Bodach

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Name Bodach
Race Monster
Type Goblinian
Faction Independent
Premiere Desideratum: Blood Bonds
Relative(s) None Applicable

All goblin-kin share some traits. They are usually much shorter and wirier than humans. They are generally very agile and belligerent. Goblin-kin have a certain, natural penchant for cruelty and anger. And, they are, by nature, all male, needing to capture and transform human women as a means to reproduce. However, that reproduction cycle is entirely faster than humans, and goblin-kin are typically born within a week of conception. This is due to their highly shortened chances for survival since they constantly kill each other. There are countless types of goblin-kin around the world, but they are all subterranean monsters, hating the sunlight and preferring to pilfer and kill at night. The final unifying trait which they all share is the uncanny and natural affinity for portal conjuration and teleportation. Almost any goblin-kin can open a portal, step through it, and appear somewhere else entirely.

In Scottish folklore the bodach comes down the chimney to kidnap naughty children, thus the monsters are used as a cautionary tale or bogeyman figure to frighten children into good behavior. In W. B. Yeats's 1903 prose version of The Hour-Glass, the character of the Fool remarks at one point during the play that a bodach he met upon the roadside attempted to trick him with a riddle into letting the creature near his coin. But, sadly, in reality bodachs are violent, angry creatures that will kill men and steal away women. Like most goblin-kin, they tend to stay within their own clans and tribes, but occasionally a bigger creature, often a troll, will take over their caverns and enslave them. In other cases, the tribe will seek out something larger to protect them.

Bodachs have long pointy ears that stick out from the sides of their heads and beady little eyes. They usually have long faces with large bottom incisors akin to very small tusks. They tend to have a greater sense of self preservation than many other goblin-kin and are not ashamed to use shields or retreat from a battle. They resemble little, green-skinned old men, but make no mistake; they still have the speed and agility of even the most youthful human.