Variant Race: Dorgeshuun Cave Goblin

The following is a Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition homebrew race based on the race of creatures from RuneScape. The original concept and images are property of Jagex, Ltd. Below image credit: @jack_scape (Twitter).

The Dorgeshuun

The Dorgeshuun (pronounced DOHR-geh-shoon), often referred to as Cave Goblins, are a race and tribe of subterranean goblins that inhabit networks of tunnels beneath the surface. The name Dorgeshuun in the ancient goblin language translates to "Goblins of the Strong Spears." They share ancestry with typical goblins, but their tribe became separated from the rest. Ordered by their god to kill an enemy they could not possibly defeat, the Dorgeshuun tribe faced certain death. They then decided to defy these orders, hiding underground and starting a new life for themselves.

Isolated Advancement

Over the course of several thousand years, the isolated Dorgeshuun deviated greatly from their ancestors. Whereas ordinary goblins stagnated in advancement, the Cave Goblins thrived culturally, biologically, and technologically. They established the city of Dorgesh-Kaan, a thriving underground capital in which nearly the entirety of the race lives. They are ruled by the Dorgeshuun Council, an elected group of seven Dorgeshuun that have been largely successful since their establishment. The Dorgeshuun are non-religious in nature, preferring the logic of science over religion. Most maintain no religious devotion to any deities, some even going so far to teach their children that gods are a myth.

The Cave Goblins adapted wide, bulbous eyes to allow them to see in the darkness of the underground. They also have longer arms than normal goblins and are adapted to climbing and scaling the vast cave walls of their underground home. While slightly less sturdy than their surface-dwelling counterparts, they are much more intelligent.

City of Innovation

Some time after beginning their new life beneath the surface, the Cave Goblins established their capital city of Dorgesh-Kaan, which is home to almost every member of their race. For an underground establishment, the city is incredibly large, rivaling many moderately-sized surface cities. The city's design is very intricate, and its maze-like layout and strange architecture often confuse those visiting the city for the first time. Its citizens live as councilmembers, miners, artisans, cooks, hunters, teachers, merchants, and inventors. Dorgesh-Kaan is lit by a complex system of magical light orbs, an ingenious design which utilizes a combination of magic and technology in order to illuminate the city with soft light. Recently, the Cave Goblins have even harnessed geothermal energy from further below the city to begin to develop primitive forms of steam powered machinery.

Cave Goblin Names

Cave Goblins typically use a single gendered name with two syllables.

Typical male Cave Goblin names: Barlak, Dartog, Fandom, Gamdin, Kazgar, Oldak, Turgok, Undak.

Typical female Cave Goblin names: Andil, Caldi, Elzik, Gundik, Inglin, Kenti, Torzek, Zanik.

Appearance

Cave Goblins appear similar to ordinary goblins, but with a few changes that developed as a result of living exclusively underground. They are of the same approximate height, have hunched backs, pointed ears, and large noses. However, due to never being exposed to sunlight, they have much paler gray-green skin as opposed to the much more vivid green skin of surface goblins. They are also a little less bulky and their limbs are slightly longer, aiding them in climbing and navigating underground caverns. The most distinguishing feature of the Cave Goblins, however, is their eyes. They have incredibly large, bulbous eyes in comparison to the size of their heads, an important adaptation to effective vision while living underground.

Cave Goblin Traits

     Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Age. Cave Goblins reach adulthood at age 8 and live up to 60 years.

Alignment. Cave Goblins live almost entirely underground, secluded from other races. However, they typically want to maintain peace with any other race they happen to come by. Most Cave Goblins are lawful or neutral good.

Size. Cave Goblins possess a similar short and thin stature to other goblins. Your size is small. They are between 3' and 4' in height and weigh between 40 and 80 lbs.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 ft, and you have a climbing speed of 30 ft.

Darkvision. Due to living exclusively underground for thousands of years, Cave Goblins developed very large, powerful eyes. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in Darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in Darkness, only shades of gray.

Natural Tinkerer. You have proficiency with Tinker's Tools. Using those tools, you can spend 1 hour and 10 gp worth of materials to construct a device (AC 5, 1 hp). The device ceases to function after 24 hours (unless you spend 1 hour repairing it to keep the device functioning), or when you use your action to dismantle it; at that time, you can reclaim the materials used to create it. You can have up to three such devices active at a time. When you create a device, choose one of the following options:

• Dorgeshuun Alarm. This device appears similar to an ordinary hourglass. It can be activated using an action and, after a delay, makes a loud metal rattling noise for 1 minute or until deactivated using an action. The delay can be set to 1 minute or 1 hour when activated.
• Portable Light Orb. This device is a smaller, more compact version of the light orbs used to illuminate the Cave Goblin city of Dorgesh-Kaan. It has the appearance of an ordinary sphere of cloudy glass and is small enough to be held in a Cave Goblin's hand. When operated using an action, the light orb casts bright light in a 30 ft radius, and dim light for an additional 60 ft. The orb can be deactivated (no action required) and activated at will so long as it is being held by the user.
• Oldak Coil. This device looks like a round metal ball held about two feet above the ground by a thin shaft with a rectangular base. The base of the device contains a set of tiny and complex switches and levers. Once activated, the device will deliver a small shock to any creature within 5ft of it when it enters the area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, dealing 1d4 lightning damage. You can safely activate and deactivate the device provided you don't start or end your turn within its range. Activating and deactivating the device requires an action.

Wide-Eyed. Your eyes are better adapted to dim underground caves than bright sunlight. When you make a Wisdom (Perception) skill check relying on sight while in dim light or darkness, you can add your proficiency bonus to the roll. If you are proficient in Perception, you double your proficiency bonus for the roll instead.

Nimble Escape. You can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Goblin.