Revision 3

Overview

The Fundamentalist Goblins are a band of goblin scholars scarcely different from common thieves. They see themselves as passionate seekers of knowledge, but they pursue research without restraint, committing inhumane acts if it serves their goals. Established academic institutions reject them, refusing to acknowledge them as legitimate scholars.

This puts them in a strange category among the hostile factions of Pywel. Unlike bandits who rob people for coin or warlords who seize territory for power, the Fundamentalist Goblins steal, kidnap, and cause harm in the name of research. Their self-image as intellectuals does nothing to soften the damage they inflict on the people around them.

Details

Background and Motivation

Goblins in Pywel have a complicated reputation. The Goldleaf Merchant Guild, the largest merchant guild in Hernand, is run by goblins and wields considerable economic power. Goblin culture clearly values enterprise and knowledge. The Fundamentalist Goblins take the knowledge part to its logical extreme: they want to study everything, and they do not care who gets hurt in the process.

Their rejection by established academic institutions like the Scholastone Institute (a research institution founded by troll scholars that studies the Abyss) is not some bureaucratic misunderstanding. Legitimate scholars refuse to associate with them because their methods are brutal. The Fundamentalist Goblins treat this rejection as proof of their own superiority, claiming that the academic establishment lacks the courage to pursue real knowledge.

Territory

The Fundamentalist Goblins do not hold large fixed territories the way noble houses do. They operate more like a roaming group, setting up temporary research camps and raiding nearby settlements for subjects and materials. Players may encounter them across multiple regions of Hernand and beyond, typically in caves, ruins, or other out-of-the-way locations where they can conduct their experiments without attracting too much attention.

Combat Encounters

Fighting the Fundamentalist Goblins means dealing with enemies that mix improvised weapons with whatever tools and devices their research has produced. As goblins, they are generally smaller and less physically imposing than human opponents, but they compensate with traps, numbers, and occasionally more exotic tricks tied to their research.

Their camps often contain environmental hazards, from experimental devices to caged creatures that can break free during combat. Players should approach Fundamentalist Goblin encounters with an eye toward the surroundings, not just the enemies directly in front of them.

Like other hostile factions, their strongholds can be cleared through the Liberation System. Liberating a Fundamentalist Goblin camp frees any captives and restores the area to safer conditions.

Relationship to Other Factions

The Fundamentalist Goblins occupy a low rung among Hernand's hostile factions. The Southern Bandits and other outlaw groups view them as competition for resources, while legitimate goblin organizations like the Goldleaf Merchant Guild want nothing to do with them. Their research obsession makes them unpredictable allies for anyone, since they are just as likely to experiment on their partners as their enemies.

the Fundamentalist Goblins lack the notoriety of groups like the Bleed Bandits, but their willingness to commit inhumane acts in pursuit of knowledge makes them a distinct and unsettling threat.