one thing that is probably a great subject of debate and discussion in-universe is the origin of the goblinoid subtypes; goblins, orcs, bugbears, hobgoblins, and all their other variants. Superficially, this wouldn’t SEEM to be a notable thing, as orcs and goblins follow the broad lines of many other notable subtypes; orcs are bigger and stronger than their baseline counterparts, like ogres, and goblins are smaller and geared towards adaptability, like halflings.
But what has people puzzled, including the goblinoids themselves, is that normally there are few differences between, say, elf or dwarf analogues. A dwarf-ified Gem is a much smaller and more compact form of that Gem, with an altered projection that owes little relevance to that Gem’s usual template. Elve analogues are more streamlined and run hot with magical power, adapting it into their very bodies, and an elified asari and human look absolutely nothing alike; only some common trends suggest any sort of common mutation.
but goblinoids of all sorts bear a very distinctive appearance. the similarities are impossible to deny; green skin, with some leaning towards cooler and warmer colors, tusks, and the sub-types with their own extremes. sure, individual groups have their own quirks (boar-men varieties here, or gorgeous chimera critters there), but they are all plainly recognizable as a specific phenemenon, and absolutely no one has any idea why this is, and have wasted many words trying to express that bewilderment.
It is broadly known as Goblinization; mutation trends in which individuals or specific groups mutate over time and become variants of the orc and goblin. its particular baffling because there is very little established rules for what causes it, or why; orcs are similar to ogres, but not as large or strong, but vary hugely in their mutations and temperaments in a way that ogres do not. goblins are even more extreme, and apart from their short stature, have almost nothing in common with one another.
some in-universe theories for the cause of this are below. None of them may be true. All of them could be! or they might miss the mark entirely.
One of the earliest and most successful species were the original primal orcs and goblins; perhaps they were made by the Primordial that the goddess Primus once was, in the time before time. They were mighty by far, making even the legendary krork champions seem brief and frail, and built wonders that enduring even the cataclysm many eons later. Though they faded in time, as all things do, they left such an impression that people keep falling into their niche and transforming into their image, filling up the space they once occupied.
Orcs and goblins are cool; getting green leathery skin and big fangs and huge-ass hips is, scientifically speaking, DA BOMB. As any remedial magical physics student learns, the rule of aesthetics appeal is one of the most powerful forces in the multiverse. Thus, the general idea of goblin-ness mixes in with other mutagenic influences that produces goblinization. If you’d be a halfling or dwarf, you get a goblin. for bigger and beefier mutations, orcs or bugbears may result.
Goblins are a sort of external concept with tremendous physical power; the goblinoid is, in fact, a mortal form of a cosmic entity of great power, unaware of our fleeting existence but so mighty that its presence alters anything of a suitable form into an imitation of its divine form. Most believers in this theory insist it has absolutely rocking monster hips, as a goblin monster should.
The end point of all evolution is monsterization. As sapient beings develop their magic on a species-wide scale, their bodies will gradually differ first on a broad scale, and then indiviually diverge. They will become more monstrous and less based on any sort of template, individuality expressed through the medium of the very body. Orcs and goblins, as distinctive as they are, are an intro to this sort of transformation to a whole species.
