The Central Dominions
A Hobgoblin Empire
Overview
A Hobgoblin empire controls the large central island, with many hobgoblin strongholds scattered across the hills that surrounds the mountain.
Tyere is a city, somewhere near the base of the mountain, larger towns are set some distance inland, with smaller towns and villages close to the coast. The areas between are populated by Goblins, Orcs, Giants , Lizards(Lizardfolk, Kobolds)++ and ++Humans .
Each town is built like a fortress, and managed by a General . Larger towns have Lord-Generals, while the city is reported to have a Grand-General, with Smaller towns paying tribute to the larger towns, who pay tribute to the city. Tribute is generally made up of slaves, metals and food. Fortunately for everyone else, they are too busy squabbling amongst themselves, to be a real threat. The smaller towns raid each other, the larger towns use a lot of their troops to keep the smaller towns in check, and the city regularly sends tribute collecting armies to everyone they can reach. They are also at war with everyone else on the island, hunting down and enslaving any Humans, Orcs or Lizards they find and killing Giants, who are often too powerful for the slave masters to control. The Orcs and Giants are happy to oblige, raiding and attacking towns on a regular basis.
Most Goblin tribes near towns are small, having been forcibly subdued, and pay tribute - generally in information and metals scavenged along the coast or after battles. Unsubdued goblins are fair game for everyone, although the hobgoblins often give them a chance to buy their way into service with the Dominions.
Each town is surrounded by fields farmed by slaves, and many smaller towns own a Flotah or two, a primitive type of Light Galley, that they send out to raid the outer islands for slaves, food, booze, treasure and metals Since the coming of the colonists these hobgoblins have started attacking and raiding colonist towns and shipping as well.
The Hobgoblins have not spread into the central area, and consider the great central mountain to be 'Holy Ground' and associated with the deity Hadregash, although it is infested with giants and large snakes, among other monsters.
The Hobgobs fight wars on four fronts (as well a fighting between themselves) - there are Orcs, The Giants, The Lizards and the Humans. Orcs, Lizards and Humans make good slaves, Giants are destroyed on sight.
- The Giants - Thawn, Cyclops, Firbolgs
- Lizards - Kobold, Variant Lzardfolk
- Humans - Wen, Neanderthals, Mongrelmen
- Include Orcs
There is an underground trade network between some of the groups. Cloaked Mongrelmen, trade with Firbolgs, Lizard Folk, Wen and Nenderthals - allowing goods and items to pass from one group to another. Kobolds trade occasionally, although they are treated cautiously, often just trading ore [they are proficient miners] for spear points. There is an element of 'The enemy of my enemy, is my friend' about this secretive, and sporadic, trade network - and no one really trusts anyone else. If they could all get their acts together, they might be able to overthrow the hobgoblins …