Hobgoblins

Hobgoblins are the most organised of the Goblinoid morphemes, if not necessarily the most civilised. Their martial culture was a major influence on and in turn was influenced by the organisation of the Horde, and they could even be found in officer posts in the Shackle of Allies, commanding other Horde forces. They were also one of only two races in the horde, the other being Humans, to make extensive use of horses.
Despite their apparent sympathy with the fundamental nature of the Horde, everywhere the early proto-hobgoblins went, they were shadowed by the subversive practitioners of the Way of the Iron Mind, a philosophy which had helped to form the martial culture of the pre-Horde hobgoblins, but now turned to resisting the cruelty of their overlords. It was undoubtedly agents of this philosophy who brought much of the Horde swiftly into alliance with the Orcs of The Uprising. Once free of the Legion's control, the surviving Iron Mind adherents reformed their long-destroyed monastic order, and fostered the creation of the Devastator's League and the Circle of Spears to preserve the organisation and military skills that enabled them to survive as a culture within the Horde. These three organisations were pivotal in the development of hobgoblin culture and the Goblinoid nation of Kyuzh-magh. From that time, they have preserved a sense of order and heirarchy, and hobgoblin clans continue to mingle civic and martial order into a single organisational structure.
Hobgoblins traditionally organised in nomadic communities based on military camps, and those who have adopted a more settled lifestyle retain the forms of organisation. Civic and military officials hold the same ranks, and each title denotes a particular scale of control. The status of any hobgoblin community is measured by the highest rank of officer it can sustain.

• Tage (tag-uh) is the title of a senior general, originally the commander of a combined force of at least 20,000. Modern tages are those who have authority over more than 20,000 other hobgoblins, regardless of the nature of that authority. The title is used by the leaders of both extended tribes and state-level societies, and by the highest religious authority in such a society. In modern times, it is only granted to military leaders who are given supreme command of a large state's forces in time of war.
• Urmach (urr-mock) is the title of a general. It denotes command of 10,000-20,000 troops in the field, or the leadership of a large single tribe, city-state or simple extended tribe. The same rank may also be used by the leaders of major temples and religious cults, or of individual cities or counties within a larger state.
• Ungar (oon-garr), usually translated as 'commander,' was the title of the leader of a body of 1,000-10,000 fighters. In modern, civil terms it denotes leadership of a simple tribe or town, a lesser temple or cult, or authority over a civilian ministry in a state-level society.
• Koma (koh-mah) is the title of the leader of 500-1,000 fighters, often translated as captain. It is used by the leaders of the few remaining hobgoblins operating in band-level societies, and also by senior local priests, or the heads of civic or court departments.

Lower military ranks - heka (hee-kah, lieutenant-captain), pentek (penn-tek, lieutenant), deka (dee-kah, sergeant) and tera (tee-rah, corporal) - are similarly used for minor civic and religious functionaries. As well as sharing titles, the social status and respect accorded to military and civic leaders is identical in hobgoblin society

Hobgoblins and Identity

Hobgoblins traditionally have two identities, their fire face and their tent face, a concept derived from the practices of the Iron Mind. The fire face is the persona that a hobgoblin presents to the public, originally around the campfire. It is a purely martial or professional persona, and has no gender. The tent face is the persona that the hobgoblin presents within their family, and is typically distinguished by the setting aside of armour (although not, traditionally, weapons.)
Within the tent, hobgoblins have three social genders: Iron, copper and gold. Iron hobgoblins eschew gender and sex alike. Copper hobgoblins are sexually active but without interest in reproduction. Gold hobgoblins are sexually active with intent to breed. While many copper and gold hobgoblins present as neither male or female, but this is not universal and, especially in blended and cosmopolitan societies, many hobgoblins will also present a sexual gender (that is not strictly tied to biological sex.)
Hobgoblins have no institution of marriage. Instead, groups of unrelated young hobgoblins will form their own fires - temporary social groupings - which may evolve into a secure and lasting familial unit known as a tent, the terms being drawn from the same customs as the tent and fire face. The members of the tent may be many things to one another - friends, comrades, lovers, or some combination of all three and more besides - but none of these relationships are exclusive. For reproductive purposes, gold hobgoblins typically forge relationships with coppers within the tent, with the gold partner taking on the duty of raising any children of the union. Relationships between golds are much more unusual, as are relationships outside the tent - so called fire-flings - but both do happen.
Modern hobgoblins may eschew the cultivation of a fire face. This is still largely seen as an act of youthful rebellion, but is increasingly common, and has led to an increase in the frequency of fire-flings.