Signup
Welcome to... Canonfire! World of GreyhawK
Features
Postcards from the Flanaess
Adventures
in Greyhawk
Cities of
Oerth
Deadly
Denizens
Jason Zavoda Presents
The Gord Novels
Greyhawk Wiki
#greytalk
JOIN THE CHAT
ON DISCORD
    Canonfire :: View topic - Goblin Society in Greyhawk
    Canonfire Forum Index -> World of Greyhawk Discussion
    Goblin Society in Greyhawk
    Author Message
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Dec 23, 2009
    Posts: 25
    From: Sacramento, CA

    Send private message
    Tue Jan 11, 2011 11:08 am  
    Goblin Society in Greyhawk

    Hiya.

    I'm writing a character backstory, which is growing into a larger project than originally intended. In order to write the best story I can stir up, I'm trying to research goblin society, so to speak.

    I have in my possession copies of the AD&D1 Monster Manual, as well as the AD&D2 Monstrous Manual. However, I'm wondering if any other information can be gleamed from another published book or adventure that adds extra flavor to goblins.

    While I'd prefer the goblin flavor be tailored to Greyhawk, if there is a third-party work published that offers extensive flavor, I'd be open to it.

    Thanks in advance.
    _________________
    The Golem<br />
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Apr 22, 2009
    Posts: 36


    Send private message
    Tue Jan 11, 2011 2:06 pm  

    The Living Greyhawk Gazetter says Goblins, or jebli, are insidious nighttime raiders averaging 4 feet in height. More powerful creatures usually dominate them, though all goblins swear loyalty to the local goblin king. Their best-known tribes include Night Terror, Death Feast, Black Agony, Poison Wound, Bitter Ruin, and Dire Oath.

    Goblins in Ahlissia, Bandit Kingdoms, Bissel, Bone March, Crystalmist Mountains, Duchy of Geoff, Gamboge Forest, Iuz, North Kingdom, Pomraj, Rakers Mountains, Scarlet Brotherood, Sterich, Suss Forest.

    1st edition Manual of the Planes mentions Maglubiyet the goblin god of War and Rulership has spirit goblins in Acheron.
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Dec 23, 2009
    Posts: 25
    From: Sacramento, CA

    Send private message
    Tue Jan 11, 2011 4:35 pm  

    blakeryan wrote:
    The Living Greyhawk Gazetter says Goblins, or jebli, are insidious nighttime raiders averaging 4 feet in height. More powerful creatures usually dominate them, though all goblins swear loyalty to the local goblin king. Their best-known tribes include Night Terror, Death Feast, Black Agony, Poison Wound, Bitter Ruin, and Dire Oath.

    Goblins in Ahlissia, Bandit Kingdoms, Bissel, Bone March, Crystalmist Mountains, Duchy of Geoff, Gamboge Forest, Iuz, North Kingdom, Pomraj, Rakers Mountains, Scarlet Brotherood, Sterich, Suss Forest.

    1st edition Manual of the Planes mentions Maglubiyet the goblin god of War and Rulership has spirit goblins in Acheron.


    I'd forgotten about the LGG, so thanks for reminding me of it. A quick perusal of my RPG library showed I had a copy of this text also. While it does go into a *bit* more genre-specific detail about goblins, I still feel it's not quite enough.

    I ventured out today, mostly to return an overdue library book. However, the library is practically right next to my local gaming store, so I stopped in for a visit. I found a rather extensive collection of an out-of-print series published by Mongoose: the "Slayer's Guide to.." collection. I didn't find one on goblins, per se, but this would probably be my best bet, unless someone has a better suggestion.

    Thanks.
    _________________
    The Golem<br />
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Jan 31, 2004
    Posts: 27


    Send private message
    Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:15 pm  

    Dragon Magazine #63 has an article on the humanoid (i.e. goblins, hobgoblins, gnolls, and kobolds) gods by Roger Moore. There you can find some interesting general info on the aforementioned races, as well as a few little known lesser gods, such as Khurgorbaeyag, the patron god of the goblins, also one of Maglubiyet's chief lieutenants in the Nine Hells, and Nomog-Geaya, the major patron deity of the hobgoblins, who "exemplifies their traits of brutality, courage, stoicism, and cold-bloodedness."

