Common Knowledge

Goblintown lies along the west side of Greywind Lake. The town has a plethora of internal political struggles and vies for power, so it remains relatively harmless to everyone around it. While it is dangerous for most non-goblins to enter, the occasional orc, kobold, troll or minotaur have been spotted.

History

Originally, there was a town called Farshore, a small fishing town on the western banks of Greywind Lake. It held renown as a safe haven, offering travellers refuge from the dangerous wilderness of the Ashul Weald to the north. Until the goblins showed up.

Typically, goblins establish their habitats underground, making use of caves hidden beneath mountains and larger hills. Almost a hundred years before the most recent war with the Scything Crag, a roaming band of goblins made up of several different bloodlines, ventured out from the Smolding Crown and decided they would rather live in the open. The hundred and fifty residents of Farshore didn’t know of the attack until it was too late, and very few were able to make it to safety. A large, green- and brown-coloured goblin of the Biletooth Clan, Garric, pronounced himself ruler, and changed the name of the town to The Wretched Harbour.

The town never settled into any sort of peace, and from day one, there were a slew of political problems. A year and a half after The Wretched Harbour was founded, when Garric’s head was lopped off with a large double-bladed axe, Krof Hellbog announced he was the new king, and renamed the town to Hell’s Harbour. Two years later, Snaggen No-Nose of the Darkeater Clan ended Krof’s reign with a knife to the back, renaming the town again to Foulshore. Not two months afterwards, Keppi Biletooth, nephew of Garric, extracted revenge for his uncle and slayed Snaggen, himself becoming king, and renaming the town Darkenshore.

Afterwards, it was shortened to Darkshore, then Grundenbog, The City of Night, New Grundenbog, The Crimson Gate, and a host of other names. When it became apparent to neighbouring villages that the goblins had set up permanent residence, and did not wish to venture out from their town anymore, everyone just began calling it Goblintown. Usually, by the time word reached these villages of the new ruler and the new name, both ruler and name were now obsolete.

Goblins have a very short gestation period, and reach their age of maturity (if one can call it that) very quickly. So despite the power struggle, and the constant battle to run the town, the goblins are in no short supply. Over time, all the clans mated with one another, and new clan names were created. Goblin “blood feuds” of the past carried on in tradition, but oftentimes due to a lack of record-keeping these feuds were held between first or second cousins, and strangely one time between twin brothers Guzm Greatclaw and Starm Gateclaw, because one of their last names was incorrectly spelled.

Most of goblin lore and heritage is passed down verbally, as most goblins of Goblintown cannot read or write, causing innumerable discrepancies between what events happened, when they happened, why they happened, and more often than not, if they even happened at all. The best chance to find any sort of accurate written history of the town could be found with one of the few non-goblin members.

Other Information

Not being very industrious themselves, the goblins have merely extended new levels onto previous homes and shops, rather than creating their own buildings. This gives Goblintown a very crooked and lanky look to it. Where the fields surrounding the town had once grown corn, wheat, barley, and a colourful array of vegetables, they now grow only what goblins can cultivate: onions, potatoes, radishes, and other produce requiring very little attention. Without their tunnels and mines, Goblintown residents have resorted to arming themselves in anything they can craft without harvesting resources: weapons made from bones or sharpened branches, vests made of bones strung poorly together using rope made from the hair of deceased goblins.

Politics

The politics of Goblintown are almost non-existant. It was founded on the principles of dictatorship, and usually each subsequent ruler has been the exterminator of his predecessor. The longest rule belonged to Ruug Blackblood, lasting just under six years, while the shortest belonged to Vrut Bladewalker, whose reign lasted roughly four minutes, as he was killed while announcing himself as the new leader.

Despite having problems of it’s own, Goblintown remains on neutral terms with its neighbours, Maerinville to the northeast, and Elnoras to the south. During the war, an emissary from Satu Mare travelled up to Goblintown asking for assistance against the Scything Crag. At that point, the town was called Dreadmoor, under the command of King Kroal One-Eye, who agreed to mass troops and send them to battle. However, when the time came to send the goblins to war, the town was called Foul Rock, and was under the rule of Darrh “the Flat”, who wanted the town to remain uninvolved with the war. He was posthumously called “the Flat” as the crowning achievement of his reign over the town, a new palace (which was merely a very tall wooden shack), came falling down upon him his first time stepping inside.

The current ruler of Goblintown (which is presently known as The City of Ashes), Ragnuhk Redtongue, has held his position for three years. He is considerably more intelligent than a majority of the town’s residents, and managed to acquire the ruling position through convincing his predecessor to relinquish the title to him, rather than the usual method of killing him. He is attempting to open up trade routes to Maerinville and Elnoras, to raise the reputation of Goblintown, and implement new ideas to made the town more wealthy and prosperous.

Locations of Note

The Heap is a large pile of bones sitting just past Goblintown’s main entrance. While the residents are accustomed to the smell, outsiders are quickly turned off by it. Deceased goblins have their bones used for various purposes, and those unsuitable for use get thrown onto the pile. It is now the height of four goblins end to end. Sadly, most of the bones are not picked clean, attracting much rot and decay. Ragnuhk Redtongue is beginning to instigate clean-up procedures for The Heap, as it is not only an eye-sore on the town, but a huge deterrent for any race with a nose.

Despite the various name changes of the town, one place has remained unchanged since it’s foundation: the Night Gloom district. Once every third full moon, as best as goblins can keep records, a festival is held in the district, paying respect to the goblins who founded the town, as the legend says it was founded under the light of a full moon. The Night Gloom district is adorned with giant glowing paintings of the moon, torches are lit along the sides of each building, and music is played throughout the town. It is the safest night for citizens of Goblintown, as it is a respected tradition and all the goblins remain non-violent, ironically as the festival is celebrating the decimation of the town’s entire previous population.