Strength and Honor: The mighty hobgoblins of Tellene

Strength and Honor:
The mighty hobgoblins of Tellene
Credits
Authors: Noah Kolman and Don Morgan
Editors: Brian Jelke, David Kenzer, Noah Kolman, Don Morgan
Art Director: Bob Burke
Art Liaison: Mark Plemmons
Cover Illustration: Keith DeCesare
Cover Colors: Scott Kester
Interior Illustrations: Thiago “Grafik” Carvalho, Caleb Cleveland,
Keith DeCesare, Mitch Foust, Martin Montiel, Eric Olsen
Graphic Design: Jennifer “Jiffy” Burke
Project Manager: Brian Jelke
Production Manager: Steve Johansson
Playtesters: Joe Charles, Doug Click, Gigi Epps, Rob Landry, Mark Lane,
Mark Praiter, Brad Todd, Luke Wetterlind, John Williams
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: STRENGTH AND HONOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
THE ORIGIN OF THE HOBGOBLINS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
CHAPTER 2: KRANGI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
CHAPTER 3: KARGI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
CHAPTER 4: KORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
CHAPTER 5: DAZLAK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
CHAPTER 6: RANKKI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
CHAPTER 7: RULES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
MAKING AND PLAYING A HOBGOBLIN PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
PRESTIGE CLASSES FOR HOBGOBLINS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
HOBGOBLIN STATS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138
HOBGOBLIN SKILLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138
NEW CLASSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138
PRESTIGE CLASSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
NEW SKILLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
NEW FEATS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
NEW EQUIPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
ALCHEMICAL MIXTURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
NEW SPELLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
MAGIC ITEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150
APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
APPENDIX A: LANGUAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
APPENDIX B: INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
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1
Chapter 1: Strength and Honor
Chapter 1:
Strength and
Honor
When this world began, it was not as you know it today. The land
was empty, completely barren, and covered by the holy blackness.
There were no plants, there were no beasts, and there were no sil-ghaz.
It was perfect.
But the creator was not satisfied with the emptiness. Such perfection
deserved a king. A perfect king. So the creator made the plants and
trees, but he was not satisfied. Without honor, the plants could not
rule. The creator tried again, this time making the beasts. But again,
he was not satisfied, for they also lacked honor. The creator returned to
work, until he made the sil-ghaz, the intelligent beings. But these
beings were also without honor, for they would not worship the
darkness. The creator realized that, having been born in the light, they
had been born flawed.
The creator now knew that he must create the race of kings in the
embrace of the holy darkness. But as he surveyed his now imperfect
world, he saw the beasts, plants, and most of all, the sil-ghaz, polluting
the world with light. So he traveled to deep beneath the mountains,
where the sacred darkness remained. There he took the pure mountain
rock and fashioned the Krangi form. He took the celestial air and the
pure water and infused them into the rock effigy. Finally, he gave them
a drop of his divine blood, signifying that they should rule. In this way
the first Krangi was born.
Finally satisfied with his creation, the creator returned to his seat in
the heavens. He and the gods watched as the Krangi quickly spread
across the lands, defeating their enemies and winning glory and honor
for the Blacksoul, the holy darkness. Soon, the whole world bowed their
heads to the Krangi, and the land returned to the glory it once knew.
But the other gods had become jealous, for the Krangi did not
worship them. Together, they brought a great pestilence upon the
Krangi, and destroyed their mighty empire. Then they took the
Blacksoul and destroyed his body. Satisfied that they had exacted their
revenge, the other gods disbanded their alliance.
But the Krangi were not dead, and neither was the holy darkness.
The Blacksoul soon returned, stronger and purer. Having lost his body,
he had become the darkness itself. The Krangi were also stronger, and
now their duty was clear. The other gods, and the despicable sil-ghaz
that worshipped them, had tried to rid the world of darkness. They had
failed, and now it was the Krangi’s turn. The time had come to return
the world to the perfect darkness it once possessed, and assume the
kingship that was rightfully theirs. And that is the fight that we all
must fight every day, until the end of days.
- From the sermon of Sun Slayer Azak Naggetrek
560 I.R.
STRENGTH AND HONOR
Throughout the course of history, from the time before time
to the present day, two principles have guided the course of the
hobgoblin race: strength and honor. These values form the basis
of hobgoblin society, they govern the actions of its military, its
leaders, and its people, and they guide the hobgoblins into the
future. Any understanding of the hobgoblin race must begin
with these principles, because they are the context in which
every other hobgoblin thought or deed must be judged.
