Latest revision as of 12:49, 14 June 2017

Goblins.

Goblins are... probably public domain? The goblins as presented here have their origins in a psionic goblin variant presented in D&D 3e's Psionics Handbook.

Goblins

"To live is to suffer. But we will endure."

The origins of the goblins as a people are lost to time: when Anabstercorian opened the doorway from the Penumbral Empire to Trinity, the torrent of psionic energy he unleashed in doing so perturbed the world memory in such a way that much of the memory before that event, pertaining to the lands of Lotharien, has become effectively encrypted. Some theorize that goblins are the result of hobgoblins and one of the Lynaen races becoming intermixed, though when this would have happened is uncertain. Regardless, modern goblins share little in common with their ancestors, having been subject to slavery under the illithids for many generations, which warped their people, both ideologically and in other ways.

What is known is that the goblins that were enslaved by Anabstercorian and his fellows were barely sentient, and were used as manual labor by the alhoon and his minions. As their presence slowly warped the very fabric of Lotharien, echoes of their psionic abilities drenching the continent in that Force, the goblins - with their shorter lifespans, quick maturation rates, and tendency to have many children - were similarly affected, growing slowly but noticeably with each generation more intelligent and developing a strong affinity for Psionics.

Eventually, the goblins orchestrated an uprising, being the only servitor race that had the numbers and Psionic abilities many believed were necessary to oust the alhoon and his compatriots. It was decided that the only way to end the threat with any kind of permanence was to sink the continent. It took months to organize, but when the appointed day came, every goblin - and other Psionically-active slaves - concentrated their mental power on the one ideal of sinking Lotharien beneath the waves.

Their gambit worked.

While most of the other slave races returned to normal after a few generations, the goblins would forever carry with them the changes induced by the illithids. Their hardship during their servitor generations has been imprinted in the race as a whole: despite their slavery having been so very long ago, goblins of today feel much the same way about life as the first goblins smart enough to understand their situation.

Personality: Goblins have a somewhat fatalistic view of the world, which is imprinted into their minds due to a quirk of the conditions under which their ancestors attaining significant intelligence. How they react to that fatalism is rather varied, but it is a core component of every goblin's personality and cannot be changed without external assistance.

Goblins often react harshly to enslavement of others, and most would rather die than be put in chains. Those that do suffer enslavement do so with an understanding that they will immediately start seeking a way out of their situation, and any compunctions they might have about taking the lives of other creatures is typically ignored in respect to their temporary masters.

Physical Description: Most goblins are just over three feet tall, and are often somewhat gaunt for their height. Skin coloration varies; most goblins are some variation of green, but blue and shades of teal are not uncommon, and blue skin is believed to indicate a stronger affinity for Psionics (while once true, due to mixing between the two groups, blue skin is no longer an indicator for this stronger affinity). Goblins have noticeably large, sharp ears, and some have quite elongated noses - the significant physical differences are due to large groups of goblins not intermixing under enslavement, resulting in what were originally small differences becoming compounded over generations. Goblins have some body hair, mostly on top of their heads, which is typically brown or black, though some goblins like to dye it unusual colors. Goblin eye color is typically rather vivid, with yellow, orange, and red being most common, purple being somewhat uncommon, and steel being rather rare.

Relations: Goblins get along passably well with most races. While one would expect that they get along better with members of races who had been similarly enslaved, goblins feel that - due to their much shorter lifespan - their people were effectively enslaved for much longer, which can sour those relations.

As a race with an affinity for Forces, goblins typically get along better with races that share those affinities, and not so much with people of races who have opposed affinities. Goblins have a particular distaste for those who wield Magic, as it as a mage who attempted to destroy the force of Psionics; that he also raised their ancestral home is generally treated as also problematic, as the sinking of Lotharien had been done in an attempt to seal away Anabstercorian and destroy the portal to the Penumbral Empire. Once again, the goblin racial memory imprint plays a role in how even modern goblins feel, as these strong emotional reactions continue to echo down through the generations.

Ethos: Morally, as a general whole, goblins tend to have a strange mix of White and Black virtues - while they are somewhat strongly communal and believe in the good of the many, they are also jaded and fatalistic in outlook. They are generally careful to not let their emotions show, and use logic and reason to dictate their actions; it was only through caution and careful planning that they were able to overthrow the illithids, and due to their racial memory imprint, these values have persisted over time.

