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Though not the most dangerous individually of all of the hard races, hobgobins are by far the most ruthlessly organized people in numbers. Regimented, strict, and cruel their culture is defined by numerous codes and laws governed by vicious Kings and the crack of a whip. A hobgoblin child grows up strong, guided by harsh discipline and ultimately respects power as his or her master. Like their lesser cousins, hobgoblins are drawn toward a master/servant society actively seeking powerful individuals to lead them, but unlike goblins they choose to serve from a position of strength. They are fiery, motivated servants who demand direction, hard work, and bloody battle or the leader in question is seen as weak. Commanding a host of hobgoblins is as taxing to a leader as being enslaved by them and, as many warlords have discovered, is best left to hobgoblin Kings. Hobgoblins are very jealous of the control and influence that humanity has in the world. In an attempt to emulate the "best" of human culture, hobgoblins have adopted the patriarchal monarchy as its societal model. Their leaders are called "Kings" and all of the King's subjects are total subserviants to him. They also have become quite enamored with the concept of the unstoppable horde, dominating through steady and constant efficiency and skill. They choose the term "Legion" to describe their group units. A King rules one Legion. In the mind of the hobgoblin, humans have succeeded through this cultural regulation and standard and by virtue of constant toil and not faltering to some of the softer human pursuits they assume that they can exchange positions and become dominant. This is all a matter of containment. Like goblins, they do believe life is a loop and they believe in being under the influence of greater forces, but they don't revere curves, rather they imagine that life has sharp points. Everything does come around again but the process requires dramatic angles. The angled points are times in a process that demonstrate significant (and often painful) change. Being direct by nature, hobgoblins desire shapes with the least number of angles, in other words, the process is more expeditious, but by nature of the closed shape the angles and thereby the extremity of change is much greater. A triangle is the most revered polygon because it completes the circuit with the fewest changes regardless of the severity of the change. A hobgoblin King who is referred to as a Triangle is a ruthless and direct problem solver, whereas to call someone an Octagon is an insult. For a hobgoblin the idea of being many sided, complex or diplomatic is folly and a King seen to be taking time or round about methods to solve a problem will quickly be called out by the shaman or wise man and dethroned. It's interesting to note that this check against the King results in a remarkable amount of civic duty on his part, except in the basest of fulfillment, (which is totally endorsed) because the practice of deception and manipulation of circumstances to serve one's own ends often leads to multifaceted and lengthy schemes which entangle resources and endanger the Legion. In other words, it is far preferable to endanger the health of the community by making one or two really poor decisions than a series of lesser mistakes, and in all cases the people will expect to see results that bring the Legion back to its original stability, although, hopefully with greater strength (ie completing the circuit). Thus by regal right, the King is expected to indulge his carnal appetites as they rise but not act upon his personal ambitions. And who is it that watches the King? Usually every Legion has a shaman or wise older warrior who cannot keep an erection (this is an important factor; it is quite an accomplishment to live a life of combat to an age when one is no longer virile) who examines the King's progress through various situations and determines the "angles" of his decisions and the number of "sides" he has created. This record is usually on public display and the warriors and families of the Legion cling to it as it unfolds. The sage figure commands much respect as advisor and in a way acts as a journalist between the King and his people, but again, the position limits those with ambition for greater influence because though this judge does have the final word on the King's performance, failure to recognize that the Legion has been stabilized and the shape closed brings much disrespect and may be a fatal mistake for the wise man. Even when the King and shaman are at odds, the system works better. The only effective way for the sage-individual to diminish the King is to locate numerous soft decisions, which in turn creates a Hexagonal or Octagonal rule. The way a King can combat this criticism is to act with extreme severity in all decisions and this is exactly what is most revered in hobgoblin culture. A hobgoblin shaman is the King's best friend and worst enemy and the Legion's most noble personality when behaving badly. Behind this idea of shapes, government and behavior is an incredible detailed and meticulous science of geometry conjoined with psychology and politics. Many hobgoblin shamans have advanced knowledge of mathematics of shape such as concepts of area and volume and this has trickled down into the general population to take root into the practical applications of engineering and construction. Hobgoblins are the best to build your castle. But through this extended knowledge comes an extended theory all evolving around lines, planes, and shapes. Equity, symmetry, and curves are qualities of the slave class (as is indicated by goblin philosophy) and "blades" but these ideas are born of radial concepts and the intersection of lines from various points within a shape and the internal shapes that result and the corresponding meanings. It is a form of study that engages the thoughts of thousands of hobgoblin holy men despite the general hobgoblin disregard for complications and varied thought. These scholars are of a different class, brutal taskmasters by day and intellectual examiners by night and as such this a field in which many humans, gnomes, and dwarves have excelled as well, though they become stymied when theory translates to hobgoblin law. Maybe someday we will have a text of one of the leading authors of Geometry Codex in the library for perusal. Needless to say, hobgoblin culture is typically deluged with images of triangles and squares, the most revered symbols of victory and power. Above all else, the equilateral triangle is most respected, although symmetrical, it represents the most consistently severe policy with the quickest resolution, which is in turn suggestive of success by undeniable authority of leadership and total subservience of the subjects. Wearing an equilateral triangle as part of an insignia or personal decoration is a statement that is nearly impossible to live up to and such is not taken lightly. If they are particularly proud of their King, especially concerning some famous or significant victory, a Legion will wear the shape described by their shaman as a patch on their tunic, painted on their shield, tattooed on their skin, etc. Conversely, if you see a Legion that lacks the adornments, they are likely within an Octagon or worse. One would think that a Legion despairing of their polygonal assessment might be