Goblins
Goblins, known in their native Vardic as Vittor, are small and skittish humanoids well-suited to dark and damp places and with cunning minds. Like Orcs the common mainland legends of them having green skin are inaccurate, as it is due to the tattooing practices that are endemic to the Vard.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Small humanoid
Ecology and Habitats
Though they can and often do move around in the day in deference to their diurnal friends and allies, Vittor are naturally nocturnal beings who prefer the dim and chill of underground caves. They tend to struggle in high temperatures and dry places. They tend to carve and dig abodes and settlements out of the rock with their sharp claws and there are some stories of them also biting through stone.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Vittor do not naturally have eating cycles and tend to just eat whenever they need to or have the opportunity to, but adapt well enough to cultural mealtimes. They can eat most anything and even uncooked flesh, but that is reserved for more emergency situations and never by a Vittor in a settlement.
Vittor are the masters of two food types: fungi and fermentation. Their natural living quarters obviously led to this mastery as it lends itself well to controlled spoilage and has the perfect conditions for growing mushrooms. They also have their own underground livestock of very creepy underground goats. In the Scattered Isles their stocks of fermented fish, goat cheese and mushrooms form a staple part of the diets of all species, traded for red meat, fruit, and vegetables.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Vittor don't really have gendered names and rarely keep track of family names as such. Instead women are known as the daughters of their mothers and men as the sons of their fathers until a name is chosen for them depending on some trait or talent of theirs. It's also not uncommon for Vittor to pick new names for themselves and pick up new names after incidences. Their actual meaning may not be obvious to outsiders, as something the Vittor consider a flaw might be seen by others as an asset. Personality trait names are also more likely to be given as Vittor get older and are considered much closer to the true nature of a person than names based on physical traits.
However, Vittor also usually pick names from other cultures to communicate with them, as people can sometimes find their names disturbing or uncomfortable. For this reason if you ask most Vittor their name, they will give you a Vard one and usually offer their original name only after more pressing or in place of a family name. This is how you end up with names such as 'Erna the Braveone'- Erna is her Vard name and Braveone her Vittor name.
Some Physical Trait Names:
Lightfoot, Shadowling, Whisperwalk - Those that are particularly quiet and sneaky Runtish, Wee-one, Small - Those that remain smaller than average Nearhuman, Broadchest, Large-one, Strongman - Those that grow larger than average Sharpend, Burrower, Mouthful- Those with particularly sharp teeth or clawsSome Personality Trait Names:
Oldheart, Eldertongue, Ancienteye- Regardless of age, Vittor can be given names like this if they show particular wisdom and maturity Braveone, Braveheart - Bravery is considered more stupid and unpredictable by Vittor, as they essentially define it as 'being afraid but doing something dangerous or terrible anyway'. Responsible, Paintaker, Shoulderer - All mean the same basic thing, somebody who takes on the problems and responsibilities of the people around them, even when they aren't asked to and probably shouldn't for their own sake. Orderly, Careful, Exactone - Someone who is careful and thoughtful in their actions, often make good mushroom farmers. Surestep, Grass-stalker, Starmapper, Airhead, Sunwalker - Those that thrive in the outdoors, often as hunters or scouts. Storyteller, Quiet-Truth, Faceless, Honeytongue - Despite what you might think from 'storyteller' it doesn't denote an entertainer; instead names like these denote people who act in such a way that it is hard to pin down their true personality or they are people who wouldn't allow anything to tell them how to act. Such individuals are viewed with some wariness by the broad Vittor community but are usually helpful still, if sometimes rather chaotic, and tend to be best at communicating with other races.Major Language Groups and Dialects
While they have their own language known as Vitta, with individual dialects for each clan, many of them also speak at the very least Vardic and seem to find it relatively easy to pick up languages via imitation.
Lifespan
50 years
Average Height
3'2-3'10
Geographic Distribution
Related Ethnicities
