Goblins in the world of Westmarch inhabit just about any and every biome they can. They are resourceful, resilient and persistent. They are well aware of the prejudice the “city-folk” hold against them, and will avoid them as best they can – any interactions start with distrust and hostility. Goblins don’t get along well with kobolds, as they too inhabit many of the same spaces as goblins. They are seen as competition to goblin-kind.
The one great advantage goblins have over kobolds, and even over the “city-folk” is an almost magical ability to stumble upon ancient relics. They just seem to be able to sniff them out in the wild lands, whether it be in ruins, caves, ancient temples or buried in swamps. Relics most often resurface in the hands of a lucky goblin. Goblins are, probably unsurprisingly, deeply superstitious folk.
Goblins organize in small tribes around a high chief or shaman – a goblin that has found a relic. Goblin tribes rarely get too large, because there’s always some other goblin finding some other lost relic and rallying other goblins around themselves. Some relics are, of course, more powerful than others – and some tribes can be fearsome and dangerous. Others are somewhat harmless and silly, to outsiders. Goblins don’t really seem to acknowledge the difference – all relics are powerful. All relics are to be worshipped. Each tribe thinks their relic is a Good Relic, and all other relics are Evil Relics. Most tribes only come in conflict with each other if there is a conflict over resources – or if the relics influence them to war.
Particularly fervent relic-worshipping goblin tribes can cause serious problems for small towns and adventurers, as the goblin tribe might actually be powerful enough to cause trouble.
However, because of their nature, goblin tribes are often the target of adventurer squads (often called “campaigners” in Westmarch by non-adventurers) to capture these relics. Some campaigner groups will try to recruit goblins, to use their “lucky” ability to find relics – most goblins (but not all) refuse out of distrust and are unwilling to go into cities and towns.
