THEY all climbed up on a high board-fence,

Nine little Goblins, with green-glass eyes,

Nine little Goblins that had no sense,

And couldn't tell coppers from cold mince pies;

And they all climbed up on the fence, and sat,

And I asked them what they were staring at.

And the first one said, as he scratched his head

With a queer little arm that reached out of his ear

And rasped its claws in his hair so red,

"This is what this little arm is fer!"

And he scratched and stared, and the next one said,

"How on earth do you scratch your head ?"

Nine Little Goblins

And he laughed like the screech of a rusty hinge,

Laughed and laughed till his face grew black;

And when he clicked, with a final twinge

Of his stifling laughter, he thumped his back

With a fist that grew on the end of his tail

Till the breath came back to his lips so pale.

And the third little Goblin leered round at me,

And there were no lids on his eyes at all

And he clucked one eye, and he says, says he,

"What is the style of your socks this fall?"

And he clapped his heels and I sighed to see

That he had hands where his feet should be.

Nine Little Goblins

English Traditional Nursery Rhyme

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Then a bald-faced Goblin, grey and grim,

Bowed his head, and I saw him slip

His eyebrows off, as I looked at him,

And paste them over his upper lip;

And then he moaned in remorseful pain,

"Would, Ah, would I'd me brows again!"

And then the whole of the Goblin band

Rocked on the fence-top to and fro,

And clung, in a long row, hand in hand,

Singing the songs that they used to know,

Singing the songs that their grandsires sung

In the goo-goo days of the Goblin-tongue.

And ever they kept their green-glass eyes

Fixed on me with a stony stare,

Till my own grew glazed with a dread surmise,

And my hat whooped up on my lifted hair,

And I felt the heart in my breast snap to

As you've heard the lid of a snuff-box do.

And they sang "You're asleep! There is no board-

fence,

And never a Goblin with green-glass eyes!

"Tis only a vision the mind invents

After a supper of cold mince-pies,

And you're doomed to dream this way," they said,

"And you sha'n't wake up till you're clean plum

dead!"

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Introduction

Chapter 1: The Nature of Goblins

Goblin Physiology

Goblin Culture

Chapter 2: A Brief History of Goblins

Chapter 3: A Brief History of the Deck

Chapter 4: Divination

Chapter 5: Card Meanings

Patterns of Meaning

Minor Arcana

Major Arcana

Chapter 6: Manifestations of Goblin Ingenuity

The Goblin

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The Goblin Tarot Companion © Vulpinoid Studios 2011, All rights reserved.

Written and Illustrated by Michael Wenman

VS6002

ISBN 978-0-9872271-1-9

Special thanks to:

Goblin Grublings and Hordes:

Eden Brandeis, Trent Causey, Kirt Dankmyer, Rob Donoghue, Jonathon

Dyer, Tammy Gedak, Kristoffer Holman, Matthew McFarland, Duane

O’Brien, Joe Prince, Jim Ryan, Kathryn Schnaufer, Zack Walters, Lester

Ward

Goblin Heroes:

Peter Aronson, Nykki Boersma, Stacy Braxton, Tim Burmeister, Brad

Choate, Dylan Clayton, Julia Ellingboe, Sandra Fiske, Owen Jones, Carita

Larsson, Maria Livingston, Adrian Maddocks, Marcia McCord, Casidhe

Nebulosa, Laura Osborne, Luc Porter, Joey Rodgers, Michael Sands,

Stefan Spelkens, Nathan Temiquel, Zacj Welhouse

Goblin Merchants, Guildmasters and Legends:

Joe Beason, Morgan Collins, Dr Paul Dale, Erika Eby, Donald Milkent,

Ryan Stoughton,

...and to my wife, Leah.

For more information visit

http://www.vulpinoid.com/the-goblin-tarot

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As long as humanity has recorded

history, there has been a secretive

world hidden in the shadows. This

concealed world is a realm of magic,

leaking dreams and nightmares into

our own, while draining the

forgotten and the neglected.

Banished to this land were many

races; savage creatures of the night,

insane and rambling entities of

lunacy, blasphemous things that

should not be named, and a green

horde of rampant fertility, growth

and untapped chaotic potential…

the goblins.

To say that the goblins are a lost

race is true in many respects,

both literally and figuratively.

