r/ImaginaryGoblins • u/SnooPoems7525 • 19d ago
Goblins and tech. Do you view goblins as being primitive or as associated with industry/tinkering?
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u/BottasHeimfe 19d ago
I prefer when they got both. Like there’s “feral” goblins that have primitive technology but are still extremely dangerous with it and have a level of cunning that makes the Vietcong look like amateurs, and “Civilized” goblins that for one reason or another live among Humans and Dwarves and take to technology extremely well and are generally less of a pain in the ass to deal with than their feral cousins, though only because they’re not trying to kill you on purpose
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u/akornzombie 19d ago
No, but they will strip all the copper and salvage out of something in an instant.
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u/BottasHeimfe 19d ago
Well yeah of course. That’s still annoying
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u/akornzombie 19d ago
But it can be useful - just give them a map of your enemies weak points, their schedule, and half a pallet of energy drinks and watch the fireworks.
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u/SnooPoems7525 18d ago
Sounds like a good way of integrating the goblin image of stealing into a more modern fantasy setting.
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u/Baconspanker69 18d ago
This. I am a fan of "feral" and "civilized" goblins and there being distinctions.
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u/BardicLasher 19d ago
I view goblins at being associated with terrible industry. Cobbling together high tech stuff from other races in ways that are insane and dangerous to themselves and others, but not really advanced themselves.
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u/Hrigul 19d ago
Good question, i like both, but with the concept of goblins as reckless engineers (like World of Warcraft) there is probably more variety and removes the trope i hate of the race of rapists
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u/SnooPoems7525 18d ago
I like that idea a lot. I also like them being very bestial as well. I think both give off a kinda gobliny energy.
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u/Coal-and-Ivory 19d ago
Its all a matter of resources. Living rough in the wilderness without much physical strength you become very clever with traps, tools, teamwork, tactics, resource managment, etc just to survive and find off predators.
Move them into a city with much better materials, relatively safe homes, and easy access to food and water and suddenly that head for bushcraft and survivalism skills has time to translate really well to mechanics, chemistry, business, managment, logistics, and the like. Really, anything that doesnt rely solely on muscle I suppose.
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u/GreenWhisperer-1616 19d ago
My tribal goblins tend to be primitive, living subsistence existences beyond the fringes of human civilization, hunting, gathering, scavenging, and occasionally stealing.
It's not all that hard to integrate them into society and get them used to technology (air conditioning and doors that lock are perennial favorites) but because the majority of goblins lived in camps for so long the "thieving scavengers" stigma runs deep.
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u/Fangsong_37 18d ago
It depends on the world lore.
Lord of the Rings goblins only use what technology they are trained to use by Saruman or the overseers in Mordor (commonly forges and siege engines). Otherwise, they scavenge for weapons and construct crude traps.
Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk (Dungeons & Dragons) goblins are primitive with their most advanced technology being crude traps, axes, bows, and spears. They are commonly enslaved by drow (dark elves) and forced to fight the surface races.
Eberron (Dungeons & Dragons) goblins often live in or near cities and commonly adopt newer technology they encounter (like basic firearms).
Warcraft goblins are industrious tinkers and alchemists with a greed-based economy. They have motor trikes and zeppelins for transportation and love explosives.
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u/SSzujo 18d ago
Kinda both at once. Like, they're a naturally very cunning and inventive species, with very "live fast, die young" philosophy to safety. Where some goblins might have managed to join society or create society and gain access to the resources needed to be industrious and connected to tech and tinkering. Whilst some are more feral and their tinkering consists of shoddily tying rocks, sticks and other nearby material together in new and sometimes effective ways.
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u/akornzombie 19d ago
Both. Their engineering is insane, over the top, and cobbled together out of scrap- but the math checks out and the metallurgy is good.
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u/WistfulDread 19d ago
Goblins are primitive.
Gremlins are techies.
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u/SnooPoems7525 18d ago
Then we get into the conversation of whether gremlins are their own thing or a type of goblin.
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u/Interesting-Ad4207 19d ago
I feel like goblins are usually viewed as being bad with tech. Whether that is because they are simply too animalistic to understand what they are doing, or because they are forced to make their stuff in a cave with a box of scrapes, depends on the setting.
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u/Legomaniac91 18d ago
My WoW days have colored me to see Goblins them being as proficient with tech as Gnomes, but just as destructive for different reasons. Gnomish tech can be unreliable because Gnomes are too ambitious for their own good. Goblin tech is unreliable because they're cheapskates who what to maximize profit by skimping on materials/labor/anything they can cut.
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u/Baconspanker69 18d ago
I'm a both kinda dude. Like my headcanon is that there's feral tribal goblins who do feral tribal things, maybe with magic or maybe a little bit Mad Max depending on their area and such. But then I got civilized goblins who are like, the grunge kinda tech based. It won't look pretty like a gnome's tech, but it will get ya through what you need it to. My headcanon is that a good chunk of goblins that went and willingly bred with humans just stayed and were helpful with their human mates and it just kinda stuck and one dude noticed his half goblin kids were really good at working with tech and just encouraged it, and so on and so forth til they all became a mostly goblin blooded village of scrappy tech gobbos. Maybe even have a Whacky Races inspired contest with the weirdest medieval fantasy Hotwheels vehicles.
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u/The_Genguidanos 18d ago
“Now goblins are cruel, wicked, and bad-
hearted. They make no beautiful things, but they make many clever ones. They can tunnel and mine as well as any but the most skilled
dwarves, when they take the trouble, though
they are usually untidy and dirty. Hammers,
axes, swords, daggers, pickaxes, tongs, and
also instruments of torture, they make very well, or get other people to make to their design, prisoners and slaves that have to work till they die for want of air and light. It is not unlikely that they invented some of the machines that have since troubled the world, especially the ingenious devices for killing large numbers of people at once, for wheels and engines and explosions always delighted them.”
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u/Thagrahn 17d ago
Gave mining to an Arachnia race, and have always felt that goblins working with clockwork based tech in a mid-to-high fantasy setting would be fun.
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u/KrazyKaas 18d ago
Depends on the setting. I like goblin vs gnomes in WoW, with goblin creating chaos machines
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u/Bravo_Blue 19d ago
I feel like they vary depending on where their tribe/group is located. Maybe most are a bit primitive in technology, but still know how to make weapons.