Goblin

It is believed that Goblins were created by powerful Hobgoblin mages during the early days of the Empire of Dhakaan, to serve as scouts and infiltrators. As such, from the rise of Dhakaan to the modern day the history of the Dhakaani is the history of Goblins.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Goblins are small goblinoids that many consider little more than a nuisance. They have flat faces, broad noses, pointed ears, and small, sharp fangs. Their foreheads slope back, and their eyes vary in color from red to yellow. Their skin color ranges from yellow through any shade of orange to a deep red; usually all members of the same tribe share the same colored skin, though they also come in shades of green.

Genetics and Reproduction

Goblins breed extremely rapidly compared with many other races, accounting for their large population.

Civilization and Culture

History

The Dhakaani Empire was a mighty goblinoid nation that dominated most of Khorvaire over a period extending from about 15,000 years ago to about 5000 years ago.
The Dhakaani fought a war against the invaders from Xoriat, the plane of madness, which exhausted the resources of their empire around 9000 years ago; the Daelkyr were eventually defeated by the Gatekeepers, an order of druids.
The last emperor of the Dhakaani, called the “Shaking Emperor”, because he was afraid of everything, fled and disappeared, taking with him a scepter, an artifact held by countless emperor’s before him. Lhesh Haruuc, the ruler of modern Darguun, desires the scepter as a symbol of his rule, hoping it will keep his people united.
The Daelkyr were thousands of years into their fight with the incredible martial talent of the Dhakaani Empire, and it was not going well for them. The Orcs were putting the seals into place, and the Dhakaani were mining and creating weapons and armor made of Byeshk, a unique metal found to be extra deadly to the Daelkyr and their creations, which included the Symbionts, the Dolgaunts, the Dolgrims, and the Dolgrue.
The Daelkyr were sealed away, and Xoriat was never allowed to become coterminous again since. But the damage was done. The continent spanning empire fell to infighting and the pushback of enemies over a fairly short period of time. By the time humans came to Khorvaire, they found the tattered remnants of the empire. Ruins and wild tribes of Goblins dotted the landscape. The Sarlonan colonists, taking their warlike culture with them, soon enslaved the fractured race. Of the three types, the goblins were most subservient, fastest to breed, and as such were most populous as a slave race. The hobgoblins and bugbears, slower to breed, used to leading instead of following, while stronger and smarter than the goblins, were much more difficult to keep as slave races, and as such are much rarer in the modern world.
When the Kingdom of Galifar was united, slavery was outlawed. It took a long time, throughout the time that Galifar ruled, for the Goblins to recover some of what they were. However, to this day a lot of Goblins occupy the lowest rungs of society, living in slums and the poorest areas of major cities, where they frequently enter into and form criminal organizations, through a nasty coupling of low chance at economic opportunity mixed with a lingering instinct from their past to form organized hierarchies.
Eventually, they found a new way, as unlike the Dhakaani Empire, the modern races have found a way to build groups and coordinate without the eusocial instincts that had held the Empire together. Eventually, they became talented enough to become highly skilled mercenary groups, working for House Deneith.
In 969 YK, the Lhesh Haruuc, (the hobgoblin leader of the Goblin mercenaries), leads the mercenary clans to revolt, creating the nation of Darguun from land they took from Cyre. Deep into the war, none could stop them or their military might. Calling themselves the Ghaal’dar, these Goblins seek to restore the glory and might of their ancient, lost empire. The main issues are a tentative leadership with multiple clan leaders vying for control, coupled with all these modern Goblins still changed by the ancient psychic curse. As such, it may not be possible for them to truly restore the lost Empire. However, it is certainly possible they may find a new way to do things, much like they did to claim the new nation of Darguun, (which was officially recognized during the Treaty of Thronehold in 996 YK.)

• Ability Score Modifiers

  Goblins are fast, but weak and unpleasant to be around. They gain +4 Dexterity, –2 Strength, and –2 Charisma.

• Type

  Goblins are humanoids with the goblinoid subtype.

• Size

  Goblins are Small creatures and thus gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their CMB and CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.

• Base Speed

  Goblins are fast for their size, and have a base speed of 30 feet.

• Languages

  Goblins begin play speaking Goblin. Goblins with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Gnoll, Gnome, Halfling, and Orc. See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.

• Skilled

  Goblins gain a +4 racial bonus on Ride and Stealth checks.

• Darkvision

  Goblins see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet.