I'm just yapping but while we're on the subject of goblins kicking ass...
I imagine Zov is unusually tall for a goblin. It's one of the reasons he's such a successful arena fighter, his species is normally kinda small and stumpy but he has really long limbs. Dude's wingspan is insane. He'll pop his opponents from so far away, they can't even reach him while he's punching/kicking their face in. He's not even that muscular, he's more lean and wiry, but that huge gap he creates between himself and his opponent is what makes him a such a bitch to fight. He has all the reach of an elf without the brittleness, hence why he rips through elves in the arena in ways other goblins can't.
This probably isn't the case for Jaq though. Yeah he's stumpy like most of his kind, but he's also straight up beefy. Punching him is like punching a brick wall, his abs will break your fucking hand. He doesn't need to create a gap like Zov does because he can absorb the blows like a champ and dish them back out twice as hard.
Goblins in the LG universe are generally weak and wimpy by design. They rely on magic to defend themselves. Even Skel, who beats up bad guys for a living, rarely touches his opponents. Neither does Goryx, and his most famous quality is how violent he is. I find Jaq and Zov interesting in this way.
(I'm always a sucker for characters who subvert expectations...just look at literally every resident of Drifter's Hollow lol)
A small update to the old goblin races artwork. Now with side views!
All goblins are bald, so they lack diversity that hair colors and styles can provide. I want to make up for this by giving them a very wide range of face, ear, and skull shapes.
Yep! Goblins are a naturally vegetarian species. Their bodies don't process meat correctly, so it doesn't nourish them and instead makes them ill. If a goblin tries to survive on a meat-based diet, their organs will start to fail and they'll eventually die.
While goblins can't eat meat, they can eat some animal byproducts like cheese and eggs without any problem. Their diets are vegetarian, not vegan. (However, some goblins might choose to eat a vegan diet for ethical or religious reasons!)
Goblins still require protein, but they get it through other means such as nuts, dairy, and legumes. Their bodies are more efficient at processing these types of proteins than most other species, so they can survive on this diet more easily than, say, a human, who might have to take supplements to stay healthy.
Is Sage immune to the goblin full name thing or can it be done telepathically?
For a goblin to be enthralled by their name, two conditions must be met:
1 ) The one using their name cannot be a goblin themselves. They must be another species of person, and not a monster.
2 ) The goblin must comprehend their name and the command being given.
Let me explain the second point, because this is where things get tricky...
A deaf goblin who can't hear their name being spoken will not be enthralled by someone speaking their name. However, if the one enthralling them commands them using telepathy, then they can be enthralled.
So yes, goblins can be enthralled telepathically! But only by experienced telepaths. Sage is an experienced telepath herself. Someone as powerful as her could probably block an enemy's spell and maybe even enthrall them.
Here are some other interesting points: Say someone tries to command a goblin, but they do it in a language that goblin doesn't understand. The goblin may comprehend their name, but they don't comprehend the command being given, so in this case it doesn't work.
Commands also may not work if the goblin is severely intoxicated or intellectually disabled, as they might struggle with language comprehension in these states.
Goblins can protect themselves from most commands by wearing high quality earplugs or even damaging their own ears. Historically, many goblins have sacrificed their hearing by sticking sharp objects deep into their ears in order to escape slavery.
Luckily this species excels at mental magics like telepathy, so deaf goblins can quickly learn telepathy to replace their hearing. This allows them to read peoples' thoughts and project their own thoughts into the heads of others, and they can communicate effectively this way.
I imagine Folkvar Kingdom has a large community of deaf goblins who escaped their chains in Evangeline Kingdom.
Saytr’s sound like they would be pretty fun, but sirenes sound petty and brutal. For round 4 let’s go a more humanoid direction. How would one seduce a dworf, elf, roshava or goblin? And just because why not let’s through cecaelia into the mix as well.
Since this is going to be long, I'll put the answer behind a cut.
DWORF
Female: Female dworfs gravitate towards males who demonstrate good practical skills. These are skills which are useful in everyday life, like chopping wood, mining, construction, and so on. It doesn't really matter what he does, he just has to be good at it. Nothing gets a female dworf all hot and bothered like a man wearing a toolbelt, and the more of those tools he can wield like a pro, the better.
Male: The way to a male dworf's heart is through his stomach. Sure, you can buy him dinner at a fancy restaurant, but he'll really fall hard for you if you cook the meal yourself. If you're trying to woo a male dworf, find out what his favorite food is, take some cooking classes, and surprise him with a feast. It'll mean a lot more to him than anything money can buy.
ELF
Female: Both sexes of elf can cast magical spells, but female elves are hard-wired to scrutinize spellcasting ability harder than males. Back in ancient times, male elves used to duel eachother with hazard spells to win the affection of a female. Today, females still appreciate a flashy display of arcane ability more than anything. If you want to woo an elfenne but you can't wield magic, maybe some sleight of hand and clever tricks of the eye will impress her too.
Male: Male elves have a bit of a "thing" for hands. They seek females with nimble, dexterous fingers, and what she does with them doesn't matter too much, as long as she demonstrates skill. Knitting, piano playing, typing, drawing, jewelry-making and machine assembly are all good ways to impress a male elf. They spend a lot of time staring at hands, so make sure yours are doing something productive!
ROSHAVA
Female: If you want to get a female roshava's attention, sitting still won't get you anywhere. They're naturally attracted to athleticism, particularly males who are acrobatic and flexible. Take some yoga and gymnastics classes before asking one of these ladies on a date, because she won't give you the time of day if you're a couch potato. If you can twist your heels over your head, she'll fall head over heels for you.
