TBA
I — What Goblins Really Are
Do you really want the truth? Nobody ever takes goblins seriously until they need something.
Humans look at us and filth. Something small and sharp toothed, crawled through the cracks of society. They tell themselves we're parasites. That we survive because the world forgets to stomp us out properly. Supernatural's aren't much better. They laugh at us. They call us pests. They treat us like scavengers living off scraps from the "real powers."
That's fine. Let the laugh, it keeps them careless. We've always lived in what you ignore. Under streets. Beneath buildings. Inside tunnels and storm drains and abandoned subways. In the spaces between your systems, where your laws don't reach and your pride doesn't bother to look. While others were busy building kingdoms, we were learning the city's skeleton. They think that they own Los Santos because your name is on the deed, but you don't even know what's underneath it.
But that is beside the point...Before the veil shattered, life was simpler. The world was quiet, and quiet can be good for business. We Goblins thrived in secrecy, traded stolen goods, rare materials, relics pulled from forgotten places, and information that would've gotten others killed just for overhearing it.
We didn't need to be powerful, we needed to be useful because usefulness keeps you alive when strength fails. Then that Infernal Pride brought upon war. Everyone panicked, others rallied, and some fought. Shit, some even preached about destiny and balance and honor. But not us, we watched, we adapted. Because war is the best market for us to thrive in. Weapons, medicine, shelter supploes, and smuggling routes. Need forged documents? Stolen supplies? We even provided blackmail, protection and worse...bodies. Everyone wants something in war, and everyone is willing to pay more than they should.
It changed everything. Humans now knew we existed and thought their regulations and laws would do something. Like their governments can control creatures that existed much longer than they had even been around. Suddenly everyone needed connections. Everyone needed hidden routes. NEEDED weapons that didn't exist in the human world. And goblins? We already had it.
Why, you may ask. Cause Goblins don't only trade in gold and cash, we also trade in leverage. But hey, we have survived this long...and we will continue long after. So, call us rats if you want, call us thieves and pests. Just remember one thing. When the lights go out, when the streets burn, your power fails and your friends vanish. You won't call a celestial...you'll be calling us. Because goblins don't run the world from the top, we run it from underneath. And that's where everything truly moves.
II — The Shape of a Goblin
No two goblins really look identical, but most share familiar traits:
Short, compact frames built for crawling through tight spaces or blessed with average height. A Hobgoblin if you will.
Large ears that catch whispers and danger
Sharp teeth made for tearing through almost anything
Quick hands that rarely stay still
Eyes that shine in low light
Skin tones vary wildly:
Moss green
Stone gray
Rust brown
Sickly yellow
Deep forest shades
Goblins often decorate themselves with the tools of their trade. Oil stains. Bone charms. Broken wires. But we still have our own takes on Modern fashion. We can blend into society easily, besides our skin and habits which sometimes give us away.
Your work leaves marks on you, Goblins are proud of those marks!
III — The Three Goblin Paths
As goblins grow into adulthood, most drift toward a craft that shapes their place in the tribe. No one forces the choice but eventually your hands start reaching for the same kind of work.
🔧 Tinkerers — The Builders of Trouble
Tinkerers see possibility in broken things. A smashed radio becomes a signal scanner. Discarded drone becomes a scout. A broken generator becomes a very exciting accident waiting to happen.
Tinkerers thrive in places filled with forgotten technology:
scrapyards
repair shops
abandoned warehouses
subway tunnels full of wires
They specialize in:
salvaging electronics
building traps and gadgets
modifying weapons
turning junk into working machines
A tinkerer’s workshop is a dangerous place. Not because they’re careless. Because experiments are part of the process. If it explodes, the next version will explode less...Usually.
🔮 Shamans — The Listeners
Cities didn't kill the old magic, it just buried it. Deep beneath concrete and steel, strange spirits still linger. Shamans are the goblins who hear them.
They speak with:
sewer spirits
alley ghosts
forgotten household gods
rust spirits that haunt abandoned machines
A shaman’s power comes from negotiation, not control.
They offer:
food
strange tokens
whispered promises
little pieces of luck
In return they receive:
visions
protection
curses for enemies
guidance when the tribe is lost
Shamans also guard goblin traditions. They remember stories most goblins are too impatient to sit through. Which makes them surprisingly important.
