Grodd Goblin

Introduction

In a bygone era, when their ancestors populated the kingdom now known as Cormyr, Grodd Goblins were no different from their more common cousins found everywhere. However, due to their servitude to Nalavara, the elf-dragon villain who once waged a campaign of destruction against the Cormyreans, their entire kind, along with their mistress, was condemned by powerful mages to a cavernous demiplane prison adjacent to the Plane of Shadows.

Guided by Nalavara, in time, they mastered both their cage and their uncivilized ways, constructing a great city they named Grodd. In this new home, they prospered for a thousand years before reemerging once more on the Prime Material Plane, where, at the behest of their elf-dragon mistress, they besieged Cormyr in a conflict that raged between the years 1370 and 1371: the Goblin War. Throughout the ensuing battles, Nalavara was slain and countless Goblins were felled. Of their ten thousand warriors, it is said that only a tenth returned home.

Today, the Grodd Goblins still remember well the catastrophe of their campaign, but they nevertheless muster their numbers again in hopes of yet another war against the Cormyreans. In the meantime, before such ambitions can be pushed into the realm of action, there is much to do in the Demiplane of Grodd. Particularly adventurous Goblins might be willing to investigate the Gates outside the city, as are known the Grodd portals leading to various locations across the planes, including the Prime Material; the most likely route for a Grodd Goblin to find themselves on the island of Arelith.

Description

Something of an enigma among goblinkind, the Grodd Goblins - named after the plane they inhabit, a twisting labyrinth of caves and tunnels - have seen themselves changed much by their demiplane’s proximity to the Shadow Plane. Trapped there, they survived by banding together in a militocracy, and hunting any creatures who wandered accidentally into their plane. The chaotic nature of goblins have been soothed among their number, and they find themselves much more civilized than their more savage cousins, turning from surviving to thriving in this organized regime. They most often have lime green skin, cerulean eyes, and it is difficult to tell male from female until they speak. Those who treat the Grodd as their more dim-witted cousins soon find themselves regretting such a decision, and know that underestimating them is often a fatal mistake.

Deities

The Iron One, the quasi-mythical first ruler of Grodd a thousand years ago, is worshiped by all the Demiplane's goblins as their patron god. In the temples of the city, they gather before his idol - a large armored goblin - and thank him for his blessings and protection with shouts of praise, militaristic chanting, and banging of metal weapons.

Visitors who enter said temples are nearly always welcomed by the sight of statues shaped in the images of the Iron One, the elf-dragon Nalavara, and several goblin champions who stand at their patron's side in the afterlife. Guests in need of aid are provided cure and healing miracles by the Adepts, title given to the goblin priests, as a display of the Iron One's power.

Among the artifacts of the faith, the most important is the Iron Crown of Grodd; first worn by the Iron One himself. Ever safeguarded inside the city walls, each of its following wearers were believed to be the voice and manifestation of the goblin god, thus granting them the title of Grodd's greatest general. But in 1371, in the Grand Palace, the crown was taken from the lifeless body of Otka, the last High Consul of Grodd, by Vangerdahast, the Royal Magician of Cormyr. The artifact has been lost ever since.

Creating a New Character on Arelith

Prerequisites:

• Normal Award
• Alignment Restriction: Non-Good AND Non-Chaotic

Abilities

-2 STR, +2 INT (or -2 STR, +2 WIS with Bloodline of the Adept)

+2 Listen, +2 Spot

Bonus Feats: Darkvision, Small Stature, Stealthy, Weapon Proficiency: Simple

Special:

• Shadow Affinity: Can innately detect Shadow Doors
• Automatically worships The Iron One, a Goblinoid deity.

ECL +0

Notes

• Bonus Languages:

Undercommon

Goblin

Elven

Starting City: Andunor