Appendix: Glossary
Terms – gobbledygook fantasy words:
Hero: A visitor from another world. A living inflection point of fate and history. OP Levelhack, unfair, nerf plz.
Goblin: A bipedal, fur-less mammal, with opposable thumbs and capable of intelligence and culture. Generally shorter than a human, with a subtle green or yellowish pallor due to a different chemical composition of their blood. Longer, pointed ear tips, and reduced lobes. Fewer flat teeth, and more sharp ones. Significant regional variations in facial features or hue. Common problems with posture, and arthritis of the hands. Vulnerable to extreme mood swings, or obsessive compulsions. The dominant species of their world.
Homunculus: An artificial life form created through alchemy. Useful for performing rote tasks in the industrial and service sectors.
The Ring: The name of the planet(?) of the story.
Mana: Better to think of this as the Polynesian concept of spiritual potency, as opposed to the video game concept of a regenerating magical currency. Mana is intrinsic to The Ring, and always has been. It's a natural part of the daily lives of all people. Little is publicly understood about Mana: in its raw form, it is an invisible, intangible substance. It seems to be drawn to people, or to specific events and locations. Mana is not considered useful until it becomes concentrated, and the substance transforms into stable, localized adjustments to the laws of nature (see Levels). Most cultures consider Mana to be a limited, strategic resource.
Levels: A discrete (usually) "crystallization" of mana which has an effect on the physical world. Innumerably varied. Often unusual. Levels bridge the gap between physical reality and ideas. In common use, the term is usually meant in the context of a person, who is the focus and/or intermediary of this mana. The average goblin in Sacred will accumulate between 8-12 levels during their life.
Malady: A level whose effect is distinctly undesirable or negative. Curses, injuries, debilitating mutations, or even simply inconvenient effects may become permanent through a Level. Some scholars believe that Maladies can be used as a foundation for other, unusual but powerful Levels. Goblins are crazy.
Mana Starvation, The Cap: Colloquial terms for a person who has Leveled beyond their local availability of mana. Without infused supplements, specialized Levels, or personal accomplishments, Levels will stagnate, or even begin to degrade and unravel.
Mutations and Transmutations: Levels can change the body itself, and how it functions. These Levels are often stable, and are most likely to outlive their hosts.
Mantras, Mudras, Arts, Glamours, Knacks: Secret knowledge, skills, or even luck. These Levels are ephemeral, taking effect only when expressed. These are the Levels which are most likely to be lost when its host passes.
Runes, Cants, Auras and Daemons: Levels which can take on a life of their own. Are often governed by special circumstances.
Trinkets/Relics/Heirlooms/Legacies: Levels do not always attach to living creatures. Stable levels will sometimes anchor to objects, or even in some unusual cases, to themselves (see Familiars). Since Levels are often lost when a goblin dies, this can be a bitter setback for a community. The practice of passing down Levels from one generation to the next is a foundational part of (most) goblin culture.
Mana Potion, Natural Treasure: Resources which contain a high concentration of mana, in a state which is safer, easier, and more efficient for a person to either absorb or Level from.
The Colors: Goblins display loyalty to a noble (see villain) by wearing an article of clothing or jewelry which represents which elf is "responsible" for them. Fighting goblins are usually outfitted with bold colors and designs. A tabard, in the form of a long overshirt, vest, or apron, is a popular military costume in Sacred. Cheap, vivid chemical dyes allow for vivid, lurid colorations on the battlefield.
Knight Order: A chartered political organization in Sacred. The four great orders have special legal protections which put them outside the responsibilities of the landed nobility. In exchange, the Knight Orders are required to train, supply, and maintain a certain number of high leveled combat specialists. By law, Knighthood is only available to elves and half-elves.
Mamluk: Goblins serving in a Knightly Order due to merit cannot hold title or status. Instead, they are considered dependents of their order, as retainers (see Ward). Cannot own land, or leave Legacies for their descendants.
Elf: A bipedal, fur-less mammal, with opposable thumbs and capable of intelligence and culture. Generally human-height, with a slight yellowish complexion due to a different chemical composition of their blood. Longer, pointed ear tips, and reduced lobes. More flat, grinding molars than goblins. National variations in facial features or hue. Longer legs, and straighter spines than goblins. Approximately 2% of the population of Sacred is elven.
Half-Elf: A term which indicates a goblin who either looks like, is socially recognized as, or in certain cases actually is, partially elven.
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Vodyonoi: CLASSIFIED
Lord: A title of respect. Indicates the addressee is recognized (legally or socially) as an elf.
Ser: A title of respect. Indicates a great capacity for violence.
Goode: A title of respect. Indicates a goblin of good standing. Goodemen (or Goodewives) are lawfully allowed to own property.
