Goblins

Origins
Although in modern times goblins are often seen as seconds to the Orcs, or at best miscreants or malcontents looking to take advantage of someone else’s misfortune, in truth the goblins may well be the oldest race on Syv Nova. A subterranean people by nature, they eventually ventured to the surface when their usage of sulfates led to a need to vent fumes into the world. As such, they’re almost always associated with the smell of sulfur, pollution, or some form of death.

Organization
Goblins define themselves often by clans based on the vents that they emerged from. These vents are often added at the front of their names (ex: “Hava’Loqmi,” Loqmi of the Hava Vent), though they may translate them directly to nicknames like “Him-Big-Speak” or “Blood-Em-Up.”  As one might expect, violence and destruction usually accompany too many goblins being in one place.

Yet their capital city of Ploom, beneath Syn Nova’s surface, is an architectural marvel that thwarted dwarven countermeasures for centuries. The ruler of Ploom is known as the Biggest of Boomers, with his underlings called “Boomers.”

Goblins form various collectives of ill repute. So long as they can take from someone else and cause something to burn, they’re usually happy with what they’ve done.

Military
Respectfully, goblins are some of the best organized units in the realm. Because of their love of death and explosions, they take care to ensure that the correct number of goblins will die in any given explosion. This makes them very difficult to overwhelm in an ambush, as at any given time likely the number of goblins there will not be considered an excess.

Landroving goblins, known as Bang Gangs, tend to attack in organized packs led by a single Boomer. They seek to steal what they can and either ransom it back or take what they have to Ploom. Many an unfortunate adventurer has met their end in a confrontation with a Boomer and his Bang Gang.

Enemies
Goblins are not known to have any friends, truly. They respect the Or’Kati death march and view the Drow as too menacing to actively antagonize, but in almost any other arena they enjoy antagonization and decimation if at all possible. Their poor manners, bad hygiene, and bloodthirsty rhetoric leaves few eager to associate with them.

Religion
Goblins almost universally worship Atesh the Flaming. In truth, it probably has little to do with the destructive cleansing that Atesh promises and more, simply, an overwhelming desire to use fire to kill things.

Almost a religion unto itself is the Goblin adherence to the “Get,” which they use as a means of barter. Goblins will always attempt to profit over someone else, even if it ruins their chances of securing the thing they want in the end. A thoroughly unfair arrangement that leads to conflict is doubly rewarding and they will, at almost all times, angle to bleed as much as they can out of a situation.

Historical Significance
If difficult times drive advancement, then goblins have always been the difficult times for other races. Their raids into early dwarven settlements saw the mountain-spawned people learn to defend themselves with more alacrity and also staved them off digging too deeply for fear of running afoul secret pockets of goblins. They are responsible for scattering the Bumi and at the height of their power, nearly forced Volantris to negotiate a peace treaty. In all, they are a difficult to placate host that when the Or’Kati began their amassing of forces, were all too eager to follow in the wake of their destructive sprees.