demoralized or swayed to desert or betray their group, but more often, a failing grade is more of a challenge to overcome. Loyalty is not a commodity to be sold, unless the King says so. The women within a Legion are the basest of servants within a Legion that has no slaves. Women are expected to cook, clean, tend the children, care for any animals or prisoners and anything else not devoted to war, war construction or war manufacturing. In addition, women are expected to wield weapons as well in defense of the home. The only way to be spared the life of menial chores before them is to be chosen by the King for his entertainment and pleasure. But for many this is not preferred. In a Legion, the only individual who owns anything is the King. When the King distributes wealth to his soldiers he is merely giving him his property to use at their discretion. Needless to say, there are no quarrels over stolen items because disputants know already what the outcome of the King's judgement would be. The King also owns all of the members of his Legion, but through his graciousness and good faith he allows his people free use of their lives until he has need of them directly. So women are effectively given protection from the domination of the men in general, unlike most peoples of the hard races, because they are the property of only one male and that fact is indisputable. The women are spared punishment, beatings, rape, and murder by the men because the men of the Legion have no jurisdiction to behave this way. As decreed by the King, and ages of cultural standard, the women serve their roles and the only way for a hobgoblin woman to be punished is for the King to deliver it. Granted, if the King gets involved, they might be better off dead. Which brings to light his personal harem. Though these women often do not perform the tasks required of the other women, this is usually because they are busy attending to the King's voracious carnal appetites, however severe they are. It can be an endless existence of degradation. Women who survive the monarch's advances usually bear the scars from it. Such a gender dynamic creates a community that bonds through valuable relationships. There is no marriage, per se, so it is a matter of both individuals choosing who to be with on any given day. Often hobgoblins find a mate who suits them and they will stay with that individual. Because there can be no formal mandate of togetherness, all children (despite the fact that they are property of the King as well) have potential of being fathered by any man in the Legion. This forces all of the children to be considered products of the community as a whole; family bloodlines are smeared with the purpose of uniting the Legion. Even a woman who knows who is the father of her child would never disrespect the Legion by revealing this. It's not a secret as much as it has no importance when considered in the light of the value the child has to the community. Every male is the proud father of every child. Growing up as a hobgoblin seems in many ways ideal for a child. Having so many care givers and so many role models all seeking the best development is powerfully uplifting. Hobgoblins speak of childhood with warm words and they recount tales of men and women who taught them their skills. It is at the point of adulthood that there is a sharp break with pleasantness, when they are expected to use the skills they learned and be accountable for any failure. The King's relationship with the children is as it suits him, but it is common advice given by most shamans, that a mother's devotion to her young child is superior to that toward her King, and such a bond is not to be challenged by gluttony. Kings who direct their viciousness at the children are sometimes wildly successful, but usually it is precident to regicide. Unlike orcs and some of the other races, challenge to the King is not respected. Killing the King does not earn the killer the throne. It earns him or her a painful death. Even murdering a weak or unpopular King will earn the killer an ignominious end. One thing all hobgoblins understand is that disobedience, even for the greater good or preservation of the Legion cannot be tolerated. Many hobgoblins have suffered execution surrounded by the cheers and tears of a grateful Legion, but the law is clear, and failure to uphold it will lead to weakness of spirit and honor in the whole group. In the eventuality of the King's death, by accident, combat or other, the sage or shaman of the Legion chooses the next King by whatever merit he determines. Even the bloodlines of the King are hidden, though, often the shaman knows this information and it is not uncommon to see the grown children of a former King elevated for this reason alone. As mentioned earlier, hobgoblins have modeled their society after that of humans. At first glance, one may make this association but with deeper understanding of hobgoblin culture we discover that the similarities are few. It has been learned that hobgoblins believe that they have effectively matched human culture without the frivolities that distract from efficiency, such as art, romance, and thought. Though their totalitarian vision has been effective in keeping them unified and strong in a harsh world, it is the slow and invisible creep of those elements they most reject that has the best opportunity to bring hobgoblins closer to human prevalence. Regardless of how they diminish it's value, hobgoblins are drawn to design, though often geometrically oriented. Hobgoblins pulled from the yoke of their culture or (occasionally this does happen) those that decide to leave the limitations of hobgoblin society behind are seen to excel at constructing elegant cathedrals and practical yet captivating castles and fortifications. It is known also that relationships within Legions tends to be very powerful and necessarily clandestined. Policy dictates that emotions do not interfere with operations, but when there is nothing to be attended to, there is effectively no policy. Friendships and romances flourish under the King's heavy hand, but are quickly set aside when the individuals are called to service. And finally, there are numerous hobgoblin sages, wizards, story tellers, priests, etc. who discovered a passion in philosophy and felt a need to escape the stifling environment within the Legion and find a place where they could study without distraction or fear. As entrants to the global intellectual conversation they are capable, prolific authors who add as much substance to the depth of philosophical, alchemical, theosophical, and magical research as any human, elf, or gnome born in a city and taught in a school. As with most of the hard races, it is apparent that hobgoblins are their own worst enemy. Of all of the other more brutish races, hobgoblins have the most potential to rise above their baseness, but what is holding them back is their tenacious hold upon what they deem as the best in human behavior which is in effect wrong. Hobgoblins who have joined the global and interactive community shake their heads with pity at the Kings and their Legions dwelling in squalid caves organizing the eventual overthrow of the human empires. As scholars watching closely, we fear the day when hobgoblin Kings rule their people with compassion and let their thinkers and artists express themselves freely. When that time comes, humans may have competition. |