Goblins are renowned foragers, treasure hunters, and salvagers. Goblin traders venture throughout Mangal to trade their wares with lizardfolk, humans, and anyone else they can find.  

Physiology and Lifecycle

The goblins of Mangal are somewhat unique in appearance and behavior. Humans dubbed them "bindlewise" when they arrived long ago, differentiating them from the goblins they had encountered in other worlds. They are squat, standing between 3 and 4 feet tall, with broad noses, large triangular ears, and covered with mottled brown or black hair over most of their bodies. Males typically have a stockier build, with bright-colored faces of blue, green, or red. Females are lighter, with olive, brown, or grey faces. Goblins are typically born in litters of up to 3 after about four months, reach maturity in their early teens. They can live as long as 60 years, but few live to that venerable age.   While there are exceptions, bindlewise goblins tend to segregate themselves along gender lines more than other races. Most females live in densely populated warrens and spend their days foraging for medicinal roots and mushrooms, salt, and blackscale. Goblins living in the warrens tend to be cautious and avoid other races when possible. Female goblins are a rare sight for most other races.   Males primarily live a nomadic lifestyle in trading bands. These bands are groups of one or two dozen goblin traders and guards. They move between several settlements exchanging goods and occasionally ferry members of other races through the jungle. Since they spend a lot of time away from the safety of the warrens, male goblins seldom live to a ripe old age. They replenish their numbers by adopting juvenile males from the warrens they pass through.  

Culture and Traditions

Goblins have very few recognizable traditions. They do have formal legal systems or marriage rituals. Children are raised by community elders, with little attention paid to their parentage. Goblins will often have fond memories of the "Aunties" who raised them and their various "cousins" from their home warren. These terms of endearment are more borrowed words than accurate descriptions of their relationships.   Bindlewise goblins typically act much less aggressively than their counterparts on other worlds. They are shrewd negotiators and have a knack for remembering fine details. They are also collectors of rare items. Every goblin will have a bindle of the prestigious items they have traded for or found by the time they reach adulthood. Many of these items are not particularly valuable in the eyes of other races; goblins value rarity over practicality.  

The Bindlemute

The one custom almost universal among the bindlewise is the Bindlemute. When unfamiliar goblins meet, they will open up their bindles and show their treasures to one another. It serves as both a way of determining relative status, opening up potential trades, and sharing information about the items they've found. Other races are often astounded by how many random items goblins seem to recognize. This tradition is likely the source of that knowledge.  

Views on Other Races

• Canopy Elves. "Dangerous, unpredictable as strangers, very valuable friends. Know a lot about old, forgotten things."
• Pithlings. "Good woodwork, but impossible to get them to part with it. Hard to trust small folk who don't want anything."
• Hagspawn. "Worth five cousins as a guard, easy. Just don't ask 'em any questions about why they want to sign on."
• Humans. "Tall folk make so many things. And each one wants more of something!"
• Lizardfolk. "The scalies ain't complicated. All they ever want is salt for tanning hides and information about nearby threats. All they ever have to trade are hides and meat."