    I don't know if you have access to it, but the PDF of the issue is available on the Dragon Magazine archive.
    GreySage

    Joined: Aug 03, 2001
    Posts: 3310
    From: Michigan

    Send private message
    Wed Jan 12, 2011 12:22 am  

    Those gods are also described in Monster Mythology and in the wiki: Bargrivyek, Khurgorbaeyag, Nomog-Geaya, Maglubiyet. The chapter on jebli (goblin) gods at Tal Meta's website is very good, too.

    The old Mayfair supplement Dark Folk had a pretty good take on goblins and hobgoblins, and I've adapted some of the goblin goddesses from that to the AD&D goblin pantheon, along with the goblin goddess in The Book of Erotic Fantasy. For a completely different take on goblins, you might look at Classic Monsters Revisited from Paizo.
    GreySage

    Joined: Aug 03, 2001
    Posts: 3310
    From: Michigan

    Send private message
    Wed Jan 12, 2011 12:37 am  

    I thought the goblin pantheon needed some goddesses, so I adopted some from other sources to fit into the AD&D goblin pantheon. Borzsanna, Chelitiara, and Elishadra are from Dark Folk from Mayfair Games (expanded/adapted by me). Vershnat is from the Book of Erotic Fantasy.

    Borzsanna
    The Vile-Hearted, The Whore
    Demigoddess

    Symbol: Green Flame
    Home Plane: Acheron/Avalas/Clangor
    Alignment: NE
    Aliases: None
    Superior: Maglubiyet
    Allies: Chelitiara, Elishadra, Nomog-Geaya, Bargrivyek
    Foes: Sheyanna Flaxenstrand, Valkauna, Sharindlar, Haela Brightaxe
    Servants: Quiorom (erinyes assassin 5), Aphasid (goblin bard 16)
    Servitor Creatures: Erinyes, fiendish goblins, fiendish hobgoblins
    Manifestations: Often Borzsanna will manifest through female goblinoids, identifiable only by a glint of green in their eyes, who do her will by manipulating goblinoid males. She may also reveal her incorporeal presence simply as a green torch-flame hovering in the air with no apparent source - in extreme cases, this may grow to a raging green inferno.
    Signs of Favor: Borzsanna is far more likely to show her disfavor by sowing discord and jealousy among goblins and other races; her 'favor,' such as it is, is demonstrated at best by choosing to leave others alone.
    Worshipers: Female goblins and female hobgoblins
    Cleric Alignments: LE, NE, CE
    Holy Days: Borzsanna has no specific holy days, but she is revered especially during times of crisis, when the hierarchy of a goblin tribe changes dramatically.
    Portfolio: discord, jealousy, avarice, cruelty, malcontent
    Domains: Perversion, Trickery, Charm
    Favored Weapon: Sword Brother (Dagger)

    The most beautiful and physically weak of the goblin goddesses, Borzsanna is likely the evilest and cruelest of her sisters and certainly the wiliest. She is the patron of goblin women who use their bodies to control the minds of goblinoid men, especially hobgoblin men. Fittingly, this seemingly helpless goblin maiden has gained the protection of Nomog-Geaya, over whom she exerts no small influence.

    Borzsanna is the sower of discord among the goblin pantheon and those gods outside it, the harbinger of malcontent, the green flame of jealousy, and the queen of avarice. She has the power to infect other gods with one of the qualities in her portfolio with a mere kiss.

    Her dagger, Sword Brother, will transform into a longsword on command.

    It is said that Maglubiyet keeps Borzsanna's life in a green gemstone, and if she gets too out of line he will smash it. At the same time, this means she cannot be killed by anyone else, and as a result she fears no one but Fiery-Eyes.

    During her time of exile, Borzsanna spent the most time seducing powerful goblin chiefs and subverting them to her will. While her sister Chelithiara dreamt and her sister Elishadra whispered to the vermin of the earth, Borzsanna was out in the world, using both her mind and body to her greatest advantage, and loving every minute of it.

    When she and her sisters were finally permitted to return to Clangor, they were assigned husbands. All three of Maglubiyet's sons petitioned for Borzsanna's hand, and Borzsanna delighted in encouraging them to destroy one another in jealousy. The three gods Bargrivyek, Khurgorbaeyag, and Nomog-Geaya fought for days, competing in feats of strength, speed, and cunning. Though Bargrivyek and Khurgorbaeyag formed an alliance in an attempt to defeat the formidable Nomog-Geaya first before dealing with one another, eventually Khurgorbaeyag triumphed, his greater physical strength and able intellect overcoming the other two after a prolonged battle. Some myths whisper that Borzsanna secretly aided him, using her powers to undermine the alliance that Bargrivyek had forged, and that Nomog-Geaya easily triumphed once Bargrivyek and Khurgorbaeyag began fighting among themselves.

