Goblins

Goblins are an artificial type of Man, created by the Great Horde in 2065 SC. They stand around 4½ feet tall, and have green skin, red eyes, short, nimble bodies, slit noses, and pointed ears. Designed to be used as cheap and disposable mob infantry, a Goblin's physiology suits its status as cannon fodder: they grow from egg sacs to mature soldiers in a matter of months and can survive off of cheap refuse and garbage.

Their low cost of manufacture and upkeep make them not only excellent soldiers but also a lucrative product of the Great Horde's. Although some balk at the thought of employing creatures designed to die, shipments can be found in the hands of foreign kingdoms, armies, and mercenary bands, eager to pad their numbers with cheap flesh.

Description
Goblins begin their life in so-called "egg sacs": soft, fleshy pouches of nutrient fluid about the size of a softball. These pouches can survive in storage for about two to three years. Hatching requires constant warmth for a period of approximately five days: this can be accomplished with a fire, body heat, or even long stretches of sunlight. During this time, the egg sac expands until it is about the size of a football, before finally bursting to reveal the infantile Goblin within.

Goblins can survive off of almost anything; dirty water, table scraps, leather, and even cellulose can be used to feed them. They grow rapidly, stopping at 4½ feet after three months, and pick up languages quickly as well. They understand speech much more than they speak it, ostensibly to better follow orders. When they do speak, it is usually in short barks and bursts of the language they were taught.

Goblins bear many similarities to their Orc creators. They have green skin, red eyes, pointed ears, and keen teeth, although such sharpness is not limited to just their canines. They are completely hairless, but can survive in a variety of temperatures and climates. They are also capable of seeing in the dark. Though not as disproportionately strong as Dwarves, Goblins have a surprising amount of strength for their size, being much more powerful than a Human or Wood Elf of similar stature. Goblins are sexless and incapable of reproducing on their own as a mechanism for population control.

Goblins are typically deployed as spearmen, both for the cheapness of armament and to negate the reach disadvantage they have when facing their inevitably taller foes. Disposable creatures, they are almost never armored; while some richer clients may dress them in cloth uniforms or banners, others are content with leaving them in rags or even naked. Goblins are usually sent out in square formation in front of the main army, ostensibly to absorb fire and tire the enemy.

Goblin combat performance is abysmal on an individual basis. Even the most middling of normal conscripts can overcome one in a straight fight, but such a circumstance is an impossibility against Goblins. Their most common tactic is to swarm any opponents, using a tide of green flesh and cheap armament to overcome any difference in skill. Although inevitably they suffer many casualties, more often than not they come out the victor. Even when they lose, often their enemy will be so tired out that the main army can swoop in and crush them easily.

The main weakness of the Goblin is, ironically, one of its greatest strengths: its obstinate and unquestioning obedience to its commander. Anti-Goblin tactics prioritize decapitation strikes: with their leader lost, Goblin troops will fall into disarray much faster than their mundane counterparts, as they rarely have a command structure beyond following a single officer.

Curiously, Human mercs have given their Goblins a second purpose beyond being disposable infantry: being disposable artillery. The Human mercenary captain Roland Monteverdi began the practice of strapping Goblins (and several charges of gunpowder) to crude gliders, and launching the apparatus out of a catapult. Piloted by sapient eyes, the contraption becomes a sort of guided missile, almost equaling the precision of a sorcerer's fireball and dwarfing it in power.

History
The Great Horde first unveiled Goblins during a campaign against Steppe Orcs in 2065. Though the first generation proved to be crude prototypes compared to the Goblins of today, their deployment was still a rousing success: the Great Horde's biggest disadvantage against their southern brethren--numbers-- now negated. Deployed as meat shields, they proved capable enough of tying down the normally mobile horse archers long enough for Great Horde artillery to annihilate them. Goblins have since grown to encompass almost half of the empire's forces; legions of pikemen can be seen on their slow encroachment south.

In addition to their military applications, Goblins have proven to be an economic boon for the Great Horde. Indeed, shipments of their egg sacs are one of the empire's greatest exports, presented as gifts to potential allies or sold at a reasonable profit to foreign mercenaries and kingdoms. Although many are reluctant to adopt such a blasphemous creation, Goblins are now a staple of Human and Wood Elf (the Men of Stone in particular) armies.

The details of Goblin development are a closely guarded state secret. Many alchemists have tried and failed to replicate the success of the Great Horde, and rumors abound of a dark and forbidden component in their creation.

On rare occasion, Goblins have been known to form their own communities and communes, invariably after their former officers have perished and they escaped into the wild or when a shipment is caught in a shipwreck and the eggs hatch prematurely. While such groups may survive off of hunting and raiding, they are inevitably doomed to fail: Goblins have a notoriously short lifespan and are incapable of reproducing on their own.