The Hobgoblin Dominions

"Of course I had heard all sorts of stories about the lands of the hobgoblins. They were supposed to be a barbarous people - strong warriors maybe, but without arts or culture, or indeed anything that makes a civilization grand.
But when I arrived in the capital, I was astonished how clean and efficient everything was. The main roads were wide and spacious, and free of litter, thanks to the frequent goblin garbagemen sweeping them (which does seem to prove that goblins
can be trained to do useful work, although I do not really wish to know about the training methods for such brutish beings), the bureaucracy compared favorably with many human cities, and the inhabitants always seemed to move around purposefully instead of loitering around like the plebes in our cities often seem to do.
Even the trains ran on time - at no time during my journeys was a train more than two minutes late..."

- Edmund Durnsten in: The Known Lands: The Hobgoblin Dominions, Avane Street Publishing (1419)


Population: 19,229,130 (hobgoblins 37%, goblins 32%, humans 19%, dwarves 7%, orcs 4%)
Government: High War Council
Imports: Ores
Exports: Mercenaries, Weapons

The homeland and cultural center of the hobgoblin race, the Hobgoblin Dominions present a constant threat to many of their neighbors. Their teeming cities support war machines that have few equals in the world, and only the constant in-fighting of the various war councils and the mystery of Magreth prevents the dominions from expanding even further.


Industries

Life and Society

Government and Politics

Groups and Organisations

The most influental groups in the Dominion are the various clans - interconnected groups of families that one can only enter through birth, marriage, or adoption, and the latter usually requires a gread deed benefitting the clan, a very usual talent, or a substantial bribe to the elders of the clan. People who are not a member of a clan have little in the way of protection in the Dominion, for the clans will take care of their own - and few other people will.
The most powerful clans consist mostly of hobgoblins. On rare occasions, especially worthy humans, dwarves, or even goblins might be adopted into a hobgoblin clan, but while clan membership is hereditary, if their descendants don't "measure up" to clan standards, they will be pressured to leave the clan.
The nine most powerful clans make up the High War Council, which sets policies for the Dominion as a whole. These clans are:
Nagrab: Neither the largest clan, nor the most famous for its military training and discipline, Clan Nagrab has nevertheless risen to a position of prominence by outsmarting their competition. While other clans stuck to outdated tactics and old ways of behavior, the members of Nagrab never saw an opportunity that they didn't grasp. While this sometimes led to spectacular failures, it proved to be rewarding more often than not.
Not surprisingly, the clan elders of Nagrab were the first to spot the possibilities inherent in the modern railway system, and while the other clans were still contemplating whether this human invention could prove useful to the Dominions or not, Nagrab already started to build the first link of the Northern Network, and today controls all railway traffic in the Dominions and the Land of the Dead. This has brought them a large amount of profit - and the envy of the other clans, who now contemplate whether to take it away from Nagrab "for the good of the Dominion"...
Mugrash: The horse clan provides most of the cavalry of the Dominion. They breed a variety of horse types for a variety of roles, from fast scouts to heavy warhorses, and while the horses might not look pleasing to a human sense of aesthetics, their raw power is undeniable to anyone who witnesses them in action. The clan controls vast stretches of territory in the north of the dominion - land fit for grazing, but less so for agriculture. They also control large herds of cattle, and young hobgoblins not yet fit to serve as mounted warriors learn to ride by tending to the herds.
Ufthak: Frequently looked down upon by the others, Clan Ufthak nevertheless thrives by providing a service often overlooked by others: Farming. The armies of the Dominion need to be fed and otherwise provided for, and while each clan has its own estates worked by goblin slaves, no other clan has the sheer amount of farmland owned by the Ufthak.
An additional source of income are its tree farms. Most forests of the Dominion have already cut down to provide its cities and forts with timber and firewood, but the Ufthak-maintained forests remain and are well-managed and agressively defended by foresters, though visiting elves would find them sterile and unsettling as the Ufthak concentrate on fast-growing trees that provide plenty of timber instead of the more natural mixture of forest plants found in elven lands.

