Friday 3 August 2018

The Goblin-peoples

Caraxan goblins are not the same as your run of the mill goblins. Of all intelligent species in Caraxe, goblins at the most numerous and varied. They come in all shapes, sizes, colours, and demeanours.


Maybe they evolved first. Maybe they originated in a magical accident. Whatever the reasons there's tons of them. They outnumber humans. But they aren't sadistic dumb-dumbs any more than humans are. Crucially, they're not orcs either. Orcs are as orcs do. They are tough and hard as steel cords; fanged, yellow-eyed, and covered in black bristles, agents of the Orc Way, guardians of the Creator. Orcness is more like religion than a species.


Goblins, by contrast, are just a species; often flabby with huge, bat-like ears, mostly hairless and harmless. (Although, facing a hammerhead goblin warrior, tribally tattood, half-naked, ripped with muscle and baring his incisors, you may as well be facing an orc). Their skin colours contain all those of mundane humans and more exotic ones as well.

Again, they are not Orcs. Goblins are people, not monsters. They live in multi-species cities, serve in armies and as clerks. Their faces are human-like, caricatured and stretched by their specific breed. They are intelligent. Adventurer-wise, goblins are likely to favour conventional weaponry over magic. They're pragmatic. Specific goblin traits depend on the sub-species or breed.

Breeds include:
Grey Goblins
Hammerhead Goblins
Night Goblins
Longhaired Goblins
Proboscis Goblins
Hive Goblins (these are often hostile)
Blind cave Goblins (often hostile)
And many many others...

Goblins are like dogs, or fruitflies. Their genes are slippery and mutate fast. Lock 20 city goblins in a dungeon for three generations and the kids will come out blind with huge ears, amazing senses of smell, a very odd sense of humour and a taste for rats. This is why there's so many breeds.

If you play as a goblin, you get to pick (or invent) a breed.

The race bonus of Goblins in general is:

Bitey: unlike other species, Goblins, with their sharp teeth and adaptable stomach can digest almost anything less hard than stone. A Goblin is likely to bite his way out of trouble - wood, earth, bone, even metal, given enough time, must fall before a Goblin's teeth. 

Strong Stomach: They don't require rations or water since they can digest most anything and are immune to poison damage through eating.

Breed Talent: Alternatively, a player may want to invent a Goblin breed with a specific racial bonus. Be it dark vision, limited flight, amazing hearing, burrowing skills, elastic bones, or anything the DM approves.

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