Free Goblins (Dev Stage: Statting, Coding-then Animating)

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irrevenant
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Free Goblins (Dev Stage: Statting, Coding-then Animating)

Post by irrevenant »

NOTE: This first page is pretty out of date, now. See the page on the wiki instead.

I've had this faction idea for a while, hoping to work on it sometime. I've finally realised that's not going to happen in the foreseeable future, so here it is in case anyone else wants to run with it.
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The [placeholder name]Free Goblins[/placeholder name] are a faction of Goblins who got sick of being treated as runts by the Orcs and broke off to form their own society. This is a very recent event (intended to be the focus of a campaign, in fact). The nucleus of the Free Goblins is a charismatic and enthusiastic young goblin with a number of clearly insane ideas that are nonetheless proving popular with the goblin population. For example, leadership positions (including his own) are not decided by feats of strength or heredity, but by a count of the number of goblins in favour. Further, this band of lunatics consider Goblins (and perhaps other races, though there is some disagreement on this point) should be accorded some fundamental rights (including tolerance) that need not be earned through strength-of-arms.

The Free Goblins predominantly want to be left in peace, but they are hated by the Orcs for their heretical beliefs and hated by almost everyone else because they're goblins.

Fortunately for them, their strange ways seem to lend them an unusual inventiveness. They have created camouflage outfits that let them blend into the forests. They have developed blowpipes that can fire poisonous darts. They have developed ways of flinging spears further and harder (though further and harder than a goblin largely just brings them level with the other races). Given their unusual concern for their fellow goblins, they have developed the non-magical healing arts. And there are even rumours of Free Goblins that can fly with the aid of cobbled-together cloth wings.

They would prefer not to fight at all and are no stronger than the average goblin (given their shunning of 'survival of the fittest' some are weaker), but once drawn into battle their diversity of tricks and tactics make them a difficult enemy to overcome...

[EDIT] Added updated diagram of current Unit Tree as at 22-August-07:
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Last edited by irrevenant on October 11th, 2007, 10:04 pm, edited 7 times in total.
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Post by Elvish_Pillager »

Neat idea!

My immediate idea for unit trees:

Goblin Warrior, melee combat + ranged spears + Heals
-> Goblin Javelineer, more ranged

Goblin Tracker, poison darts and weak melee, higher speed
-> Goblin Ranger/Forester, that plus Ambush

Goblin Tinkerer, ranged crossbow (one shot)
-> Goblin Engineer, also flies (in a kite! Personal kites are much more fun than wings :P also, there is real historical precedent for using kites to make soldiers fly.)
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Post by irrevenant »

Elvish Pillager wrote:-> Goblin Engineer, also flies (in a kite! Personal kites are much more fun than wings :P
Yeh, I was envisioning a hang-glider or similar; I just couched it in the sort of terms a bemused peasant onlooker might use, for atmosphere...
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Post by scott »

You should team them up with saurians tired of being Drake footstools and ogres tired of being loyalist meat shields.
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Post by turin »

Interesting idea.


But I fail to see how an independent colony of Goblins could survive, since according to the backstory we've come up with Goblins and Orcs are actually the same race - in each goblinoid litter, there are 1-2 orcs and 3-5 goblins. The orcs are only big and strong because they were the strongest of the litter, and so were chosen to be orcs, and the goblins are only small because their growth was stunted.
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Post by scott »

turin wrote:But I fail to see how an independent colony of Goblins could survive, since according to the backstory we've come up with Goblins and Orcs are actually the same race
I don't see why this matters. A goblin is a goblin, and an orc is an orc. Their DNA is the same, but they self-segregate based on phenotype. Why can't they?
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Post by Thrawn »

scott wrote:
turin wrote:But I fail to see how an independent colony of Goblins could survive, since according to the backstory we've come up with Goblins and Orcs are actually the same race
I don't see why this matters. A goblin is a goblin, and an orc is an orc. Their DNA is the same, but they self-segregate based on phenotype. Why can't they?
I think Turin's point is that the "goblin litters" would include some mean, big, "orcish" goblins, and wouldn't they consider themselves orcs, and wouldn't that mess up the society.

