islan wrote:I've thought about revising goblins/hobgoblins/bugbears/trolls as a singular species that live underground.
Reminds me a bit of the orcs of Harn, a.k.a. Gargun, and I won't attempt to do the accent marks. There are five separate species (subspecies?) ranging from 3' to 4.5', each with different behavior and tactics. There's no reason why the size differences can't be more dramatic.
Gargun have males and females, but they're eusocial: One ultra-macho king fertilizes one obese queen The queen pops out large quantities of eggs, which are traditionally buried in dung to keep them warm. The vast majority of males don't reproduce, which perhaps explains the rumors that they, um, defile female captives of other species. The few females who aren't queens are kept separate from the males, otherwise a pair would start boinking and become a new king and queen. Externally virgin females are indistinguishable from males, and are just as fierce warriors if not more so.
There's also Warhammer 40K Orks who hatch from spores. The first generation is the smallest kind of goblins to pave the way for the next largest, and so on until the hulking 7' Orks with East End accents.
It's your choice, but I've always preferred alien and disgusting biology to magic.
Last edited by fmitchell (2013-03-16 15:41:29)
Frank Mitchell
"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread." -- Anatole France