Strength
The first hobgoblin value, though perhaps not the most
important, is strength. This concept is the easier for outsiders to
grasp. The hobgoblins believe that the Blacksoul (or another
deity in some cases) created the world for the hobgoblins to rule,
and that the other races have taken it from them. To retake the
world, the hobgoblins believe that they must prove themselves
to be the strongest and most dominant race. Only after they have
proved themselves will they once again rule the world.
The value of strength comes from the hobgoblins’ basic
understanding of power relationships. In short, to have power
over someone means to have the ability to take his or her life.
Because life is the most basic element of existence, the ability to
control another’s existence must translate into the ability to
control every other aspect of that person’s life. Without life,
nothing else has any importance. As the hobgoblins have
evolved more complex societies, their hierarchies and power
3
Chapter 1: Strength and Honor
relationships have likewise become more complex, but the basis
is still the ability to kill. To have power over someone, one must
be able to kill him, and to be able to kill him one must be strong.
Since the hobgoblins’ goal is to have power over everyone, they
must be able to kill everyone.
Of course, just knowing that one has the power to kill
someone is not sufficient to wield power over him. One must
be able to prove it, and thus displays of strength are an integral
part of the life of a hobgoblin. It is important to note that this
desire to prove one’s strength does not stem from any kind of
insecurity or weakness. The hobgoblins are extremely confident in their abilities. They know that they are the strongest
race in the world, they just have to prove it to everyone else.
Likewise on an individual scale, each hobgoblin believes that he
or she is the strongest hobgoblin in the world, and it is only a
matter of time before he or she proves it. Proving one’s strength
is an integral part in the desire to rule the world, and like
earning honor, when a hobgoblin stops proving his or her
strength, it indicates that he or she has accepted a position as an
inferior creature. This is unacceptable to the hobgoblins, and
those accused of such a sin must immediately prove themselves
or be killed.
Proving one’s strength often takes the form of violence or
aggression, as the hobgoblins consider this the truest and most
basic display of power. It could be as insignificant as killing a
slave or as massive as slaughtering an entire village. Unlike
displays of honor, there is no qualification that the victim be
equal in strength or treated fairly. Any display of strength is
appropriate, although those in which the opponent is of equal
or greater ability are considered more impressive and of a
higher quality.
Indirect displays of power are also acknowledged, though less
so than direct ones. As with honor, if a hobgoblin can convince
or force another to do something he would otherwise not do, he
holds some measure of power over him. If he can convince
another to risk his life when he otherwise would not, then he
wields true power. If he cannot force another to give up his life,
but still persuades him to do something that he would not
otherwise do, then he holds partial power over him. The
hobgoblins consider this an inferior display of power, but a
display of power nonetheless.
Honor
4
Honor is not a explicitly defined concept, despite its importance to the hobgoblins. Honor measures a hobgoblin’s power,
his worth to his people, the strength of his character, the force
of his personality, the amount of respect he deserves, the
number of his successes, his position in society, and much more.
But honor is a subjective measure of these virtues, depending
upon how others think of the hobgoblin. This subjectivity is
crucial. Honor would not be honor without this subjective
aspect. This naturally makes the rules of honor impossible to
define, particularly for non-hobgoblins, and yet the hobgoblins
have no problem integrating it into their rigid and organized
view of the world.
Although honor itself cannot be defined succintly, acts that
increase or decrease one’s honor can. Again, the subjective and
complex nature of honor means that few actions result in
gaining honor in every situation or losing honor in every situation. In this light, one must consider actions that increase or
decrease honor in a majority of situations.
On a basic level, actions that increase honor are those that
prove one is better than someone else. This includes competitions of any kind, from a footrace to a fight to the death. For
example, a hobgoblin who kills an opponent in combat usually
gains honor for the action. There is a caveat, hence the word
“usually”. The hobgoblin only gains honor if he does not have
an unfair advantage. Thus, a hobgoblin who kills a kobold
female does not gain honor, while a hobgoblin who kills an
elven warrior does. Precisely what constitutes an unfair advantage is vague, and results in some actions being difficult to
evaluate. For example, a hobgoblin who kills an unarmed
human would not gain honor, but if he gives the human a
weapon and then kills him, he could gain honor. An opponent
lacking a weapon clearly gives the hobgoblin an unfair advantage. An opponent lacking the hobgoblin’s training or experience, however, does not. Generally, advantages that result from
past effort, such as martial skill or experience, are not considered unfair, because the hobgoblin worked for them. This is not
always the case, as magical ability is considered an unfair advantage, even though it requires work or experience.