Goodemiss/Goodewife: Titles indicating either a young woman or a mature woman. Archaic, originally a recognition of marital status. Considered sexist, but alternatives never seem to catch on. “Goodie” is used in the East, but they’re all backwards yokels.
Villain: The majority of goblins are uncivilized wretches, landless and uncouth. They are considered dependents of an elf Lord. The Lord is considered the guardian of all villains under their authority.
Feral: A goblin that has not been civilized. CLASSIFIED. Also used as a slur to refer to a goblin that does not have a Lord, or to slander a goode goblin by implying they OUGHT to have one.
Ward: A title for a goblin who is deemed to be highly accomplished or talented, but cannot be trusted to manage their own affairs. Wards have few legal freedoms, but a (nominally) high degree of legal protections. Abusing Wards is a serious crime.
"God": An ancestor spirit of great power or persistence. Every noble house is expected to maintain their own god. Most large settlements will also support a local god, especially if individual goblin families are unable to mister their own. The gods of the major cults inhabit more than one temple or location.
Imp: Not a nice word. CLASSIFIED.
Factions – so, so many factions:
The Project: a secret program to create Heroes, based out of the Kingdom of Sacred. A military and private partnership, staffed with the second-best experts that money can buy, and based out of a dilapidated palace.
Sacred: A goblin kingdom. Their government is mostly feudal, a "genetic" autocracy ruled by elves. The territory of the kingdom is vast, stretching across varied biomes and cultures. Generally, Sacred extends across the lands which trace two rivers: the Tyrant and the Penance. Borders the Plentypearl Sea in the South-West. Big. Big as in HUGE.
Delight: Sacred's western neighbor, and most bitter rival. A goblin republic. A reputation as warmongers, hedonists, and goblin-sympathizers.
Dread Iris (Fleur de’ Gorgon): The security forces of Sacred are highly decentralized. Members of the nobility are granted legal authority to maintain a certain size or strength of standing force. Due to his office, the Second Prince charters a small private army, and is expected to finance, supply, and house all professional soldiers in his employ. Their colors are Black and Orange.
Order of Vipers: The third-most prestigious of Sacred’s four great Knightly Orders, and the newest. Have a big “fan club”, nobles who publicly declare their support of the Vipers by adopting similar colors: grays and wintry greens. They are renowned for their alchemists, surgeons, metallurgy, light cavalry, archer corps, duelist sword-style, and their tacticians. F****ing tryhards.
Wavelton & Broox: A research institution for magical learning based out of the city of Vice Reservoir. Independent. Unchartered. Slightly illegal, until the royal family grants them a writ.
Malachite Earldom: A declining southern territory. Established in Sacred’s remote south-central border jungles by a powerful political dissident hundreds of years ago. Originally, the territory was known for its bronze production. Since then, the Earldom has changed hands, and fallen into financial ruin. The current ruling family, the Tintallines, were royally appointed several generations ago, after the main Malachite family failed (disputed) to produce an heir. The territory is nominally administered from its capitol: Four Ring Hill Palace. Maintained by the hereditary goblin staff: Malachite's villains.
Illuminance of Bronze: The second great Knightly Order of Sacred. A scholastic institution, focused on war and battle magic. Originally a secret society (the first Earl of Malachite was a founding member), the order has since been officially chartered. Known for illustrious facial hair, relic production, and a duplicitous fighting style which combines illusions with fire and force magic.
Hornupant Church: An official cult, dedicated to the god of Advantageous and Practical Opportunity. The Church is a well established, but controversial cult, offering a wide variety of services. Their work-rehabilitation prison program is their most profitable, acclaimed, and unethical enterprise.
Cult of Dogoda: A charitable organization and theater troupe. Ministers to the poor, administers orphanages, feeds the destitute, and produces entertainment in the maudlin tragedy genre. Their most popular heroine, Lacey Misfortune, has been widowed seventeen times.
The Carpenter’s Union: An organized goblin crime syndicate that extorts the nobility, coercing them into paying money in exchange for skilled woodworking. Accused of conspiring to Level villains into Goodemen without permission or oversight.
Royal Service: Personal standing forces of the monarch, and the naval admiralty council.
Eel and Beacon: The armed forces, and naval ships chartered under the royal heir: the First.
Oath of Pyres: THE Knightly Order of Sacred. The biggest, the oldest, and the one that people don’t make jokes about behind their backs - even if they deserve it the most.
Isle of Zithers: semi-tropical vassal state of Delight. Previously Sacred.
Brassmarket: Independent city-state on the Plentypearl Sea. Enemy of Sacred. Shelters piracy. They’re not even goblin down there.