As the name implies, this RP is intended to feature goblins as the main characters. We will take on roles in a goblin tribe, although this is not intended to be a nation RP. It would be hard to conceive of it as such, as their society will be little more than a single village. And just to get this out of the way now, this has nothing to do with the Goblins webcomic. As for 18+ content, take it to PM or off the forum, as this will be in the public areas.
Now, most of us an idea of what a goblin is, but conceptions of these fictional creatures varies widely. For the purposes of this RP, these are the physical qualities of goblins:
- Green-skinned humanoids with pointed ears. Goblins are mammals. Their skin tone varies across all shades of green.
- Goblins stand about three feet tall, with some being as much as half a foot taller or shorter, males larger than females.
- Each hand has three fingers and a thumb, each foot has four toes. All digits have a small claw, but it isn't very sharp.
- Goblin males sometimes have hair, females always do.
- Goblins are not particularly strong for their size, but they are stronger than a human child of the same height and weight would be.
Goblin society is tribal, which means that there is a strong in-group/out-group orientation. Trust within the tribe comes easily, but it is hard to come by outside of the tribe, even with other goblins. This particular tribe (whose name shall be determined later) has mastered hunting, fishing, rudimentary farming (mostly grains), and has some skills with iron working. Personal property is allowed, but this limited to weapons, tools, and clothes. The tribe's village consists of a number of circular straw huts arranged in a large circle surrounding the chief's hut in the center. The village itself is surrounded by a wooden palisade, with farms located farther out, and a forest a little way beyond that. The tribe is near a river, which they use for water, fishing, and trade.
The leader of the tribe is the chief, who is always male. His rule is only subject to two limitations: the words of the shaman and the will of the strongest warriors beneath him. He personally leads the tribe into wars, gives approval to raids launched by warriors (which are smaller than a true war), hears cases and settles disputes, and metes out justice when a crime has occurred. The chief is chosen from among the strongest warriors when the previous one dies; the shaman is in charge between the rule of chiefs. This decision is made either by council or by a tournament in which the warriors fights until death or surrender for the right to be chief in a series of armed bouts. Once a new chief is chosen, he is given a ceremonial headdress by the shaman, and given control of the chief's hut. The chief usually has access to whatever adult female he wishes to have, but she can refuse his advances, thanks to the proclamations of the shamans (who explained that the gods frown on those who take a mate against her will.)
The shaman is the effective second in command of the tribe, and can be male or female. He is the chief's advisor on magical and religious matters, performs ceremonies to ward off evil spirits and to encourage bountiful harvests, and is the tribe's main spell caster (this is a fantasy RP, after all!). The shaman runs a temple, which looks very much like the circular huts. This similarity is no coincidence, as it is considered the home of their gods. Goblin gods come in three varieties: nature spirits, revered ancestors, and spirits of war. The shaman's hut is filled with idols to these gods, and a fireplace which is expected to be kept burning at all times, as it represents the power of the tribe. If the fire burns out, even for a short while, it is considered to be a very bad omen. Of course, this fire is kept burning by one of the shaman's spells, and only needs to be fed wood once a week to keep burning.
As the tribe is preliterate, the shaman is also the keeper of the tribe's oral tradition, which is passed down from the shaman to his hand-picked successor, who learns all the spells and rituals the tribe has knowledge of. Worship mostly consists of sacrifices, and trophies taken in war or from a hunting trip are considered especially worthy offerings. Prayers are secondary to sacrifices, but are considered to have some lesser value. The sacrificial ceremony is crude, consisting of little more than a line recited by the shaman, followed by tossing the offering onto the sacred fireplace.
