Goblins

Description
The green-skinned Goblins are the bane of the Serpent Isle. Created by pseudo-magical experiments in the time of the Ophidians, they are a constant threat to the cities. Males and Females alike are very aggressive and greedy, dreaming of total rule. Goblin males ofter wear chain armor or even Antique Armor and wield heavy weapons like swords. They are also proficient with spears. The female Goblins walk around next to totally naked, apart from a loincloth, and use weapons like blowguns. Both throw spears at their foes before entering melee. Their most horrifying trait is, that they actually eat their foes, robbing the dead of their peace.

Goblins roam the land, but are mainly found in the Valley of the Goblins, from which they strike out at the many human settlements.

Notable examples

 * Only two Goblins on Serpent Isle actually talk to the Avatar. The traitor in Monitor, and the Goblin King Pomdirgun. Pomdirgun is quite intelligent and a master strategist. But mostly, he relies on the traitors in Monitor. He finds his end, when the Avatar kills him to reclaim the Helm of Courage.

Goblin Language
The following are some 'barks' lifted from Serpent Isle: "Lorfag tar!" "Cra!!" "Eeeeeeeeerrrrrrr!" "Gloru gank!" "Kropf!" "Blakath!" "Ggblg!" "Urga jaag!" "Blaggar don!"

Lore
''The Goblins originated from forbidden arcane experiments performed on prisoners and other victims by demented, power-seeking mages. (It was for causes like these that magic was once banned in our lands.) During the Third Age of Darkness, Exodus bred the Goblins into an army dedicated to his wicked cause. Following his defeat, the survivors vanished from the face of Britannia - hunted down by vigilantes or banished to other realms. (In those times, the Goblins were so loosely bound to this world that a single spell could expel them from this plane of existence.) It was only after our Proclamation went out, promising clemency to those primitive monsterforms who would undertake to follow the Path of the Avatar, that the Goblins were rediscovered. A delegation of Goblinfolk appeared at the gates of Castle Britannia, asking for an audience with Lord British. Not just one but two species of Goblins had survived in hiding from the days of Exodus. The Gray Goblins, originally mountain dwellers, had skulked in the caves of the Serpent's Spine mountains. The forest-dwelling Green Goblins hid themselves by retreating into an underground river's channel, near the baneful lake called Venom.''

''Today, virtuous Goblinfolk make up one-third of our community. There was a time when a Green Goblin would rather slay a Gray Goblin than any other enemy, but the Path of the Avatar has brought the tribes together as brothers. (Though the two species rarely come to blows nowadays, the Gray and the Green still attempt to outdo each other whenever possible in matters of Virtue. Old enmities die hard. - Corby)''

- from "The Memoirs of Cabirus", Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss

Trivia

 * Goblins had populated Serpent Isle since before the Sosarians had arrived, thus the two races fought each other ever since.
 * Goblins are said to eat *alive* those whom they capture. They also torture and mutilate.
 * Goblins sometimes go to the far north to war with the Gwani. It's exceedingly rare for a goblin to slay a gwani, but if they do then the chieftan immediately claims the pelt. Only the toughest goblin chiefs wear a gwani pelt.
 * The goblin chief's hut is always the largest and always at the centre of camp. Each day ends with a drunken revel and the celebrants sleep well into the day. Thus attacking at daybreak is the most effective.
 * Goblins dislike the sun and tend to attack straight after sunset. They often march to a city they want to attack and wait for nightfall before making their assault.
 * Goblins avoid the Castle of the White Dragon for fear of the ghost of the King.
 * Goblins are almost completely impervious to cold.