Clan Shrogo

[Inferno_Ougi 1454]

Clan Shrogo

From a far away island, a land of endless war between goblin and olog tribes, rose Clan Shrogo. There, they found themselves living within the crevices of mountains and earth, venturing out at night to wage war upon their neighbors. They were a clan of pure goblins, as any larger being would not fit in the tunnels that they thrive in. Their skin, a varying shade from green to grey, has grown pale, and some of Shrogo have gone blind, while the others have enhanced ability to see in the dark. Sun irritates and burns their skin, making the goblins of Shrogo nigh insane once in contact. They are forever destined to live underground, and be given freedom by the night, but to them it is an honor that no other being will have. For their lifestyle within the caves brings upon the fungi, of which holds a special place within the heart of each and every goblin of Shrogo. Within the fungi comes knowledge. But in truth, it is insanity, which drives them onwards on their conquest. As a normal goblin would be cowardly, they are pushed on by the hallucinogenic properties of the mushrooms they venerate. 

 

When Shnub’Nub brought peace to the warring island they lived on, and left soon thereafter, he had sired children who would praise his name as a hero, a pioneer, a conqueror of the goblins. Years after, they would follow him to the land of Atlas. But their achievements back home will be unfounded in this new world, where their fate lays unknown.

 

In Atlas, the children of Shnub found their place within Krugmar. Adjusting to their new life in the uzg, new generations of Shrogo were born into a world without fear of the outside. Slowly, those from Shroglund would die. The new Shrogo no longer suffered so intensely from the sun. Into Arcas, so too, did the Shrogo continue their integration into Krugmar. Forging an alliance and eventually a merge with the goblins of Ox, it seemed that the goblins of Shrogo had done well enough for themselves. But the siege of Krugmar had scattered the Shrogo across Arcas. Now, few remain.

 

 

Spoiler

(order is messed up but here's all of the rp shrogo posts i could find)

Fungus

 

A sample of the many fungi that Clan Shrogo cultivates

 

One of the most important aspects of Shrogo life is the variety of fungus which they grow and eat. Fungi are always loved by Shrogo, but of course a goblin will have his preferences. There is no fungus that a Shrogo would not eat, even willing to eat one one that they have seen kill one of their brethren. It is commonly unknown what kind of mushroom the goblin is eating, the important shrooms being named, grown and kept track of by the Mushobs or regular shroom farmers.

 

Common side effect of eating various mushrooms include:

- Light twitching - Convulsions

- Bouts of madness - Insanity

- Death

- Poisoning

- Paranoia

- Weakness

- Temporary - Permanent blindness

- Nausea

- Projectile vomit

- Increased heart rate

- Hallucinations

- Drowsiness

- Psychosis

- Erratic emotions

Of course, there are many, many more side effects.

 

One mushroom stands above the rest in the heart of the Shrogo. While many are mistakenly carried along, due to prolonged exposure, the Mad-Cap is deliberately grown by the Mushob. A Shrogo believes that a Mad-Cap will give them some sort of super-strength, when in reality it drives them to temporary insanity and renders them incapable of processing pain or acting with regard for themselves.. All who consume them feel the need to move their body in any way possible, leaving them with erratic spasms. This loss of reason and sense makes them into drugged up machines of inexplicable anger. Some do not recover, staying forever insane or dying from exhaustion, although that outcome is seen as weeding out the weak. Despite how tiring the frenzy is, goblins of the Shrogo clan will always grow Mad-Caps wherever they go. A common sign of a Shrogo goblin settlement is large, overgrown colonies of Mad-Caps. 

 

Religion

 

A Mushob of Shrogo, adorned in various Bad Moon motifs

 

Back in their homeland, Clan Shrogo worshipped the moon and mushrooms as that is where they sought respite from the monotonousness of daily life. However, it was only until the goblin hero, Shnub’Nub, came and colonized their homeland that they learned the names of their sovereign spirits; Luara, Wolf of the Moon, and Betharuz, father of festivities. It is from Luara that the Shrogo shamans drew their organizations modern name, Cult of the Bad Moon.

 

Through imagery of a crudely drawn, yellow crescent with a crazed face do they represent their primary patron. This symbol is seen as a sign of luck and good fortune, and is painted onto the outside of their homes, outposts, and cave entrances to denote that it is a home of Clan Shrogo. It is also placed on the Mushobs clothing, and in the rare chance that goblin would own a piece of armor it would be adorned there as well. If space permits, they will build wooden “banners” in the image of The Bad Moon. 