Religion

Important NPCs

Major Geographical Features

Corrun Forest: An equal mixture of forest and swamp, the Corrun Forest is criss-crossed by a multitude of waterways. It is mostly inhabited by goblins and a few groups of humans who, while poor, seem to survive here just fine, while the hobgoblins seem to prefer the wealthier parts of the Dominion. The general inaccessability of the forest also makes it a favorite hideout of outlaws and renegades, and the authorities only dare enter it in large groups.
There are rumors of powerful spirits and otherworldly entities living in the forest, some of them allegedly of demonic origin. Whatever beings might lurk in the forest, the locals know enough how to stay clear of them, but outsiders without a guide might stumble accross something that does not like to be disturbed.
The Molten Lake: Close to the Eternal Storm, this lake seems to have been affected by a storm flare hundreds of years ago. Thanks to large mineral deposits at its bottom, the lake acts as a strong acid that attacks all organic matter, but leaves metals of all kinds alone. While the acid is potent, it gradually looses that potency when removed from the lake.
The lake is devoid of ordinary animals, but strange plants grow in it and on its shores, and deformed fish and acid-resistant beasts lurk in its depths.
Worg Hills: These are home to the Umgazú, or wolf clan. Consisting of a large number of goblin worg riders with a few families of ruling hobgoblins who ride winter wolves or even dire wolves, they feel bitter to the rest of the Dominion and especially the Mugrash horse clan, whom they feel has ursurped their rightful place in Dominion society. Once upon a time, the Wolf Clan controlled vast stretches of land, and all trembled before their might. But while wolves were more ferocious on an individual basis, horses could be trained to be part of orderly military maneuvers which in combination with their highly disciplined and trained fighters often made them more effective fighters. This, and the fact that wolves need a much larger territory to feed themselves than horses, lead to a steady loss of territory to the Mugrash until the wolf riders found themselves in their present, much reduced state.
Now frequently reduced to banditry, the wolf riders are a shadow of their former selves. The younger ones argue for a more agressive stance against the Mugrash, but the older leaders only dream of one last war in which they can fight, and where they can go out in a blaze of glory so that the Umgazú can live forever in the myths and songs of all hobgoblins, instead of slowly dwindling down until they are reduced to nothing and forgotten.

