Goblins

"We should find another way," I muttered for the hundredth time. Our torchlight played off the walls of the curving tunnel, creating movement where there was none, dancing shadows making me jump at every step.
"We've already decided, and they can probably already smell that we're here," Aman confidently replied. "Steady yourself; This will be the fastest route anyone's ever taken to the north sea; we'll be rich, and they'll help us get that way for a generous cut of the profits."
Before I could reply with my assertion that this would more likely be the fastest anyone had ever died traveling to the north sea, a hulking figure dropped to the floor in front of us with a heavy impact. I am not ashamed to say I screamed like a small child. Aman showed a cooler head, sketching a bow and holding up the heavy bag of clinking coins from his belt.
"We acknowledge your claim to these lands, and are not here to challenge you," he said. "I bring gifts of gold, and I wish to barter for passage through your domain."
The corpulent creature thumped forward with heavy footsteps, taking the bag in a massive hand and spilling into its other hand to count out the coins inside. Torchlight caught the gold in its hand and reflected in its beady eyes as I sweated.
"This will cover the tribute for not eating you," it said at length, the high-pitched nature of its voice at odds with its large, flabby form. Tying the bag in place on its waistcloth, it grinned, showing rows of pointed teeth. "What offer do you bring to pay for the opportunity to bargain?"
Goblins are the bogeymen of human societies, their stories told to frighten children into acceptable behavior and warn travelers away from their domains. Creatures of greed more than anything else, goblin tunnels are not lightly entered, and rarely left while still living. Goblins happily spend most of their time tunneling through the earth in ever-expanding warrens, seeking the precious metals and gems they so adore or cavorting around piles of the same in dim torchlight; they revel in the patterns of light thrown off polished gold, silver, and gemstones.
Wise is the leader of any group, human, orc, elf, or otherwise, who pays at least a minor tribute to a local goblin brood preemptively; the greed and jealousy of the creatures otherwise drives them to paranoia about what nearby settlements are hoarding, prompting efforts ranging from viciously-cunning traps and ambushes on hunting parties and other travelers to outright raids on the settlement itself in search of hidden treasure. Those who would seek passage through the goblins' extensive tunnel networks to speed a trip through mountains or foothills should bring thrice the tribute they think will be needed for safe passage; goblins enjoy eating the meat of sentient species especially and charge an initial tribute for not turning trespassers into the main course of the week.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Although technically humanoid, there is no actual resemblance in goblins to humans beyond overall shape. Towering over other humanoid species, the heavy-boned race bears layers of muscle covered by layers of fat, giving them an appearance of being constantly overfed. Those who let this appearance deceive them are swiftly overwhelmed in any combat: While they may not be able to match the nimble elves for sheer quickness, a goblin can move its weight with uncanny grace and speed that easily make it a physical threat.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Although not an overly-fecund race, at least one brood of goblins can be found in any major chain of mountains or foothills, where contesting claims with the dwarves who share the ranges sometimes result in viciously-fought underground wars between the two.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

A goblin can easily see in all but the deepest of darkness, though some quirk of their eyes' adaptation makes the glimmer of light on metal and gem almost entrancing to them, so they regularly carry torches or other light sources.
Their sense of smell is uniquely attuned to metals, gems... and blood. Goblins literally smell rich veins of metal in the walls of their caves, tunneling almost-directly to deposits of rare materials. They also detect the scent of intruders in their tunnels quite quickly, able to determine what species is present based purely on the smell of their victim-to-be's warm blood. The surest way to bring a swarm of goblins down on oneself if somehow successfully having infiltrated their tunnels is to acquire an open wound.
Their sense of hearing isn't especially sharp, so much as they are attuned to the nature of sounds around them in their underground environments and quick to pick up on anomalies of noise; a quiet person who successfully masked their smell could feasibly sneak by a goblin, if they kept out of sight and were careful not to disturb the environment being snuck through.
The most interesting sense on goblins, by far, is their sense of smell with regard to magic. The goblins refer to it as smell, at least; many a would-be intruder who perfectly masked themselves using spells has been "sniffed out" by way of the magic lingering on their person instead. A goblin allowed to directly examine a magical object can almost always identify every aspect of the object's enchantments and functionality, turning and sniffing it from every angle for several minutes. More than one organization utilizes goblin broods to determine the involvement of a single caster in multiple events, offering tributes for examinations of objects; the goblins say each person's magic smells differently from the next, no two the same.

Lifespan

Unknown

Average Height

6'9" - 9'7"