    Borzsanna is worshiped by troublemakers and entertainers, by those who feel they've been wronged and those who hold grudges, by scorned lovers and the lonely, by prostitutes and dancers. She is the closest thing the goblins have to a goddess of love, which tells you everything you need to know about their culture.

    Chelethiara
    The Venomed One, the Assassin
    Demigoddess
    Alias:
    Chelitiara
    Symbol: Serpent
    Home Plane: Baator/Avernus/The Peaceable Lands
    Alignment: LE
    Superior: Maglubiyet
    Allies: Borzsanna, Elishadra, Bargrivyek
    Foes: Sheyanna Flaxenstrand, Valkauna, Sharindlar, Haela Brightaxe
    Servants: Effla (half fiendish hobgoblin monk 15/assassin 5)
    Servitor Creatures: Assassin devils, half-fiendish goblins, fiendish yuan-ti, fiendish medusae, night hags
    Manifestations: Chelethiara may manifest as a hissing sound from apparently nowhere just before someone dies. She may send her intelligence into the minds of mundane serpents and snakes. Most commonly, she sends visions of herself in dreams.
    Signs of Favor: Those who Chelethiara favors will encounter unusual luck in covert murders. This is a double-edged blade, because they will be given orders from time to time while they sleep, told to kill more and more to satiate their goddess's desire.
    Worshipers: Chelethiara's chosen are a secret force within goblin and hobgoblin society, an order of women answering to no one but the hidden priestesses of the cult. Male goblin assassins revere her as well, praying for her to bless their blade, but the true chosen of Chelethiara are ubiquitous shadows, sometimes spending years with their husbands before revealing that they have orders to kill them whenever they become inconvenient to the order. She is also prayed to for protection from nightmares and dream magic, and for aid in divining the visions sent in dreams by the gods.
    Holy Days: Chelethiara's faithful honor her with sapient blood on their daggers, monthly at the time of the new moon.
    Portfolio: Poison, assassinations, snakes, dreams
    Cleric Alignments: LE, NE, CE
    Domains: Scalykind, Trickery, Evil
    Favored Weapon: Poison

    Chelethiara can appear in the guise of any venomous creature, but in her preferred form she is a giant snake from the waist down and a hideous goblin woman from the waist up. She often disguises herself as an innocent maiden of any species to trick her opponents. She can spit venom which kills instantly; her bite will drain strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, or charisma until her victim dies. She can walk through dreams.

    Chelethiara, the wife of Bargrivyek, is the patron of subtle deaths. She kills without violence or bravery through food or even through dreams. Some of the goblin deities, including Nomog-Geaya and Maglubiyet himself, think her weak because of this, but even Maglubiyet once made use of her to kill his son Tubro, god of trickery and wealth, who had grown too powerful to control. As a result, Chelethiara has also become the patron of women who kill their husbands. No one trusts her now, but she makes a good match for Bargrivyek all the same. Bargrivyek, alone of the male goblin deities, councils peace between warring goblin tribes. He prefers more civilized, non-military means of dealing with problems within the goblinoid races, and his wife agrees.

    In their shared realm, the Peaceable Lands, Chelethiara and Bargrivyek find their peace most threatened by their neighbor, the kobold god Kurtulmak. Bargrivyek sends raiders in to the kobold realm periodically, while Chelethiara sends squads of assassins. Kurtulmak responds in kind.

    When Chelethiara and her sisters were exiled on the mortal plane, she dreamed daily of the Outer Planes, and each evening she kept her sisters informed of the goings-on of their kin, buoying their hope of returning and giving them information they would find useful later on. She continues having these dreams today, and even Maglubiyet does not know where she gets her information.

    When she was not asleep, she was often killing, secretly executing those who did not fall for her or her sister Borzanna's wiles, or those who did and were no longer needed. To those who served her willingly, she gave a few of her secrets. Goblins, male and female alike, praise Chelethiara for teaching them the art of poison and stealth.

    The story of how Bargrivyek wooed and won Chelethiara is not a romantic one. After she killed her husband Tubro, she was simply assigned Bargrivyek. Bargrivyek knows well that if he becomes inconvenient, she won't hesitate to kill him as well, but for all that there is a strange affection between the two gods. They have, over the countless centuries, become comfortable with one another. Bargrivyek, for his part, works diligently to increase his power through alliances that offer some benefit to his allies, making himself too useful to kill.


