In the course of world building some of us get a little carried away and as a result amass volumes of homemade fluff. If you've got something you came up with to add life and depth to the world your campaigns are set in that you'd like to share it belongs here.

I've been toying around with an idea for a while now to use the Bestiary rules for Goblings as player characters to run a short campaign centered around a goblin raiding party. Or barring that just finding a game that would let me play a goblin. And somewhere along the line I started imagining what the Gobling language might look like... take it for what it's worth :)

Note: Vocabulary list follows this lesson for reference during study.

Enunciation
The Goblin tongue diphthongs all words of a thought together pausing only at sentence end.

Context
For the purpose of this example the Goblin fighter Tuktuk is speaking.

Example I
Tuktuk: Tee-ji-Tuk-tuk-Ba-Ji

Goblin relies heavily on context.  Were Tuktuk in a party of Goblin preparing to take down a larger foe Tuktuk would be understood as saying  “Make a noisy distraction so I can hamstring this guy”.  On the other hand were a member of the party drunkenly serenading the rest of the party with the Goblin raiding song it would be obvious Tuktuk meant  “Shut up before I hamstring you”.

Counting
Goblins have no formal counting system. Instead nouns are repeated the desired number of times.  Two pillows for instance would be Pajipaji  (a common exclamation uttered by Goblins in the presence of busty human barmaids). This trope coupled with short attention spans has resulted in any number of items greater than five simply being considered “godo” or many as in godobodi or godochogee.  This linguistic ambiguity has lead to many trade disputes within Goblin society as well as a tendency to demand godibodi prior to services rendered.

Additionally in cases where Goblins want to emphasize plurality of an item without specifying a quantity nouns are repeated twice. This makes it occasionally unclear if a Goblin is talking about two or simply more than one of an item. Hand gestures usually are required for context.

This method of counting also works for emphasis in Goblin speech. For instance in our previous example Tuktuk is joined by his raiding party mate mobo:

Tuktuk: TeejiTuktukBaji!
Mobo: Daidodaido!

So now our exchange would contextually translate to:

Tuktuk: Make noise while I hamstring this guy.
Mobo: You got it boss!

Physicality plays a large role in Goblin communication and raiding party chain of command. Consider a more likely conversation in the previous scenario.

Tuktuk: TeejiTuktukBaji!
Mobo: Zo! MoboBaji!
Tuktuk: *slap* Tuktuk! Tuktuktuktuk! Mobo. Mobo.
Mobo:  Daido. TuktukBaji.

Or

Tuktuk: Make noise. I’m going to hamstring this guy.
Mobo: No! I want to hamstring someone!
Tuktuk: *slap* Tuktuk is greater than Mobo!
Mobo: Ok fine. You hamstring him.

When a Goblin wishes to draw attention to something (most often himself) the word to use is Dada. This might be screamed upon arrival. It can be used to announce discovery. Or it can be used to signify a specific item. Tuktuk has just returned from hamstringing some guy.

Tuktuk: Dada!!
Mobo: Tuktuk!!
Tuktuk: *thumping chest* DadaTuktuk! DadaGobin!

Tuktuk: I’m back!
Mobo: You are Tuktuk!
Tuktuk:  This IS Tuktuk! This IS a Goblin!

Violent Language
Goblin society takes violence very seriously. Thus verbs and nouns that correspond to violence tend to be very specific. There are for instance over 12 different words in Goblin for the act of rending flesh. Consider the lyrics to this Goblin raiding chant:

Go-bin-gun-gun. Go-bin-goo-gi.
Go-bin sun-gee. Go-bin Soo-gie.
To-ki-O-ki. Too-ki Oo-ki.
Go-bin-Bon-do. Boo-ji-Boo-ti.

Go-bin-roo-ji. Go-bin-roo-ti.
Go-bin-roo-bi. Go-bin boo-bi.
Tun-do- mook-mook. Too-gi-took-took.
Go-bin-da-da! Oo-Gook-gook-gook!

Pa-do-num-num, pa-gu-muu-muu,
Too-gi-took-took, un-u-bu-bu.
Gek-gek-chin-gi, mook-mook-chun-gi,
Da-da-Go-bin! Cho-gee-Cho-gee!