 

The Mushobs, the revered mushroom growers and spiritual leaders of the clan, will encourage the lower ranked goblins of Shrogo with both drugs and fanaticism. While zealotry is not exactly the focus of the clan, it does have its part in Shrogo society. Often, Gobbgoths are thought to be chosen by The Bad Moon themselves, and are expected to be heralded by the Mushobs. Of course, there are exceptions within the relatively short life span of the Shrogo.

 

 

Anatomy

 

A sketch of a Shrogo Gnobba

 

An average goblin of the Shrogo clan is 4-5 feet tall, and 50-100 pounds as their bodies are adapted to living in the cramped spaces of their tunnels and caves. The diet of a Shrogo goblin varies from gobbo to gobbo, as the ranks of the Shrogo allow a goblin of higher standing to take first picks of what little meat and fresh vegetation they have. Alternatively they could choose to primarily only eat mushrooms, although that would quickly take a toll on their sanity and physical health. It is possible for a Mushob or Gobbgoth to be quite plump, depending on how they carry out their duties. Snotlings are commonly skinny and malnourished, used as fodder, whereas the Gnobbas and Hobgobbas fare significantly better. Still, those of Clan Shrogo are typically quite gaunt. As generations of Shrogo have been born and raised in the lands of Atlas, Arcas, and Almaris, along with interbreeding with other goblins, this is no longer the rule.

 

The skin of the Shrogo is considerably pale in comparison to their krug-born brethren, and is so sensitive to light that it causes incredible discomfort with prolonged exposure causing pain. Thus, the Shrogo disdain sunlight, wearing thick robes to protect them from the painful light of the sun. While it is believed by the Shrogo that this was caused by the curse of Aztran, it is in reality a side effect of the Mad Caps that they so commonly ingest.

 

The goblins of the Shrogo clan have also developed the ability to see better in the dark. This ability varies, and can not achieve total night vision, but it does stand above the rest of the descendants. For this reason their eyes are a vibrant yellow, almost like those of a cat. It is also the case that many Shrogo are actually colorblind due to generations living in the dark. A fair amount of Shrogo goblins are born completely blind, however this is the one exception to their ‘usefulness’ rule. Goblins who are born blind are considered to be blessed by Luana herself, allegedly granting them the ability to be closer to her in a ‘spirit vision’.

 

Ranks and Social Structure

 

Gobbgoth - Leader

Grand Mushob - Spiritual Head
Mushob - Mushroom Growers / Spiritual Leader
Herdgobba - Military Leader
Hobgobba - Veteran Warrior

Loons - Shock Troop
Gnobba - Grunt
Snotling - Fodder

Moonshunned - Exile / Enemy

 

Green = Upper Echelon

Blue = Middle Class

Purple = Lower Class

 

The traditions of Clan Shrogo have naturally changed and evolved over time. Those under the strict hierarchy of Shroglund are now long dead. Yet, remnants of it still remain.

 

The Shrogo goblin social structures is a 3 tier system. The lower class is reserved for Snotlings and Moonshunned. Snotlings is a "rank" given to the slaves of Shrogo, and the young snotlings who have yet to prove themselves to the spirit leaders. The second tier of the Shrogo social system is the working class, ranging from craftsmen, to shroom farmers, to warriors. The third social class would be considered the social elite of society, consisting of the Gobbgoth, the Mushobs, and Herdgobbas. 

 

The Snotlings role in Shrogo society is to do any and all dirty work. They can be bossed around by anyone in either social class above them. They would typically be the ones sent out to scavenge enmasse under the supervision of a Herdgobbas. Their shroom use and food rations would be monitored closely by the social elite to make sure they are not being too greedy and stealing from those who might need it more. The Moonshunned are those who have slighted the clan, making them an exile or an enemy of the Shrogo.

 

The middle class is the average Shrogo goblin, typically shroom farmers or tunnel miners, or possibly goblins who continue their snotling job of scavenging but now able to do so on their own. What sets them aside from snotlings on a social level is that they are allowed to consume shrooms as they see fit, yet are still obligated to listen to the Herdgobbas. However, the Gnobbas are more than expected to be able to hold a spear, as the threats back in their cavern homes were numerous. Loons are those that have won the right to ingest Madcaps before battle, sending them into a crazed battle frenzy.

 

The social elite class, consisting of the Gobbgoth, the Mushobs and the Herdgobbas, are the leading pillars of Clan Shrogo. Herdgobbas are, in effect, the military leaders of Clan Shrogo, whose most important job is to not lead them in battle but also prevent them from fleeing. They must be disciplined enough to herd the more cowardly lower class of goblins. It is, however, typical that Herdgobbas control other aspects of the clan, such as distribution of equipment and food, finances, scavenging, and diplomacy. Mushobs are the spiritual leaders of Clan Shrogo. They "commune" with the spirits via various hallucinogens, the most prominent being the Mad Cap (Schnibea) Mushroom. Despite the general nastiness of the Shrogo gobbos, all Shrogo respect and revere their Mushobs. The Grand Mushob is the leader of the Mushobs, an incredibly important figure of authority. The Gobbgoth is the leader of the clan, typically arisen from the ranks of the Herdgobbas or Mushobs.

