Religion

Goblinoid religion is based around worship of Deities (singular or group), Beast or the force of Nature.

Most Goblinoids are fairly fickle in their worship, and will prey to whichever religion they deem the greatest threat (either from environmental circumstances like a plague or storm, or from an organised religious following taking control of their social surroundings and demanding worship). Some goblinoids will always secretly worship their chosen god while paying lip service to any others as required, others (including many priests) are fanatical followers of their "one true god" and would not worship another god even under threat of death.

Dieties:
Bane (The Black Lord), Baphomet (The Guardian), Beshaba (Maid of Misfortune), Bhaal (Lord of Murder), The Elder Elemental God, Erythnul (The Slaughter), Gruumsh (He-who-Never-Sleeps), Jubilex (The Faceless Lord), Leira (Lady of the Mists), Lolth (The Spider Queen), Loviatar (Maiden of Pain), Malar (The Beastlord), Mask (Lord of Shadows), Myrkul (Lord of Bones), Set (The Serpent God), Shar (Mistress of the Night), Talona (Lady of Poison), Umberlee (The Bitch Queen), Vaprak (The Destoyer), Vecna (The Whispered One), Wee Jas (The Dead Witch), Yeenoghu (The Plague bringer).
The deities of the Goblinoids are worshipped out of fear (for the harm they control or bring into the world) and craving (for the power they can grant to the faithful). All deities are considered to be of lingering evil intent, and never benevolent or neutral in their outlook.

Pantheons:
The Lost Gods - Baphomet, The Elder Elemental God, Jubilex, Set
The Three - Beeshaba, Shar, Wee Jas (and Vecna)
The Fury - Bhaal, Erythnul, Loviatar, Malar, Umberlee
Death - Myrkul, Talona, Yeenoghu
Some dieties are worshipped as a small group of related entities that are percieved by some goblinoids to have a relationship, serve a common purpose, or oversee similar aspects. Even clerics may serve a pantheon rather then an individual diety. This does not mean that individual worship of pantheon members (and conflict between them) is uncommon. Many dieties do not belong to a pantheon, and many of the dieties that are in a pantheon have worshippers who believe they are not (or who dispute their 'correct place' within the pantheon).

Druidic Cults:
Ashbound, Children of Winter, Gatekeepers, Greensinger, Wardens of the Wood.
There are no deities of nature. Those characters that hold nature in reverence over any Deity or Beast are normally aligned to one of the druidic cults above. Nature is still perceived as a threatening force that brings disaster if left unappeased, not a happy loving force of universal kindness.

Beast Cults:
Ankheg, Basilisk, Behir, Bulette, Carrion Crawler, Dire Animals (Ape, Wolf, Boar, Lion, Bear, Tiger), Displacer Beast, Harpy, Manticore, Otyugh, Rust Monster.
The worship of beasts is fairly uncommon, but still occurs in some of the more isolated tribes and clans. The beast is either worshiped out of fear, or otherwise the tribe has some sort of symbiotic relationship with the beast in question where the beasts are afforded the respect and privileges of the tribe.


Most tribes will not allow religious conflict to take place within the tribe (especially when other nearby tribes, races or monstrous predators are a serious threat) however it is not uncommon for a "religious overthrow" to occur within a tribe from time to time. It is also not unusual for a tribe to either forbid open worship or discussion of religion, or designate a 'preferred tribal religion'. In the later case other religions are either forbidden, or permitted on the basis that they serve a common purpose and keep their political influence to a minimum.

By far the most commonly worshiped of the deities are Gruumsh and Vecna, and these two religions often oppose each other - sometimes with conflict escalating to inter-tribal war. Most other religions will not openly oppose another, as this weakens both of them and allows the other nearby religions to gain dominance. Individuals within a religion are free to oppose other religions, and sometimes local worshipers of different religions will actively band together to serve a common purpose (often to overthrow a more powerful enemy). Conflict and power struggle within a religion can also occur, especially within some of the more chaotic religions, but such issues are normally resolved quickly in a very violent manner).

