Fluff adapted from Clinton’s book. Crunch adapted from the book and forum discussions.
A goblin is a small, twisted creature. A human would call it debased, for it has neither values nor restraint. The goblin would not understand those terms: it is a creature of hedonistic pleasure, living for this moment, and the next.
Goblins are infinitely adaptable beings; their “natural” bodies, if you can call them that, manage to resemble demons, dogs, and men at the same time. They are mottled brown, black, green, and grey, and their hair grows randomly, in shape and color. Their bodies have an ability that cannot be explained by many: they evolve to match their environment even as they continue to age, and their offspring carry these same characteristic. Even strong magic and torture can warp their bodies, as many evil wizards have found, creating the dread urgoblins, bugbears, Hungry Ones and Violators from goblin stock. Most goblins are smaller and stouter than humans, although they can come in just about any size.
Goblins’ curiosity drives them into all the forgotten places of the earth, and makes them decent apprentices for just about any job: they catch on quickly, but tend to cause as many accidents as they do help. They’re easy to keep loyal, though: all goblins have an addiction, which if fed regularly, will make one your best friend. This addiction need not be to a drug: they can be addicted to a certain act, food, drink, or any experiences, really. (A tale has been told of goblin divers on the shores of Maldor. These beasts were amazing pearl-finders, and were addicted to the rush of adrenaline they got when their human handler threw them off the cliff-side.)
Goblin tribes can be found all over Near, and goblins may also easily live with humans who would have them. The regional variants in the appearance of the goblins are large, suggesting some regularity in their ancestry.
Left alone, goblin societies resemble anarchy to any outsider, although they tend to grow an alpha goblin among any tribe. Any goblin tribe of more than about two dozen of the animals tends to fall apart without an outside master, usually human. Goblins are actually rather good at organizing to make sure everyone’s needs get met, but when they start to threaten each other’s resources, tribes quickly split into rivals. Goblin families are very loose-knit. All goblins are poly-sexual, and any mating between them, whether male-male, male-female, or female-female, can generate offspring. With a month-long gestation period, this doesn’t really get in the way of their curious relations.
The goblin offspring are born as small, but capable goblinets, emerging as little flesh-balls about a foot in diameter. Within an hour of their birth, they grow feet, hands, eyes, and a mouth. Young goblinets pick another goblin in the tribe as their parent, randomly, and if that goblin doesn’t push them away, they usually learn the same addictions and behaviors. Should it become an issue, goblinets begin the game with minimal Pools, their few Abilities at MEDIOCRE (0) and the KEY OF GOBLINET.
Goblins do not understand the human concept of love. It’s an alien concept to them. They do understand mutual pleasure, of both the sexual and non-sexual form, and do actively work with each other. The greatest sins in goblin society are not wanting to trade – one goblin’s poison is another’s pudding – and betraying someone you’re working with.
A few goblins have been observed in a bizarre state that resembles love, however. When a goblin is struck with this, known only as “the Affliction” in their rough language, they leave their tribe and travel, their only goals to prove their love or die. (They seem confused by their own emotions, and usually cannot express clearly what they are doing.) A goblin has never been observed in love with another goblin, however; they always choose a member of another species as their object of affection, almost always a human.
A goblin who buys off the KEY OF AFFLICTION becomes human. They lose their Adaptability and goblin-specific Secrets (losing the Advances), but may not necessarily lose all of their current adaptations; such a person may be left stuck in a liminal state as they are unable to shapeshift.
Goblin adaptability makes them a creature on par with humanity in terms of variation. Different conditions – and sometimes, cultures – force the goblins to take shapes quite far from what might be considered their natural one. It’s pretty fun to develop these critters from traditional fantasy memes; here are some examples:
Apes are what goblins are called in the jungles of Qek. They live in troops deep in the jungle, usually staying out of the way of the humans. Individual troops will almost always include a seamless extent of speaking and tool-using critters, as well as those that are little but dumb animals.
Orcs are big, savage goblins that have sprung up in northern Maldor and Ammeni through the recent years. They are cruel, addicted to the by-products of war ravaging their homelands. Orcs seem to develop spontaneously in goblin tribes, but at their worst they are in the Ammeni mercenary outfits, made up entirely of orcs.
Ghouls are goblins as well, gaunt as they may be. Ghouls apparently developed during the Year of Shadow and quickly specialized in scavenging the flesh of the multitudes that perished. Now they haunt battlefields and cemeteries in Maldor. Despite the environs and diet, most ghouls are gentle and curious creatures not likely to attack living beings.
Trolls are what goblins are called in Gorenite lands. There are also actual trolls: strong, enormous, thickskinned rulers of troll-kin. It is far from clear why there are so many trolls in Goren of all places.
Spriggan is what goblins are called in Khale. They’re shy creatures that live up in trees and down under their roots. They can change their coloring to match the environment, making them quite reclusive.
Yeti is the name Vulflanders give to goblins. Vulfland goblins have thick, warm fur and an ability to hibernate for extended periods. They live in subterranean or glacial labyrinths they trap against their Vulfen predators.
Deep Ones are water-breathing goblins, of course. I imagine they’d interact with land-lubbers near coasts and in the archipelagos. Their undersea skirmishes with the Talalag of Pere-di-Fey must be a sight to behold.
