Goblins

Goblins are an often disregarded race among the Onokrin, lacking the martial prowess of humans and orcs and without the innate magical talent common among the ogres. What sets them apart and makes them a valued member race of the empire is their innate understanding all things magical, mechanical, and alchemical. For reasons even goblins cannot adequately explain any goblin, save for their sub-race blues, need only touch a machine and they will immediately understand the entire function of the device whether it is magical or mechanical. This knowledge allows them to readily recreate and share the technology between each other that is then rapidly recreated over empire holdings. It is almost entirely thanks to goblins that the most advanced technology and magitech is widely spread, be it the use of resonance power systems in the average citizens home, the refrigeration of food through ice boxes, or mass transportation through arcane and steam trains. The eventual end result of this knowledge sharing lead to the formation of multiple colleges that focus on training new engineers, alchemists, and rune sages to more widely apply their talents to frontier towns and other empires beyond their borders. These colleges and learning institutions are parkways training facilities and research institutes, as goblin students need only be introduced to working versions of technology to swiftly understand it. They then move on to developing new methods while students of other races follow behind them at a much slower pace.

The most famous of such institutions, formerly lead by the greatest magi-tech engineer across the known world, was the fabled Order of Brass. Though a small polity in its own right, it is not uncommon for the apex of rune sages or engineers in their field to join the somewhat secretive order. Among goblins, partially due to their ability to easily replicate anything they touch, find joining such order much more difficult than other races despite the founder being a goblin himself. As such, it is a matter of prestige among their race to have been trained within the order of brass. Surprisingly, goblins place very little importance on their aptitudes internally, while the empire values them greatly and prestige can be gained by various orders one has joined goblins are far more focused culturally on their creative works. The same complexity required to finely operate and build various machines both magical and mundane translates well to many different musical instruments, of which goblins often take up both as leisure activities and as professional musicians, making them a common staple among empire concert halls, performance taverns, and clubs.

A lesser known but valued talent among goblins is their natural skill with alchemy. In the same way goblins can intuitively understand magical and mechanical devices they are capable of deciphering the mixtures and properties of substances with a mere inspection. This talent takes two forms, extending to alchemy and drink mixing. Just as many goblins become alchemists as they do brewers, capable of making some of the strongest and finely tuned drinks that are rivaled only by the rodentfolk and their natural talent for the culinary arts. Those goblins who become alchemists often become trained rosaria, as the same steady hands that can hold tools with perfect precision can also perform surgical operations with equal talent, with even the most humble of goblins being capable of emergency field operations, a trait that is valued among mercenaries and soldiers for combat medics. Blues, the deviant subtype of goblins, take this talent even further, being experts in the medical field in the same way the average goblin becomes an expert in the mechanical. Blues are generally treated like any other goblin, neither exalted nor treated as pariahs, simply as different from the norm even with their unique psionic talents among the empire. The only pariahs among the goblins are the tribal remnants still eking out life in the southern plains as independent or gnoll-aligned tribes.

A quick-start guide:

• Goblins come in three varieties, the most common and numerous being the Onokrin born Ironbound who are considered the base line of the goblin people. The second most numerous are the Blues, the deviant form of goblins, though they are often treated as no different than any other ironbound. The last and least numberous are the stone crushers, the hated and misaligned tribal goblins in the southern plains
• Ironbound Bonuses: +15 mechanical, +5 cognition, -5 toughness. Perks grant perfect tool use and can identify reagents at a glance.
• Stonecrusher Bonuses: +10 toughness, +5 robustness, +5 mechanical. -5 cognition. Perks grant perfect tool use and can identify reagents at a glance.
• Blue Bonuses: +10 cognition, +10 biology, -5 vigilance. Blues have expanded psi pools and can regenerate similar to trolls.

Biology

Goblins are a humanoid race that superficially resemble orcs at a much shorter stature, though have many noted difference upon closer inspection. The average goblin tends to range from four and a half to five feet tall discounting their ears, which tend to be very large and most often pointed, but rounded ears are not uncommon. Goblin skin color are varying shades of green and under some rare occurrences can have gray or yellow skin tones. Blues tend to be, unsurprisingly, shades of blue ranging from navy to very light shades of sky blue. Hair color among goblins are generally dark, with most having extremely dark green, black, or dark brown hair. Goblin faces are angular and defined, with pointed and large pointed noses and sharp features. Goblin teeth are composed entirely of fangs and will commonly fall out when they begin to dull before rapidly regrowing a fresh tooth within two or three weeks. Completing their somewhat monstrous appearance (to whose outside of the Onokrin that is) are slit-like eyes resembling that of a snake or feline and come in colors ranging from red, black, white, gray, or yellow. Goblins have black claws on both their hands and feet that end in naturally sharp points but are too frail to serve as weapons. A factor that surprises most other races is goblins possess six fingers and six toes per foot, with each digit having four joints and great flexibility. Goblin hands and to a lesser extent feet are capable of very fine manipulation, having both natural steady control and the ability to individually manipulate any digit even at the same time.

Culture

Goblin culture is in many ways both reserved and direct. Among the feral goblins, the Stonecrushers, they are known to be consummate thieves that hoard stolen treasure taken through banditry and often press ganged into positions as slaves by gnoll tribes. This feral nature is a far cry from the city dwelling Ironbound, who make up the majority of goblins across the empire. While orcs, humans, and even ogres can be said to be boisterous and jovial in nature, the majority of goblins are careful with how they express themselves, reserving flamboyancy largely to their creative works rather than within their personality. Although it is rarely spoken aloud, members within the empire are keenly aware that of the existing member species it is only goblins who have large amounts of tribalistic cousins. This stigma, coupled with most goblins lack of martial or directly magical prowess, has taught many goblins to largely go unnoticed and allow only their creations to speak for them.

An unfortunate aspect of goblin society has developed where the value of the individual is largely based upon what they are capable of uniquely creating. While others marvel at the technological wonders goblins are capable of, they themselves assign no merit to such talents, as any goblin who can touch a piece of technology is immediately capable of recreating it. Among outsiders, the creations of machines are used to display skill, talent, and garner a reputation that distances the individual from any possible stigma of their stonecrusher cousins. Internally, merit is largely assigned by what creations a goblin makes through their own creativity. This can be magical, mechanical, alchemical, or an art form and does not need to be practical or even useful, merely beautiful. The highest prestige that a goblin can earn among is own kind is either as a member of the order of brass, an engineering institute that only recruits the most creatively capable engineers among goblins, or as either a stone mason or musician.

Goblins look towards architecture as the most complex form of art and engineering. The nature of their ability with tools allows them to finely create in magic and mechanics, but this ability does not extend to stonework. As such, the creation of beautiful architecture both as an art and as a challenge for ones ability in engineering is one of the highest forms of challenge any goblin can undertake. In equal measure is music, which is another great portion of goblin culture as they assign incredible reverence to their most talented muses. Most goblins are innately capable of playing an instrument as fine manipulation is a natural skill, but to play it extremely well and compose your own music is a talent reserved only for a rare few. The most vaunted and renowned of the goblin race are thusly their most creative artists, as the mundane mechanics are simply a baseline for each individual.

Mentality

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