Vocabulary

 

The vernacular of the Shrogo clan is a crude blend of common and Blah. The Shrogo goblins are able to pronounce words more clearly than most, if not all, Orcs due to their tusks being so small. However, they still use words that are common amongst those who speak Blah despite not pronouncing normal words the same way as an orc would. 

 

For example, in Common one might say, “Let’s go kill those kids!”. This would loosely translate to “Led’z guh flat dem kubbiez!” in blah. A Shrogo would pronounce this sentence more along the lines of “Let’s go flat them cubs!”. As you can see, a Shrogo goblin uses words from Blah, but pronounces ‘regular’ words correctly. It is also important to note that Shrogo goblins are not the smartest and as a result of this their syntax might not be the strongest. 
 

Common Shrogo Blah words and phrases:

 

Gobbgoth - Leader

Mushob - Spiritual Leader

Snotling - Undesirable or unproven member of society. Also used as an insult.

Gnobba - Member of society who has proven their ‘worth’

Lop Luara - Hail / Praise Luara

Moonshunned - An individual that has been exiled from the clan and oftentimes labelled an enemy.

Skrap - A duel of honor, akin to a klomp, with both combatants inebriated on Mad Cap shrooms.

Gobbo / Gobba - General word for goblin

Homes

 

One of the many caves that the Shrogo inhabited back in their homeland

 

Given that they live underground, their homes are little more than holes branching off from an erratically built, winding tunnel system. The homes are small, and rather spartan in nature, only having the bare essentials inside. The entrances to their homes could literally be cracks in the walls with naught but a small marking carved into the stone to note ownership, or they could be loosely boarded up with a small shoddy door. Most homes would have many small shelves carved into the stone walls in attempts to grow their own mushrooms.

 

Within large enough caverns, goblins of Shrogo will grow large mushrooms of a wide variety. This is often by mistake, as they can carry various spores and fungi on their body due to so much time spent around them. Those that have wide enough caps may have tents and lean-tos propped up against its stalk. Still, their interior follow the same principle of their humble stone homes.

 

Warfare

 

Even the cowardly goblins of Shrogo can be riled into a WAAAAGH, leaving their caves in pursuit of wealth, territory, and salvage. They brandish their viscous, crude spears, ready for battle.

 

Shrogo warfare is guerrilla in nature, their main tactics being hit and run missions during the night time. The Shrogos lack a strong leadership as a whole, essentially relying on drug visions for guidance, and slightly less cowardly goblins herding the rest. Should they find themselves in the middle of a clan war they would usually be used as skirmishers or fodder, or would be sent in after the Uruks had broken the enemy ranks to simply cause havoc with their erratic swings and behavior. 

 

They are best suited to fighting in closed spaces, where their larger enemies become cramped and have no space to flank. For this, they use spears and pikes, and if fortune allows, a shield. In conjunction with this, Shrogo goblins will use bows and slings in order to soften up the enemy, if space permits. Their ranged weaponry are seldom used as there is typically not enough space to fire volleys, leaving many rather inexperienced in that aspect. However, they are better suited to working as individuals when it comes to projectiles, firing and retreating.

 

Due to their lack of strength and mass, all of their weapons and armor are shoddily made, or simply not made by them. It is common for Shrogos to trade their shrooms for other services that can be provided by other orcish clans. They will also fashion helmets out of mushroom caps, although their effectiveness has not exactly been tested.

 

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OOC:

Special thanks to Sykotic for originally writing this with me a few years ago and to dragonslayerelf for developing the clan long after I was gone.

I found that my original Clan Shogo post was deleted off the forum for some reason and so I'm reuploading with updated information. I will say though that this is not 100% true to how Shrogo developed, as much as I wished it could be. My intention was for it to naturally evolve without me (as I had written it while I was banned in Atlas) and I'm pleasantly surprised to see that it had changed so much. However, I'm unable to reflect all of this, so this is updated to the best of my ability.

 

If you're interested in playing a Shrogo, add me on discord Khakis#1709.

Edited January 18, 2022 by Inferno_Ougi

[Qizu 4040]

A particular goblin would cease his howling at  the moon before spotting a small group of Shrogos walking across the plains. . “Perhapz mi am not alone after all! Lup Luara!” He screeched.