Saturday, May 28, 2016

Tusk and Fang

The curse spread like a plague, and the dead piled up faster than they could be burned. Humans, half-orcs, half-elves, and halflings are extinct, elves and gnomes have withdrawn into faerie, and the dwarves have sealed themselves in their holds. The goblinoid races find themselves, for the first time, with breathing room. Now is the age of tusks and fangs.

Goblinoids

There are four principle goblinoid races: goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, and ogres.

Goblins are small, with an ape-like stature and long arms. They are typically hairless, with jet-black eyes. They are prolific, hardy, and seem ever-present. They are the smallest of the goblinoid races and often coerced into labor whenever someone larger needs something done.

Hobgoblins are also hairless, are usually pale white or gray, and are always tall and lanky. Their most recognizable features are their earlessness and cat eyes. A majority of hobgoblins live in militia: mercenary cartels who live like Spartans and fight like landsknechts.

Orcs resemble neanderthals, with sloped foreheads and pronounced jaws, teeth, and noses. They are most often hairy, with reddish-brown skin. They are the most human of the goblinoids, once even interbreeding with humans.

Ogres come in two types. The majority are large and stocky, usually between 3 and 4 meters tall, with goat horns and goat eyes. In every litter there is a "magi", hornless and scrawny, who rarely survive childhood. When they do however, they have never failed to become geniuses, and have define many aspects of their society. It was ogre magi who formed the ogre banks, and an ogre magi who created the goblin script.

Goblinoid Society

Goblinoid society is not unified, and is composed of clans, petty kingdoms, and city-states, based on medieval Germany and eastern Europe. Few formal organizations last long, although the ogre banks and hobgoblin militia are notable exceptions.

The goblinoid races were never considered "civilized", in part because they have little interest in the heavenly and ethereal. They still remain interested primarily in their surroundings and their bodies. Old, "savage" traditions are maintained, but have been steadily refined and innovated. Body modification has especially blossomed, expanding from a ritual demonstration of pain tolerance to beautiful forms of tattooing, piercings and body paint.

Notes

Inspired by this thread from /tg/.

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