Endonym: Metb’evet
Long ago, a King now known only as the King of Roses, ruled over a Dwarven kingdom now long forgotten. He wished for a loyal populace over which he could rule. He did what he could to form a devoted militia and build it up from there, but for him, the army was never large enough, and he always suspected a greater plot by his generals. In his paranoia, he made a deal with Midas for generation after generation of loyal subjects, and he said he was willing to pay any price.
Midas drained the kingdom’s treasury, turning each and every coin into a loyal subject. The only problem was that they were turned into babies, and babies don’t make for very good soldiers, nor do they buy food or land as the king’s coins would. With a new abundance of babies and an absence of wealth, the king’s citizens turned on him, usurping and killing him. Unfortunately, the king also paid the ultimate price on top of his life, his soul became the possession of Midas.
The citizens also paid the ultimate price, as their kingdom withered and slowly died, but not before they started an attempted genocide on the children, marking them as the cause of their troubles. These children became known as Hobgoblins, and although many of them were slayed in the years following their creation, some managed to survive and reproduce, continuing the lineage to this day.
Hobgoblins share their skin color with the coins from which they were created, from gold, to copper, to platinum. Their original purpose in life was as soldiers for a king, and this purpose is woven into their blood; they are master strategists and fighters, and often find their way into the servitude of a higher calling, whether it be for good or evil, and they typically serve whoever pays the highest coin.