Source: Beast Cults are monsters from the Monster Manual. Druidic Cults are from the Eberron Setting. Dieties are from Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk and Conan campaign settings (but in many cases will not be identical to the gods/religions/priests as presented in those settings).

Dragonmarked Orcs

I really like the Dragonmark concept from the Eberron campaign setting, so I'm including it in this campaign setting. The only real change I'm making is that only Orcs can posses Dragonmarks, this helps explain some of that races prevalence and also provides more PC/NPC options for the race which I want to be the most commonly occurring.

This also makes the Dragonmark houses the fourth aspect of political/social influence throughout the region (the other three being Races, Tribes/Clans and Religions/Cults).

"Dargonmarks are elaborate skin patterns - more intricate and colorful than birthmarks, more distinctive then any tattoo - that also grant their bearers innate spell-like abilities. There are twelve families of dragonmarks, each one associated with a number of closely related manifestations."

The following feats and prestige classes will be of interest to players who want a Dragonmarked character -
Feat: Aberrant Dragonmark, pg 47
Feat: Least Dragonmark, pg 56
Feat: Lesser Dragonmark, pg 56
Feat: Greater Dragonmark, pg 54
Feat: Favoured in (Dragonmark) House, pg 53
Prestige class: Dragonmark Heir, pg 73

The 12 (non-aberrant) Dragonmarks are listed below with the associated houses and the services they provide -
Mark of Detection, House Medani - warning, counter espionage
Mark of Finding, House Tharashk - finding, investigating, bounty hunting
Mark of Handling, House Vadalis - livestock selling/training/breeding
Mark of Healing, House Jorasco - healing services(mundane and magical)
Mark of Hospitality, House Ghallanda - hostels, inns/taverns, cooking, brewing
Mark of Making, House Canith - repair and creating crafted items
Mark of Passage, House Orien - couriers, transportation
Mark of Scribing, House Sivis - scribes, messengers, mediators and diplomats
Mark of Sentinel, House Deneith - watchmen, bodyguards, "sentinel marshals"
Mark of Shadow, House Thuranni - entertainment, artisans, espionage
Mark of Storm, House Lyrandar - shipping and agriculture
Mark of Warding, House Kundark - banking, security


Eberron Campign Setting pgs 62-67. WotC
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/eberron

Feat: True Professional

Prereq: None
Benefit: You may ignore level-based rank limits on any one Craft skill.

Source: Conan: Aquilonia pg 138, Mongoose Publishing
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/series.php?qsSeries=7

Feat: Master Tracker

Prereq: Track, Wisdom 15+
Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to all Search checks and Survival checks while tracking.

Source: Conan: Aquilonia pg 137, Mongoose Publishing
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/series.php?qsSeries=7

Feat: Clarity

Prereq: Wis 14+, Alertness*
Benefit: You recieve a +4 bonus to all Listen, Search and Spot checks.

* nb: The feat Skill Potential (Listen & Spot) is equivalent to Alertness.

Source: Conan: Hyboria's Fiercest pg 69, Mongoose Publishing
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/series.php?qsSeries=7

Feat: Quick Stealth

Prereq: Hide 6+ ranks.
Benefit: Whenever you are hiding and moving more then one-half and up to your full speed, you do not suffer the -5 penalty to your checks.
Normal: You may move up to one-half your speed and hide at no penalty. Moving faster than one-half and up to your full speed confers a -5 penalty to your Hide check.

Source: Conan: Hyboria's Fiercest pg 71, Mongoose Publishing
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/series.php?qsSeries=7

Feat: Drive Your Enemy Before You

Prereq: Improved Bull Rush
Benefit: When you charge, you strike your opponent with such force that you gain a +4 bonus to attack and damage rolls, as well as driving your opponent back back as if you had performed a bull rush (use your attack roll as your bull rush total). This feat can only be used with melee weapons.

Source: Conan: Hyboria's Fiercest pg 70, Mongoose Publishing
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/series.php?qsSeries=7