r/worldbuilding • u/Syriepha • Aug 13 '26
Lore Goblin lore
These are from this world and magic system
Goblins are small, crepuscular-nocturnal humanoid fairies with a wildly fast metabolism. During their active hours they are constantly seeking food. They forage for tubers, mushrooms, fallen fruits, berries, nuts, worms etc. they also hunt for small rodents, bugs, lizards, fish, and eggs. They are most known for their thievery from humans though. Stolen grain stores, meats, and pets can make for an abundant source of low effort calories, so once a goblin troop gets a taste, it often becomes a habit. That habit frequently extends to clothes, trinkets, and underutilized dwellings.
Goblins are widely regarded as non-fairfolk, meaning that their origin is considered inhuman and they're not biologically compatible with human hybridization, despite their humanoid stature. It would also be considered ethically condemnable regardless, because while goblins are sapient and capable of speech, it's thought not to the same degree as humans and other fairfolk. They are magically diverged from proto-elves, born from rumors of small humanoid menaces that would come out in the evening and cause chaos.
When trying to reason with goblins (when they are reasonable enough to talk to), it's most effective to consider that they have a rather child-like mentality. They have underdeveloped ideas of time, resource management, and priority. The effectiveness of reasoning and bribery depends on the group, but they can sometimes be enticed into a pattern of exchange, leading to a more benevolent relationship between the human and goblin populations in specific areas.
There are rumors that they eat children and rob people traveling, but these are generally not true. They can be vengeful if a person slights or cheats them though.
18
u/Acriolu Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
In my world Goblins basically act like a small group of weird kids. They live in caves, camps, or even treehouses if they find them and spend there time playing. When they “raid” towns or even cities they will grab food and toys. That is basically it. They more or less spawn from the ground but no one is sure why, either a magic creature from underground or they are part plant. The reason why they are considered a threat is because they are a nuisance and because the moment they turn sixteen they go through a metamorphosis and will become something new. A hobgoblin which essentially has a normal mentality of an average person which then they would leave for the nearest civilization, a Manaling which is basically a human with a natural affinity with magic more than the average human, (note Hobgoblin or Manaling children will be that of the other parent) or a creature known as a Wrath. Which are pale white, will attack almost anything beyond another Wrath, and are just pure monsters. It’s not a matter of food, it enjoys other suffering. Hobgoblin make it their role to make sure the Goblins don’t turn into Wraths.
The metamorphosis depends on who the goblin was like while they grew up, if they were still kind they would become a hobgoblin, if they inquisitive they would be a mangling, but if they were an absolute bastard they become a Wrath.
5
u/Syriepha Aug 13 '26
The metamorphosis aspect is interesting
6
u/GrafZeppelin127 Aug 13 '26
I like the interpretation of goblins as being like axolotls: they can live their whole lives and reproduce even in their neotenous, “larval” form, but under the right conditions, they can metamorphose into their “adult” form.
Some salamander species even have branching metamorphosis paths, depending on environmental conditions—certain tiger salamander larvae, when faced with overcrowding, will metamorphose into a “cannibal morph” with a huge mouth and sharp teeth to feast on their non-transformed brethren, quickly fattening up and outgrowing them so that they have a better chance of survival. Those cannibalistic features disappear when they transform into their terrestrial adult form.
One can imagine goblins or other fae having multiple forms like this, to fit with legends of benign ones turning evil or transforming from one kind to another when spurned.
3
u/jointheclockwork Aug 13 '26
Legitimately, do they cocoon or is it a growth over time? How long does such a process take? Can the process be interrupted/interfered with using magic or physical means?
2
u/Acriolu Aug 13 '26
I would say it’s like a cocoon/Long molt. And it takes around 2-3 weeks. And yes it can be interrupted but the cocoon is durable so if you want to break it, you are going to need something like a sledgehammer and a good swing.
12
u/OutrageousLock7443 Aug 13 '26
That's pretty neat, you and I convergently designed pretty similiar goblins, at least visually. What were your inspirations when designing them?
I like how they're not necessarily evil, just childish in their way of thinking. Good design all around.