Ethically, goblins tend to espouse Brown and anti-Pink virtues. While they believe in the community as a whole, most view kindness and mercy as weakness - the illithids often ate the brains of those who were too compassionate for their fellows, and the goblins who survived tended to become aloof from one another. While they still believe in emphasizing the greater good, most goblins believe that the best way to pursue that goal is through personal improvement and an almost ruthless approach to attaining their goals. Essentially, they hold a "survival of the fittest" belief system, albeit one developed in a very unusual ecosystem.

Goblin Lands: Goblins are almost universally from Lotharien; those who survived the sinking of the continent fled to the Lost Isle, and when the continent was raised, many returned. As with all races, there are some who travel abroad, and goblins are not unheard of in most places, but are relatively rare elsewhere.

Religion: Goblins have a pantheon of Saints, but their fatalistic worldview tends to skew them more towards nihilism. All of the goblin saints are individuals from when their people overthrew the illithids and sank Lotharien; while there have almost assuredly since been goblins worthy of ascension, a combination of their outlook on life combined with the racial memory imprint makes these figures continue to loom large in the minds of goblins, and scholars theorize that this will most likely never change unless something disrupts the memory imprint within the goblin people as a whole.

Some goblins - especially those who travel beyond their ancestral home - may look to other Saints for inspiration. This is especially true for goblins who shake off the fatalistic view of their people; many of the Saints, while generally well-intentioned for goblins, have a bleak outlook on existence.

Language: Goblins have no tongue of their own; when they attained sufficient intelligence to develop language, they were already in an environment with other individuals who had language, and have never bothered to develop their own. Most goblins speak Tsavashi, the common language most prevalent in Lotharien, but Lynaen is also somewhat common.

Names: Goblin names are harsh and disharmonious, and not part of any natural language. As goblins had not developed language when first enslaved, their illithid masters effectively gave them names, by using combinations of pejoratives and descriptors. These names were transmitted wholly telepathically, however, and had no linguistic equivalent. Goblins have retained this particular means of naming themselves, which means their names can only be "spoken" telepathically; to facilitate communication with non-telepaths, goblins often take on a spoken moniker, which could be an attempt to translate their telepathic name to speech, a name taken from another culture they're familiar with, or a common word they feel identifies them (some goblin adventurers who travel in lands with few goblins take "goblin" or "gobbo" as a spoken name). In some way, the way goblins name themselves is the extent of the goblin "language."

When enslaved, goblins were marked with a symbol to represent the illithid who owned them, and were usually geometric patterns of some kind (bars and lines were most common, being simple and easy to reproduce). Goblins owned by different illithids rarely interacted while enslaved; over time, the goblins treated these effectively as extended families. Today, goblins are given the mark of their tribe when they reach adulthood. Over time, these markings have been given names, which function effectively as tribal names.

Male Names: Fixgaz, Kaxix, Maxink, Soxxik, Zexaz, Zixnaxaz

Female Names: Caliglyx, Ixzelly, Lilmezel, Ryezbels, Meeyx, Ypbxee

Tribal Names: F'calx, J'lathe, K'alyz, M'baton, R'wynx, Z'thrun

Adventurers: Goblin adventurers exist, deal with it.

Goblin Culture

The following is a rough overview of some of the highlights of goblin culture.

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Goblins Are Responsible For...

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Goblin Racial Prestige Classes

• Goblin Medium: Through intense meditation and focus on the racial imprint, goblins learn to unite Psionics and the Blue into a seamless whole, channeling the psionic might of their ancestors.

Goblin Racial Traits (t20v4)

• +2 Dex, +2 Wis, -2 Cha. Goblins are naturally deft and intuitive, but can be somewhat abrasive in their dealings with others.
• Size: Small.
• Speed: 6 squares (30 feet).
• Vision: Normal, low-light.
• Telepathy: Goblins have telepathy with a range of 10 squares (50 feet). A creature who would be communicated with telepathically is aware of the attempt, and can refuse to communicate in that manner. This is a mind-affecting, language-dependent effect.
• Sneaky: Goblins gain a +1 race bonus to stealth potency.
• Hardened Mind: Goblins have innate barrier (psychic).
• Slave No More: Goblins have a +4 race bonus to Defenses against effects that would cause the dominated condition.
• Psionic Affinity: If you ever become a manifester, you can take one Psionic feat of your choice as a bonus feat; you must meet all of the feat's prerequisites. The Psychic feat does not count as a [Job] feat for you for purposes of maximum number of [Job] feats you can have at a time.
• Blue Affinity: If you ever become a memeticist, you can take one Memetic feat of your choice as a bonus feat; you must meet all of the feat's prerequisites. The Logician feat does not count as a [Job] feat for you for purposes of maximum number of [Job] feats you can have at a time.

Goblin Feats

The following are a selection of feats that are relevant to goblins.