    Elishadra
    The Pain-Giver, the Witch
    Demigoddess
    Symbol:
    Hand with razor-sharp nails
    Home Plane: Acheron/Avalas/Clangor
    Alignment: LE
    Aliases: Elishardia
    Superior: Maglubiyet
    Allies: Chelitiara, Vershnat, Borzsanna, Khurgorbaeyag, Bargrivyek
    Foes: Sheyanna Flaxenstrand, Valkauna, Sharindlar, Haela Brightaxe
    Servants: Datamar (NE bebelith shapechanger)
    Servitor Creatures: Marrashi, retrievers, kytons
    Manifestations: Goblins fear that the avatar of Elishadra lurks deep underground, her razor-sharp nails ready to snatch the unwary. Legends whisper of kings whose brides turned into Elishadra on their wedding nights, leaving them shattered and broken after withstanding the Pain-Giver's idea of fun.
    Signs of Favor: Elishadra shows her favor and answers divinations through vermin that sparkle like beautiful gems, sparkling centipedes, spiders, and scorpions that chitter secrets to her faithful.
    Worshipers: Female goblins and female hobgoblins
    Cleric Alignments: LE, NE
    Holy Days: Rites propitiating Elishadra are performed by her priestesses monthly, during the waning of the moon. The orgiastic rites of Elishadra are excrutiating for their victims, involving being cast bleeding into pits of carnivorous insects or bound on top of ant hills.
    Portfolio: Pain, torture, sorcery, vermin, disease
    Domains: Magic, Animal, Suffering
    Favored Weapon: Claws

    Elishadra is one of the three daughters of Vershnat and Maglubiyet. These three sisters plotted the destruction of their sire and, failing, they were cast from Clangor to wander the mortal world. For centuries they roamed seeking worshippers through whose sacrifices they could regain their power. In time they married powerful goblin leaders and overthrew them through wit and treachery.

    Daily sacrifices of elves, dwarves, kobolds, orcs, and humans quickly replenished their powers. In turn, they were not unkind to their worshippers, for they taught them the arts of torture, deceit, and poison making. As the power of the evil trio grew, so did the power of their priestesses, who spurred on the tribes to greater deeds of slaughter. Ultimately, Maglubiyet recognized their usefulness and accepted them back into the fold, marrying them to his three remaining sons.

    Elishadra, the most powerful of the three, is married to Khurgorbaeyag. She appears in the guise of an aged goblin crone, her face covered with hideous scars, warts, boils, and ulcers, the nails on her claw-like hands long and browned with age, and her body and clothing filthy and crawling with lice and other vermin. She delights in slow torture and inflicting great pain.

    Priestesses of Elishadra teach that their patron learned magic by listening to the small vermin that crawled about her nest. While her sisters were preoccupied with their status in goblin society, the crawling things taught Elishadra secrets. After remaining in her nest for a century while vermin fed her and whispered to her, she followed them to the mother of all vermin, a mysterious being associated with a wide variety of other goddesses - Lolth, Cegilune, Wee Jas, Beltar, and many others, though the entity was possibly none of them. In return for this instruction, she gave the entity her living heart, replacing it with a pulsing, chitinous creature that forever after takes its share of her blood as it keeps her life flowing through her veins. She returned as a powerful adept who won the attention of Khurgorbaeyag, a god almost as cruel as herself.

    Publically, Elishadra is subordinate to Maglubiyet and her husband, Khurgorbaeyag. Her priesthood acts out this charade. The priests of Khurgorbaeyag teach that slavery and oppression begin in the home, and that women exist to improve the morale of the men. They teach that women must be obedient in all things, aquiescing instantly to every one of the desires of their mates. They claim many things, and in public the priestesses of Elishadra agree. They act in an advisory role, supporting goblin soldiers with magic and supporting goblin slavers with the torture arts. When the men are away at war, or when their back are turned, or when they beg in private to be on the receiving end of discipline, then another story is told.