Imps are a particular type of goblin in Ammeni, the sort that is especially suited for specialized tasks in harmony with their form and addictions. The definition is really just functional, a useless goblin is a “pest” instead. Creating imps is something of an art-form among some more debased House nobles, who pride themselves on their ability of reducing a person into a flesh automaton.
| Adaptability (V) |
|---|
| Goblins can change their body structure and even their mental build over time, although for most it is more of an instinctual than intentional process. The Ability can be used to perform feats of contortionism, both actual and metaphorical. The goblin might even be able to change his hair or skin color with enough motivation. |
| Secret of the Goblin |
|---|
| Goblins are all gripped by addictions that control much of their being, even being addicted to things that are in no way alluring to humans. The character does not pay Advances for the SECRET OF ADDICTION. The Story Guide may require Resist (R) checks from a goblin to avoid developing new addictions to experiences they encounter; each existing and active addiction provides a bonus die to resisting new ones. |
| Secret of Adaptability |
| The character can change himself quickly and drastically to conform better with his current environment. When indulging an addiction, instead of regaining Pool, swap the level of ADAPTABILITY (V) with any other Ability. The change is permanent. |
| Secret of Deep Adaptation |
| In lieu of the normal activation of the SECRET OF ADAPTABILITY the character can regain Advances from Pools, Abilities and Secrets, and invest free Advances to the same very quickly. An ADAPTABILITY (V) check result determines how many Advances can be freed or invested. |
| Cost: 2 VIGOR |
| Requirements: SECRET OF ADAPTABILITY |
| Secret of Quick Adaptation |
| While other goblins usually do not warp into new form, the character adapts all but instantly. Furthermore, he may trigger an adaptation cycle at will. There is a downside: the Story Guide may cause an adaptation cycle to trigger when conditions suddenly change, should the character fail an ENDURE (V) check to control himself; if the addiction can’t be immediately satisfied, this costs Pool. |
| Cost: 3 VIGOR to trigger adaptation. |
| Requirements: SECRET OF ADAPTABILITY |
| Secret of Animalism |
| The character’s form has become recognizably animal-like. He can use animal crunch freely, as if he were beastkin himself. |
| Secret of the Fur |
| The character has a thick, warm fur that makes him both pretty and able to survive in cold environments. Weather is of no concern to him. Requirement: SECRET OF ANIMALISM |
| Secret of Ravenous Hunter |
| The character can smell things that satisfy his severe addictions, even if they do not normally carry a smell. REACT (I) can be used to make checks to this purpose. |
| Requirement: SECRET OF ADDICTION |
| Secret of the Chameleon |
| The character’s skin changes color at will or instinctively to match the environment. He can use his ADAPTABILITY (V) when trying to hide from others. |
| Requirement: SECRET OF ANIMALISM |
| Secret of Connoisseur (specify) |
| The character has become an expert on the subject of one of his addictions. He can use the Pool associated with the addiction freely for bonus dice on any Ability checks where this knowledge would be useful. |
| Requirement: SECRET OF ADDICTION |
| Secret of Ur-Pattern (specify) |
| The goblin has become locked into an UrPattern, reducing his adaptability considerably: each adaptation cycle now changes the character for one Advance’s worth (with larger changes done in parts). He also gains the specified Ur-Form for free. His progeny will all have the Ur-Form for free. |
| Secret of the Ur-Goblin |
| The character can possess several URFORMS (bought as Secrets), but he cannot use the SECRET OF ADAPTABILITY at all. His progeny will all have the SECRET OF URPATTERN for free once for each of his UrForms. |
| Requirement: SECRET OF UR-PATTERN |
| Trollish Ur-Form |
| A troll shakes off any compulsions when indulging his addiction, realizing his true course. As long as he follows the course, he may support his social Abilities with his ADAPTATION (V). Trolls are large and powerful, and may learn STATURE (V) and SECRET OF BULK. |
| Ghoulish Ur-Form |
| Ghouls almost always are addicted to the flesh of dead people; each time they consume it, the character has to resist the addiction. A ghoul consuming a dead person’s body gains a free Effect off his ADAPTATION (V) based on the person’s life. Thus the ghoul learns the tale of his dinner. |
| Deep One Ur-Form |
| Deep Ones can breathe both air and water, although they suffer a penalty die on physical tasks out of the water. They move very efficiently in water, gaining superior LEVERAGE in comparison to human swimmers. |
| Orcish Ur-Form |
| Orcs have a dark side and an inclination for brutality; each time they experience war, they have to resist addiction. An orc who would be losing a conflict or failing an Ability check can try again with ENDURE (V) by taking a 1st level Harm. |
| Key of Affliction |
|---|
| The character suffers of the Affliction, which means that he pines over a love for a specific person, without quite understanding his condition himself. |
| 1xp: Pine for your love. |
| 2xp: Learn about love. |
| 5xp: Get insulted, ostracized or ridiculed due to your state. |
| Buyoff: Become a human by either beating your addictions or winning the love of your target. |
| Key of Identity |
| The character is not certain of who or what he is, anymore. |
| 1xp: Your identity is questioned. |
| 2xp: Your identity is asserted. |
| 5xp: Reinvent yourself from physical appearance down. |
| Buyoff: Settle down. |
| Key of Indulgence |
| The character knows how to enjoy life without going too far about it. |
| 1xp: Indulge yourself, not your addictions. |
| 3xp: Resist your addiction. |
| Buyoff: Gain an addiction. |
| Key of Parenting |
| A goblinet or several have imprinted on the character as their parent. This happens to goblins from time to time, especially if they live with a tribe. |
| 1xp: Goblinets in the scene. |
| 2xp: Care for the goblinets. |
| 5xp: A goblinet grows up and leaves. |
| Buyoff: Refuse the goblinets. |
| Key of Goblinet |
| Little goblins get this Key when they’re born. They usually buy it off when they become sexually mature. |
| 1xp: Emulate another goblin. |
| 3xp: Learn a new thing. |
| Buyoff: Grow up. |