Etesia: Goblin Lore and a GLoG Race

"From Goblin Market" Arthur Rackham, 1933

Mushroom cap, tail of rat, gall of cat, dripping fat,

Boil and boil, never toil, wind is free, n'so is me!

-The Goblin Rhyme

Etesia

When toads yet sang and cats had two tails, Etesia was a peaceful place. The Lofty Lady walked her lands with gentleness and strength, and all her subjects—even the lowly humans—enjoyed an age of quiet labor and joyful rest.

But that was long ages ago. Now we struggle on like the rest of the world, prying life out of thorns and the maws of wolves, even from our own kin.

In all the bloodshed, and pox, and lack, we die young and leave our young to fend for themselves.

So they do.

The Soup

It is not known when the first Soup was boiled, or who boiled it, or what the intention was, but the soup has been boiling for long ages now, and those who eat it are turned strange. Their bones, their muscles, and their hearts grow hard as stone.

Depending on the ingredients present in the soup—which may be anything but always includes that one core ingredient, most grisly of all—the eaters take on strange likenesses as well. They may find themselves with cats' fur, or birdlike feathers, or reptilian scales, or even fungal growths sprouting from their bodies. But no matter the other ingredients, their hearts are always twisted into goblin hearts—for goblins they have become, and such is the most essential ingredient of the soup.

Indeed, so long as goblins exist the soup will boil on, for the only necessary ingredient in a Goblin Soup is a goblin, chopped up and boiled, and they that eat it become goblins themselves.

The Hunt

This is why children are not to be left alone at night, not even in groups. For Goblins—calling with the voices of their old friends—are always hunting, always looking to play a trick, to "make a new friend", as some have heard it said.

The worst times are wars, famine, and plague, for when parents die and children have no option but to defend themselves, then the goblins are sure to come. They sing their chant, calling the hurt, and the lonely, and the scared to come away and "play with them", free from the cares and sorrows of life.

In fact, children are safe—in a wicked sort of way—with the goblins. For goblins always wish to make more "friends", to grow stronger in number, and to be able to work greater and greater chaos in the name of their games.

Adults, however, should take great caution when meeting goblins. For all goblins hold a loathsome anger toward grown humans, and will play evil tricks on them if they can, or simply kill them if the adults do not play along.

It is unclear why, but adults do not change to goblins when they eat the soup. It only creates in them a powerful longing for childhood and freedom, and this longing can never be attained, so the grown adult slips deeper and deeper into melancholy and self-loathing. Goblins have been known to "sell" their soup to adults just to produce this result.

Goblin Society

If you wish to see how Goblins live, one need only look at how children organize themselves when no adults are present. The strong or the particularly pretty—yes, some goblins are pretty, but they are still just as treacherous—take precedence, bullying the weak into submission.

In the worst of times, a Goblin may even die from the bullying of its compatriots. They tend to shrug this off and use the body to feed the soup. Goblins do not mourn. The only emotions they tend to display are anger, fear, boredom, and wicked glee. And always they seek out glee if they can.

Thus one major difference is seen in Goblin Society and a hoard of children. While a kind child might show compassion, no Goblin has ever displayed such a trait, though they may pretend to in order to lure someone into a trap.

The Ethics of Goblin-Slaying

While some fear that slaying goblins equates to murdering children, it should be noted that the transformation from human child to goblin appears to erase the original child. They retain no memory of their human life, siblings, or parents. This has led some to believe that the "goblin soul" is in fact some other being, and the "human soul" has died.

Of course, there is almost no way to prove this.

That said, Goblins have shown themselves to be violent and sadistic towards humans without provocation, and are certainly willing to steal human children to create more of themselves.

Thus, most clerics and philosophers agree that humans should not hesitate to defend themselves or their children with any means necessary should a goblin encampment be discovered.

Wandering Goblins (GLoG Race)

A player who has read all of the above may choose to play as a Goblin.

Goblin PCs are not limited to the typical Goblin personality, and may indeed have been shunned from Goblin Society for displaying a wider range of emotions than "normal".

Drawback: Goblins gain only d6+Might HP with each level (6+Might at level 1), and are typically seen as trouble-makers and child snatchers by civilized humans. You might be able to disguise yourself as a simple urchin in human society, as long as no one looks too close.

Bonus: A character who plays as a Goblin gains one of the following traits, or two if rolled randomly:

1. A large, sensitive nose. You can track scents easily.
2. Thick, scaly green skin. (+1 AC)
3. Sharp eyes with angular pupils that can see for miles, even in dim light.
4. Long, batlike ears that can hear a conversation from a mile away, if all else is quiet.
5. Clawed fingers and toes, excellent for climbing.
6. Small wings sprout from your shoulders. You can glide as far as you fall, and take no fall damage if you fall on purpose, or 1/2 if you fall on accident.

Etesia

These Goblins are from the Etesia setting, which I am currently developing and writing to accompany the Shadow and Fae 2e Zine. If you wish to support me on this project, you can buy Shadow & Fae 2e on Itch. You can also download the rules free of charge if you wish.