Pathfinder Lore - Goblins!

hello lore seekers sir vertigo here it is that time of week again where i venture into my library and i retrieve for you a scroll that grants plus five tier lower checks today's scroll just so happens to be on everybody's favorite half pint mean green fire loving machines the goblins the goblins of galarian are some of the most mischievous creatures that can be found nearly worldwide typically they linger on the edges of society loitering on the skirts of towns and cities so that they can steal and scavenge amongst what other races consider scrap and waste usually hostile in recent years there's been a noticeable uptick in good aligned goblins and today we will be exploring more about them their society and their roles in gallerian history this will mainly focus on the player goblins and while it will include an overview of history i will have a monster goblin video further down the road goblin legends state that the first goblins sprung forth from blood spilled by the four godly bargaists who then gifted this new race with many gifts hadragash gave the gift of tribes making the goblins strong and resilient in numbers vin kelvore gave goblins a bottomless hunger that drove them to spread out across the entire world zerengel gave them an affinity with predators who shared the goblin's attitude such as goblin dogs or wolves and the goblins excelled at riding these mighty beasts into combat finally zogmugat taught the goblins the secret of the shores how to scavenge fish and seek so that they could survive no matter where in galerion they found themselves over time they spread across gallerian and today they can be found across the entire inner sea region from the sweltering jungles of the medi galty islands to the frozen and blighted forest of liberia goblins have even spread outside the inner sea appearing in tianshaw and arcadia with their clever and slightly annoying survival instincts allowing them to thrive even in hostile environments despite this ability or perhaps because of this ability they are no strangers to hardship goblins are completely used to being attacked on sight whether by adventurers or even bullied and recruited as disposable soldiers for their larger hobgoblin and bugbear relatives their lives are short and they tend to be full of strife and hardship some of which they do bring upon themselves despite the years of negative interactions with other races in some areas of galerion this diminutive race has begun to find its place in civilization while some major cities such as magnamar have long tolerated the goblins that live within their sewers allowing them to live below the cities as a form of waste management and rodent preventative there are more and more areas in galerion where goblins can freely walk through the streets without fears of guards or frightened mobs in catepesh a tribe of rasp-skinned goblins maintained a strong trade with the city under the leadership of yig-rig moneymaker in irison the lanes of the linorm kings and the southern border of the edge of the world a band of frost goblins scout and god members of the pathfinder society through the frozen wastes in sarkorus forest goblins have teamed up with tribes of sarkoran refugees to reclaim their homelands from the demons that now infest it goblin arsonists are allies to human generals that fight back the undead that crawl forth day by day at the eye of dread and even goblin thieves have begun to be approached by heroes seeing the need for a lock-footed pickpocket in their ranks from here we're going to split the goblins into archetypes to discuss their highly varied appearances and attributes the forest goblins are the goblins you most likely are thinking of right now but are not actually the most common goblins in the inner sea short and slim with a height that just barely reaches 3 feet they rarely weigh more than 35 pounds typically green skinned with colors ranging from dark green to the sickly green brown of a spoiled avocado and any hue in between forest goblins will often avoid contact with members of the other races except for when scavenging from camps or caravans that pass too close to their territories not particularly caring if anyone is in the camp or not at the time in 4697 ar the forest goblin of viscera's chitterwoods were recruited into a series of battles that became known as the goblin blood wars resulting in one of the largest goblin conflicts in history since these conflicts the crooked toe and whack dragon whaler tribes have provided invaluable assistance to human nations earning them patronage and more importantly protection from some very powerful allies while all goblins tend to love fire forest goblins strangely enough have a special love for it they lack many of the primal and divine spellcasters that other goblin ethnicities have access to and as such have produced a long tradition of fire management practices taught through song and practical application bizarrely enough evidence suggests that forces that are home to forest goblins are less prone to forest fires due to the creatures regularly burning away underbrush and dead wood that would otherwise fuel massive blazes most forest goblins have the tree dweller heritage though their frequent exposure to flame means some favor the char height heritage due to their extensive practice of teaching by song most forest goblins frequently take the goblin song ancestry feat the frost goblins of the northern inner sea are well suited to surviving in frigid environments their skin has adopted a light ice blue to dark blue gray hue to allow them to blend into the ice and rocks that are common to rain in the north while most goblins lack hair frost goblins have been seen to grow thick blue fur similar in texture and density to that of their bugbear relatives