Important Towns and Cities

Azgúra (Large Metropolis, 1,347,931): The only port city of the Dominions, Azgúra serves as an entry and exit point for most trade and travel from the West. The city has significant minority populations of humans (from the Flannish Cities) and dwarves (from nearby Gol Grungor), who live in isolated enclaves that are rarely bothered by the local authorities (who have come to appreciate and even rely on the trade flowing through their city.
Azgúra is also the city closest to the elven forest of Avareen, and thus has a significant military presence. Since fights with the elves are limited to small raids instead of the large-scale warfare the hobgoblins prefer, most soldiers stationed there are alternately bored or jittery and nervous (if they have experienced an elven raid before). Both contribute to a certain rowdyness among the soldiers, and brawls and other lapses of discipline are relatively common.
Bagrash (Small City, 56,335): This unique city is located directly on the acid waters of the Molten Lake. It consists of a large number of floating metal barges that are connected by walways and rope bridges. Its unique location and flexible structure (the barges can be moved very easily from one location to another) make the city highly defensible and more than make up for the city's dependency on imports. As a result, Bagrash houses a large military garrison that often patrols the borders to the Eternal Storm region.
The city's industries are mostly based on the unique alchemical properties of the lake waters, which are used in all kinds of refining processes. The city is also noted for its unusually high goblin population - many of them squatters - who are adept at finding living spaces for themselves on the barges and use the ropes that tie the city together to evade all foot patrols.
Lamash (Small Metropolis, 512,372): Nestled in an outlier of the Gol Grungor mountain range, Lamash provides much of the ore required by the forges of the Dominion, though in the end the Domnion remains dependent on the dwarves. The city is also famous for the units of Wyvern-riders that are trained here, and the ability of these units to serve as both scouts and powerful skirmishers has proven decisive in many battles.
Sharakh (Small Metropolis, 723,551): The ruling Marzukh Clan of Sharakh was long in decline, since its leaders became ever more feeble and the clan had not brought forth any notable warriors or military commanders for several generations. But in the last few decades, this trend has reversed itself, with the youngest generation proving to be tougher, stronger, and smarter than all preceeding generations - not to mention hobgoblins of other clans!
In truth, this reversal comes from a sinister source - the clan leader started a crossbreeding program with devils to "improve" the bloodline, and the first grandchildren of the first unhouly couplings are now coming of age - and unlike their half-fiendish parent, they can move around in the open without attracting too much suspicion. Still, their cruelty is unusual even for hobgoblins, and Sharakh is slowly becoming a city where the terrors are both unseen and ever present.
Uzgog (Large Metropolis, 1,143,223): This city, more than any other in the Dominions, prides itself in the art of warfare. War is not just something where people attempt to hit each other with weapons - no, war is something where everyone attempts to be the most skilled, strong, enduring, cunning, and simply excelling in all things. Uzgog has several schools and academies teaching and training all aspects of fighting, from simple man-to-man melee fight to the clash of armies and all that needs to be known to lead those armies (such as logistics, siege weapons, combined arms tactics, and much more). Large-scale mock battles are often staged near, or even in the city.
The city is also famous for its annual "Uzgog Run", a free-for-all athletic competition where the contestants have to finish a grueling 40 mile run through a variety of inhospitable terrain, including some with hostile animals. The contestants may wear no armor and are only armed with a knife - which they may use to attack each other, though the smarter contestants know that the goal is to finish the race instead of fighting the competition, and that fights will only exhaust their strength for when it is needed later. Magic is forbidden during the race and any attempts to use it are grounds for disqualification and execution. The winner receives 10,000 gp as a price. Non-hobgoblins who manage to finish the race will recieve grudging respect from the inhabitants of Uzgog, though any non-hobgoblins who actually win the race (a rare but not unknown event) will be resented and many will assume that they have cheated somehow.
Yarolg (Small Metropolis, 631,736): Located in the center of the last great forest ranges of the Dominions (which are now carfully cultivated to serve as a constant source of timber), Yarolg is famous for the creation of the national drink of the Dominions - Murgong, or honey mead. Large numbers of beehives are maintained in and near to the city (including several giant bee hives), harvested, and turned into a large number of different meads, the respective qualities of which is a frequent point of discussion of hobgoblins the world over. Many expatriate hobgoblin communities will pay a fortune for genuine mead from Yarolg.

Important Sites

Magreth: Magreth used to be a powerful and wealthy hobgoblin city-state - until the year 1365, when the entire city vanished into a sphere (underground expeditions have shown that it extends below the surface as well) of swirling gray colors - and a diameter of more than 40 miles. Nobody knows what happened back then, though the most common theories involve a huge magical accident involving the city's nexus towers. Nobody knows what happened to the city and its inhabitants, either - or if they do know, they aren't talking. For there are no reports of anyone successfully entering or leaving the sphere. The High War Council are unsure in how to deal with this phenomena, and have ordered to patrol the borders of the sphere until they can come up with a better idea.

