Goblin

From L5r: Legend of the Five Rings

Goblin was the common term for members of the Bakemono race. Native to the Shadowlands, they were small in size, around three to four feet in height. Hunched and twisted, with mouths full of sharp, misaligned teeth, goblins varied in color from pale green to dark olive. They never cleaned and reeked of unspeakable filth. Typically, goblins were very low in intelligence, violent in temper, and generally lack a sense of self preservation. Legend had it that goblins were the first failed attempt of Fu Leng to create a powerful army.^[1]

Contents 1 Goblins in Battles 1.1 Magic Mud 2 Breeding 3 Territory 4 Leadership 4.1 Shaman 4.2 Warmongers 4.3 Kings 5 Details 5.1 Goblin Cities 5.2 Goblin Clans 6 See Also 7 References

[edit] Goblins in Battles

Goblins were often found in the front lines of most Shadowlands attacks, since they were considered the most disposable of the Shadowlands forces. Goblins would follow any leader who had proven he could kill them. It was not so much that they respected such a leader, or even feared for their little lives, they just served out of total terror.^[2]

[edit] Magic Mud

Goblins had a habit to mimick everything they saw or heard. As a result they imitated in their own creative way the flamming arrows they saw in battle. The last of their techniques was a sort of goblinoid fire missile. They found a very flammable mixture - called Magic Mud - and designed a tactic which could be very unsettling when first seen. The goblins would dip one of their fellows in the Magic Mud, then set it alight. The Magic Mud Goblin would then run screaming in agony towards the samurai ranks or be thrown in any way possible. This often wounded or killed astonished samurai, not expecting such a scene. It was considered an honor among certain tribes to be rolled in this black muck, as they explained the wailing of the flaming goblin was merely Fu Leng bestowing upon them a sort of holy battle fury.^[3]

[edit] Breeding

Goblins bred extremely quickly and in large numbers. This kept their population very high in the Shadowlands, despite their enormous casualty rate. The breeding period is not really definite but existed all the while. During this period of the year, goblins would engage in strange rituals like fighting until exhaustion, urination contests or fits of shrieking.^[4]

[edit] Territory

While goblins had no designated territory, they do meet at what was called the Big Stink, named by others for the awful stench that came from having so many bakemono in one place. Big Stink was an Crab keep, long since forgotten, but its walls still stood. Nowadays, the goblin city still thrives, under the protection of the Kuni family, which use this city as a living experiment of goblin society.^[5]

[edit] Leadership

In recent times, a large goblin named Basher who had the ability to speak and reason attempted to out breed all other goblins in hopes of creating a stronger goblin race. He was reasonably successful, and recently the average goblin had become more aggressive, larger, and more intelligent. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Shaman

Goblins were not very good at magic as they lack the focus and discipline that made most spellcasters effective. The few that did manage to produce some magic had a hard time doing it, and an even harder time doing other things at the same time.^[6]

[edit] Warmongers

The Warmongers were bigger and smarter than their normal counterparts, and this showed in their capability of using armor and swords left by dead bushi. If goblins raided a Crab fortification it wes usually the warmongers who were leading the way.^[6]

[edit] Kings

Goblin kings had been renowned for being invincible. Their quick rise to power among goblins and the solid hierarchy and organisation they gave to their tribe was quite astounding. In spite of their warmonger-like appearance, they were in fact small Oni created by Fu Leng to give some more structure to the goblin species.^[7]

[edit] Details

[edit] Goblin Cities

• Big Stink / Haikyo sano Kappa

[edit] Goblin Clans

• Bangjaw Clan
• Biteeye Clan
• Slobberknuckle Clan

[edit] See Also

Denizens of the Shadowlands for a list of known goblins.

Goblin Culture/Meta

References

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