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| wiki:hobgoblin [2025/12/13 23:06] – ersatz | wiki:hobgoblin [2025/12/13 23:09] (current) – ersatz |
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| === Overview === | === Overview === |
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| **Male Names:** Aronok, Bankanir, Dorduken, Fentanas, Grur, Hagors, Kalmant, Malgroar, Slatark, Talogan. | Male Names: Aronok, Bankanir, Dorduken, Fentanas, Grur, Hagors, Kalmant, Malgroar, Slatark, Talogan |
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| **Female Names:** Arinet, Eloqi, Eskani, Horinnia, Korumun, Moranassa, Moritla, Nimanisi, Noranillim, Vortiga. | Female Names: Arinet, Eloqi, Eskani, Horinnia, Korumun, Moranassa, Moritla, Nimanisi, Noranillim, Vortiga |
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| Fierce and militaristic, hobgoblins survive by conquest. The raw materials to fuel their war machines come from raids, their armaments and buildings from the toil of slaves worked to death. Naturally ambitious and envious, hobgoblins seek to better themselves at the expense of others of their kind, yet in battle they put aside petty differences and fight with discipline rivaling that of the finest soldiers. Hobgoblins have little love or trust for one another, and even less for outsiders. Life for these brutes consists of duty to those of higher station, domination of those below, and the rare opportunities to seize personal glory and elevate their status. | Hobgoblins are harsh, disciplined humanoids who endure through conquest and strict order. Their cultures revolve around expansion, forced labor, and military dominance. Resources are seized through raids, while fortifications, weapons, and infrastructure are built by slaves worked until exhaustion or death. Ambition is deeply ingrained, and individuals constantly compete to improve their standing, often at the expense of their peers. |
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| | Despite this internal rivalry, hobgoblins display exceptional unity in battle. Personal grudges are suppressed in favor of efficiency, and their formations and tactics rival those of professional armies. Trust is rare even among their own kind, and outsiders are viewed only as tools or obstacles. Life among hobgoblins centers on obedience to superiors, control of subordinates, and the rare chance to gain honor and advancement through notable victories. |
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| == Physical Description: == | == Physical Description == |
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| Burly and muscled, hobgoblins stand a few inches shorter than the average human, and their long arms, thick torsos, and relatively short legs give them an almost apelike stature. Hobgoblins' skin is a sickly gray-green that darkens to mossy green after long exposure to the sun. Their eyes burn fiery orange or red, and their broad faces and sharply pointed ears give their features a somewhat feline cast. Hobgoblins lack facial hair, and even hobgoblin women are bald. Except for their size, hobgoblins bear a strong physical resemblance to their goblin cousins. | Hobgoblins are stocky and muscular, standing slightly shorter than most humans. Their proportions give them a powerful, heavy appearance, with long arms, thick chests, and shorter legs. Their skin ranges from dull gray-green to darker mossy tones after prolonged exposure to sunlight. Eyes glow in shades of red or orange, and their broad faces and pointed ears lend them a sharp, predatory look. |
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| | They grow no facial hair, and both males and females are bald. Aside from their greater size and strength, hobgoblins closely resemble other goblinoids in form and features. |
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| == Society: == | == Society == |
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| Hobgoblins live in militaristic tyrannies, each community under the absolute rule of a hobgoblin general. Every hobgoblin in a settlement receives military training, with those who excel serving in the army and the rest left to serve more menial roles. Those deemed unfit for military service have little social status, barely rating above favored slaves. Despite this, hobgoblin society is egalitarian after a fashion. Gender and birth offer no barrier to advancement, which is determined almost solely by each individual's personal merit. Hobgoblins eschew strong attachments, even to their young. Matings are matters of convenience, and are almost always limited to hobgoblins of equal rank. Any resulting baby is taken from its mother and forcibly weaned after 3 weeks of age. Young mature quickly—most take no more than 6 months to learn to talk and care for themselves. Hobgoblins' childhoods last a scant 14 years, a mirthless span filled with brutal training in the art of war. | Hobgoblin settlements are rigid military states ruled by an absolute commander. Every individual receives martial training from a young age. Those who excel become soldiers, while others are relegated to labor or administrative duties. Noncombatants hold little respect and rank only slightly above valued slaves. |
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| == Relations: == | Advancement is based almost entirely on performance. Gender and ancestry carry little weight compared to proven ability. Emotional bonds are discouraged, including those between parents and children. Pairings are pragmatic and typically occur between individuals of similar rank. Infants are separated from their parents after only a few weeks and raised collectively. |
