THE BRÛCÛCK

Brûcûck (BROO’-kook) are the largest of goblinkind in The Realm. Though less cunning and organized than their smaller cousins, they carry clout among goblins from their great size, strength and intelligence. Brûcûck are philosophers and poets by nature and most of the great lays and histories written after the Council of Nh’gatha Shrûk were in the Brûcûck language.

Nearly impervious to cold, heat and the worst of weather, Brûcûck will sometimes sit alone on high bluffs for a season contemplating complex solutions to the great mysteries of life. On these “contemplations” or hrûmsúkr (hrûmsúkr literally means” out to sea”) a solitary b’rûck will sit motionless and weather-stained even beginning to gather moss and the nests of birds and squirrels as if she had been turned to stone. While transfixed an ogre will plummet into the deepest seas of its consciousness only to awaken when new knowledge has been retrieved.

Brûcûck fight with large jagged blades or spiked clubs. There is no size limit to their weapons. Two ogres per band can be “smashers” or morblahk and they can strike through any armor at will.

Brûcûck Vocabulary:

hrûm= sea

daragash= A sausage-like delicacy made from minced elk and cuttleberry, fermented in the intestine of the toothy and dreaded sea-darag. Daragash is slightly intoxicating to ogres, it is deadly to you or I.

sahn = a gathering of people or a village

yahrig = forest

mûdil (moo deal) = wise one

b’rûck (buh – ROOK’) = a single person

brûckûck = sisters, brothers or close relatives

shrûk (shrook) = a peculiar type of swamp shaman, also a famous early leader 

trüll (trool)= an untrustworthy or treacherous person

gahsh (gosh) (ghash in Arakun) = friend, a deep friend or perhaps something like “best friend”

 

THE ARAKLAK

The Araklak (are – AHK - lahk) are a practical lot and easily the most populous and organized of all goblinkind. Araklak absolutely love their own company and they are thrill seekers by nature.

Araklak say that nothing escapes an arakun’s attention; other goblins say that an arakun’s attention can escape nothing. Araklak are nonetheless inquisitive and intelligent. They travel in large parties that often leave a wake of debris behind them and for this reason they were generally unwelcome in Brûcûck territory before The Council of N’gatha Shrûk.

Araklak  live in large villages and after the formation of the Sh’ne Sahn they  tended to dominate the political life of most goblin territory. This may have been due, in part, to their natural charisma, their practicality and to the highly developed social institutions of the Araklak. Banishment is the deepest form of punishment among the Araklak. When alone, an orc orarakun will often sing itself to sleep. Though the practice is harmless, a ghashcalla can be a frightening and outlandish racket to any unfamiliar with Araklak ways.

Araklak are well-trained and often highly-organized in battle. They use greatshields with amazing effect and often fight with short stout spears or deadly polearms resembling cleavers called cott-throtta. Two orcs per team can play arakun shamans or godhi. These godhi have special powers that enhance the abilities of their peers. 

All godhi powers are usable once per turn. 

Graat (pass) - when placing its hands on a friend’s shoulders, both the godhi and a friend can pass unharmed through any combat zone without being struck. This protection lasts for a count of ten.

Pzrrk (berserk) –Upon clutching a friend’s shoulders and releasing them a godhi can cause its friend to burn brightly in battle. For a count of ten the pzrrk is invulnerable to attack but then must respawn.

Quul (heal)– Upon clutching a wounded friend’s shoulder for a full five second count, a ghodi can restore full life and strength to their fallen friend saving them a trip to respawn!

Araklak  Vocabulary:

krâg = a town or city

hrim = the sea

ghashcalla = lullaby, literally means ”friend-song”

Gruum, Gruumnish or Grummsh = The great one-eyed god of all godhi.

thrakat = a battle (or sometimes to describe an excellent party), it is used like “clang” is in English, the sound of metal on metal

tyarr = viridescence, glowing green, also a word for magic

khresh ghallan = An Araklak delicacy of dry-smoked prehensile appendages or hands.  It was highly savored but rarely enjoyed after the formation of the Sh’ne Sahn. These hands were traditionally acquired from a variety of hominids and then deep-smoked in ascuun tea leaves, hrimweed and quolus bark. It is how goblins acquired the name 'cannibals' the by their Hidzi (or human) neighbors, though some of the House of Sangliér developed a taste for this delicacy.

 

THE BLAATU

Blaatu (BLAH’-dew) are ingenious tinkers and traders. The smallest and cleverest of goblins, Blaatu survived the evil days after The Ugly War by cunning and craft. They bear a particularly strong hatred for the Madzi (Dwarves) who allied with the Seelie Court of Faeries (The Elven Court) that drove The Blaatu out of their beloved tunnels. Blaatu technology, discovered by Madzi,  was often called “dwarven brilliance” by both Hidzi (Human) and Sidi (Elves).

