Building My Dungeons and Dragons World Part 6: Goblinoids
Introduction
Following the original list of playable races, the next race to be covered was Bugbears. But as I began to look into things and explore the lore, I found that Bugbears and other races under the label of goblinoid seemed to live alongside each other, at least in 5E. They also only had a little lore for each independently. So for this article, I decided to do all the goblinoid races together.
Gods
Before I get into the specifics of the race, I want to explain the religion of the goblinoid races because it will explain how their society is designed. In the official D&D lore, the goblinoid pantheon used to be three separate pantheons: Hobgoblins, Goblins, and Bugbears. However, befitting their society, one of the gods conquered all the rest. The goblin god, Maglubiyet, killed or enslaved every god in all three pantheons. This setup made great sense, and I decided to keep this idea for my world.
Given how I have set up my world, a friend gave me the idea that the other gods would probably not want someone like this in the Celestial Empire. So after shooting a couple of ideas back and forth, we came to a conclusion. The goblinoid races, united by their now shared pantheon, were now faced with the same problem. The goblinoid races are banned from the territories controlled by the Celestial Empire. So while the goblinoid races can live almost anywhere in the northern hemisphere, they cannot be found inside Europe.
I wanted to keep the tribal nature of the goblinoid races, with all three races existing in ever-changing tribes of various sizes in a variety of locations. While tribes can be a mixture of all three goblinoid races, they are not always that way. Each goblinoid race can form tribes independently without interacting with the other races. With that out of the way, let's begin exploring each race.
Goblins
The most basic and typical of the goblinoid races, goblins make up the bulk of all goblinoid tribes. They generally inhabit temperate grasslands, though they can also be found in underground areas as well.
In most cases, their tribes are viewed as little more than a nuisance. This is due in large part to their tendency to stay in small tribes that frequently fluctuate in size and command. Even other goblinoid races have a tendency to look down on them. The tribes frequently respond to strength and it is common for goblin tribes to fall under the command of other races, usually Hobgoblins.
But these tribes are not to be underestimated. Goblins are surprisingly clever, and known for setting traps and ambushes for wayward travelers. While this is concerning alone, this gift can be exploited in terrifying fashion if something takes control of a tribe that can appreciate this gift. Under the right instruction, even a single tribe of goblins can become a lot scarier.
Bugbears
Bugbears could best be described as goblins on steroids. Everything that made a goblin a goblin was amplified when it came to bugbears. They were more chaotic, quick to anger, bigger, and stronger than goblins.
That said, it is rare to find a tribe of just bugbears. This is because any such tribe that is found is usually targeted and wiped out by more organized groups to prevent trouble. It is far more common to find bugbear tribes mixed in with other goblinoid tribes. While the goblinoids don't get along, they tolerate each other in favor of having a stronger tribe. A stronger tribe is less likely to be consumed by other tribes and is more likely to be able to steal food and good loot during ambushes and raids.
Hobgoblins
If goblins were feared for their numbers and bugbears were feared for their strength, then hobgoblins were feared for their smarts. It is rare to find an organized goblinoid tribe without a ruling group of hobgoblins keeping them in line.
Additionally, hobgoblins are considered the scariest of the goblinoid warrior classes. While any goblin or bugbear can set an ambush, the hobgoblins have made it into an art form. They have surprisingly good tactics during a fight and most adventuring parties must be weary of them if they don't want to be killed or enslaved.
The Metal Bangers
Never discuss goblin artificers around gnomes. Many gnomes take offense at the idea that their beautiful work is anything comparable to the "bastardized thievery" practiced by the goblins. One can only imagine their reaction to learning that a secret order of goblins is not only artificers but are actually very skilled at it.
The Metal Bangers are a secret organization of goblin artificers. Of course, that phrase may be misleading. The Metal Bangers are not trying to keep their skills a secret. Rather, most people believe goblins to be dumb and unorganized, so on the rare occasion they see a goblin artificer, they assume he has simply stolen the stuff from someone else. This coupled with the general misinformation surrounding goblin tribes had led to the Metal Bangers becoming a secret organization.
Unlike the Gnomish Artificer Guild, which generally explores all applications of their magical machinery, the Metal Bangers tend to focus exclusively on combat and robbery. It is unrealized that some of the guild's most remarkable discoveries in combat were actually inspired by goblin artificers. Many gnomes, believing that the tech they found must have been stolen, have simply given the credit of these findings to lost gnomish artificers. The Metal Bangers would probably find this thievery of credit disrespectful if they were part of the greater organized community.
The Metal Bangers are also not an organization in the strictest sense of the word. Often, it is a simple master/apprentice mentality due to the tribal nature of the goblins. This has created a situation where two goblins practicing in the same field, say artillerists, will come up with vastly different designs for the exact same tool. This lack of uniformity is another reason why the existence of the Metal Bangers had largely gone unnoticed.
The guild's organized nature has led to a sort of uniformity in design among their projects. While every gnome will put its own spin on it, you can break most gnomish designs down to easy-to-recognize core components. The Metal Bangers, by contrast, each genuinely has its own core design. No two goblin artificers will have the same design for a project. If anyone were to take the time to learn, this would mean that they could eventually identify who built what by how the machine was built.
The Path of the Beast
Bugbears and Hobgoblins are fierce warriors. Some would even describe them as animalistic. This description can be a lot more accurate than people are comfortable with.
The Path of the Beast is the most frequent and well-known primal path for goblinoid barbarians. It taps into the bestial nature within them and allows them to manifest it in their bodies for brief periods of time. Many will choose to manifest this spirit into claws, allowing them to take further advantage of what is easily their most potent weapon on the battlefield, the raw strength in their hands and arms. But this is only the beginning of the nightmare.
The more experience they gain in battle, the more terrifying their beastly abilities become. It is one thing to fight a bugbear. It is another entirely to fight one that can climb or swim or damage your mind with his raw fury.
There is no formality in goblinoid tribes. So most who practice the Path of the Beast pick up and train followers at their own discretion. Some will test their proteges while others will simply take anyone or no one.
The Circle of the Moon
Goblins spend their entire lives in the wild and are naturally very protective of it. As such, it is of little surprise that the Circle of the Moon has found no shortage of members among the goblins. Putting aside the benefits of being able to transform into animals, allowing them to compensate for their naturally short size, the Circle of the Moon has also become a form of communication network for the various goblin tribes. The circle can track the movements of enemy forces that are stronger than them or natural forces that could harm their tribes. They then give warnings to their home tribe accordingly. This silent network has allowed the largest of the goblinoid tribes to avoid almost anything that could bring them to ruin.
Like the other organizations, there is no formal network with rules and protocols. The circle members will talk with anyone who knows how to find them and has their abilities. Some goblins teach themselves. Some members of the circle make take followers upon request or "adopt" those they sense have the gift to join their ranks.
In general, the druids are respected in goblin society, with even hobgoblins and bugbears lending their ears when a druid speaks. For some, it is the belief that the forest has chosen them. for others, it is the practicality of knowing that anything that could bring harm to their wild homes is also a threat to them.
The Spell Slingers and the Fighting Spirits
It goes without saying that fighters are very common in the goblinoid races. A race that thrives in the wild and relies on its savage nature would naturally be inclined toward combat. So it is little question that fighters of all kinds can be found in the goblinoid races. But two fighting styles hold prominence in these races.
The Eldritch Knights referred to as Spell Slingers by the goblins, are a unique fighting style that has drawn a lot of attention from the goblins. Making use of spells looted from travelers, it combines fighting with abjuration and evocation spells, creating a fighter capable of engaging other races both up close and from a distance. Even people outside the goblin race hold respect for the Spell Slingers, as it is the greatest testament to the goblin race from an outsider's perspective. They are also usually a sign of trouble. Very rarely do small tribes have members who can fight this way. Most people who see a goblin spell slinger know that the tribe around must be big enough that most local militia wouldn't be able to handle them. That or the spells have been taught to the goblin by whoever is actually in charge of that particular tribe, which is an even scarier scenario.
When one thinks of hobgoblin and bugbear samurai, one should not compare them to traditional human samurai. In fact, the name only works in the most technical sense as far as D&D lore goes. To quote the official lore "The Samurai is a fighter who draws on an implacable fighting spirit to overcome enemies. A samurai’s resolve is nearly unbreakable, and the enemies in a samurai’s path have two choices: yield or die fighting." Under this description, the samurai is a perfect fit for the combat-oriented hobgoblins and bugbears. In their own culture, they refer to themselves as Fighting Spirits. This class allows them to harness that spirit to help them hit their marks and avoid damage. It even gives them extra health. While they may not resemble human samurai, the Fighting Spirits are equally as impressive on the battlefield.
