> But there seem to be other goblins in Glorantha. There are goblins > related to darkness. They appear in Dragon Pass, where they are physically > rather tough, and move very fast (6-15-2, for you DP fans), and from the > counter illustration they are tall, skinny, and gangling (and obviously > non-human). They only appear after Sir Ethilrist has used his Cloak of > Darkness and so they are thus presumably somehow magically created or > transported (though they are not very magically tough themselves), and > associated with Darkness and/or Hell (which is where Ethilrist got the > Cloak). > I think that there is some more info about them in an early WF that > I can't find right now. There was also an IMHO fairly dodgy, and rather > non-Gloranthan (it uses deities like Crom Cruach) version from a couple of > reasonably early (or at least pre-Warhammering) White Dwarf.
The Goblin stuff was in WF7 p.9, from Steve Perrin's Pavis campaign:
: Goblins
: These are thought to be creatures of Darkness (possibly related to Trolls,
: who embraced Chaos rather than fought it during the Great Darkness. They
: were twisted and warped, but glory in their chaotic natures. There are two
: versions.
: Goblins Hobgoblins (Orcs)
[Stats deleted]
: It is thought that there is little difference in the ancestry of the
: two species, and the distinctive names merely describe different sizes
: and positions of importance. No one knows and the Goblins aren't saying.
: Birthrate:
: Due to their Chaotic nature, the birthrate of Goblins is very bad. Most
: of those born with Chaotic features tend to kill mother and child during
: birth.
: Cult - Tokaz Varaz, The Wild Dark
: A gibbering son of Kyger Lithor, spirit of all that's mysterious and
: spooky in the night. Because of his example, Goblins will often play
: pranks as they attack, and vary from helpful to antagonistic in a
: matter of hours.
From a chat with Sandy in Leicester the hours before Convulsion I learned about the Black Eater and its chaotic nature. With that in mind I find it plausible that some group of children of Kyger Litor summoned another entity out of Subere's treasury to fight Chaos, and like with the Black Eater which turned the wombs of the trolls barren (if one believes Second Council sources, what Nysalor did before the Castel of Lead was to try and save the trolls from the dire consequences of the curse they had summoned, and that without him trolls would have remained absolutely barren).
Apparently a number of these creatures remained in Hell or returned there during the Greater Darkness (maybe in the invading chaos host?) and were overcome by Subere, and imprisoned in Subere's Halls. When Ethilrist stole the Cloak of Darkness, some seem to have hidden in the folds, and seem to call in their brethren while the cloak sheds its darkness.
Whether one wants these critters as demons to be summoned from Hell, or as inhabitants of the underground, seems to be a matter of personal preference. I prefer to encounter them only where potent Darkness magic has been used, and some might have sneaked out while the magic tapped into Subere's Primal Darkness.
I don't think that there is much love lost between uzkind and Goblins.
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