Goblin
Basic Information
Anatomy
Small and often hunched humanoids or skin ranging from an olive green and celadon grey, too ochre brown and sallow yellow, goblins are considered an inelegant race by many. They are often thin, with long arms and legs. They have 14 vertebrae and pentadactyl arms, with the common 5 phalanged hands. Bones tend to be more flexible and retain a higher density. Being double jointed is common for goblins, and they seem to have a greater elasticity in most of their soft tissues than many other similar species.
Goblins have little ability to put on much subcutaneous fat, when they have reserves it's usually stored viscerally and intramuscularly.
Goblins are mammalian, and have standard humanoid sexual characteristics and females develop small breasts over the pectoral muscles.
Their nasal bone is thickened and partially fused too the frontal skull plate, creating an appearance of sunken eyes and a constant frown. The nose shape varies, but tends towards the hawkish or square. They tend to have visible, high cheekbones quite widely spaced on their head. The jaw has a great degree of elasticity and can be very expressive. Goblins have 36 teeth, with an extra set of premolars on both the upper and lower mandible. Their ears are long and terminate quire squarely or end rounded points, and lack lobes. The eyes are quite small, with the whites usually slightly sallow and the iris small. Irises are usually green or brown, and more rarely yellow or red. They usually have a slit pupil, although circular ones do occur in several populations. Goblins have a tapetum lucidum much like many nocturnal mammals, and their eyeshine is commonly green, although red is not unknown. Both male and female goblins grow hair from their scalps, almost always black or brown in colour, and grow none elsewhere on the body. The hair is thick and dense in most cases, but some populations are near bald.
Genetics and Reproduction
Goblins only go through periods of fertility when there is sufficient food to do so for both the male and female. Gestation is quick, usually around 5 months, with pregnancy impacting the mother little in means of mobility until the final month, and birth is relatively easy. If food continues to be in supply, fertility will remain high and the population will rapidly increase.
Growth Rate & Stages
Goblins grow quickly, being out of infancy with 4 months or so, and in adolescence by 4 years. They reach adulthood at 8, but the rate of growth slows and they continue mature until about 15. Ears and hands are often much out of proportion among adolescent goblins, but become more acceptably sized by the time they are fully grown.
Ecology and Habitats
Goblins are adaptable to almost environment, and can etch out a living in places other species cannot. They prefer moderate climates, and dense vegetation or rocky protrusions to make their homes. Caves are preffered, especially if the rock is soft and secure enough to be expanded as the population grows.
As they often act as raider, goblins will try to find a location close enough to a road or town for easy access, but far away enough to be reasonably hidden
Often goblins live in abandoned structures such as ruined farmhouses and disused mines, adapting these to their needs well. They less commonly create their own buildings, usually lacking material and expertise to build complex and large structures.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Goblins are omnivorous, and eat pretty much whatever food is put in front of them. They cook mostly too make food easier to eat and digest, and seem to have a good grasp of getting the absolute most out of every type of food.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Goblins have reputed to have excellent hearing and sense of smell. In truth, they are above average in their perception of scent, and average in hearing, but they often make active effort to train these skills. The Tapetum Lucidium of goblin eyes is well formed, giving them fantastic low light vision, and a particular sensitivity to movement.
Civilization and Culture
Major Organizations
Church of the Conqueror God is the core religion of Goblins and holds a great importance throughout many of the tribes. The remnants of its teachings still mark goblin culture even when they no longer follow it, or are subjugated into another religion.
Beauty Ideals
Goblins have relatively simple views of beauty. They idolise well kept hair as it indicates both wealth and health, and tend to favour green eyes. Scars are admired, especially if they don't impair their bearer, but any mark or story of survival will do. Most goblins have a fondness for decorations, in varying ways, be that war trophies, coloured feather, metal plates and tattoos and happily wear and flaunt their wealth.
Average Technological Level
It would be best to describe their technology as having a deep grasp of the environment around them. Goblins will find a way to survive anywhere, and learn as much as they can about the place they live, be that perfecting bushcraft and climbing in mountainous forests, to learning mining and ironworking when inhabiting an abandoned mine, they seem to have a fantastic capacity too absorb knowledge around them. When stealing or borrowing knowledge from towns, they often fall into the trap of learning only the clever tricks of the trade and having a shaky grasp on the basics of the craft.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Goblins have relatively little linguistic drift, all speaking an identical or very similar form of Goblin. Their writing script is traditionally Runic Script, but with the relatively few books and works of literature, this is more subject to change, and works in goblin are often written in Common, and Elvish script, if phonetically transcribed.
The lack of any major dialect is due too the Church of the Conqueror God, the most common goblin religion, and it's focus on unity with other goblinoid races. Thus, Goblin has a lot of Loanwords where its restrictive language falls short. These loan words vary widely from place to place, usually dependent on the other races living nearby.
Common Taboos
Mention of the dead gods of their pantheon is deeply tabooed, and can make one an outcast.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
- Note on Goblinoids goes here
Scientific Name
Anthropedus agrestus
Lifespan
60-70 years
Average Height
85-130cm tall
Average Weight
15-26 kilos
Related Organizations
Related Ethnicities
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