The Way of Mercy
The absolute worst thing the bugbear culture has ever learned is the Way of Mercy. The Monk Way of Mercy allows practitioners to manipulate the life force of others. The bugbears more primal nature allowed them to pick up these skills comparatively easily. This has made them a blight on those around them. Imagine a bugbear who can heal his kin with ki in one moment and kill you with it in the next. Many of the current practitioners view the bugbears' practice of the Way of Mercy as an abhorrent and vile copy of their good work, stating that it takes the powers of good and corrupts them to suit their own vile ends. From the perspective of the bugbears, however, there is little difference between their practice and those of the original monks who taught them. The bugbears heal their own and kill their enemies. It just so happens that most non-goblinoids are viewed as enemies.
The bugbears do not have a designated sanctuary where they spend months training. Instead, like the other unique organizations of the goblinoid races, each current monk is free to take on any pupils they want, how they want, and train them in their own way. While the bugbears are hard-pressed to train anyone who isn't a bugbear, it isn't unheard of. But it is almost always concerning to learn that a bugbear has taught someone their version of the Way of Mercy as only those with ill intentions would ever even try to seek out their version of it.
The Order of Maglubiyet
Paladins can be either lawful or good, as far as D&D 5e goes. I know some people do not like this particular rule, but I like the ideas that this rule can introduce. For example, what if hobgoblins became paladins for their lawful evil god, Maglubiyet, the goblin god who exterminated three whole pantheons just to be in charge.
While they despise the very idea, the many paladin groups of the Celestial Empire do begrudgingly admit that the Order of Maglubiyet is technically a paladin order. It is indeed a group of warriors solely dedicated to serving their god, though that is the only credit the empire will give that order.
But what is most concerning to the empire is the heavy focus the order has given to the Oath of Conquest. While other oaths have been taken by hobgoblins, the Oath of Conquest is the most consistent. Tribes under the guidance of the Order of Maglubiyet are some of the most aggressive and brutal tribes in the world. Just as their god took over multiple pantheons to be in charge, many of them have the lofty goal of taking on the world. The empire's saving grace, as well as the only saving grace of most organized world governments, is that tribes under the guidance of the order also have a tendency to try and conquer tribes that aren't. The empire has also learned that taking out the hobgoblin paladin will usually cause some level of infighting, leading to the tribe halting its activities until it either finds new leadership or tears itself apart.
Sorcerer (Bugbear)
Many evil entities would like to have a bugbear under their control. As such, bugbear sorcerers are not uncommon. Neither are bounties on their heads. Bugbear sorcerers can be born from almost anything. But the bugbear almost always uses its new powers to try and take control. Given half a chance, they will take control of their tribe with their newfound abilities. They will then use both the tribe and their powers to achieve either their own ends or the ends of the one who granted them that power.
Unlike the Order of Maglubiyet, tribes under the control of a sorcerer are unpredictable. Their activities can vary wildly based on their own will and that of the one who gave them power. What's more, there is no assigned order or organization that these sorcerers answer to. This can make sorcerer-controlled tribes one of the most dangerous goblinoid tribes out there. This is why most governments will put out a bounty for anyone who can kill a bugbear sorcerer.
Warlock (Bugbear)
Similar to bugbear sorcerers, bugbear warlocks will fetch a hefty price in bounties. Just like how many evil entities want a bugbear, many bugbears want power of their own. To this end, they will gladly seek out anyone or anything that is willing to give it to them, regardless of the cost that they may have to pay. After having attained that power, usually, their first step will be to try and take control of their tribe or a tribe. They will then use that tribe to uphold their end of whatever bargain they made to obtain their powers.
Conclusion
Okay, so that was a lot to unpack. I couldn't really think of a better way to handle this information without having a couple of blogs that were simply too short. That said, in the future, I will probably do a deeper dive into these unique orders and organizations that I have been introducing so that I can flesh them out better. But for now, I hope you enjoyed this and I will see you next week.
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