Datasheet
Goblin
Volo's Guide to Monsters page 119Much of this section, by necessity, ties into the Dungeons and Dragons Role Playing Game by Wizards of the Coast. Any non-original material that is found herein remains under the ownership of the originating author and is not intended to violate any laws. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of any person, living or dead or undead, real or fictitious, male or female, religious or atheist, bald or full head of hair, stubbled or fat-bearded. No people or animals, other than the author's sanity, were harmed in the creation of this article. Please wash your hands after going to the washroom. For entertainment purposes only.
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