Nearly as numerous as their Arakun cousins, the Blaatu are far more prone to argument than humor. It will not bother a blaat in the least to be challenged all day by its peers in a noisy endless chatter. To watch blaatu converse is a dismal and sometimes concerning affair, but it is stimulating and comforting among their kind to bicker and pick at each other. Such bickering never leads to tears or physical conflict as it might between you or I, but instead brings peace of mind to a blaat by ensuring it that it is in a trusted social environment of individuals that care enough to bicker. To bicker is to ping the social mileu and request an existence-affirming ping back. 

Blaatu have an obsession with all forms of chioptera. They have developed a tufty-fashion inspired by several species of brown and purple bats that co-inhabit their tunnels. One species, the realmic purple bat, or quatzis, gives the impression of being wall-eyed when viewed from the front; for this reason it is considered a gift of beauty and wisdom to have been born with eyes that see into different realms among the Blaatu. Some Blaatu train their eyes to stay quatzis which often leads to blindness. This is not as great a problem as we might think when in their lightless tunnels the Blaatu have become highly accustomed to “seeing” through sound, smell and touch. In complete darkness even an average blaat can assemble a bleeg from its separated components in a matter of minutes. The Blaatu are nimble and coordinated even though they give the appearance of being jointy and somewhat brutally put together, with oversized hands and feet and noses long enough to dip past their chins. Great lovers of a trimmed and waxed mustache, blaatu absolutely despise a beard of any length.

Blaats do not use shields but may fight with any two standard-sized weapons and/or a crossbow. They favor short swords, spears and small spiked maces called morning stars. Any two blaats per team may be bleegbets, i.e. goblins that carry and know how to use a bleeg, a very, very dangerous and rapidly-firing goblin firearm. Bleegs come in a variety of shapes and sizes but all can shoot straight through armor, with or without the benefit of a helmet.

Blaatu Vocabulary:

g’nomm = a derogatory term for a dwarf, literally means “chews his own beard”

zg'g'geet = a goblin tunnel, or the tight cozy passage of a grub in earth or rotten wood

ableeg = an unusually powerful bleeg

eguju = potency

bürz = a goblin dwelling, typically burrowed into a mountain

hag =magnificent, venerable

gol = depth, or weirdly sometimes height

ga’az = forest

skoll = A frowning skull on a short pike, never a grinning one, a potent spiritual symbol among Blaatu that invokes wisdom. Skulls on pikes were NEVER used as warnings or territory markers, as Hidzi adventurers used to report before the coming of the Sanglierans.

ghor = a deep narrow valley

gall = a carefully stacked cairn of skulls with the jaws removed, a common site in blaatuland, the skulls may be from any hominid, the purpose is similar to a skoll

chinz = guano-soaked oak pellets, twice-roasted - first in pig-grease and then under a goat-dung fire. Blaatu hordes carry them on long journeys to “Challa megla-ag, beg-beg ag!' or to “Bring back the life!” The potent odor of these little crunchy snacks alone is enough to wipe out a legion of Haarti knights.

 

OTHER TERMS

Shehelemet or The Mountain of Emet  = The sacred mountain and early site of civilization for the Three Courts of Beings: Elves, Dwarves and Goblinkind. Before The Ugly War all courts lived in harmony.

The Ugly War drove “all the beasts from the hill” as the Seelie Court of Elves had put it. All tusked and tufted robust of the Unseelie Court were driven from the mountain by the Seelie Court and their early Dwarven allies.

The Fens of Graak =  A sacred site to all goblinkind and the heart of goblin land after their fall in The Ugly War. The Fens of Graak are also known at Nh’gatha Shrûk after a famous Ogre mage who performed her three year hrûmsúkr on one of the highest bluffs over seeing Hrim Deep.

The Ritual:= In traditional goblin combat if all of an opposing war party is slain the winners may feast on the losers. These ritual-performing warriors have then acquired ghøsh, a peculiar kind of spiritual power. Ghøsh is a collectively-bourn regenerative power manifesting itself in the game as the ability of the team performing The Ritual to revive one of their slain party each battle as long as they stay together. If the war party separates willingly or adds any new members to their ranks, ghøsh is lost immediately. Ghøsh strangely does not dissipate if some of the party are slain and it will last until the last goblin of an unbroken party is slain.

The Council of Nh'gatha Shrûk = A council of peace where the Federated Bands of the Sh’ne Sahn, between Blaatu, Arukusi and Brûkûck, was formed.

The Great Peace of Uneating  = The Ritual  was officially abandoned after the Council of Nh'gatha Shrûk.

Shrûk = Perhaps the greatest and most revered leaders of all Goblinkind. After uniting all bands of Ogrekin she flourised in The Realm to the ripe age of 647 years before floating downstream in a Brucuck cragnall-flot  on the great, grey, green, greasy Ghorgeesh Ghan.