Magic in this goblin tribe is intertwined with religion and has little use for healing and even less use in warfare. Most spells are useful only for increasing fertility (both of the land and the goblins themselves), maintaining the sacred fireplace, and providing low-powered enchantments on certain items to increase their effectiveness. Spells are hard for the shaman to cast and are only used when the situation calls for them, such as helping an infertile female or giving the chief's sword an enchantment on the eve of a major battle. In addition, the shaman has a holy symbol which can ward off the undead (at least the lower-powered ones). This symbol is a necklace made from a rabbit's skull and some twine. Legend has it that the rabbit was the first sacrifice the tribe's first shaman ever made to the gods. In return for this show of piety, the gods blessed the skull with the ability to ward off the undead, and it has protected the tribe ever since.
Beneath the shaman are the tribe's leading warriors. While there is no official way to determine who is considered "leading" in war, it is roughly determined by one's strength, skill in warfare, and by one's reputation. The tribe has a small circle of dirt demarcated by rocks which serves as an arena. Here, warriors vie for status (including that of a new chief as mentioned above). This arena is useful for males who seek to prove themselves outside of warfare, and it sees especially heavy use during times of peace. It is also used by males to settle differences, and is often used by the chief as a way of determining ownership of an item when there is a dispute (the winner gets it). Most arena fights are nonlethal and are unarmed, but high-stakes fights are frequently armed and to the death.
Land is considered to be the property of the tribe, including the fields used for farming. All food harvested from the fields is kept in a common granary, while any food caught in the woods or waters is allowed to be kept by whoever caught it. In addition, the goblins keep smaller animals (chickens, pigs, sheep, and goats, but no cattle or horses), but usually prefer to hunt instead of eating domesticated animals, as their is also considered the tribe's property. Hunting and fishing are considered superior ways of obtaining food, and farming is low-productivity and not yet fully mastered. Food from the tribe's granary is doled out for free in amounts determined by the chief, with the best warriors and pregnant/nursing females getting top priority. Goblins are expected to contribute more food than they take out, but they have no system of determining who contributed what.
Warfare mostly consists of a series of raids and counter-raids against rival tribes and other races. Male goblins seek to prove their prowess in combat, and war bands are made up of disorganized individuals loosely rallying around a strong warrior who leads them and sets an example. Tactics are usually just a charging mass of warriors running at a rival force, but ambushes and traps are also possibilities. Common weapons include spears, hand-axes, bows, and slings. Swords are rare and hard to make, and their use is confined to the strongest warriors or the chief himself. Goblins use little to no armor, although warpaint and tribal markings are common.
Goblin clothing is simple, with loincloths and short leggings being the most common garments. Males rarely use a shirt, but females have something to cover their chests, usually not much more than a wrapping or a simple top piece. Goblins do not use footwear, unless one counts the cloth wrappings they rarely use in the event of a cold day or unusually harsh terrain.
Tribal artisans pass down their knowledge to an apprentice. These crafts are rather rudimentary, and are usually considered a part-time vocation rather than a true profession. The exception is smithing, which is considered the most important skill in the tribe due to its many uses and the necessity of having smiths on hand to produce weaponry. Smiths are allotted as much food as the best warriors, as a symbol of how important their crafts are to the tribe's continued survival.
Goblin families consist of a mother and her children. Goblins do not marry, and a female will mate with many males between births. Each birth usually consists of several children (4 - 8), who grow up in only a couple of years (they are considered mature by age 3) after a 5 month gestation period. One 'litter' of goblins from a female can come from different fathers, much like a cat or a dog. Goblins place little emphasis on fatherhood, but young males will look up to accomplished male warriors as a sort of father figure, and may learn from his skills.
Young male goblins typically leave their mother as soon as they are considered adults. Female goblins often stay with their mother for a longer time, usually taking on farming jobs, making clothes, or caring for farm animals. Males who survive many battles, lead successful raids, and bring back copious amounts of meat from hunting and fishing are considered the most desirable mates for the females. Love is known between goblins, but monogamy is unknown. In fact, a female who doesn't keep mating while the male she may love is away is considered to be abandoning her duty to keep bearing young for the tribe. Strong males are expected to breed with as many females as they can, and they happily take advantage of this fact (but keep the specifics away from the public forum!)
