Brotula Goblin Tribe

The Brotula Goblin Tribe, was a stable and long-lasting goblin tribe by goblin standards at least. It lasted over two-hundred years, roughly 20 goblin generations, in the same territory of Scarnoctis.   They were not aware of their fortune settling into a prime territory, it was close enough to the Dungeon of Guldur, that Guldur the lich was able to kill or chase off a lot of beings or groups that could have threatened the Brotrula Tribe, but they were far enough away that Guldur never targeted the goblins as a threat or nusiance though Guldur did kill a few unlucky goblins that got lost and accidentally wandered to the edge of his lair.  
by me with Midjourney
This location kept the Brotula goblins safe from humans, orcs, and others who might harm or enslave them, but this relatively safety did not last forever.   A sudden and severe flood destroyed all of their homes and killed over half the tribe. Only the most athletic goblins survived. This disaster forced the survivors to seek refuge above ground which exposed them to new dangers and threats they were not used to in the Northwest Forest of Fumaya.

Culture

Shared customary codes and values

By goblin standards, the Bortula goblin tribe is relatively pious worshipping Korus and Greymoria in their own informal way. They barely acknowledge the rest of the Nine generally believing that they don't care about goblins at all.   Typically producing a Greymoria-aligned theurgist or two every generation and a Korus aligned theurgist every other generation or so.
Basic Greymoria Symbol 1 by Me using a combination of Nightcafe and MS Paint

Average technological level

The Brotula goblins spent most of their time underground, but they ventured above ground fairly often. Primarily the goblins sought out workable timber and firewood.   Most of the Brotula goblin tools were composed of stone and wood, but they had enough primitive metulurgy skills that they could craft simple weapons and tools with metal bits.

Common Dress code

The Brotula have very little modesty and they good cold tolerance. They usually wear little more tha leather loin cloths though they will sensibly wear furs and the like when entering cold areas.

Foods & Cuisine

The Brotula goblins lived primarily by catching cave fish supplemented by eating subteranean fungi, but they would venture to the surface to forage for edible plants and hunting small game.   Firewood and equivalent fuels underground and relatively scarce so the Brotula eat most of their food raw or rare.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

Bortula goblin name days were informal. Unlike most humans or demihumans who have a formal name day after nine days, eighteen days, or eighty-one days, Bortula name days occur whenever the parents and the chief agree.   It's pretty informal, the goblin chief examines the infant and either accepts it by naming it and gently anointing it in water or rejects it by drowning it (rare but hardly unheard of). The goblin chief has the final say on what the child's name will be but most of the time he will use a name suggested by the parents unless the chief actively dislikes the parents.

Funerary and Memorial customs

As much as goblins view water as sacred (as much as goblins can view anything as sacred). They view it as a disrespectful to put corpses of non-fish into bodies of water.

Common Taboos

Like most goblins, the Brotula do not have many scruples but they do a have a strong anti-cannibalism taboo fueled by vague and embelished stories about the evils of bugbears.

Common Myths and Legends

In meta terms, "Bertula" is a species of cave fish.   In-universe, "Bertula" is the legendary goblin matriarch and powerful spell-caster who supposed founded the tribe. Bertula's powers were embellished with every retelling story to the point where she is pretty ridiculous but it largely due to Bertula's legend and the Bertula goblins give their females more respect and privileges than most other goblin tribes

Historical figures

Stubleb was the last chief of the tribe before the flood. He became a powerful ghost and commanded some zombie remnants of his tribe in a sad parody of his former glory.   Prialb was a anointed theurgist who became the defacto leader of the tribe survivors after the flood displaced them from their original home.

Ideals

Gender Ideals

Most goblin tribes are very patriarchal. The Bertula goblins are only slightly patriarchal.   Most of the chiefs and lieutenants are male, but they give females more rights and privleges than most other goblins tribes to including the right to choosing their own mates (which is EXTREMELY progressive by goblin standards).
Encompassed species
Related Locations


Cover image: by me with Midjourney

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