Goblins

== Goblins== “So I got you that Dwarven Hall-Made crossbow you wanted last time we were in town, and I even managed to get some of those Hall-made armor piercing bolts. Stolen? No, no...I just know a guy who knows a guy. Trust me, friend. You’re getting a real bargain here.”

- An anonymous goblin merchant, making a deal

Along the roads and highways of Estia, it is not uncommon to come across traveling goblin caravans - lines of ramshackle wood and metal wagons festooned with goods and trinkets for sale, trundling from city to city as the goblins roam the Four Kingdoms and beyond. For as long as anyone can remember, goblins have lived at the outskirts of the civilized world, surviving off what they can barter for, repair, or at worst, steal. Diminutive, cunning and slightly sinister looking, goblins have an only partially unfair reputation as thieves, con artists and swindlers extraordinaire. This is tempered by their entirely deserved reputation as tinkerers, handymen and procurers of the rare, unsavory and illicit. The result is that it is a rare community willing to live side-by-side with a clan of goblins, whereas their itinerant caravans are welcome most everywhere...for a while. The arrival of a goblin caravan is something of a spectacle, as the wagoners unhitch their carts, roll out oft-repaired banners touting their wares, and set to hawking. All manner of things are available, from repairs for household goods, to exotic items from far-off lands (some of which are even genuine), to magical goods, such as potions, philters, charms and more. Then, after a few short days, the goblins are off again, moving on to the next deal, the next city, where hopefully the local constables have forgotten the caravan’s last visit.

Physical Description Goblins appear at first to be quite comical creatures - they stand between three and four feet high, are bandy-legged with wide, flat feet, and have large, expressive mouths. Their noses are large for their head, and are often either long and pointed or wide and bulbous, and their ears are pointed and quite large, often drooping out to the sides from their heads. However, their eyes gleam with fierce intelligence, and their limbs are corded with wiry muscle. Their skin ranges from ochre to green, ranging in shades from a light grassy green to almost black. Neither male nor female goblins have much in the way of body hair, and in males any hair at all tends to be sparse or patchy, thus many goblin men shave their heads.

Society Goblin society is built around extended family units, called “kins”. Each kin is made up of several allied families, who travel together in a caravan or sometimes attempt to establish a permanent settlement. The kin is led by a single goblin, known as a “kinboss”. The kinboss can be any goblin in the kin, regardless of age or gender, and is selected by the heads of each family in the kin based on his or her shrewdness and ability to ensure the safety and well-being of the kin as a whole. These kins make up the entire social structure of goblin culture, and the members are fiercely loyal to each other, as the survival of a kin depends entirely upon the ability of its constituent members to work together against a largely hostile and suspicious world. Different kins may make an alliance or even merge if survival demands it, but they are just as likely to compete or even make war on one another for right of trade in a particularly lucrative area, or for control of land or goods.

Relations Goblins as a whole are quite sociable and friendly to other races on the surface, but all too often this is merely a front. To the goblins, all outsiders are viewed either as gullible fools to be swindled, or threats to be avoided. Even adventuring goblins carry some of this suspicion, and are slow to befriend or trust non-goblins with their lives, or worse yet, their money. Despite their common appreciation of ostentatious wealth, dwarves and goblins have been enemies for as long as history records. Dwarves warn their children that goblins will kidnap them and keep them as slaves, or worse yet, eat them, and in turn, goblin caravans steer well clear of dwarven keeps and halls, telling their young that the dwarves are greedy criminals who would as soon slit a goblin’s throat and make off with his hard-earned money as look at him. In a similar vein, the titans view goblins with open suspicion for their flexible relationship with the truth, but those rare lawful goblins get along quite well with titans, as both races appreciate the value of rewards earned through hard work and the importance of family. The other civilized races fare better with the goblins, on the whole; humans view them with amusement, gnomes appreciate their talent for repairing and tinkering and Nephilim, while still expressing their customary disdain for outsiders, see much benefit in their relationships with the caravans willing to face the heat of the Tahket Desert.

Alignment and Religion Of all of the civilized races, goblins are the most likely to be neutral. They are indifferent to good and evil, which they see as meaningless distinctions in the face of the struggle to survive and prosper, and are as likely to adhere to the laws of whatever land they currently travel across (if only to assuage the suspicions of the local justices) as they are to simply ignore any law that is particularly inconvenient. The goblin perspective on religion can be summed up as “whatever works”. Most goblins pay at least lip service to one of the gods, often carrying tokens or holy symbols of several, so as to better hedge their bets. Goblin clerics are not unheard of, but they are hardly the norm.

Adventures Goblin adventurers are not uncommon, and are usually younger goblins taking leave of their duties to family, either to see the world from beyond the limited scope of their kin’s caravan, or to strike it rich on their own, either to spread the name of their kin, or to start a new kin of their own. It is every goblin’s dream to someday be the kinboss of a powerful, respected caravan where they live a life of luxury and ease, and some of the most famous kins in goblin society were started by successful adventurers who returned from a time away from home bearing wealth and honors from abroad.

Goblin Racial Traits

<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">+2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength <span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">: Goblins are tough and dangerously clever, but are lacking in brute strength.

<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Small <span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">: Goblins are Small creatures and gain a +1 size bonus to their <span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">AC, a +1 size bonus on <span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their <span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Combat Maneuver Bonus and <span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on <span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;"><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Stealth checks.

<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Slow Speed <span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">: Goblins have a base speed of 20 feet.

<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">One Step Ahead <span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">: Goblins gain a +2 racial bonus to Initiative checks.

<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Able Tinker <span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">: Goblins gain a +2 racial bonus to Disable Device, Craft (Alchemy) and Use Magic Device checks.

<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Languages <span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">: Goblins begin play able to speak Common and Goblin. Goblins with a high Intelligence score may choose from the following languages: Dwarf, Elf, Giant, Gnome, and Ignan.