Goblin culture

Goblins, according to the Monster Manual, are usually neutral evil, and the goblins of Droaam are no exception. The neutral evil alignment is not inherent, but a cultural tendency: their culture tends to produce neutral evil goblins, who will in turn maintain a neutral evil culture, and so on. In Eberron, there are goblins who live alongside humans and help make up the underclass of human cities; these 'humanized' goblins are more likely to be neutral. The goblins of the wilderness of Droaam, however, follow the traditional D&D goblin alignment.

Goblins do not have a codified set of laws, but they do have a set of more-or-less clearly defined traditions, deviation from which results in social censure or worse. Disputes are settled either by violence, or by appealing to the chieftain to make a decision. (The goblins of Castle Granis have increasingly used the latter method since Valdash became their ruler, since he is harsh but will always think a case through before making a decision, and will also crack down on any goblins he finds fighting amongst themselves when they ought to be working.)

Men and women have clearly defined social roles. The men are the only ones who are trained to fight, although the women do their share of the manual work, and sometimes a lot more than their share. All women and all children up to the age of eight are considered more as property than as people. (Goblins mature more quickly than humans, so a 10-year-old goblin at the same stage of development as a 15-year-old human.)

All marriages are arranged and many are forced. In the marriage ceremony, goblins traditionally invoke the Mockery to punish the bride if she is unfaithful, and the Shadow to make her bear many children. However, the religious element of marriage is quite small, and it is essentially a business transaction: a goblin will sell his daughter once she reaches puberty, typically for the sum of a few goats. Goblin husbands quite often sell their wives on to other goblins, and a goblin woman will often change hands up to half a dozen times throughout her life. Goblin men may own any number of wives, although in practice only the chieftains tend to own more than one at a time. Pre- and extra-marital sex is frowned-upon only because it is unauthorized use of another man's property; the punishment is a fine (generally in goats) paid to the woman's owner, and in the case of pre-marital sex the man is usually forced to pay the full bride-price and take the woman as his wife. No distinction is made between consensual sex and rape.

Since arguments are often settled by violence, the weaker goblins tend not to live long. Goblins who are physically or mentally handicapped are given no support and will also tend to die. Babies who are particularly sickly or who display severe deformities are usually left to die in the wilderness (this could be how Delilah came to be found by elves). Adults who display signs of mental disabilities or deviant behaviour, including homosexuals, are also often killed.

So: goblins are sexist and homophobic. They would probably be racist too, but for the fact that all other races they encounter are stronger than them. They therefore treat members of other races, not as the same as them, but not as inferior either.

A lot of property is owned by the community as a whole rather than a particular goblin. When property does belong to someone in particular, though, theft is a very serious offence, usually punishable by death. The most valuable items a goblin owns are his goats.

Goblins in Droaam never rule themselves, instead being dominated by small groups of orcs or ogres, or occasionally other races. The goblins expect these rulers to be harsh, and the best they can hope for is that they are also fair.