originally only recruited as pawns by a rebel faction within the pathfinder society the frost fur clan have served as surprisingly trustworthy scouts and guides for multiple expeditions while the clan has declined a full membership they remain steadfast allies and word of their loyalty is quickly spreading this budding reputation means that frost goblins are if not welcomed warmly at least able to travel buy goods and secure lodging in most areas with a pathfinder presence free of harassment frost goblins almost always take the snow goblin heritage and make heavy use of the goblin scuttle ancestry feat due to their frenzied energy and surprisingly coordinated teamwork in the mountainous regions of the inner sea the aptly named monkey goblins sprung up on metagolte island where tails were a significant advantage amongst the dips limbs of the medi galty jungle taller than your average goblin at just a bit over three and a half feet they also tend to weigh on the heavier side between 50 and 60 pounds their skins range from tawny bronze to dark blue and they tend toward a deep golden eye color over the red eyes that their cousins have while monkey goblins are easy to tell apart just from a physical standpoint they have the same love for fire as the rest of their race but unlike the forest goblins they're not as careful as monkey goblins tend to live in primitive tree houses raging canopy fires have managed to keep their numbers low enough that they have not spread across the inner sea as rampantly as the rest of their race despite the challenges the goblins face from their own antics some monkey goblins have pursued a life of adventure whether as valued members of a ship's crew where they easily make lives crewing the rigging and crow's nest on ships as long as they can dissuade them from accidentally setting the cells on fire or as members of small bands of adventurers monkey goblins almost always have the tailed goblin heritage monkey goblins accustomed to the frantic scrambling of ship to ship combat will also usually take the goblin scuttle ancestry feat rasp goblins are named after the section of erisia's lost coast that they originated from and are particularly well known in varisia and neighboring nations unlike frost and monkey goblins who are unique to smaller regions and forest goblins whose numbers have been reduced by war the rasp goblins are still extremely populous and have quickly spread to any area that is remotely able to sustain life rasp goblins stand just over three feet tall and weigh about 35 pounds with modeled green skin typically lighter and sicklier shades than their forest goblins some rasps have rarer skin colors such as gray or even purple hues with many colors ranging between rats goblins have inhabited the southern and western reaches of erisia for longer than any of the country's human inhabitants resulting in frequent clashes as humans push further and further into goblin territory the constant clashes have led to pioneer towns like sandpoint viewing goblins as little more than dangerous pests and they routinely hire guards and adventurers to drive them off for public safety this constant pruning of their numbers means they don't have any elders or leaders that pass down knowledge of the past which when added to their aversion to literacy has led to many of the rask goblins living and dying in a state of perpetual childhood with no time to mature they have gained a reputation as bloodthirsty raiders murderers and worshippers of le mash2 by contrast the brass goblins who have had the opportunity to mature and integrate with other cultures have begun to paint a very different and much improved picture of their race the rasp goblins can have any heritage although they tend toward charrhide or razortooth heritages outside of the four subtypes of goblins there are so-called mutant goblins mutant goblins can arise from any that worship the goddess lemashtu the dreaded mother of monsters they are especially common in goblins of northern avistan and the monkey goblin settlements mutant goblins will frequently possess additional limbs including extra arms and legs mouths in their chest wings that can barely handle flight and many other prominent variations despite the minor differences between the different subtypes all goblins appear as stumpy humanoids with scrawny limbs and massively oversized heads with large ears and beady red eyes they all bear scars boils and rashes along with the occasional burns and festering wounds most are bald with little to no body hair except for the monkey and frost goblins their jagged teeth fall out and regrow constantly like a shark and their fast metabolism means they eat constantly and nap frequently goblins also enjoy the benefit of dark vision granting them a black and white view in anything below bright lights a goblin will reach adolescence by the age of 3 years old in adulthood a mere five years later goblins typically live to 20 years old but goblins that have embraced civilization have been known to live to be 50 years or longer infighting raging fires and picking fights that can't win have led to a massively shortened lifespan nearly race wide despite their shortened life goblins are fiercely passionate about living goblins are perceived as having a love for war songs fire and eating things other races would gently refer to as rotten or actual garbage and who hate reading dogs and horses for the most part you would be correct in assuming that most goblins do share these traits but sweeping changes have come to goblin kind and more goblins are resisting conforming to these stereotypes that's not to say your goblin ally may not peer a bit too longingly into the fire or launch into tone death and annoyingly catchy war songs at inopportune moments but they have begun to branch out