Goblin
In eons past, the humans who followed Kusatta became the orcish people through extensive use of the earliest and foulest forms of necromancy; 'Dark Shamanism; and they traveled across the world for many years after their exile come the end of the War of Broken Chains. To fuel their addiction to Dark Shamanism and their Magic, they drained the life from passing wildlife, but, to the highest priests among their ranks, this was not enough. Heavy withdrawal drove them, in their desperation, to prey on the weakest of their own kind. During nights when passing wildlife failed to sate them, they kidnapped infants and children and drew their life essence, and left the drained for dead out in the wilderness to fend for themselves. Though many perished, some survived, but at a grave cost. They became heavily mutated. Their skin turned from shades of grey to yellow, to a sickly green. Worse still, they became afflicted with a strange form of stunted growth. Seeking refuge in caverns and caves, they formed their own tribes, long forgetting their orcish ancestry. The former orcish children became something else entirely; goblins.While diminutive and lacking in individual strength, goblins reproduce rapidly, and through their sheer strength of numbers, their early conquests of territory came easily. Small, scattered tribes of goblins became hundreds, and over centuries as tribes gathered power, conquered, and absorbed smaller tribes, great warbands marched across plains and forests, raiding and pillaging the earliest settlements of other races. Since these times, goblins are commonplace in many of the world's hidden nooks and crannies, always seeking to eke out a living.

Growing up as a Goblin
Goblins grow quite rapidly and are considered adults at 5 years of age. Abundant breeding, fast maturation, and adaptable physiology give goblins the ability to thrive in nearly any climate. In times of abundance, goblins multiply even faster than normal, resulting in overpopulation and the eventual escalation of raiding. Goblin parenting consists primarily of making sure young goblins get food and don't wander too far. Until they're old enough to walk freely among the rest of the tribe, goblin young are often restrained with chains, ropes, and crude cages. Violence among young goblins is quite common and even encouraged by their tribes. Entertainment in the form of toddler goblin fights is not unheard of, and they may be armed with small knives, scavenged armaments, or just their own juvenile teeth and claws. Goblins who reach physical maturity are expected to be able to feed themselves; those who can't are left to starve. The abilities to hunt, steal, and bully weaker folk lead to positions of influence and power within the tribe. Some goblins have a special knack for crafting weapons and mechanical objects used in the act of murder or destruction, though not many have the patience or skill with machines that kobolds do.Tribal Societies
A goblin tribe is organized in a four-tiered caste system made up of lashers, hunters, gatherers, and pariahs. The status of every family in the tribe is based on its importance to the tribe's survival. Families that belong to the higher-ranking castes keep their status by not sharing their knowledge and skills with other families, while those in the lower castes have little hope of escaping their plight. Outsiders who don't understand the goblins' social system are sometimes surprised by how different castes interact with them. A single human warrior might frighten away a dozen gatherers, only to be shocked when two hunters viciously attack. A captured group of invaders might hang in a net while dozens of goblins pass by and pay them no heed until a group of gatherers shows up. Lashers. The closest thing a goblin tribe has to nobility is the caste of lashers; families of goblins trained in the ways of battle and key skills such as strategy, trap-building, beast taming, mining, smelting, and forging. If the tribe has any spellcasters, this caste includes them. Lashers follow the lead of the tribe's boss and enforce their will on other goblins with whips. Hunters. The families of goblins that are skilled in the use of weapons but not privy to any other special knowledge have the second-highest status in the tribe.
Status Symbols
Goblins love symbols of authority, and thus the tribe's boss often has such trappings wherever he or she goes. Such a symbol can take a typical form, perhaps a crown or a throne, but also can be a more distinctive object like a high-backed wolf saddle or colorful boots. The castes in a tribe also adopt symbols to indicate membership or kinship, but the symbols used are rarely the same between different tribes and often make little sense to other creatures.