    One myth, hidden from all but initiates of Elishadra, has it that Elishadra is not truly Maglubiyet's daughter at all, that she was born after her mother Vershnat swallowed a spider. The priesthood of Elishadra teaches that the male gods are irrelevant, that their zealous insistence on the superiority of their gender reveals just how insecure they really are. Elishadra's husband Khurgorbaeyag is used as the primary illustration of this fact, and many secret stories are told of his legendary cowardice before non-goblin gods, of times when he fled the gods of the dwarves, orcs, or even the kobolds to cower in his lair, and of the punishments Elishadra administered to him in private - punishments he secretly craves.

    Of all the goblinoid gods (save perhaps Belgrath, the bugbear goddess of the earth) Elishadra is closest to her mother Vershnat. Elishadra is privy to Vershnat's innermost thoughts (or, at least, so she believes) and in return she acts as her mother's enforcer, punishing those who slight her.

    Elishadra's fiendish mount, Datamar, is a many-legged spider steed with the ability to assume the shape of any humanoid. He often uses this power to infiltrate other societies and lure victims to his mistress.


    Vershnat
    The Prolific Mother, Warren Queen
    Greater Deity
    Symbol:
    Vagina Dentata
    Home Plane: Acheron/Avalas/Clangor and Abyss/241st/Palpitatia
    Alignment: NE
    Aliases: Niggrath, Teshukret
    Superior: Maglubiyet
    Allies: Maglubiyet, Hruggek, Grankhul, Skiggaret, Belgrath, Bargrivyet, Borzsanna, Chelitiara, Dispater, Elishadra, Khurgorbaeyag, Mammon, Nomog-Geaya, Firffuffl'nnb, Kartathok, Kikanuti
    Foes: Orcish pantheon, Gnome pantheon, Dwarf pantheon, Halfling pantheon, Elf pantheon, Kobold pantheon, most human gods
    Servants: Mikatet (female half-dragon goblin cleric 20)
    Servitor Creatures: Barghests, night hags, dragons
    Manifestations: Teeth or even voices in female genitals, lucidity and conversational ability in very young or fetal goblinoids
    Signs of Favour: Seemingly spontaneous fertility in female goblinoids too old/young/ugly, unusually large numbers of offspring, unusually strong, clever, attractive, dextrous, or healthy offspring
    Worshipers: Goblinoids (all)
    Cleric Alignments: LE, NE, CE
    Holy Days: Full moon
    Portfolio: Fertility, Fecundity, Reproduction, the Warren
    Domains: Evil, Perversion, Protection
    Favored Weapon: Club ("Brood Bringer")

    Vershnat was spawned near the dawn of time, descended from still more ancient beings who long precede the present generation of gods, the personified concepts sometimes called Elder Gods or Titans. Some say she is the daughter of the Earth Mother, while others say she was the daughter of Night. Others claim she has some kinship with the elven, dwarven, or orcish pantheons, goblins representing some corruption or redemption of one of those races, though few agree on which one.

    The Prolific Mother is the mother of every other goblinoid deity. Not just their ancestress, but their mother - every goblinoid god is said to have passed through her womb. This makes their theogony a tangled and contradictory thing; for example, the goblins say she mated with Maglubiyet in order to bear him, and then Maglubiyet sired every other goblin deity. The bugbears claim her as the consort of each of their four male deities, each of them fathering all the others. Only Belgrath, the bugbear goddess of the earth, plays no role in procreation. Even the desert-dwelling bhuka acknowledge Vershnat as the terrifying mother of their gentle, benevolent patron Kikanuti. Lesser deities may have their own mates, but none has given birth, and none ever will without Vershnat's permission.

    With Maglubiyet she spawned Maglubiyet himself, as well as his sons: Bargrivyet, Khurgorbaeyag, Nomag-Gaeaya and two others that have since been destroyed. Maglubiyet fathered Firffuffl'nnb, the patron of norkers, and Vershnat's three daughters: Borzsanna, Chelitiara, and Elishadra. Goblins and hobgoblins typically claim Maglubiyet as the father of the bugbear gods as well; the bugbears vehemently disagree, though they acknowledge Maglubiyet as a brother of their own gods. There are a few priests of Vershnak among the xvarts, but this is far from an accepted thing for either xvarts or goblins; most clergy among both races deny any familial relationship between their peoples.

    Goblinoids know that without Vershnat, they would have no children, and thus she has a profound influence over their society and the goblinoid pantheons. She encourages the worship of her stronger offspring and discourages the worship of those of her children whom she considers weak; it was partly because of her influence that Maglubiyet was able to destroy his sons Wogar and Tubro, who tried and failed to seize control of the divine clan from their father. Vershnat is blunt and forthright, prone to mocking those who displease her. By goblin standards, she is quite the comedian.