Although the tribe engages in trade, they have no serious concept of money, and barter instead. Goods commonly sold by the tribe include animal skins, furs, wool, and meat. Goods commonly bought by the tribe include iron (they have no native supply), copper (used for jewelry and decoration, along with bones and feathers), and wine (mostly drunk during celebrations).
Older goblins (20 years is considered old, with maximum lifespan being about 25) are expected to continue to work as long as they can, usually in lighter duties such as the easier parts of farm work or caring for the animals. Few goblins survive to old age, due to warfare, hunting accidents, diseases, and death in childbirth (even if the latter is not nearly as dangerous as it is for humans).
This particular tribe numbers about 1,000 individuals, of which maybe 300 are military-aged males. Females do not usually go off to war, as their loss would make it harder for the tribe to replace its losses after a war, famine, or other disaster. That said, if one wants to play a female warrior, that is perfectly fine. She can always be considered to be unusual.
To summarize:
- Prowess in war is considered the highest mark of malehood for the goblins.
- Females usually stay home, but technically can go off to war if they really want to.
- Goblin crafts are rudimentary, and artisan skills are passed down from an artisan to an apprentice.
- The chief can normally order the tribe to do anything he wants, as long as the shaman and leading warriors don't protest too much.
- The shaman is the highest religious authority in the tribe.
Relations between this goblin tribe and its neighbors are varied. Specifics will be hashed out later, but this is the initial setup:
- Currently at peace with a nearby human town.
- Enemies with three goblin tribes nearby, although not involved in open warfare yet (raids are possible at this point).
- At peace with two other goblin tribes.
- At an uneasy peace with an orc tribe (this could easily lead to war).
- Cordial relations with some elves down the river.
Although I will be a DM, I do not want the role of chief. While it is subject to change, I think this initial setup for player roles should work:
Chief:
Shaman:
Warriors:
Others: (farmers, artisans, elders, children, etc).
If anyone has suggestions for improvements, changes, or has anything they want to add, please feel free to tell me.
P.S. If this is too close to a nation RP, we can always move it there.
Now, most of us an idea of what a goblin is, but conceptions of these fictional creatures varies widely. For the purposes of this RP, these are the physical qualities of goblins:
- Green-skinned humanoids with pointed ears. Goblins are mammals. Their skin tone varies across all shades of green.
- Goblins stand about three feet tall, with some being as much as half a foot taller or shorter, males larger than females.
- Each hand has three fingers and a thumb, each foot has four toes. All digits have a small claw, but it isn't very sharp.
- Goblin males sometimes have hair, females always do.
- Goblins are not particularly strong for their size, but they are stronger than a human child of the same height and weight would be.
Goblin society is tribal, which means that there is a strong in-group/out-group orientation. Trust within the tribe comes easily, but it is hard to come by outside of the tribe, even with other goblins. This particular tribe (whose name shall be determined later) has mastered hunting, fishing, rudimentary farming (mostly grains), and has some skills with iron working. Personal property is allowed, but this limited to weapons, tools, and clothes. The tribe's village consists of a number of circular straw huts arranged in a large circle surrounding the chief's hut in the center. The village itself is surrounded by a wooden palisade, with farms located farther out, and a forest a little way beyond that. The tribe is near a river, which they use for water, fishing, and trade.
The leader of the tribe is the chief, who is always male. His rule is only subject to two limitations: the words of the shaman and the will of the strongest warriors beneath him. He personally leads the tribe into wars, gives approval to raids launched by warriors (which are smaller than a true war), hears cases and settles disputes, and metes out justice when a crime has occurred. The chief is chosen from among the strongest warriors when the previous one dies; the shaman is in charge between the rule of chiefs. This decision is made either by council or by a tournament in which the warriors fights until death or surrender for the right to be chief in a series of armed bouts. Once a new chief is chosen, he is given a ceremonial headdress by the shaman, and given control of the chief's hut. The chief usually has access to whatever adult female he wishes to have, but she can refuse his advances, thanks to the proclamations of the shamans (who explained that the gods frown on those who take a mate against her will.)