A hobgoblin can also gain honor by exercising power or influence, a subtle way to demonstrate one’s superiority. This is
characterized by forcing someone to do something they would
not otherwise do. For example, a general has power, and thus
honor, because he can force his men into combat even if they
know they will lose, something they would not otherwise do. A
wealthy merchant has power, and thus honor, if he can convince
a military officer not to raid a particular caravan because he
wants to sell the caravan’s goods. In a hierarchy, the power
resides at the top and flows from towards the bottom in the form
of orders and influence. Getting someone to do something they
do not want to do is how hobgoblins define what an order is, and
the person that accomplishes this gains honor and a place above
them in the hierarchy. These actions also related to the
hobgoblin value of strength.
There are a few guidelines that every hobgoblin follows when
considering honor. For one, the hobgoblins believe that honor
is a way of life. Although honor is related to how others view
you, it is just as important to act honorably when alone as it is
when in the presence of others. The hobgoblins believe that it
is far worse to have honor that is undeserved than to have no
honor at all. Honor that is false, that is based upon acts of
superiority done only in the presence of others and not upon
actual behavior, is abhorrent to the hobgoblins because it brings
Chapter 1: Strength and Honor
suspicion upon everyone’s honor. To combat this, the hobgoblins make an effort to act with honor at all times.
Additionally, a hobgoblin does not do something solely to
gain honor. The hobgoblins consider someone that wanders
alone in the woods hoping to be ambushed by a group of elves a
fool, not an honorable individual. Honorable hobgoblins do not
desire honor for honor’s sake; they desire what they perceive as
righteous deeds, which as a byproduct bring honor. Honor is
not an end itself, but a measure of how close to the ultimate end,
a place at the top of the world hierarchy, a hobgoblin stands.
Similarly, one can never have enough honor. Honor represents the hobgoblin desire to prove that they are better than
everyone else. By continuing to do honorable deeds, a
hobgoblin indicates that he is better than his current position in
life. Conversely, a hobgoblin that ceases to do honorable deeds
has accepted his or her position in life. Unless they rule all
creatures of the sovereign lands, they have failed in their quest.
By accepting their current state, they would acknowledge that
they are not superior to everyone. Such resignation is a
hobgoblin sin of the highest order.
This can mean that honor is a two-edged sword. Honor
represents a hobgoblin’s demonstration of his abilities, so if a
low ranking hobgoblin has high honor, it is expected that he
will ascend to a rank befitting his honor. If he is unable to do so,
his honor is considered false, and he faces the difficult
challenge of keeping his current honor and rank. Hobgoblins
that fail to fulfill their potential usually end up dead, either
having died in a desperate challenge for power or from being
attacked by his peers. Hobgoblins are quick to exorcise from
their ranks anyone with suspect honor.
THE ORIGIN OF THE HOBGOBLINS
Though the hobgoblins are sure of their origin, there is no
similar consensus among human and demi-human scholars.
Most agree that the hobgoblins are an old race, and lived on the
main continent of Tellene before the humans migrated to the
mainland. Records from the migration mention organized
hordes of humanoids as one of the many perils faced by the
settlers. This is validated by many archeological records that
suggest there were communities of hobgoblins on the main
continent before the first human remains were left behind.
The more significant question, however, is when the hobgoblins separated themselves from the other humanoids as a
civilized race. Before their civilization, the hobgoblin’s role on
Tellene was no different than any of the other monstrous
humanoids; they could be considered a natural part of the
environment. At some point their role changed, and the result
is the fully civilized race that exists currently. The point at
which this transformation occurred, when the hobgoblin race
crossed the threshold between barbarism and civilization, is a
hotly debated topic.
Hobgoblin religious doctrine states that the hobgoblin race
was created as a civilized race, and has persisted that way for all
time. Strictly speaking, this position is untenable, for there is
very convincing archeological evidence of uncivilized
hobgoblin tribes dated after the supposed creation of the
hobgoblins. To explain this, hobgoblins believe that at the height
of their power, a disaster was visited upon them as punishment.
They claim that the gods, in their jealousy, destroyed the
5
The Hobgoblin subraces (from left to right): Kors, Dazlak, Kargi, Krangi and Rankki