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Some Goblin Myths

Most people with an understanding of the supernatural have heard of goblins. One series of stories says that they are evil little creatures who only derive pleasure from destroying things. Other stories talk about goblin cobblers and craftsmen. Various tales claim that they are a type of faerie, imp, lesser cousin of the orc, or a type of elf corrupted by the energies of some dark god. They are described as animalistic, feral, green skinned, and devious; and yet they are also described as steampunk geniuses, capable of producing amazing contraptions. Goblins are nothing if not a race of contradictions, and this suits them just fine. But for humans, definitions are important; and to understand the goblin tarot deck and better understanding of goblins is in order, For this reason, a few well known goblin myths, and the truths behind them. Goblins are evil. FALSE. Goblins as a race aren’t evil, nomore than humans as a race are evil. They just have a different way of looking at things and a set of priorities that don’t seem to make sense to most humans. When two different groups have different objectives and priorities it is easy for them to vilify one another. Goblins are confusing and their agendas seem chaotic, but they aren’t dedicated to destroying the world and they do have a sense of honour integrated into their understanding of culture and society. Goblins are stupid. FALSE, sort of. Most goblins don’t live very long; as a result, they don’t have the time to master complex areas of study. For this reason they focus on the basic skills necessary for their own survival, and the immediate betterment of the community around them. Anything more complicated than this is left in the hands of the goblin heroes.

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Goblins have green skin. TRUE, basically. Goblins are a race very different to humans. While humans are biologically stable, Goblins as a race are highly mutagenic, often changing dramatically from one generation to the next. While the majority seem to have a green skinned appearance that might suggest evolution from amphibians, reptiles, or dragons, others have a variety of skin colours and textures, and exotic appearances more akin to mammals, fish or even insects. Goblins are uncivilised. FALSE. Goblins at the core of the great Goblin Empire are highly civilised beings with an elaborate culture that has developed over millennia. As one moves further from the central regions of the empire, goblins have more freedom and less influence from the guilds and imperial army. Most people who encounter goblins meet members on the edges of the empire and those who have lost contact with the great capital citadels. Some of these outlander goblins retain the vestiges of civilisation, many more revel in their freedom away from the strict hierarchy of the Goblin Empire. Goblins are just sidekicks to orcs and other monsters. FALSE. Goblins may be natural followers, but they prefer the company of one another to the company of other monstrous beings. In most cases, If a mob of goblins does seem to be following a more powerful creature, they are simply using it for their own advantage. Goblins like other races to appear as the muscle or the source of danger in a situation so that they can blend into the shadows and disappear when the going gets tough.

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Goblins are a remarkable race. Individually, they may be small,

cowardly and not exceptionally strong, but in numbers they are

like a chaotic tsunami…and they breed quickly.

The Natural Goblin Life Cycle

Goblins begin their lives in litters often containing a dozen or more grublings. In most cases the grublings of a litter are entirely male, perhaps one in four litters contains a female (and it is a cause for celebration when a litter to contains two or more females). Male goblins mature quickly, reaching three quarters of their adult size within a week. They attain sexual maturity at the end of their second week of life, and stop growing after the third week. The final appearance of a goblin male is determined by a combination of their lineage and their dietary intake. From this point goblin

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development plateaus, before starting the degradation of old age by the time a month has passed. Goblins who have not died due to conflict or accident will typically die of old age before a second month has passed. Female goblins mature slightly slower, matching their male siblings in size for the first week, but growing larger still in the second week. By the end of the third week, a female goblin will have reached twice the size of the average male. During the fourth week and until the end of the month, goblin female growth slows and appearance gradually becomes more refined. Goblin females develop an appearance based on their lineage more than anything else, but environmental factors do play a role. During the second month of life, a female goblin reaches sexual maturity (this typically coincides with the new moon). While sexually mature, a female may spawn a litter of grublings once a fortnight (possibly more in periods of surplus food). Naturally, goblin females remain fertile for two to three lunar months before they start to suffer menopause and the effects of old age. Goblin females naturally die of old age before they have reached six months of age. Under natural circumstances, a female can spawn fifty or more grublings during her life, including one or two new females. But Goblins don’t live under natural circumstances.

It has been theorised by scholars at the Imperial Central

University that female goblins were specifically bred to be rare to ensure goblin breeding could

be carefully monitored by an outside race.