Male: Male roshava are a little more visual than their female counterparts. They do appreciate athletic women, but whether or not you can actually do a handstand doesn't matter as much to them. As long as you look like you can, you'll get their attention. Toned, well-defined muscles get their hearts racing. You can make a big impression by getting a tan and oiling up your skin before your date.
GOBLIN
Female: Everyone knows that goblins never forget anything they learn. However, that doesn't mean they'll always use that knowledge productively. Female goblins seek intellectual males who collect lots of knowledge and then put it to good use. For example, one who learns a lot about disease and uses that knowledge to become a doctor, or one who learns about history and becomes a historian. Female goblins love hearing males talk about subjects they're passionate about. However, nothing turns them off faster than a male who blathers on about a subject he clearly doesn't understand. If you want to win a female goblin's affection, you gotta know your stuff!
Male: Goblins have notoriously bad eyesight, but their exceptional hearing makes up for it. Male goblins are especially tuned in to voices, and they pay special attention to how people speak. They can tell a lot about a person by the subtle tones of their voice, their accent, intonations, and so on. Women who speak in a clear, eloquent, and intelligent manner are sure to get their attention. Male goblins don't want to listen to someone with a lazy drawl, who slurs their words and sounds uneducated. But if you have a pleasant speaking voice and better yet, something thoughtful to talk about, they'll happily listen to you all day long.
CECAELIA
Female: Female cecaelia have a reputation for being "the pickiest women on Gaia" when it comes to choosing a mate. But they can't really be blamed--as there are ten male cecaelia for every one of them. They also lay eggs just once every 50 years! With odds like that, these ladies can't afford to settle for just anyone. If you want to impress them, you've got to have the whole package and nothing less: sharp intellect, strong muscles, popularity, wealth, good looks, a wide variety of skills, and most of all, a good moral character. Basically, you have to be a better catch than all the guys around you. And given how rare female cecaelia are, there's going to be a lot of competition.
Male: Cecaelia are unique creatures in that they don't experience sexual attraction. Since they breed without contact, they have no need for feelings like lust. However, romance and companionship are still important to them, and male cecaelia seek a partner who will fulfill their lives. Above all else, they value a kind and pleasant personality. Looks don't matter much to them, they just want someone they can proudly call "family". Naturally, male cecaelia gravitate towards the most fertile females of their own species--that is, the ones who lay the most eggs. However, they also seem to sense when females of other species are fertile as well. If you already have children from a previous relationship, don't despair! That only makes them more interested in you. Cecaelia like being surrounded by massive families, and that "family" doesn't necessarily have to be the same species as them, so long as all are loved and cared for.
Has any goblin ever tried to hide their true name? Like addressing themselves by a nickname or completely forgoing it and coming up with a new name for themselves? Also is the true name something goblins can only give willingly or can you use stuff like magic to force it out of them?
Oh yeah, definitely. For example, Skel has never given anyone his full name since he escaped slavery. He just goes by "Skel" and that's it, his middle and last names stay with him.
As far as government documents go, goblins are given a special pass in most Great Kingdoms to use an alternate legal name. This is a name that they make up for themselves, and once they get it officiated by the courts, it is considered their legal name. This is done to keep their true names--which hold magical power over them--hidden from the public. In most Great Kingdoms, goblins are not required to give their true names to anyone, including the government.
Of course, a little torture or blackmail can go a long way in pulling this name out of them...Historically, this is how other peoples conquered goblin societies in large numbers. No goblin wants to give their name to a stranger, but they tend to change their tune real fast when that stranger is painfully torturing them until they say it.
The process is much simpler when goblins are born into slavery. Their masters just ask them their names when they're toddlers, and these poor kids don't know any better, so they answer honestly. It's not like their parents can stop this or protect them in any way. In their minds, their names belong to their enslavers just as much as their bodies do.
Now, there are ways a goblin can keep their names away from others. But these methods can get a little...extreme and unorthodox, to put it nicely.
Some goblins have given themselves severe amnesia via head trauma, poisoning, or magic, thus forgetting their own names. Since goblins never forget anything they learn naturally, they have to do some serious damage to pull this off. There are sketchy lobotomists all over Looming Gaia who claim they can remove the specific part of the brain that holds a goblin's name...and unfortunately, some goblins are desperate enough to try this. Does it work? Sometimes it does, and sometimes it turns them into a braindead vegetable.
Other goblins have cut out their tongues or sewn their mouths shut so that they can never speak their names to anyone. Some have gone as far as to mangle their entire jaws, or even their fingers so that they can't even write it down.
Like I said, these are some pretty extreme examples that you'll mostly find in areas like Evangeline Kingdom, where goblins are treated in more extreme ways. Throughout most of the Great Kingdoms, the majority of goblins simply go by a nickname or just their first name.
For more gobble questions, what are the Bulaka’s culture and values like, especially under the Green witch and her Spriggans?
To be honest I haven't developed them too much yet! Hopefully we will get to explore that more in the series soon. But the rough idea I had for them was that they're very nature-focused. They care for the forest as if it's their own house, because in a way, it is. Of course they're also worship unicorns and leave offerings for them to keep them from going extinct. I don't imagine they're very war-like, even though everything else in that forest is more than ready to rip an outsider's head off. In fact that's probably WHY they're not war-like, because they don't have to be. They nurture the forest and the forest protects them in return.
