Goblin
From Zok
Contents |
Racial Statistics by Subrace
The goblins were created by Dezzik, and the vast majority of them reside in the deserts where his power is strongest. They are an extremely disciplined and militaristic race, and their rule over the blazing sands is unquestioned. The goblins have been known to launch raids into more hospitable territory, and even to attempt to conquer foreign lands, though the latter attempts rarely bear any fruit.
Shoveen
- -2 Str, +2 Dex, -2 Char
- Small Size (+1 size modifier to AC, +1 to attack rolls, +4 on Hide checks, -4 on Grapple checks, 75% carrying capacity)
- Base land speed 30 feet
- Low-Light Vision
- +4 racial bonus on Move Silently and Ride checks
- +4 on Fort saves to resist hot environmental conditions
- Favored Class: Rogue
Vardreen
- +2 Dex, +2 Con
- Medium Size
- Base Land speed 30 feet
- Low-light vision
- +4 racial bonus on Move Silently checks
- +4 on Fort saves to resist hot environmental conditions
- Level Adjustment +1
- Favored Class: Monk
Dezdrin
- +2 Dex, +2 Con, +2 Int, -2 Char
- Medium Size
- Base Land speed 30 feet
- Low-light vision
- +1 on attack rolls against creatures with the Water or Cold subtypes
- -2 on saves against spells or abilities with the Water or Cold descriptors
- Fire Resistance 5
- +4 racial bonus on Move Silently checks
- +4 on Fort saves to resist hot environmental conditions
- Favored Class: Cleric or Swordsage
- Level Adjustment +2
Description
The majority of goblins are Shoveen, short nimble creatures with yellow-brown skin that blends well with the sands of their homeland. They have flat sloping heads and longish ears, and their eyes are usually somewhere between brown and an orangish red (with the exception of those with sorcerous blood). They have long, dextrous limbs and usually wear reptile skins. They average between three and four feet tall, and usually weigh between thirty and fifty pounds. The Vardreen are taller and more sturdy, between four and five feet tall, and a very few of the Dezdrin have been known to tower over their lessers at up to six feet. The Vardreen have sand-orange skin, and the skin of the Dezdrin is red.
Culture
Goblin culture is relatively simple. Their primary concern is survival; the desert is a harsh place to live and demands that its people be harsh to match it. The goblins build their homes of sandstone where it's available and mud brick when it's not. Those who live in the deeper desert sometimes build tunnel complex underneath the sands, but these are only viable in places that don't receive many storms.
The goblins tend to form close-knit family and tribal groups. In the desert a good friend is worth his weight in gold (not to mention the water he's carrying in his blood), and gold is merely a heavy metal that gets really hot and slows you down. The barter system is very important among goblins, because goods that keep you alive are infinitely more important than shiny stones. Goblins aren't very tolerant of incompetents, nor are they tolerant of foreigners (in their eyes, the two are very often the same), but they're often willing to trade valuable materials for simple goods. A canteen full of water is easily worth a bag of emeralds after you've spent enough time in the desert, and most goblins take that knowledge to heart.
The goblins have a strict caste system, and can tell one another apart by size, skin color, and by the bracelets which indicate rank.
Religion
The vast majority of goblins worship Dezzik, the creator and supreme ruler of the goblin race. He's a harsh god, the physical embodiment of the landscape around them. Dezzik's goal is to destroy the weaker goblins, forging his people in a stronger weapon by tempering them in the fiery sands. Dezzik is worshipped primarily to avert his wrath; most goblins feel no love for the Burning Hammer. Kren Nulgi, Dezzik's consort, receives similar lip-service and frequent sacrifices. A little incense is a small price to pay to keep from waking up with a scorpion in your bedroll. Lord Aki often recieves devotions from those about to set out on journeys between cities, and Serk has many worshippers among the goblins who live on the banks of the Klaztu. Nyan has a large underground following, as does Tyani, and together their worshippers are known as the Cactus Cult, an group severely persecuted until several years ago and still widely discriminated against.
Art
The goblins make the finest glass in the world. They know where to find the perfect sands for any color or consistency of glass, how to blow it and twist it and pour it into ceramic molds. Temples to Dezzik are often filled with elaborate windows of colored glass, and goblin warriors who prove their valor in battle are often rewarded with glass weapons hardened by magic. Such weapons are a closely guarded treasure, and no goblin may sell or trade such a weapon to a foreigner. They are as sharp as broken glass and harder than bronze.
The goblins, particularly those near the Klaztu, work well with mud brick and ceramics, and they build ships of wood bought dear from Sridan, sometimes strengthening them with glass. Their buildings and their ships alike are more functional than beautiful, but most goblin artisans will tell you that function is what beauty is all about. Some of the more lecherous ones will even wink. Goblin artists are fond of radial designs and starburst patterns, both of which invoke the power of the sun. Fiery patterns are quite popular on rank-bracelets, and the clasps of most citizen-collars and slave-collars are stamped with sun-symbols.
Customs
Goblin customs revolve mostly around their unusual hierarchy.
