Goblins
Goblins are the most numerous and widespread of the Goblinoid peoples, feared throughout Tolhera and beyond as raiders, scavengers, and cruel opportunists. Individually weak compared to most mortal races, goblins survive through overwhelming numbers, relentless aggression, and an almost unmatched ability to infest the hidden corners of the world. They thrive in caves, ruins, forests, abandoned tunnels, sewers, and forgotten wilderness regions, multiplying rapidly wherever food, shelter, and vulnerable prey can be found. Imperial commanders and frontier settlers alike often regard goblins less as a conventional enemy and more as a persistent plague upon The Empire itself. No matter how thoroughly they are hunted or driven out, some always seem to survive, waiting in darkness for the chance to spread once again.
Physically, goblins are small, wiry creatures with sharp features, quick reflexes, and lean bodies adapted for speed and agility rather than direct physical strength. Most possess green, grey, or yellowish skin tones, large ears, sharp teeth, and narrow predatory eyes well-suited for life in darkness and cramped spaces. Though physically weaker than every other goblinoid, goblins compensate through speed, numbers, and an instinctive understanding of ambush tactics and dirty fighting. They favour crude but effective weapons, traps, improvised explosives, poisons, and overwhelming assaults designed to exhaust or overwhelm stronger opponents. Their small size allows them to move easily through terrain and tunnels inaccessible to larger creatures, making them particularly difficult to eradicate once established in an area.
Goblin society is chaotic, violent, and deeply cruel, even by the standards of other goblinoids. Leadership is unstable and usually maintained through intimidation, fear, and constant displays of brutality. Goblins delight in torment, destruction, and humiliation, often inflicting suffering not out of necessity, but simple amusement. Raids against isolated settlements frequently involve torture, mutilation, and wanton destruction carried out with gleeful enthusiasm. They are notoriously treacherous toward one another as well, with goblin tribes plagued by endless infighting, betrayal, and sudden shifts in loyalty. Despite this instability, goblins remain highly social creatures capable of gathering in enormous numbers under sufficiently strong or terrifying leaders. Their worship of Luthror, reflects the most sadistic and malicious aspects of the shattered god, centred around fear, cruelty, opportunism, and survival through the suffering of others.
Though often dismissed as cowardly nuisances by those unfamiliar with them, goblins are responsible for many deaths across the Empire each year. Small infestations left unchecked can rapidly escalate into major regional threats, particularly in frontier territories or regions destabilised by war, famine, or political unrest. Their prodigious reproductive rate and ability to survive in almost any environment make them exceptionally difficult to eliminate permanently. Even when major tribes are destroyed, scattered survivors frequently regroup elsewhere and begin the cycle anew. More disciplined goblinoid races such as Hobgoblins often exploit goblin populations as expendable labourers, raiders, or shock troops, while Bugbears tend to avoid them unless necessity demands cooperation, or a snack. Among Imperial scholars and military authorities, there is a common regarding goblins, that where there's one, there's ten, and when there's ten, there's a hundred.
Other Goblinoids
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