Goblins

Goblins are a small green humanoid race.

Biology and Abilities

Appearance

Goblins are humanoid, and, except for Hobgoblins, small. 

Lifespan

It is not known how long goblins live, as they all get killed before they die of old age.

Senses

Goblins have good night vision.

Physical Abilities

Although Goblins are considered a minor threat by most settlements of any size, when they do appear in huge numbers they are fully capable of wiping out villages, cities, and even nations.

Special Abilities

A Goblin Chieftain can see the memories of past Chieftains. 

Hobgoblins

Hobgoblins, or "Hobs", are Goblins who undergo what is described as a "late growth spurt" (it may be related to Levelling) that makes them about as tall as a human, also increasing their physical strength greatly. Though quite fat by human standards, Hobgoblins are deceptively fit and strong; again possibly thanks to a Skill, their added body mass, should they have any (for not every Hobgoblin is fat), does not seem to hinder them at all and instead provides additional protection, as some blades cannot penetrate it deeply enough to truly injure the Hobgoblin.

Greater Hobgoblins

Chieftain Tremborag is an example of what, pending further information, can only be called a Greater Hobgoblin. In his normal form Tremborag is already an unusually gigantic Hob, and even Goblins make the mistake of assuming he must be quite weak and may even be unable to stand upright. In battle however, Tremborag could shift — physically shift — into a more fearsome form, all of the apparent fat of his normal form rearranging itself as muscle. 

Goblin Chieftain

A Goblin Chieftain is essential to any tribe. Without one, the Goblins were aimless, no matter how many of them there were. A Chief could direct them, give them purpose. 

But being a Chief was more than just about leadership. It was also something that connected all Goblins. There was power in it, just as there was power in [Shamans]. Goblins gave their Chiefs and Shamans their abilities.

In a [Shaman]’s case, the more Goblins that were in the tribe, the more power their spells had. But a Chief took something different from their Goblins. They took memory.

It was something every Chief could do. They could remember things that had happened to their tribe, things that had happened years or even centuries in the past. This is extremely valuable, as Goblins remembered strategy or good places to hunt or hide. But it only worked with enough Goblins.

History

During the Goblin Crusades, multiple armies of Goblins rampaged throughout the north of Issrysil and sailed across to Terandria. There were at least a hundred thousand Goblins in each army, and their king even had a million Goblins at his back, when he was defeated in the Blood Fields.

Culture

Traditionally, "being a Goblin is fairly simple". Only a couple of things have to be thought of.

1. Survive
2. Obey your Chieftain
3. There isn't even a third thing to think of. That's was how simple it is.

The willingness to do anything to survive in spite of constant fear, combined with this obedience to the chieftain, seems to be the core of what "is" Goblin, at least in Rags's opinion.

Goblins possess a language, described as rough and unpleasant to speak; while used in cases of necessity, the Goblin tongue is usually eschewed by Goblins in favour of gesturing and pointing. For this reason, Goblins are expert at reading each others' body language. The Mountain City Tribe, among their many idiosyncrasies, were known to speak the Common Tongue (what Earth knows as English) instead of the Goblin Tongue, with some of them, such as their leader Tremborag, being quite fluent in the language.

Goblins receive their names from shamans. In case a tribe doesn't have a shaman they can't get a name, but for the sake of convenience they sometimes give each other nicknames. The only known exception to this rule was Rags, who received her name from a human. Although a shaman refused to acknowledge it as a "true" name, most agree all the same that Rags is truly her name and not a nickname. 

Known Goblins Tribes

• Biting Blade Tribe
• Bloody Hand Tribe
• Broken Spear Tribe
• Fire Bite Tribe
• Flooded Waters Tribe
• Ghostly Hand Tribe
• Gold Stone Tribe
• Jawbreaker Tribe
• Mountain City Tribe
• Old Fire Tribe
• Redfang Tribe
• Scale Slayer Tribe
• Still Grass Tribe
• Sword Taker Tribe

Goblin Kings

• Velan the Kind
• Curulac of a Hundred Days

Trivia

• Goblins grow up fast but don't necessarily die at 30 years old. Although it's rare to see one get that old.
• Goblins have regrowable teeth.
• Goblins are a bigger threat in the northern part of Izril than they are the southern.
• The offspring of Goblins are always Goblins regardless of the partner, male or female. But sometimes Goblins may inherit traits from their non-Goblin parents, which are often rape victims.