Ancestral goblins lived above ground in gloomy, humid swamps and forests. They were small, green humanoid creatures that ate any meat they could come across. Commonly predated by creatures bigger than them, they would often hide by going in/under anything these larger beings couldn’t. Eventually, they came to live in natural caves, as their predators couldn’t fit into the small tunnels they could squeeze into.
As their population grew, they expanded into the caves with primitive tools made of stone. The only times they left the caves were almost exclusively to collect a resource, most commonly being food. This created a divide in the jobs of the colony; the ones who stayed home and mined, and the others who went out to hunt. Over time, these professions were passed down generation after generation, with advancements being made with the accumulated knowledge. Hunting families learned how to make weapons, set up traps, and to hunt in packs to overwhelm their prey. Mining families made stronger, more efficient tools and developed methods that would make the architecture of their lairs sturdy. This divergence in lifestyle eventually caused a split into two subspecies of goblin.
Cave goblins, known as simply goblins or common goblins, are goblins that live primarily in caves underground. They are smaller, pale teal toned, and have large eyes and ears to accommodate for life in the dark caverns. Their hair is shoulder length year round, for both men and women, and anywhere in color from raven black to titanium white. Cave goblins dock the tails of their young in infancy in order to reduce the risk of being caught in the event of a rock fall.
They mine precious jewels to either keep or to trade with the hobgoblins, who will in turn trade that and bring back a portion of the profit the the cave colony. To a smaller extent, they also export surplus resources in their specific lairs. This is usually the specific kind of rock that their lair is made of. Their main exports are tools, machinery, weapons, and armor. Such supplies are usually sold to the hobgoblins, but they do have some saved for their own colony. In return, cave goblins receive money, precious pillaged items, food, and other resources they may not have access to.
Hobgoblins, on the other hand, are the ones that primarily live above ground. They’re larger and olive toned. A hobgoblin’s hair is anywhere from blonde to scarlet in hue and can be light or dark. The hair of hobgoblins is seasonal; They grow it to about hip-length in the autumn to prepare for winter. In spring, women’s hair will shed and grow to chin length and males will temporarily go bald to prepare for summer. The tails of their young are not docked; goblin tails, if being measured completely straight, will grow to be slightly longer than their legs, with a small tuft of fur at the end. Their tails are also prehensile.
Although they are commonly in alliance with their original cave colony, most often hobgoblins live independently and nomadically among plains, forests, and/or swamps. The split from their original cave goblin colony is usually because the hobgoblin colony becomes so large that they exceed the natural limit of a single colony. The stereotype of hobgoblins who pillage and colonize is rooted in truth; they used to bully any civilization that they could overpower like hobbits, elves, humans, and dwarves, although this was only in the medieval period. Since the early modern period started, they have relinquished control of these colonies and prefer to trade with civilized negotiation. Hobgoblins will trade with anyone who is interested, which is often orcs, bugbears, and trolls. The items traded are usually tools or money, but there is a small market for exotic objects from distant cultures.
Something that all goblins, regardless of subspecies or profession, have in common are their teeth. Goblins have small, pointy teeth. Male goblins have tusks that protrude from their lips. They also have large, protruding ears and noses. Most are below 5’0 or 152cm in height. Their skin is in the range of what can be described as green. Goblin eyes have cat-like pupils that can retract into a vertical slit or open into a wide, circular disks. Their scleras are golden.
Generally, goblin features like facial features, body types, and skin colors are similar, but they have variation. For example, goblin hair comes in all textures from pin straight to kinky. Noses can be wide or thin, up-turned or down-turned. While most goblins have protruding noses, some noses are longer and others are shorter. Some goblins who are mixed with other humanoid in their blood have what is called a “doll face,” which are goblins with petite noses.