The shaman is the effective second in command of the tribe, and can be male or female. He is the chief's advisor on magical and religious matters, performs ceremonies to ward off evil spirits and to encourage bountiful harvests, and is the tribe's main spell caster (this is a fantasy RP, after all!). The shaman runs a temple, which looks very much like the circular huts. This similarity is no coincidence, as it is considered the home of their gods. Goblin gods come in three varieties: nature spirits, revered ancestors, and spirits of war. The shaman's hut is filled with idols to these gods, and a fireplace which is expected to be kept burning at all times, as it represents the power of the tribe. If the fire burns out, even for a short while, it is considered to be a very bad omen. Of course, this fire is kept burning by one of the shaman's spells, and only needs to be fed wood once a week to keep burning.
As the tribe is preliterate, the shaman is also the keeper of the tribe's oral tradition, which is passed down from the shaman to his hand-picked successor, who learns all the spells and rituals the tribe has knowledge of. Worship mostly consists of sacrifices, and trophies taken in war or from a hunting trip are considered especially worthy offerings. Prayers are secondary to sacrifices, but are considered to have some lesser value. The sacrificial ceremony is crude, consisting of little more than a line recited by the shaman, followed by tossing the offering onto the sacred fireplace.
Magic in this goblin tribe is intertwined with religion and has little use for healing and even less use in warfare. Most spells are useful only for increasing fertility (both of the land and the goblins themselves), maintaining the sacred fireplace, and providing low-powered enchantments on certain items to increase their effectiveness. Spells are hard for the shaman to cast and are only used when the situation calls for them, such as helping an infertile female or giving the chief's sword an enchantment on the eve of a major battle. In addition, the shaman has a holy symbol which can ward off the undead (at least the lower-powered ones). This symbol is a necklace made from a rabbit's skull and some twine. Legend has it that the rabbit was the first sacrifice the tribe's first shaman ever made to the gods. In return for this show of piety, the gods blessed the skull with the ability to ward off the undead, and it has protected the tribe ever since.
Beneath the shaman are the tribe's leading warriors. While there is no official way to determine who is considered "leading" in war, it is roughly determined by one's strength, skill in warfare, and by one's reputation. The tribe has a small circle of dirt demarcated by rocks which serves as an arena. Here, warriors vie for status (including that of a new chief as mentioned above). This arena is useful for males who seek to prove themselves outside of warfare, and it sees especially heavy use during times of peace. It is also used by males to settle differences, and is often used by the chief as a way of determining ownership of an item when there is a dispute (the winner gets it). Most arena fights are nonlethal and are unarmed, but high-stakes fights are frequently armed and to the death.
Land is considered to be the property of the tribe, including the fields used for farming. All food harvested from the fields is kept in a common granary, while any food caught in the woods or waters is allowed to be kept by whoever caught it. In addition, the goblins keep smaller animals (chickens, pigs, sheep, and goats, but no cattle or horses), but usually prefer to hunt instead of eating domesticated animals, as their is also considered the tribe's property. Hunting and fishing are considered superior ways of obtaining food, and farming is low-productivity and not yet fully mastered. Food from the tribe's granary is doled out for free in amounts determined by the chief, with the best warriors and pregnant/nursing females getting top priority. Goblins are expected to contribute more food than they take out, but they have no system of determining who contributed what.
Warfare mostly consists of a series of raids and counter-raids against rival tribes and other races. Male goblins seek to prove their prowess in combat, and war bands are made up of disorganized individuals loosely rallying around a strong warrior who leads them and sets an example. Tactics are usually just a charging mass of warriors running at a rival force, but ambushes and traps are also possibilities. Common weapons include spears, hand-axes, bows, and slings. Swords are rare and hard to make, and their use is confined to the strongest warriors or the chief himself. Goblins use little to no armor, although warpaint and tribal markings are common.