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| Hobgoblins view other races as nothing more than tools—implements to be enslaved, cowed, and put to work. Without slaves, hobgoblin society would collapse, so reliant is it on stolen labor. An injured, sickly, or defiant slave is like a broken tool, useless waste to be tossed out with the day's garbage. Not surprisingly, hobgoblin communities count no other races as their friends, and few as allies. Elves and dwarves earn special enmity, and are devilishly hard to break into proper slavery as both races hold blood feuds against goblinkind. Halflings and half-orcs make especially prized slaves—the former for their agile skills and the ease of breaking them to the collar, and the latter for their talent at thriving under the harshest of conditions. Hobgoblins have little love for the rest of goblinkind, though they typically treat goblinoid slaves better than they do other races. | Hobgoblins mature rapidly, learning basic skills within months. Childhood lasts roughly fourteen years and is defined by relentless drills, discipline, and preparation for war. |
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| | == Relations == |
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| == Alignment and Religion: == | Hobgoblins regard other peoples as resources to be exploited. Slavery is essential to their economy, and without it their societies would collapse. Slaves who are injured, defiant, or no longer useful are discarded without hesitation. As a result, hobgoblins maintain few alliances and inspire widespread hatred. |
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| Hobgoblin life is nothing if not ordered and hierarchical, and hobgoblins lean strongly toward the lawful alignments. While not innately evil, the callous and brutal training that fills the too-short childhood of hobgoblins leaves most embittered and full of hate. Hobgoblins of good alignment number the fewest, and almost exclusively consist of individuals raised in other cultures. More numerous but still rare are hobgoblins of chaotic bent, most often exiles cast out by the despots of their homelands. Religion, like most non-militaristic pursuits, matters little to the majority of hobgoblins. Most pay lip-service to one or more gods and occasionally make offerings to curry favor or turn aside ill fortune. Those hobgoblins who feel a stronger religious calling venerate fearsome, tyrannical gods and devils. | Elves and dwarves are especially despised, as both races resist enslavement fiercely and maintain long-standing vendettas against goblinkind. Halflings and half-orcs are considered valuable captives, the former for their agility and the latter for their endurance under brutal conditions. While hobgoblins feel little kinship with other goblinoids, they often treat goblinoid slaves less harshly than captives of other races. |
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| | == Alignment and Beliefs == |
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| == Adventurers: == | Hobgoblin culture emphasizes order, hierarchy, and obedience, and most individuals gravitate toward lawful alignments. Though not inherently cruel, the brutal upbringing common to their kind produces many who are hardened, resentful, and merciless. Hobgoblins of good alignment are extremely rare and are usually raised outside traditional hobgoblin society. |
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| Hobgoblin adventurers tend to be iconoclasts, loners who chafe under the strict hierarchy of military life. Others have fled or been exiled in disgrace for showing weakness or cowardice. Some harbor dreams of one day returning to the hobgoblin flock flush with wealth and tales of great deeds. A few serve farsighted hobgoblin generals, who send the most promising youths out into the world that they might someday return as mighty heroes for the hobgoblin cause. Hobgoblins lean toward martial classes, particularly cavaliers, fighters, monks, and rogues. The arcane arts are distrusted in hobgoblin society and consequently their practitioners are rare, save for alchemists, who gain grudging praise and admiration for their pyrotechnic talents. | Those with chaotic tendencies are more common but often end up exiled or executed. Religious devotion is generally secondary to military concerns. Most hobgoblins offer only token respect to deities, seeking favor or protection when convenient. Those who pursue faith more seriously tend to worship harsh gods, conqueror spirits, or tyrannical fiends. |
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| ---- | == Adventurers == |
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| //Sources: [[http://paizo.com/products/btpy9g9v?Pathfinder-Campaign-Setting-Inner-Sea-Races| Inner Sea Races pg. 244]], [[http://paizo.com/products/btpy8rv2?Pathfinder-Roleplaying-Game-Advanced-Race-Guide|Advanced Race Guide pg. 120]], [[http://paizo.com/products/btpy8auu?Pathfinder-Roleplaying-Game-Bestiary|Pathfinder RPG Bestiary pg. 175]]// | Hobgoblin adventurers are often outsiders among their own people. Some reject the suffocating hierarchy of military life, while others are exiles disgraced by failure or perceived weakness. A few hope to return home with wealth and renown, using their accomplishments to reclaim status or power. |
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| //Many thanks to the many contributors of the [[https://www.aonprd.com/ | Archives of Nethys]] for rendering this material readily accessible.// | In rarer cases, ambitious commanders deliberately send promising youths abroad, believing experience beyond hobgoblin lands will forge stronger leaders. Hobgoblins favor martial paths such as fighters, cavaliers, monks, and rogues. Magic is widely distrusted, though alchemists earn limited respect for their destructive ingenuity. |