| Racial Demographic | Goblins 98%, slaves from other races 2% |
| Ruler | Official: His Grand Goblin Majesty, King of Ruch and Thardferr, Egnert Actual: None |
| Relations | Goblins indubitably have the poorest relations
of any of the Realms of Thardferr. There is no other race or realm
that truly call the goblins allies or friends. The closest of these
would be the gnomes, who may go so far as to call them a business partner,
or on friendly trade status. Tuth makes an attempt to consider the
goblins, and include them in the plans of the Confederation, but all in
all does not trust them to go along with any plans made, or put any reliance
in what the goblins state they will do.
The orcs bully and tyrannize the goblins whenever it suits them. While the orcs are twice as dangerous as the goblins in martial matters, the goblins have three times the population of the orcs, and breed twice as quickly, especially when their population is low. The goblins see the orcs as fearsome but brutish people, to be avoided or ganged up on, and the orcs see the goblins as trash, to be crushed when the situation dictates it. Halflings fear goblins, but in much the same way that they fear wolves or poisonous snakes. They accept that goblinkind is barbaric and untrustworthy, and feel that any who are cheated by goblins were asking for it by trusting the goblins in the first place. The halflings pay the orcs, in foodstuffs and worked goods, to protect them from goblin raiding. The dwarves of Khardfee hate goblinkind deeply. They resent that the goblins are members of the Confederation, and make it a point to argue against any goblin wishes or input regardless of what that input happens to be. While the goblins are quick to embrace a "Forgive and Forget" mentality, the dwarves have no ability to do so. The elves of Edilar have almost no relations at all with the goblins of Ruch. It has reasons in the past to despise the goblins, and has been barely able to maintain even a polite silence in their presence. Edilar once allowed the goblin fishing vessels to ply the shallows of the Blood Lake, but when Edilar closed her borders, even this allowance was removed, and elven Rakers sunk several dozen goblin fishing vessels. Currently, the goblins fear to venture onto the Blood Lake, nervous that any such intrusion will evoke a similar response. |
| Government Structure | Nominally, the goblins are considered a monarchy.
They have a king who is also the warlord of the combined goblin forces.
He is given full authority to wage war as he sees fit. His word is
law. Yet there is not much law beyond the king's reach or want to
enforce it. In most cases the leader of any goblin town or city is
the toughest or smartest goblin there, and holds more power than the king.
The government is very complex and corrupt, and favor can be purchased
or bargained for with promises of more power and wealth.
The goblins live in five great ancient cities. The leader of each could be considered a king himself. They rule the city through force and make and enforce their own laws. These laws can be as just or as unjust as the leader's whim dictates. Breaking a goblin law can have slight consequences, or it can have severe consequences. Goblins often have punishments lessened for their infractions, due to the strong sense of racial unity against the other, "inferior" races. For example, a goblin worker might drop his trousers and urinate in the street in Rattletown. If a human were to do this, they would be arrested and fined a heavy fee. If it was pointed out that a goblin had just committed the same offense, the offending goblin would likely be fined a token fee, or perhaps claim that he has a Public Urination License, and be released. He might even further insist that the offenders be fined for besmirching his good name. In summary... goblin laws are usually unfair, and always slanted heavily in favor of goblinkind. Though the goblins claim to have a Great Goblin Kingdom, they truly possess no single king nor absolute monarch. The entry into the Confederation forced them to declare some leader as their representative, and so the Grand Goblin Majesty was created. But overall, most the goblins of Ruch are loosely-knit clans held together by the bonds of goblinkind. The only strength the goblins have is that they will always side with another goblin over any other race. One of the most important beliefs of the goblins is that their race as a whole is better than any other race. They are very proud in thier claim that they are the First Race, and use this as a license to do whatever they wish. Goblins will help even the lowliest of their own kind from the mistreatment of another race, be they male, female, or even slave. If the goblins could ever stop fighting amongst themselves and get behind a single leader, as they did in the Goblin Wars, they could become a true threat to the safety of the Confederation. Although trade and a great work ethic are not strong in the goblins, as of late some have attempted to raise the quality of life for themselves and those willing to work. In Rattletown Branch, the capital of the supposed Great Goblin Kingdom, these goblin have started to build the semblance of a working city within the mess of the ancient warrens. Whether this is the start of a new way of life for the goblin in Thardferr, and perhaps a threat or a boon to Thardferr in the future, only time will tell. |
| Slavery | The Goblin Slavers are a large force in almost
all of Ruch. They have Realm-wide allowance to capture and sell slaves
to Ruch citizens of any racial denomination. They seek escaped slaves
with vicious tenacity, and are respected by all goblinkind. They
are feared by even those who view goblins with disgust.
Slaves are market with either a tattoo of a horned skull, or a magical iron amulet of a horned skull which kills the slave if removed. Only Goblin Slaver witchdoctors understand the making and manipulation of these devices, kept for the most valuable slaves, and they are the property of the Goblin Slavers. Any attempt to own or study a Slave Amulet by any other organization is a grievous offense which the Goblin Slavers will punish with lethal efficiency. Ruch views slavery as good and right, and there are complex laws that help to keep only the dregs of the land, as well as current slaves, shackled. It is possible to buy freedom, but the price is set by the slaves' master, and tales abound of unscrupulous masters taking the fee, then refusing to free the slave. It must be stressed that slavery in Ruch is viewed as neither Evil nor Unlawful. Common acceptance by the vast majority of Goblin and Orc establish slavery as honorable and good, and those who seek to aid escaped slaves are seen as evil, out to destroy Ruch society. Nearly all laws in Ruch support slavery, and give the Goblin Slavers free reign to do as they wish in their efforts to maintain the time-honored practice. Escaping slavery is a great crime, as is aiding escaped slaves, and the best and most kind-hearted long-time resident of Ruch is very likely to turn in anyone who breaks these laws, both to avoid punishment and to appease conscience. Note that when Goblin Slavers enter other Realms, they are subject to those Realms' laws, despite their views that such laws do not apply to them. Knowing this, they act secretly and swiftly when reclaiming lost slaves outside of Ruch. They also act secretly and swiftly when Slave Raiding along Alderd and Tuth borders. While they once raided Edilar for highly-prized elven slaves, the elves retaliated in some unknown way that has kept Goblin Slavers out of Edilar for nearly a century. The Slavers do not tell what the elves did, but in order for it to last through half a dozen generations of goblins, it must have been something deeply impacting. No other Realm sanctions slavery, and because of this, Slaves are only shipped out of and into Ruch illegally, at least by non-Ruch standards. |
This page last updated on 02/12/2001
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