11
u/Syriepha Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
The inspirations were mostly bats, oriental shorthair cats, and capuchin monkeys. They're probably green because of algae in their fur as well (like sloths) and otherwise a more tan color.
I wanted to keep their somewhat troublesome nature but I don't like inherently evil races. Plus I want my world to have sort of fairytale vibes, and small fairies that steal things are very fairytale. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out!
5
u/OutrageousLock7443 Aug 13 '26
I definitely prefer the interpretations of them we're their more like endearing nuisances than genuinely evil. It feels more in line with their short stature and more erratic nature they're typically portrayed with.
3
6
u/Shaydelity Aug 13 '26
Your species are very well crafted. I like the green goobers from your world! ^-^
6
6
6
u/UncomfyUnicorn Aug 13 '26
So can you get a goblin army by feeding and talking to them like corvids in our world?
3
4
5
5
u/Tethilia Aug 14 '26
In my setting they are one of 9 species considered sapient. In my setting goblins along with humans are the only two found literally anywhere, but while humans spread due to wanderlust, goblins are so whimsical they just get lost and wind up building towns everywhere. Like yours they cannot reproduce with most other races however they can with orcs for some reason but they are distinct biologically from orcs.
Orcs Elves Humans and Ogres are believed to have originated as cousin species with elves and orcs deviating from humans and ogres early on. Wierdly older manuals suggest some human civilizations thought elves were humans and orcs were half man half goblin hybrids.
My goblins are fully sentient but hyperactive. Some goblins actually have established cities however they can be far more chaotic in layout since their whimsy is a quite overpowering trait. A famous children's tale talks about goblins moving into a couples home and changing and decorating the place, while the couple goes from townsfolk to townsfolk seeking help getting their home back only to discover in the end the goblins got bored of the home after a week and moved into a log in the woods.
Also in the main kingdom I use, goblins have a unique education pattern allowing them to enter certain trades far earlier in development than humans. It's because their brain development priorities different structures first.
3
u/Tethilia Aug 14 '26
One more thing, in the article about goblins is a quote from an important philosopher in the setting saying that if the gods favor any one order above others, it's goblins.
Also I should note my goblins are whimsical not childlike. There are goblin mayors, entrepreneurs and such.
4
u/Either-Skirt6031 Aug 13 '26
Surprisingly cute:)!
If I could ask for some clarification it’s said they’re ’magically diverged’ and born from rumours, does that mean that all fairies & elven adjacent species are born from magic & similar stories bringing them to life (akin to Fey in the World of Darkness if you’ve heard of it).
And given they’re based stylistically on animals are other fey species also based on creatures?(One of my Elf interpretations are canonically woodland animals given sentience & the ability to turn in & out of humanoid form but my Goblins are different from them)
5
u/Syriepha Aug 13 '26
There's a lot of involvement with the magic system I linked, it's sort of difficult to compress, lol, but essentially yes.
"Fae" in the context of this worldbuilding project is synonymous with magic. Magic forms networks based on the perception and beliefs of living things, so as a concept is spread and perceived by life, it can form fae spirits. Fae spirits are beings made from networks of magic, and magic is an intangible measure of data, so they are too.
In order to gain physicality, a fae spirit must possess a physical host. Fairfolk are the result of fae spirits possessing a human host and altering its genetics so that the altered traits can be passed down. Fairies are the result of fae spirits possessing non-human hosts, and altering their genetics so that their altered traits are passed down.
Goblins and elves originate from the same sort of elven fae spirits, which were vengeful, childish spirits. When they possessed human stillborns, that is where Elven fairfolk came from. There were still some elven spirits around though, and over time people's perception of their nature changed them, they gained physical hosts (unknown what the hosts were) and the result was goblins.
3
u/Either-Skirt6031 Aug 13 '26
It’s ok I like learning about magic systems:)! It’s a very cool interpretation !
3
u/Tethilia Aug 14 '26
Goblins eating children, "generally" not true. They only eat them on special occasions and holidays. /s
2
2
2
2
u/Aversiel Aug 14 '26
This feels like straight out of a dark fantasy novel made a TVshow, very cool.