Translation

Goblins chew and goblins bite,
Goblins cut and goblins fight,
Stab the dog and cut the horse,
Goblins eat and take by force!

Goblins race and goblins jump,
Goblins slash and goblins bump,
Burn the skin and mash the head,
Goblins here and you be dead!

Chase the baby, catch the pup,
Bonk the head to shut it up!
Bones be cracked, flesh be stewed,
We the goblins—you the food!

Vocabulary for today’s Goblin lesson:
Baji =(verb) hamstring  (note:  refers to the act of violence. There is no Goblin word for the muscle itself)
Bash(Body-check) = Boobi.
Bash(Skull) = toogi
Bite(flesh) = googi
Bodi = treasure
Boil(flesh) = Chungi
Bone(human) = Chingi
Burn(Flesh) = tundoo
Capture(human) = Pagu
Capture(non human) = Chagu
Chew(flesh) = gungun
Child(human) = Num
Chogee = sweets.
Crack(bone) = Gekgek
Cut(render flesh via dog-slicer) = Sungee
Dada = voila, here, this.
Daido = agreement
Dead = gook
Dog = Oki.
Eat(rendered flesh) = Bondo
Fight(non Goblin)= Soogie
Flesh = mook
Gobin = Goblin
Godo = many
Horse = Ooki
Jump(on larger creature) = Rooti
Murder(non goblin) = Booji
Offspring(non humanoid) = Muu
Paji = pillow.
Pursue(human child) = Pado
Pursue(non humanoid offspring) = Pudu
Run(charge) = Rooji
Silence(fatally) = unububu
Skull = took
Slash(sword render flesh) = Roobi
Stab(dog)=Toki
Stab(horse) = Tooki
Take(theft) = Booti
Teeji  = noise
You(profane) = Oo
Zo = disagreement

Well, there's good precedent for making up fantasy languages:  Tolkien created all of Middle Earth originally as an experiment in how languages come to be.  But the language is not interesting without the culture that spawned it.

While I've never thought to make up any goblinese, I did have a character who wanted to learn some good goblin taunts for a particular scenario.  The NPC teaching him translated them as below.  He assured that they would be tremendously insulting to the goblins, who held both their mothers in high esteem, identified strongly with their litter mates, and fear exile more than death.

• Your Litter-mother mates with he-goats.
• Your litter mates were piglets and puppies.
• Your Suckle-mother shared her udder with kobolds.
• Your tribe-leader wasted a sword on a coward like you?  I thought you were just going to be exiled.

In my world building I have set out to change fantasy's preconceived notions of what the "core" races should be and the story line behind them.  This adds a unique flavor to your world that makes it your own.  We all don't have to Tolkien style worlds.

For example.  Take any race, study its impact on a fantasy world and do the exact opposite with it.  Now you have an interesting element with your world that can help shape it in your image.

I'd love an example or two of what you mean.  What's your take on dwarves, for example?

The Dwarves:
The Thagi (the Lost)
Baraz-Dammaz-Throng (The Homeless)
Oken-Calnar (Sea Dwarves)


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The Thagi (the Lost):  Little is know about these dwarves other then they are the traitor kin to the Homeless and the Sea dwarves.  No one has ever encounter them.  The other dwarves do not speak of them, and if every someone was to call a Homeless or a sea dwarf one of the lost they had better be behind an army of men, in a castle, behind a vault, and in a room of complete mithril, forever.

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Baraz-Dammaz-Throng (The Homeless):
Many of the Homeless dwarves have homes in Human kingdoms but you will never hear them call themselves a citizen of the nation in which they live in.  they live by the rules of the region, and work in those cities manning the forges, and taking to the duties that they are suited for.  They all long for the lost home of the Dwarves, which has a story all its own.  In the cities in which they reside they build great furnaces and forges under the cities.  It is known that one can tell if Dwarves live in a city buy how much smoke comes out of it.

