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Mythos:
Goblins are descendants of the Kobaloi, mischievous but jolly spirits from the court of Dionysus, god of wine and festival. But as time marched on, the Goblins grew distant from their cheerful god, and their antics and pranks transformed to wickedness and acts of evil. They are said to hide in the cracks and crevices of the world, where humans cannot reach. Through magic, they can shrink themselves or turn invisible to avoid detection, but magic also makes them strong, a goblin the size of cat can be as strong as an ox. Goblins sometimes kidnap children to raise as servants, or women to be their brides, leaving a shape-shifter in their place. The most fearsome of Goblins have a taste for human flesh, and will capture humans to eat for dinner, or keep as livestock. In the modern world, Goblins will try to live in the cracks and crevices of machinery, and cause mischief through mechanical malfunctions.
Alt Names: Ork, Ogre, Puck, Hobgoblin, Hobb, Pukwudgie, Trasgo, Powrie, Kobold, Gremlin,
Goblins are descendants of the Kobaloi, mischievous but jolly spirits from the court of Dionysus, god of wine and festival. But as time marched on, the Goblins grew distant from their cheerful god, and their antics and pranks transformed to wickedness and acts of evil. They are said to hide in the cracks and crevices of the world, where humans cannot reach. Through magic, they can shrink themselves or turn invisible to avoid detection, but magic also makes them strong, a goblin the size of cat can be as strong as an ox. Goblins sometimes kidnap children to raise as servants, or women to be their brides, leaving a shape-shifter in their place. The most fearsome of Goblins have a taste for human flesh, and will capture humans to eat for dinner, or keep as livestock. In the modern world, Goblins will try to live in the cracks and crevices of machinery, and cause mischief through mechanical malfunctions.
Alt Names: Ork, Ogre, Puck, Hobgoblin, Hobb, Pukwudgie, Trasgo, Powrie, Kobold, Gremlin,
Insight:
There isn't any mythological basis for Orcs, so when designing fantasy settings, I use the term Goblins or Ogres for similar creatures instead. The idea that Goblins should be small is somewhat incorrect. As Christianity replaced Paganism, the creatures in old pagan stories were often downplayed and shrank over time. Elves, Dwarves, Fairies and Goblins all fell victim to this, so my feeling is that if you're going to depict Elves as human sized, then Goblins should be restored to their full height as well. As the mythos blurb suggests, Goblin myths supposedly go back all the way to Ancient Greece as the Koboloi, but I suspect that with the popularity of Greek ideas and the abundance of goblin-like creatures across Europe, a lot of the mythology about "goblins" were originally different creatures that got lumped together with goblins much later. A lot of the goblin-like creatures are not physical beings at all, but more like ghosts, so it does make sense that they could shrink and hide out in a world full of humans. The idea of gremlins inhabiting modern day machinery is a fascinating continuation of goblin mythology.
There isn't any mythological basis for Orcs, so when designing fantasy settings, I use the term Goblins or Ogres for similar creatures instead. The idea that Goblins should be small is somewhat incorrect. As Christianity replaced Paganism, the creatures in old pagan stories were often downplayed and shrank over time. Elves, Dwarves, Fairies and Goblins all fell victim to this, so my feeling is that if you're going to depict Elves as human sized, then Goblins should be restored to their full height as well. As the mythos blurb suggests, Goblin myths supposedly go back all the way to Ancient Greece as the Koboloi, but I suspect that with the popularity of Greek ideas and the abundance of goblin-like creatures across Europe, a lot of the mythology about "goblins" were originally different creatures that got lumped together with goblins much later. A lot of the goblin-like creatures are not physical beings at all, but more like ghosts, so it does make sense that they could shrink and hide out in a world full of humans. The idea of gremlins inhabiting modern day machinery is a fascinating continuation of goblin mythology.