from mere forest menaces goblins tend to flock to the strongest leader available forming many small tribes rarely numbering over a hundred members the more members present the harder it is to keep the walking fire loving toddlers from killing each other and as new threats emerge across the inner sea many tribes have attempted to put aside their reckless ways in hopes of forging alliances that will allow them to survive the coming storms goblins bond closely with the allies that do manage to put aside their prejudices and are fiercely protective of these companions goblins are inherently distrustful of long shanks a common nickname for any members of the taller ancestries which often war with goblin kind it's only in recent years that such a partnership has become an option with their attitudes as a race changing rapidly aided by short lifespans and even shorter memories that help them adapt quickly and forget their wars of the past even with their new well intentions goblins have trouble following rules meaning they rarely fall under the lawful alignment most goblin adventures are chaotic neutral or chaotic good with only the strictest of a self-disciplined goblin able to become lawful good or lawful neutral due to this lack of order religious worship confounds most goblins and many of them would rather pick their own deities choosing powerful monsters natural wonders or anything they find especially fascinating the long shakes may have written hundreds of books on the structures of divinity but to a goblin anything can be a god if you want it to be however kadenkaylian the god of the drink is an obvious choice for many a goblin adventurer goblins prefer to keep their names simple a good name should be quick to pronounce short enough to shout without getting winded and taste good to say the namer will often choose a name that rhymes with something they like so that they can write songs easier so what's it like to play as a goblin as a goblin you might strive to prove that you have a place among the other civilized races perhaps even to yourself you may fight tooth and nail sometimes literally with claw and biting to protect yourself and your friends from danger you may lighten the emotional burdens others carry with antics and pranks and to entertain yourself you may enjoy fire and scratchy songs about anything that strikes your fancy you might have a dislike of dogs and horses and be untrusting of the written word others may not trust you around fire afraid that you may accidentally or even intentionally set too many things ablaze if given the chance others might assume you can't or at least won't read and others may wonder how you survive given your ancestry's typical gastronomic choices reckless behavior and borderline inappropriate love of fire goblins play a major role in the first of the pathfinder adventure paths rise of the room lords as well as the first second edition adventure age of ashes in rise of the rune lords goblins launch a raid upon sandpoint with goblins playing a major role in book 1 as an enemy force crazed and aggressive the goblins pour into towns throwing torches and singing horribly catchy goblin songs as they try and ultimately fail to do any meaningful damage with most of the damage being property damage meanwhile over an age of ashes the goblins have matured and changed greatly in the 10 years since rune lords the first goblins we see in the ap are petitioning the nearby village for assistance where they have been forced from their home in a nearby abandoned castle mostly harmless unless being provoked the goblins understand that they are outmatched and have retreated to the towers of the castles signaling for help via smoke signal you'll undoubtedly see them in many other adventures but i thought important parts in the opening adventures for one and second edition were particularly important to mention outside of these two games if you want to see more of the goblins you should try to check out the weeby goblins series of adventures they are quite fun and they really do give you an idea of what a typical goblin will go through i hope this gives you everything you could need to enjoy playing what has quickly become pathfinder's mascot race goblins are a ton of fun and i've had a few quite fun goblins play at my table in the past few years including my wife and my best friend with that said if you haven't already please comment like and subscribe it really helps me keep the channel growing and the more it grows the closer i can get to becoming a full-time lore video maker that's the dream quit my job youtube all day it would be great if you want to talk and chat with other lore seekers i have a discord in the comments below i'd love to see you pop in and hang out i like to talk nearly every day and we discuss everything from more topics to video ideas and we even have a looking for game chat if you're looking to get another session in with like-minded people i also have a patreon if you wish to go above and beyond in supporting me every set i've made so far has gone right back into the channel with new equipment programs and source books next week we will be doing a video on the ethereal plane as decided by my viewers in my last community poll so look forward to that i hope you enjoyed the video and i look forward to seeing you back here next week

Channel: Sir Vertigo

Views: 12,983

Keywords: pathfinder, Pathfinder 2, Pf2e, pf1e, Pathfinder Lore, Pathfinder 2 lore, Golarion, Goblins, Pathfinder Goblins, Pathfinder 2e Goblins, Pathfinder 2 Goblin

Id: wVzTNN0Nv6A

Length: 19min 6sec (1146 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 25 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/slrvertigo]

You advertised it before I even woke up! Thank you lol

[u/TaterGamer]

Nice one! Kobolds next? Yip yip!