    Of her children, Vershnat is closest to her daughters Elishadra and Belgrath, teaching them secrets she shares with no one else. Perhaps she is grooming them to start divine broods of their own, or perhaps she is merely too vain not to demonstrate her breadth of knowledge to others.

    Shrines to the goddess, deep within the inner sanctums of goblin warrens, contain a huge phallic club, a bowl or cauldron of some sort, and a squat, hideous statue of the goddess herself. Although repulsive by nongoblin standards, the raw sensuality of the idol is obvious.
    GreySage

    Joined: Oct 06, 2008
    Posts: 2788
    From: South-Central Pennsylvania

    Send private message
    Wed Jan 12, 2011 2:05 pm  

    That is just Totally awesome, Rasgon. Thanks for all that effort, my friend! Happy Cool
    _________________
    Mystic's web page: http://melkot.com/mysticscholar/index.html
    Mystic's blog page: http://mysticscholar.blogspot.com/
    Grandmaster Greytalker

    Joined: Nov 07, 2004
    Posts: 1846
    From: Mt. Smolderac

    Send private message
    Wed Jan 12, 2011 8:37 pm  

    There's a nice section on goblin society in Reverse Dungeon.
    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: Jun 12, 2003
    Posts: 273
    From: Boston

    Send private message
    Sat Jan 15, 2011 2:50 pm  

    What's the origins of the word "jebli" for goblins? I don't mean that it's Flan, I mean what's the citation? I know it's in the LGG but is it older than that? The reason why I ask is because "Jebli" is the name of a major orc tribe from the Vesve (Iuz the Evil). I don't tend to believe in coincidences so I'm wondering if there was a usage mistake in one of those texts.

    Also, seems odd that "euroz" is a name for orcs (LGG) when "uroz" is the name of an orc tribe hailing from the western Fellreev/Horned Society lands.
    GreySage

    Joined: Aug 03, 2001
    Posts: 3310
    From: Michigan

    Send private message
    Sat Jan 15, 2011 4:13 pm  

    Words like "euroz" and "jebli" and "eiger" originated with Gary Gygax. They're in the 1983 World of Greyhawk boxed set, and used in the Gord books as well.

    Perhaps Carl Sargent misunderstood what the words were supposed to mean, and turned them into orc tribes mistakenly. Alternately, perhaps he knew perfectly well that Gygax intended them as synonyms for orc, goblin, ogre, etc., but decided to change their meaning deliberately. The error, or retcon if that's what it was, has been notorious in Greyhawk circles for a long time.

    In any case, the prevailing opinion seems to be that the orc tribes need new names. It's possible that a group of orcs might call themselves "the ogres" in order to sound tough (expecially if there's a large ogrillion population in their tribe), but unlikely they'd name themselves after goblins.
    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: Jun 12, 2003
    Posts: 273
    From: Boston

    Send private message
    Sat Jan 15, 2011 6:30 pm  

    Ah, great info! I remember the word "eiger" now that you mention it.

    Hrm, I may toy around with renaming the Jebli and Uroz orcs then in my BK gazetteer. Maybe mention that it was a poor translation or that someone had played a joke on the orcs by giving the "jebli" tribal name on purpose to an anthropolgist. Or something.

    Rasgon, if you are REALLY bored, feel free to point out which humanoid tribal names from Iuz the Evil/Marklands/Empire of Iuz should be changed and to make new name suggestions. Heck, that might make a neat article for the OJ, if it hasn't already been done. I can then include an appendix about it in my BK project (which I started working on again this week after taking a 6 month break from it).

    Thanks again.
    GreySage

    Joined: Aug 03, 2001
    Posts: 3310
    From: Michigan

    Send private message
    Sun Jan 16, 2011 9:25 am  

    In the beginning there was only darkness and earth. And the daughters of darkness and earth were Vershnat and Luthic and Beltar and Berronar, the great mothers.

    Vershnat mated with Maglubiyet and birthed Maglubiyet and the other goblin gods. Vershnat mated with Hruggek, Grankhul, Skiggaret, and Stalker and birthed Hruggek, Grankhul, Skiggaret, and Stalker.

    Luthic mated with Gruumsh and birthed Gruumsh and the other gods of the orcs.

    Berronar mated with Moradin and birthed Moradin and the gods of the dwarves.