Goblin clothing is simple, with loincloths and short leggings being the most common garments. Males rarely use a shirt, but females have something to cover their chests, usually not much more than a wrapping or a simple top piece. Goblins do not use footwear, unless one counts the cloth wrappings they rarely use in the event of a cold day or unusually harsh terrain.
Tribal artisans pass down their knowledge to an apprentice. These crafts are rather rudimentary, and are usually considered a part-time vocation rather than a true profession. The exception is smithing, which is considered the most important skill in the tribe due to its many uses and the necessity of having smiths on hand to produce weaponry. Smiths are allotted as much food as the best warriors, as a symbol of how important their crafts are to the tribe's continued survival.
Goblin families consist of a mother and her children. Goblins do not marry, and a female will mate with many males between births. Each birth usually consists of several children (4 - 8), who grow up in only a couple of years (they are considered mature by age 3) after a 5 month gestation period. One 'litter' of goblins from a female can come from different fathers, much like a cat or a dog. Goblins place little emphasis on fatherhood, but young males will look up to accomplished male warriors as a sort of father figure, and may learn from his skills.
Young male goblins typically leave their mother as soon as they are considered adults. Female goblins often stay with their mother for a longer time, usually taking on farming jobs, making clothes, or caring for farm animals. Males who survive many battles, lead successful raids, and bring back copious amounts of meat from hunting and fishing are considered the most desirable mates for the females. Love is known between goblins, but monogamy is unknown. In fact, a female who doesn't keep mating while the male she may love is away is considered to be abandoning her duty to keep bearing young for the tribe. Strong males are expected to breed with as many females as they can, and they happily take advantage of this fact (but keep the specifics away from the public forum!)
Although the tribe engages in trade, they have no serious concept of money, and barter instead. Goods commonly sold by the tribe include animal skins, furs, wool, and meat. Goods commonly bought by the tribe include iron (they have no native supply), copper (used for jewelry and decoration, along with bones and feathers), and wine (mostly drunk during celebrations).
Older goblins (20 years is considered old, with maximum lifespan being about 25) are expected to continue to work as long as they can, usually in lighter duties such as the easier parts of farm work or caring for the animals. Few goblins survive to old age, due to warfare, hunting accidents, diseases, and death in childbirth (even if the latter is not nearly as dangerous as it is for humans).
This particular tribe numbers about 1,000 individuals, of which maybe 300 are military-aged males. Females do not usually go off to war, as their loss would make it harder for the tribe to replace its losses after a war, famine, or other disaster. That said, if one wants to play a female warrior, that is perfectly fine. She can always be considered to be unusual.
To summarize:
- Prowess in war is considered the highest mark of malehood for the goblins.
- Females usually stay home, but technically can go off to war if they really want to.
- Goblin crafts are rudimentary, and artisan skills are passed down from an artisan to an apprentice.
- The chief can normally order the tribe to do anything he wants, as long as the shaman and leading warriors don't protest too much.
- The shaman is the highest religious authority in the tribe.
Relations between this goblin tribe and its neighbors are varied. Specifics will be hashed out later, but this is the initial setup:
- Currently at peace with a nearby human town.
- Enemies with three goblin tribes nearby, although not involved in open warfare yet (raids are possible at this point).
- At peace with two other goblin tribes.
- At an uneasy peace with an orc tribe (this could easily lead to war).
- Cordial relations with some elves down the river.
Although I will be a DM, I do not want the role of chief. While it is subject to change, I think this initial setup for player roles should work:
Chief:
Shaman:
Warriors:
Others: (farmers, artisans, elders, children, etc).
If anyone has suggestions for improvements, changes, or has anything they want to add, please feel free to tell me.
P.S. If this is too close to a nation RP, we can always move it there.