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With such vast numbers and such a short lifespan, goblins tend not to develop a sense of individuality. Instead they exist as pack, mob and swarm. If goblins understood such things, they might believe in the possession of a hive mind, a communal soul shared by the race. While immature, a goblin’s mind is like a sponge. It quickly absorbs the knowledge of other goblins in close proximity. In this way, cultural values are passed, significant lessons of the past are remembered as vague dreamlike echoes and technical skills are mastered by the young with a minimum of demonstration from their ―elders‖.

There is little in the way of formal education for most goblins; most grumblings spend no more than a few days in a schooling environment, with many learning valuable trade skills while on the job among the guilds or militia. With a rapid turnover of generations, the constants in goblin culture gain a significance unseen among many other races. For goblins, these constants are the guilds, the military, the strongholds, the labyrinth and the sacred artefacts passed down through the generations.

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Goblin Heroes

Scattered across the labyrinth of the goblins are places of mystic power and eldritch artefacts that have held significance throughout the history of the race. A few rare goblins seek these places and artefacts. Those who possess such items or control such places change in dramatic ways. Maybe not physically or mentally, but these goblins find their lifespans significantly increased and their link to the hive mind weakened. These goblins become the heroes of the race; forces of leadership and change in their society. When a goblin is in possession of an artefact, or chosen as the guardian of a mystic location, they transcend and their lifespan is magnified fifty-fold. Where a male would naturally die of old age within ten weeks, a goblin hero could survive ten years before the passage of time finally caught up with them; a female could survive twenty-five years or longer.

With added lifespan, a goblin hero can learn far more than the lesser goblins around them. Even though their link to the hive mind is weakened, a goblin hero can often observe the goblins around them and pick up the skills and talents of their companions. It may take weeks rather than days, but the absorption of knowledge is still more rapid than that of most other races.

But there are only a finite number of the places capable of empowering a goblin hero, and the processes required to build an artefact are both perilous and unpredictable. This makes heroes exceptionally rare among goblin-kind, and the competition for transcendence is fierce.

It is common folklore that only one goblin per litter has the potential to become a hero, and if a litter possesses a female it is more than likely that she will be the one bearing that potential.

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Goblins have been known to fight one another for the right to possess artefacts or locations of power. Goblin heroes have waged wars, leading hundreds of untranscended against one another in the name of a certain trinket or a shrubbery. Many are the stories told to goblin children at night, about lucky goblins who found an old tool or weapon in a scrapheap, only to find out that it was a life preserving artefact of antiquity. Goblin heroes find their lives turned upside down. No longer are they one of the masses; instead they are a breed apart. The untranscended look up to them or fear them, other heroes often seek to challenge them, the nobles and the great guilds expect great things of them. Life does not become easier for a goblin hero. If it uncommon for a goblin hero to die of old age, they truly live in interesting times. It is said that a goblin possessing control over an artefact and a mystic location completely transcends time, and thus becomes immortal. These goblins become near mythical beings called

sentinels. In all of history, a sentinel has only ever been slain or killed in accident, never have they died of old age. Thus the stories of their natural immortality have never truly been put to the test.

Goblin females often try to lure goblin heroes as partners, the

combined lineage of such a pairing is said to have a

beneficial effect for the next generation.

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Goblin

Festivities

There are a number of things that are guaranteed to cause celebration among the Goblins. The first of these is the birth of multiple females within a single litter. Whenever this occurs, the local township offers a great feast to all visitors and travellers. Goblins consider it a great pride and hope that their visitors and travellers will spread the news to as many neighbouring villages as possible. The second cause for guaranteed festivity is the fall of a goblin hero. Unlike the enthusiastic birth feasts, a

hero’s fall may be tainted by a variety of emotions. The fall of a tyrant might be cause for upbeat festivity, while the fall of a favoured protector might be mourned. After a night of relevant emotional outpouring, the artefact is passed to a new goblin or a new protector is appointed for the location, a new goblin hero is celebrated. Other festivities change from place to place. Seasonal festivities such as the summer solstice mean little to a people who die of old age before a single season has passed. A few common festivities have been observed across the goblin lands.

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Some villages celebrate the new moon as the night when females reach their maturity; such nights are filled with fruits, vegetables and other fruits of fertility. Towns might pass the custody of their temple from one generation of priests and clerics to the next with fasting and a ritual observance of the dawn. Many communities earn their keep through scavenging, mining or fungus farming, perhaps offering weekly sacrifices to hidden elemental spirits in exchange for good fortune.

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