    Beltar mated with the Abyss and birthed the demons. She mated with the many-eyed patient god and birthed the beholders. She mated with the world-serpent and birthed the dragons. She mated with Time and birthed the sky and the sea and the gods of the surface world, who made the hated light, and for this crime Maglubiyet threw her into the pit.

    Maglubiyet struck the steel of his axe against stone and created a spark, which was the first flame. He blew on the flame and made it bright, and with the flame he forged a hammer, and with the hammer he forged his axe. And with his axe he cut out pieces of earth and darkness, and with his hammer he forged the first goblins, and encouraged them to breed and fill the earth.

    The other gods were jealous of Maglubiyet's creation. Moradin pretended to be Maglubiyet's friend and brought him women and wine, but as Maglubiyet busied himself with these gifts, Moradin stole Maglubiyet's hammer and fire, and began forging people of his own, who began to slay the goblins so that they could take the earth for themselves.

    Gruumsh offered to help kill the dwarves if Maglubiyet would show him how to make a race of his own. Maglubiyet agreed, and soon the orcs were helping goblins kill dwarves. So Moradin taught other gods to make monsters who would kill goblins and orcs, and soon there were elves and humans and halflings and gnomes. And still the goblins and orcs would have easily won, but the orcs decided they wanted all the goblin lands for themselves, and tried to turn goblins into their servants. So Gruumsh became the most hated of Maglubiyet's enemies. And Maglubiyet forged together two of his sons, Nomog and Geaya, to be the god of the hobgoblins, who could resist the hated sun and were strong enough to turn the orcs into their servants.

    The goblins started out in the distant west, but when the other races were stealing the land that was the goblins' by right, Maglubiyet sliced into the earth with his axe and declared that the land split by Maglubiyet's axe would belong to the goblins forever. And this deep valley was in what would become known as the Lortmil Mountains. But even here, Maglubiyet was betrayed. Gruumsh thrust his spear into the same earth and claimed it should belong to the orcs, and Moradin struck the earth with the hammer he had stolen from Maglubiyet, claiming it for the dwarves. So all three races have fought over the Lortmil Mountains, the holy land of the goblins, ever since.
    GreySage

    Joined: Oct 06, 2008
    Posts: 2788
    From: South-Central Pennsylvania

    Send private message
    Sun Jan 16, 2011 9:37 am  

    Now that is some very nice stuff indeed. Thanks for sharing Rasgon. Cool
    _________________
    Mystic's web page: http://melkot.com/mysticscholar/index.html
    Mystic's blog page: http://mysticscholar.blogspot.com/
    Master Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 17, 2004
    Posts: 924
    From: Computer Desk

    Send private message
    Sun Jan 16, 2011 9:56 am  

    Nice indeed; Smile

    I thought GH had enough deities...always room I guess.
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Dec 23, 2009
    Posts: 25
    From: Sacramento, CA

    Send private message
    Tue Jan 18, 2011 2:53 pm  

    Thanks for the vast amount of replies and help. I've been following all the answers as they came in.

    I haven't had time to read anything in great detail, but you've all been such a great help, and you've given me alot of information to digest.

    Thanks!
    _________________
    The Golem<br />
    GreySage

    Joined: Aug 03, 2001
    Posts: 3310
    From: Michigan

    Send private message
    Sat Apr 02, 2011 2:18 pm  

    Cruel Summerlord wrote an excellent article on goblins of the Flanaess that I just discovered.
    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: Apr 21, 2003
    Posts: 200


    Send private message
    Sat Apr 02, 2011 10:23 pm  

    There is a free download over at Pazio of The High Goblin race suitable for Pathfinder and therefore 3.5. It's only a 2 page item but it might help a little. not really had time to look it over yet but it don't cost nothing.

    After going back and looking at it it's only a one page write up with some brief details and stats for using them as a player race.
    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Feb 20, 2008
    Posts: 594


    Send private message
    Sun Apr 03, 2011 1:21 pm  

    In my GH, Goblins are a product of unnatural selection. They cannot proliferate independently, and must be regulated by a higher species. It is through such unnatural selection that hobgoblins came about, with the dominant pairs of goblins having been bred for their intelligence.

    Goblin breeding is a staple of nearly every intelligent humanoid race; the manner of goblin produced is indicative of which race bred them.

    Orcs breed them much like one would fighting dogs. Pitting them against each other, keeping them in tight cages, starving them. Orcs use goblins during battle, sending them out with the vanguard. Such goblins are bred with strength and brutality in mind.

