The Goblins are the second of the Goblinoid races that we’re looking at in this series of blog posts leading up to the release of 4th edition Demonworld.
When the Goblins split away from the Orcs and divided the Goblinoid race into the two modern distinct races, it was primarily due to the preferred habitat of each. The Orcs preferred the plains and rolling hills with light woods and open skies while the Goblins preferred the highlands and mountains. The thicker country suited the nimble and quick Goblins. It rewarded them for their curiosity and willingness to delve into the dark places to seek out new things to find. Spelunking came as naturally to the smaller Goblinoids as breathing and they certainly were not beyond swimming great distances in the dark, through water filled caves to find new areas to explore.
This love of the high places put them in direct conflict with the Mountain Dwarves however, and early Goblin settlements often paid a terrible price when their exploration revealed their presence and the Dwarves mounted “cleansing” operations to rid themselves of the “vermin” as they termed the Goblins.
Over time the Goblins got better at both hiding their settlements and defending them when they were revealed. Their ability to mislead and ambush the Dwarves grew to the point where the tables would be turned on the would-be exterminators and more than a few Dwarf settlements found themselves without any fighting capability after an extermination expedition failed to return. After some generations had passed, the Dwarves began to treat the Goblins as a very real threat and no longer underestimated them at all. Indeed, it is not now unheard of for units of Goblins and Dwarves to fight alongside each other to repel some other external threat from the mountains.
This earned respect of the Goblins fighting ability eventually lead to the beginning of trade between Dwarven and Goblin nations and to the other races as well. Once this began to happen the Goblins truly flourished. Being quick of mind and with great skill with their hands, their craftsmanship became valued across the whole of Tinerè. Great wagon trains can often now be seen winding their way up and down the mountains within which the Goblin nations have made their own. The most prized of goods produced by the Goblin artisans are the gemstones for which they mine deep under the mountains in the very bones of the earth.
Some Goblin paths under the earth have become so well trodden and so well known that they now form established paths between different nations. Some folk even travel for many months to see the Goblin homes and marvel at the wonders of the caves and subterranean waterways. These travellers spread many tales of the wonders they have seen and encourage a steady flow of pilgrims to do the same.