🗡 Warriors — The Tribe’s Teeth
Every tribe needs someone who can solve problems the direct way. Warriors are fast, brutal, and clever in a fight. They don't charge into battle like heroes.
They prefer:
traps
developing their strength
fighting
A goblin warrior wins fights by making sure the enemy never gets a fair one.
They protect:
tribe territory
supply routes
important goblins
Warriors are also the ones who deal with creatures that wander too close to the warren. Sometimes those creatures are human other times they’re far worse. Either way the warrior will take out those who are a threat to the Warren.
IV — Life in the Warren
A warren is a goblin settlement.
Usually hidden somewhere humans overlook:
beneath subway systems
inside abandoned buildings
in storm drain networks
behind false walls in factories
A warren is rarely neat. But it is organized in a way goblins understand.
Paths twist and fork. Traps guard entrances. Rooms are stacked with scrap, tools, and stolen furniture.
The center of most warrens contains three important places:
the workshops
the spirit fire where shamans perform rituals
the scrap pile, where valuable junk is sorted
To outsiders it looks like chaos. To goblins it’s home.
V — Reputation and Ranks
Goblins don’t care much about noble titles. What matters is what you've done. But to blend in they do have such a casting.
💣 Rank I: Scrapling
💣 Rank II: Rigtechs
💣Rank III: Street Stalkers
💣Rank IV: Blast Runners
💣Rank V: Bosses
💣Rank VI: Godfather/mother of the Warren
A goblin earns respect by:
inventing something useful
winning a dangerous fight
negotiating with a powerful being
discovering valuable salvage
Some goblins eventually rise to leadership roles. These leaders are often called Bosses. A boss doesn’t rule through ceremony. They rule because everyone agrees that following them is a good idea.
VI — Goblin Ingenuity
If humans are builders, goblins are improvisers.
Give a goblin a pile of junk and enough time and they will eventually create something useful. Or terrifying. Sometimes both. They have thrived in the modernday world by being crafty and forging the way in the underground. If you need something done, or just downright illegal they can get it or build it.
Common goblin creations include:
motion-triggered traps
cobbled-together firearms
tiny mechanical scouts
chemical smoke bombs
scrap armor made from street signs and car parts
Goblins do not fear experimentation. Failure is just information with sparks.
VII — Goblin Magic
Goblin magic is messy. It isn’t elegant like wizard spells. It grows from ritual, instinct, and bargains with strange forces.
Shamans can:
ward territory against intruders
curse enemies with lingering bad luck
strengthen warriors before battle
speak with spirits bound to places or objects
Tinkerers can:
But magic always has a cost. Spirits are patient. They remember every favor.
VIII — Enemies of the Warrens
Goblins survive because they stay clever. But the world is full of things that threaten them.
Common dangers include:
organized monster hunters
creatures drawn to goblin magic
rival goblin tribes
corporations that discover hidden warrens
spirits angered by broken bargains
Most goblins prefer to avoid direct conflict.
But if their home is threatened…The warrens become very dangerous places to invade.
IX — When a Goblin Breaks
Goblins thrive in community. A goblin cut off from tribe and purpose often begins to unravel. They grow very erratic. Obsessive. And extremely dangerous.
Some become solitary inventors whose creations spiral out of control. Others fall too deep into spirit dealings and become something… different. These goblins are whispered about carefully. Because every goblin fears becoming one.
X — Playing a Goblin
Goblin roleplay thrives on creativity and adaptability.
A goblin character should lean into:
clever solutions
chaotic teamwork
strange inventions
unexpected bravery
humor in dangerous situations
Thievery and total chaos
Goblins rarely dominate a situation through raw power. They win by being smarter, sneakier, and faster than the problem.
XI — Final Words from the Warren
Humans believe the world belongs to them.
They build towers, they build roads. They throw away the pieces that break. But every discarded thing eventually finds its way to a goblin.
And goblins know something humans forget. Nothing is ever truly useless. Everything can be turned into something new.
Sometimes something wonderful. Sometimes something very dangerous.
Usually both. 🔧🔥