Regional History

As far as anyone can remember, the rolling hills of the region known today as the Hobgoblin Dominions have always been inhabited by goblinkind. These fierce nomads valued their independence and fought sporadic wars with the orc tribes who lived in the northern and eastern regions.. They only had sporadic contact with more civilized people. Human traders sometimes came up from the south to deal with the tribes that would not attack them on sight. The dwarves of Gol Grungor sometimes used the smarter hobgoblins as buffer and cannon fodder in their campaigns against the orcs, considering it to be more efficient to give the hobgoblins second-rate weapons (the work of dwarven apprentices - but nevertheless invaluable to the hobgoblins, who were not able to create steel weapons at the time) so that they could take on the onerous task of wiping out the local orc tribes than doing it themselves. Sometimes, such deals backfired when a particularly daring hobgoblin leader attempted to raid the dwarves for more weapons, but all in all, the results of such deals were worth it for both parties.
This changed with the arrival of the Atalan Empire, which attempted to conquer the region starting in 351 NA. The campaigns were long and brutal, and the hobgolins fierce and clever opponents, but eventually most of the region was conquered except for a small buffer zone supported by Gol Grungor, which did not want the expansionist humans any closer to their border. Eventually, the conquered goblinoids became civilized as the Atalan Empire understood it - they learned about and practiced agriculture, large-scale warfare, and many other technologies from their conquerers, and some hobgoblins travelled across the Empire, earning their pay as mercenaries or even legionaries in the Atalan armies. Many small communities of hobgoblins accross the Known Lands date back to this time.
After the Atalan Empire collapsed, the nearly forgotten tribes emerged again and attempted to claim power. The region was divided into a large number of small kingdoms, each ruled by a different warlord, and only slowly did a resemblance of order and a new civilization arise from the ashes. While the individual dominions gradually became larger, the first few attempts at unification through conquest failed. Only in 1073 did an alliance of clans emerge in the central portion of the region which steadily expanded eastwards.
This wave of conquests halted at the eastern borders of Avareen. When small bands of skirmishers were defeated by the elves, the High War Council started a large-scale invasion of the forest. But the armies sent into the forest were killed to the last man at the Battle of Scarlet Hill in 1113, when the elves unleashed powerful magic to destroy them. To this day, this battle has not been forgotten by either side, and though there are no open hostilities between the armies of the two nations, many elves of Avareen still consider it to be a fine sport to ride east and hunt down and kill goblinoids, and any goblins and hobgoblins who manage to catch an elf alive will be truly inventive in torturing their prisoner for days.
An more immediate effect was that the Hobgoblin Dominion nearly collapsed again as most of its military power had been destroyed. A lengthy civil war threatened the authority of the High War Council, and it took the hobgoblins several decades to recover their old strength. Another effect was their changing attitude towards arcane magic - in old days, most hobgoblins had disdained it as the tool of weaklings and many tribes even slayed any members that displayed arcane talents, but after the mighty spells used the elves, arcane magic became an accepted and respected tool of magic, even though it and its practictioners were never fully trusted.
Finally, the Dominions had recovered enough that they started looking outward again. Instead of going after the elves, their leaders attacked Gol Grungor in 1149, attempting to gain access to the mines of the dwarves. However, the dwarves, while not prone to flashy magics, were nevertheless formidable opponents and on their home ground, and their counterattacks inflicted brutal losses. The war continued for ten years, with only negligible territorial changes, until the two sides became too exhausted to fight and the fighting only became sporadic in 1160. Both sides guarded their borders fiercely, but none made an attempt to take the fight to the enemy.
This situation changed in 1174, when the armies of Nagrash the Doombringer poured out of the Northwest. The dwarves were hard pressed to fight them in their weakened state and might have been overrun by the orcs and undead of the horde. However, the newly elected High War Leader Khatash of the Dominions was a farsighted hobgoblin, who realized that if Nagrash conquered the dwarves, the hobgoblins would surely fall sooner or later once Nagrash gained control of the resources of the mountains. Thus, he sent his armies to fall into the flanks Negroth's armies - one army marched around Gol Grungor and attacked from the East, and another shipped across the Great Lake and attacked from the South. While these armies were mostly decimated, they gave enough of a fight that Negroth was forced to abandon his plans of conquest for Gol Grungor for the moment and turned back west in search for easier targets.
Since then, the Hobgoblin Dominions and Gol Grungor have been at peace. While the dwarves and the hobgoblins have never truly become friends - too much blood was spilled in the war between them, and the dwarves have long memories about these things - they have at least gained a measure of respect for each other, and eventually, trade resumed between the two people.
The Dominions have used the time since then mostly to expand eastwards to the Eternal Storm, though it was a slow process with many growing pains (including two more civil wars). The disapperance of the city of Mageth was a further blow and remains one of the Dominions great mysteries. Now the Dominion faces new enemies in form of Thenares (with which it has warred before) and the rapidly expanding League of Armach to the south. Everyone expects that these two titans will clash sooner or later - and it is far from clear who will win out.

Adventuring in the Hobgoblin Dominions

Adventure Seeds



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