However, that means nothing, becasue even goblins that could classify as orcs would act as the free goblins becasue of how they were brought up.
...please remember that "IT'S" ALWAYS MEANS "IT IS" and "ITS" IS WHAT YOU USE TO INDICATE POSSESSION BY "IT".--scott

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Post by turin »

scott wrote:
turin wrote:But I fail to see how an independent colony of Goblins could survive, since according to the backstory we've come up with Goblins and Orcs are actually the same race
I don't see why this matters. A goblin is a goblin, and an orc is an orc. Their DNA is the same, but they self-segregate based on phenotype. Why can't they?
Because then you get one of three situations:

1. The Free Goblins die out in a generation, because they never reproduce. This is if the only goblinoids able to reproduce are the female orcs.

2. The Free Goblins eventually become a mixed goblinoid settlement, just like all of the others, with the only difference being the orcs do not treat the goblins like dirt.

3. the Free Goblins kick out of their colony those orcs born, or the orcs voluntarily leave. This seems to go against the very idea of the Free Goblins....


Two is the most likely. But it seems to make the proposed tree... odd, because it includes no orcs, even though there would have to be some.


BTW, I am generally against having democracy in fantasy games. But I'll try not to let that prejudice me against these guys. ;)
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Post by Thrawn »

they are all brought up as them being "goblins," but if someone wanted to do it, they could have an "orcish" trait for this race, and it gives +2 melee, +5%HP, and +10%XP needed to upgrade...
...please remember that "IT'S" ALWAYS MEANS "IT IS" and "ITS" IS WHAT YOU USE TO INDICATE POSSESSION BY "IT".--scott

this goes for they're/their/there as well
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Post by Alks »

turin wrote:[


2. The Free Goblins eventually become a mixed goblinoid settlement, just like all of the others, with the only difference being the orcs do not treat the goblins like dirt.

Two is the most likely. But it seems to make the proposed tree... odd, because it includes no orcs, even though there would have to be some.
Nope, turin.

There's also 4.

4. Free Goblins do not represent settlement, but they are mainly formed from migrating goblins, who are witty and strong enough to run from orcish tribes and make some civilization. While for some generations, the only natural growth would be migrations of other goblins, they could grow in strength and hunt some orcish females, who are used only for reproduction. (Goblin Macho - Goblin Breeder - Goblin Breedmaster, hehe). They are not expanding civilization, rather enclave, formed in a place, where they can barely survive and evolve.
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Post by Darth Fool »

To yet again prove that in a fantasy world it is always possible to come up with a reason for either side of an argument as being "real", here is an explanation of why free goblins don't have orcish offspring:

In a typical orcish/goblin litter, one or two are larger than the others. Since to Orcs, size does matter, these are given (or allowed to take) special treatment/food that increases there growth rate and general hostility (think steroids or bees royal-jelly). The rest survive on leftovers and typical goblin fare and so don't grow as strong or belligerant as their orcish siblings. In a free-goblin society, all litter-mates are treated equal, and larger litter-mates are not allowed to steal the food of smaller ones. This usually means that none get fed the special orc-growth food or those that do get fed it (and have thrawn's orcish trait) get a much smaller dose because it is split between all the litter-mates equally, so they never become full sized orcs and never quite develop the same level of hostility.

With this rationalization, the free goblins would typically be slightly stronger than their enslaved goblin counterparts, but still weaker than the typical orc. They would be much more capable of working togeather as they would have been raised in a family environment where litter-mates are equals, not the competition.
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Post by Elvish_Pillager »

Other possibility: reproducing goblins only produce more goblins. (Genetically possible...)
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Post by Thrawn »

Elvish Pillager wrote:Other possibility: reproducing goblins only produce more goblins. (Genetically possible...)
there would still be a 1/4 chance of orcish offspring in the first generation...
...please remember that "IT'S" ALWAYS MEANS "IT IS" and "ITS" IS WHAT YOU USE TO INDICATE POSSESSION BY "IT".--scott

this goes for they're/their/there as well
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Post by Elvish_Pillager »

Thrawn wrote:
Elvish Pillager wrote:Other possibility: reproducing goblins only produce more goblins. (Genetically possible...)
there would still be a 1/4 chance of orcish offspring in the first generation...
Not if orcness an X-linked dominant trait.
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Post by turin »

Elvish Pillager wrote:Not if orcness an X-linked dominant trait.
We know orcness is not a dominant trait because the majority of the offspring are goblins.
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