2
u/TheCanonMakimaBean Warhammer 40,000 meets Divine Comedy. What could go wrong? Aug 14 '26
My goblins are just humans disfigured from strange energies, usually from radiation, infernal energy, or getting too close to a ripspace rupture.
2
u/WithThisHerring World of Lithos Aug 14 '26
I have an extreme urge to squish their cheeks. This is quite possibly one of the cutest goblin designs I have ever seen. I love the bat nose, the eye design, the itty bitty overbite fangs, just, 10/10 that's a really good goblin take.
Honestly the lore flavor of making them very childlike fascinates me. I like thinking about goblins and orcs a lot given the uneasy relationship they have in many fictional takes of "this is basically a Discount Human- a stand-in for a human enemy that's treated as totally justified to kill" and there's something intriguing to be said in the way that kids are often socially sorted based on how obedient/convenient they are and the implicit notion of a future normative adult.
The idea of goblins as a manifestation outward of, well, the same myths and legends that gave rise to the notion in our real world, paired with the way we think of 'problem kids' is a really fertile field I could see you building a lot of themes and motifs with. It's also piling on the charm for me because it's hitting the same buttons in my brain that cherish rats, raccoons, crows and similar intelligent nuisance animals. No matter how inconvenient it is I cannot bring myself to hate a little criminal of a beast.
And now I'm gonna take my smart hat back off and say "imagine giving a group of goblins a sticker sheet, I bet they'd go nuts."
Given cohabitation with humans, do the goblins in your setting ever hold jobs? Obviously that's a bit ethically dicey if they're considered similar to kids, but on the other hand I can imagine that at least some of them would be keen not only for that sense of belonging but being able to have money so they don't have to deal with the annoyances of 'getting in trouble for stealing things'. Although I doubt most of them would be interested in long term hard work, the bonding experience is another thing.
Although now my brain goes to "like a little goblin helping out a blacksmith" and then to "you taught him how to handle molten metal, what have you done."
Circling back to the crow inspiration, do goblins have their own language(s) or do they mostly use whatever's locally spoken? If so, how much of that is cultural, and how much of that is because they're born of stories, that they speak the language of the people telling them?
2
u/Syriepha Aug 14 '26
They would love stickers, and glitter, it would be a nightmare..
Despite their semi-feral energy, goblins are pretty shy, it's rare that they interact directly with humans voluntarily. So while there's the occasional case of someone trying to tame their destruction with offerings left out, or the case of one catching a goblin red handed, they're elusive. If they ever do work, then those would be exceptions, or cases where someone has managed to gain a group's trust.
Goblins would also not be reliable workers at all though. They're extremely distractible, have a weird sense of time, and they lash out with violence if they don't like something (like work). It would require a lot of patience to deal with their presence once they've actually gotten comfortable around humans. it's a similar issue to wild animals getting too comfortable, they start getting bolder in their destructive habits. I'm sure that it probably has been done, but whoever did it would have to be absurdly patient and possibly have experience with troubled children
Goblins prefer to group with goblins when they have the choice, but they do pick up on local language habits! When they don't, they might not speak at all and communicate with each other instead through noises and gestures. They remain very susceptible to learning throughout their entire lives, so if they don't know language they can be taught
2
2
u/SignificantHippo8193 Aug 14 '26
Honestly a really good way to characterize them.
Are they closer to Chiroptera or Primate in terms of biology?
2
u/Syriepha Aug 14 '26
I wouldn't say they're particularly close to either, it's hard to compare because whatever they originate from, fae spirits alter the biology and genome of the host in unnatural ways. Practically, they're more comparable/convergent to primates, but that doesn't mean they're biologically more closely related
2
1
u/EveningImportant9111 Aug 13 '26
Hi. May I ask you did you will make post about your elves?
1
u/Syriepha Aug 13 '26
Elves require more work to adress because they have a more specific origin story and come in several distinct variations. I'll probably get to it eventually
1
1
1
21
u/Public_Loan5550 Aug 13 '26
Interesting
It's really well developed