    Drow breed them to be indentured servants, being one of the few races capable of seeing in the dark and completely lacking in ambition. Drow will never use a goblin as a weapon of war. Likewise, goblins will never take up arms to defend a drow. Such goblins are bred for their wisdom and docility in mind.

    The forces of Iuz keep vast colonies of goblins led by an intelligence-enhanced-by-magic goblin shaman. The shaman is not gifted with turning powers, rather he can use divine power to incite fury within his goblin wards.

    Wild goblins do exist, but they never socialize with one-another well enough to form a society. Wild goblins live off of the refuse of higher species. Having resident goblins living in the offal pit of a castle is akin to having raccoons. These goblins have reverted to being more an animal than a thinking beast.

    A goblyn (native to Bissel, Geoff, and parts of the Baklunish states) is a stronger, deadlier, goblin that is also far more evil. Goblyns originate as another species, but through evil magick are changed. Goblyns can and do breed in the wild, however, their evil nature makes rearing young totally impossible. Goblyns are far more intelligent than goblins, but still not so much that they can escape being eternal thralls of a higher species.

    Goblins are motivated by fear, and nothing else. Their selfish sense of self-preservation, and black-and-white sense of logic, makes them the ideal pet for the non-discriminating owner. Goblins have no morality, and no ability to make an uninformed decision. They can be taught what to do, and what not to do; otherwise they see no problem with eating whatever is around when they happen to get hungry, or letting their waste drop wherever they happen to be.

    They do have an instinct for cruel behavior, having a natural draw towards poor-quality weapons with jagged edges and rusting. Likewise they know to overcome a larger adversary with superior numbers, but to run if otherwise.
    Grandmaster Greytalker

    Joined: Jul 10, 2003
    Posts: 1234
    From: New Jersey

    Send private message
    Sun Apr 10, 2011 5:52 pm  

    Rasgon,

    I agree nice write up of goblinoid creation and history. I have created a lesser goddess of sloth,gluttony, jealously, and lust. Known as Vayboruga (Vaay-borr-ru-ga) The (corpulent) Fat Wench-She is a goddess of extremes and favors those who do little and and gain much. She is seen as a 3 1/2 foot goblin female of at least 150 lbs the sweat she exudes, enthralls all goblinoid males within a 60'ft radius. Females should be selfish and garner many lovers preferring hobgoblin males as they tend to be more influential in a tribe than most goblins are.
    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Sep 21, 2003
    Posts: 538
    From: Germany

    Send private message
    Mon Apr 11, 2011 11:22 am  

    rasgon wrote:
    Words like "euroz" and "jebli" and "eiger" originated with Gary Gygax.


    Eiger is actually Oger in (old) swiss-german. There's of course the famous Eiger mountain with it's North face. The other mountain peaks there are named Mönch (monk) & Jungfrau (Maiden).
    Master Greytalker

    Joined: Jan 05, 2002
    Posts: 1049
    From: Sky Island, So Cal

    Send private message
    Mon Apr 11, 2011 8:36 pm  

    aurdraco wrote:
    Rasgon, if you are REALLY bored, feel free to point out which humanoid tribal names from Iuz the Evil/Marklands/Empire of Iuz should be changed and to make new name suggestions.


    You might want to read this thread:

    http://www.canonfire.com/cf/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=3518&highlight=rankings
    _________________
    My campaigns are multilayered tapestries upon which I texture themes and subject matter which, quite frankly, would simply be too strong for your hobbyist gamer.&nbsp; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mp7Ikko8SI
    Display posts from previous:   
       Canonfire Forum Index -> World of Greyhawk Discussion All times are GMT - 8 Hours
    Page 1 of 1

    Jump to:  

    You cannot post new topics in this forum
    You cannot reply to topics in this forum
    You cannot edit your posts in this forum
    You cannot delete your posts in this forum
    You cannot vote in polls in this forum




    Canonfire! is a production of the Thursday Group in assocation with GREYtalk and Canonfire! Enterprises

    Contact the Webmaster.  Long Live Spidasa!


    Greyhawk Gothic Font by Darlene Pekul is used under the Creative Commons License.

    PHP-Nuke Copyright © 2005 by Francisco Burzi. This is free software, and you may redistribute it under the GPL. PHP-Nuke comes with absolutely no warranty, for details, see the license.
    Page Generation: 0.34 Seconds