In times of war every king knows that the dwarves will hire themselves out as mercenaries, and when they take to battle a dwarven regiment is a sight to behold.  Yet it is also known that if dwarves are on both sides they will not fight each other. ever.  Even when blood boils and each regiment of dwarves hate each other they will throw down there weapons and fight with fists until one side yields, without any death on each side.  Scholars say it is a great sight to behold when the dwarves battle each other; fist, head, teeth, until it ends then the looser leaves the field of battle for good.

Baraz-Dammaz-Throng (The Homeless):
Standard PHB Dwarves

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Oken-Calnar (Sea Dwarves):
These Dwarves have taken the last King's words to heart and they have made themselves honor bound to never have a home on land until there lost kingdom can be reclaimed.  They live on vast floating cites and sail the currents of the oceans of the world.  Currently there are 5 such floating city states known and each one has contact with each other though means unknown; Kazad Grom, Kazad Kadothan, Kazad Zahkar, Kazad Aun, Kazad Grumdek.  These Vast cites have working docks, ramparts, and a system of government that sustains these sea nations.

Known for there advancement in sea fairing the Dwarves of the sea have provided technologies with peaceful aligned kingdoms that have allowed for the building of sea worthy sailing ships.  Everyone knows that the Sea Dwarves have more technologies that they are not sharing.


Dwarf, Sea (Oken-Calnar)
    * +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, –2 Charisma: Dwarves are both tough and wise, but also a bit gruff.
    * Medium: Dwarves are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
    * Slow and Steady: Dwarves have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
    * Darkvision: Dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet. (see darkvision).
    * Water Baby: +2 Racial bonus on Swim checks & able to hold breath up to 4 times Constitution score (swim is always a class skill)
    * Strong Swimmer: Dwarves can swim up to there base speed as a full round action, or half as a move action.
    * Hatred: Dwarves receive a +1 bonus on attack rolls against Locathah & Sahuagin subtypes due to special training against these hated foes.
    * Hardy: Dwarves receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells, and spell-like abilities.
    * Stability: Dwarves receive a +4 racial bonus to their Combat Maneuver Defense when resisting a bull rush or trip attempt while standing on the ground.
    * Stonecunning: Dwarves receive a +2 bonus on Perception checks to potentially notice unusual stonework, such as traps and hidden doors located in stone walls or floors. They receive a check to notice such features whenever they pass within 10 feet of them, whether or not they are actively looking.
    * Weapon Familiarity: Dwarves are proficient with battleaxes, heavy picks, and warhammers, and treat any weapon with the word “dwarven” in its name as a martial weapon.
    * Languages: Dwarves begin play speaking Common and Dwarven. Dwarves with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Aquan, Auran, Gnome, Goblin, and Undercommon.

The idea behind this concept is that dwarves live in mountains, but why?  Sure I did not break the mold for dwarves, because the story as a race still makes sense.  What I did was remove them from an element that defines them and questioned what impact it would have on the culture.

Standard fantasy Dwarves are honorable, stubborn, craftmen, men of the mountain, and not fond of water.

My dwarves are honorable, stubborn, craftmen, and without a country of there own.

Just changing a few elements of the dwarves allow you to move that race into a different realm that helps to make it unique.

Take the dwarves of Dark Sun for example.  Standard Fantasy dwarves are hairy, yet the dwarves of Athas are unique in that they have no hair at all.  Just a simple change creates something new.

Fair enough.  When you said that you "do the exact opposite with it" I was not led to this idea.  Here you are saying that you take the norm, change one or two significant things in the background, and see where it leads, logically.  I like that approach a lot.

By the way, concerning dwarves not having a home (presumably because they were driven out by something more powerful), I have two words:  Thorin Oakenshield.  :-)  Of course, just because it's been done before doesn't keep it from being a good idea.

"do the exact opposite with it" was only a matter of forcing someone to see outside of the traditional mold.  I think you understand that point.  :)

About Thorin Oakenshield, he was not all the dwarves of Tolkien's world, only a clan.  The staple of Tolkien's dwarves are the "everydwarves" of traditional fantasy.

Let's try to keep this thread about specific fluff people have created. I've opened up a forum chat thread to catch topics that don't fit in any of the other forum topics.