Booyahgs
Spellcasters of any sort among goblins are rare. Goblins typically lack the intelligence and patience needed to learn and practice wizardry, and they fare poorly even when given access to the necessary training and knowledge. Their species-wide illiteracy, born of a superstition that writing steals the words out of your head, means even the few goblins with a talent for Magic or alchemy have little opportunity to learn about these subjects. As a result, practitioners of these difficult arts are often both awed and feared. Sorcerers are less prevalent among them than in many other races, and the Goblin King seems to dislike sharing his power with his followers except in cases where he can trust them. Although many goblins would readily offer anything to have the abilities of a warlock, the patrons that grant such power know a goblin is unlikely to be able to uphold its end of any bargain. Even when a goblin is born with the ability to become a spellcaster, the knowledge, and talent necessary to carry on the tradition rarely persists for more than a couple of generations. Because they have so little experience with magic, goblins make no distinction between its forms. To them all magic is "booyahg," and the word is part of the name they give to any of its practitioners. A goblin with access to booyahg becomes a member of the lashers and can often rise to the role of boss. From an early age, goblins develop an obsession with fire. Goblins need little excuse to start a bonfire in celebration of anything, and goblin practical jokes often involve setting fire to other goblins or their possessions. Religious rituals, celebrations, funerals, and feasts all involve huge bonfires, and when goblins go to war, they bring fire with them. This obsession with fire translates seamlessly to magic usage, and most goblin spellcasters will heavily utilize fire magic for its destructive capabilities.Goblin Lairs
Tribes of goblins take up residence in shrouded valleys, shadowy forests, and caves and tunnels beneath the surface of the world. Capable miners and crafters, goblins seek to settle in places where they can get the raw materials to make weapons and armor. Their need for iron and other metals sometimes puts them in conflict with other races, but just as often, goblins get what they need by claiming mines abandoned by other races and scratching away at veins thought to be played out.Not all Goblins are Selfish
Though goblins have a poor reputation overall, not all goblins are awful. Some goblins have risen to become heroes, gaining enough renown to be accepted into the civilized world of other races. Goblins seeking this path may find it difficult to overcome the sense of selfishness and green ingrained into them by their culture, but those who do often find it can be more rewarding, in the long run at least, to serve some form of common good rather than to serve themselves. Many goblins who leave for life among other races are females, driven away by the rigidly structured role of motherhood they are expected to play in goblin society. Other goblins try to recreate the circumstances of their culture, preying on the weaknesses of others in non-goblin communities. Others attempt to make a living for themselves setting up businesses, trading goods, and making bargains. Normally the goods on sale are acquired by shady means. Goblins who become adventurers or those who join the societies of other races, particularly those who seek to do good in the world, are likely to have been victims of goblin society. They may have been exiled for one reason or another, be in through questioning the methods of their hobgoblin masters, criticizing the Goblin King, or freeing captured slaves. Non-evil goblin adventurers are seen by wider goblin society as exceptionally weird aberrations and most other goblins would likely become hostile to them.Goblin Names
The Goblin’s position as the lowest level of green-skin affords them two naming conventions. The first is the cast system. Lashers tend to cling to titles, like “Fear Clinger” or “Arrow Snatcher”. This is to bring the lower castes under their leadership and to hold their right to the title of chieftain. The names of Goblins become sharper the higher their caste is; a Pariah might have a very short, soft name. A Hunter usually has a name that is a near-showmanship of their skill by itself. Generally, goblin names are only a few syllables long and favor hard consonants and “z’s”.Male Names: Bozaak, Crord, Crurk, Drurrogz, Glalb, Greasz, Lenk, Plutork
Female Names: Glafsee, Imtiz, Jealx, Kex, Mezz, Nosrix, Qofzea, Vreldai
Goblin Traits
Ability Score Increase. Increase one ability score by 2, and increase a different one by 1, or increase three different scores by 1.
Age. Goblins reach adulthood at age 5 and can live up to 100 years. However, most die before the age of 20 due to their chaotic, warmongering, and accident-prone lives.
Alignment. Goblins are typically neutral or chaotic evil, as they care only for their own needs. When in a war-band lead by a hobgoblin warlord, they tend towards lawful evil. A few goblins might tend toward good or neutrality, but only rarely.
Size. Goblins are between 3 and 4 feet tall and weigh between 40 and 80 pounds. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Fury of the Small. When you damage a creature with an attack or a spell and the creature's size is larger than yours, you can cause the attack or spell to deal extra damage to the creature. The extra damage equals your level. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Trapcrafting. You have advantage on ability and tool checks made to detect, create, and disarm traps.
Nimble Escape. You can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns.
Enhance Weapon. You can improvise bizzare methods to make non-magical weapons more deadly. Choose a non-magical weapon you can see within reach. Over the course of a minute, you grant it a non-magical +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Tinkerer. You have proficiency with Tinker's Tools.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Trade-tongue and Goblin.
Notable Goblins
Goblin Traits
As a goblin, you have the following traits.Ability Score Increase. Increase one ability score by 2, and increase a different one by 1, or increase three different scores by 1.
Age. Goblins reach adulthood at age 5 and can live up to 100 years. However, most die before the age of 20 due to their chaotic, warmongering, and accident-prone lives.
Alignment. Goblins are typically neutral or chaotic evil, as they care only for their own needs. When in a war-band lead by a hobgoblin warlord, they tend towards lawful evil. A few goblins might tend toward good or neutrality, but only rarely.
Size. Goblins are between 3 and 4 feet tall and weigh between 40 and 80 pounds. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Fury of the Small. When you damage a creature with an attack or a spell and the creature's size is larger than yours, you can cause the attack or spell to deal extra damage to the creature. The extra damage equals your level. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Trapcrafting. You have advantage on ability and tool checks made to detect, create, and disarm traps.
Nimble Escape. You can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns.
Enhance Weapon. You can improvise bizzare methods to make non-magical weapons more deadly. Choose a non-magical weapon you can see within reach. Over the course of a minute, you grant it a non-magical +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Tinkerer. You have proficiency with Tinker's Tools.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Trade-tongue and Goblin.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
20 (Goblins can live up to 100 years, but most die before then due to war, accidents, or violence)
Average Height
3' 5"
Average Weight
45 lb.
Geographic Distribution
- Cairn Alm
- Casmian Vale
- Dagmurn Highlands
- Daran Uum
- Dead Wastes
- Drothmoore Wilds
- Dusken Rosefields
- Ebonwood Forest
- Elenwin Vales
- Finnora Wetlands
- Garand's Ridge Mountains
- Hollow Valley
- Iotia
- Jorfall
- Karthan Isles
- Koruna Hinterlands
- Mattanyor Canyons
- Milterre Forest
- Morbog
- Patrician Midlands
- Sandow Thicket
- Sintallian Forest
- Tarratona Isle
- The Known World
- Vilkross Savannah
- Trixxi
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