Goblinoids

"Do you year that? In the old days of the War, they said the winds of the North carried the screams of those that were tortured in Hark-Narrath... Close the window, I don't want to listen to it" Old Man Antwyr, hermit
"Let our screams fill their night! Let our battlecry bleed the ears of the enemy! Let our feet crush their skulls! Let our victory poison their land!" Goblin battlecry

Out from the North, even beyond the Great Steppes, they came; rumors were that they were the offspring of the Elders in the Dark, the squamous Godlings that lived in Karash, according to The Story of the Dragonfire, others suggest they came from one of the Moons, possibly Alunari, the Dark Sister.
Whichever their origins, their mark on the continent cannot be denied, as they were adepts at Transmutation, and responsible to some of the most terrible creatures in existence: Creatures such as the Chuuls, the Owlbears, the Displacer Beast, Ettins, and even the Goliath race were grafted from their dens.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Goblins have flat faces, broad noses, pointed ears, and small, sharp fangs. Their foreheads sloped back, and their eyes varied in color from red to yellow. Their skin color ranged from yellow through any shade of orange to a deep red; usually, all members of the same tribe shared the same colored skin, though they also came in shades of green. Goblins were typically dressed in dark leathers soiled by poor hygiene and colored in a similar range of tones to their skin. Goblins usually stood between 3'4" and 3'8" and weighed about 40 to 55 pounds on average.
Bugbears resemble hairy, feral goblins standing 7 feet tall. They took their name from their noses and claws, which were similar to those of bears. Their claws were not long and sharp enough to be used as weapons, so bugbears often armored and armed themselves with a variety of purloined gear. Most often, this gear was second-rate and in poor repair.
And in the case of Hobgoblins, as in most recollections from older accounts of the War of Winter's Fire described them as smaller and weaker than bugbears, but better organized. Hobgoblins were humanoids that stood nearly 6'6" tall on average, a little taller than orcs. Smarter than other goblinoid races, they were renowned for their brutality and military skill.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Goblins always exhibited a highly tight social caste, with the Hobgoblins on top; and even there they had another caste, and another.
Even the more chaotic goblins and the devious bugbears have a strict social hierarchy based not only on breed, but also on merit, those that were the embodiment of goblin kind (according to them) were at the top of the totem pole.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Originally, all of the Goblins were found in the North of Karash, in the Steppes, but in the accounts of the War of Winter's Fire, some elven sources cite Hobgoblin ships rising from the oceans almost everywhere, which led the creation of the the first Floating Cities, but as livable places, instead of just floating gardens for the nobility.

Average Intelligence

Goblins themselves are not highly bright, there were bred as shock troopers, and given rudimentary cunning only to help the Hobgoblins to their work, but, as of late, there are rumors of Goblins taking hostages into dark places, and doing crude, non-sensical experiments.
Hobgoblins and Bugbears, however, they were (or are, in the Bugbear's case) highly intelligent, but also cruel. Hobgoblins had a control of Alchemy and Transmutation that astonished even the Elves, creating magical creatures for various proposes, and even creating Wyverns, animals that were a sort of mockery of the memory of the Dragons.

Civilization and Culture

Average Technological Level

Goblinoids on their heyday were masters of the Alchemy, and the Embers of Transmutation, and Conjuration. In fact, it is believed that goblins experimented on themselves, and thus the Bugbears and Hobgoblin came to be.

History

The Goblin Cave by Wayne Reynolds

It is really unknown just how the Goblins came from, or where. What it is known is that they had a empire even north of Karash, perhaps even in the unknown frigid seas, but what it is known is that they were one of the eldest civilizations in the continent, far-surpassing even that of the Elves. But, where the elves were masters of the Thaumaturge-Steam, the Goblins were master flesh-shapers and breeders, able to create entire species for their own use.
At first, the Elven Garden-Cities and the Empire of Hark-Narrath kept their distance, and neither side cared of the actions of the other: From the Elves kidnapping Sorcerer to Empower they Machines , to the Narrathi taking the peoples from the Steppes to bred them with Orcs and get half-breed slaves, or worse.
But all changed with the War of Winter's Fire; no one knows who provoked it, but it is believed that the first hostilities were at the territory of the Vinteraeln clan of the Elves, in the Neck of the Northlands, which culminated with the Sacking of the Elven city of Elundiel. The Vinteraeln clan then proceeded to make alliances with the other cities and enclaves of elves, with the exception of the Oceanborn, whom they had left the continent decades prior.
The fight was fierce, and Northern Karash itself buckled to the weight of the war, so much so that even in far off Axtalan the effects of the war were seen, as many of the city-states rejected any and all attempts of Elves and the Narrathi to even pick sides (they had seen what they did to the Kanath Empire years prior. Even the people of the Ikele took shelter in the Fae Grasslands, even though the Elves could brave them, do to their connection of the Fates.
In the end, however, the Hark-Narrath empire fell, and the Hobgoblins retreated, never to be seen again... Only the Goblins and the Bugbears remain, as shadows of their former selves: Goblins have reverted to a savage society of sorts, but still having the cunning and the cleverness they are known for, and Bugbears are either savage reclusive beasts, or mercenaries and assassins for hire.

Common Myths and Legends

According to the few scant sources of goblin lore, they were molded from mud and stones of the depths of the sea, made strong by Old Sea Gods, and given a drive and cunning that the savage surface-dwelling creatures did not have.
When the Goblins arose from the oceans, they couldn't breathe the air, so they fashioned machines that could, and then, with the lessons their aquatic gods gave them, fashioned lungs with magic. In time, they begun to develop more and more control of magic, making themselves stronger, and more intelligent, and this is how the hobgoblins and bugbears came to be.
But, prophecy stated that there would be a fourth goblinoid race, one that would be inherently adaptable to all climates, one that would slowly, but surely, take over the world.

EXTINCT