Goblinoids of Prace

This post supersedes portions of "Humans of Monvesia, Part 2: Uncommon Humans" and "Other Non-Humans of Monvesia."

"Goblinoid" has come to mean three, particular, interrelated races in modern Dungeons & Dragons.  In the past, similar terms had been used to collectively describe these alongside ogres, orcs, gnolls, and kobolds as well.  It is in this wider context that I use the term when discussing the races of Monvesia.

Goblinoids in Monvesia are the result of a temperamental disorder known as Taint.  Each tainted race has an untainted counterpart.  These races can be grouped into clades according to their racial origin.

Thoughtforms of Monvesia: Taintspawn

Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes presented several creatures that would be classified in Monvesia as thoughtforms. This includes: natives of the astral plane (allip, astral dreadnaught, berbalang), beings created to serve in the Mortal Realm (eidolon), and even beings born from the Taint (gray render, oblex, sorrowsworn).  The latter are classified as taintspawn, and each plays a unique role in the overall mythos of the Taint.

In their original forms, the taintspawn are monstrosities and oozes; but in Monvesia, they are physical manifestations of of thought and will that have been channeled though the taint itself.  Not all of these creatures are necessarily evil, however.

For complete statistics of these creatures, check out Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes.

Factions of Monvesia: Purifiers & the Fifth Sphere

While not mechanically part of the game until 5th edition, even my original BD&D incarnation of Monvesia included something akin to Factions.  Six religious orders, one for each temperament, had influence over the local area of the Honderreich:

• Order of Saint Jostin [Altruist, ally], which has become one of the independent Orders of the Northern Triad
• Divine Order of the Rose and Shield [Materialist, antagonist], an independent order which has moved to Gierland
• Chroniclers of the River [Dynamist, neutral], a relatively minor player that has remained in obscurity--though has come to represent Anceint orders
• Universal Order of Spiritual Thought [Idealist, neutral], part of the Universal Orders in Communion with Dray
• Society of Saint Ignatius [Vitalist, ally], which has become one of the independent Orders of the Northern Triad
• Disciples of the Fifth Sphere [Nihilist, antagonist], once identified as an indepenant order, it had never really been a priestly or crusader organization; this faction now appears below

With the two new additions below, the modern factions of Monvesia still follow a temperamental distinction.  Unlike the original factions of the Honderreicher Minor Baronies, these new factions are not outwardly religious in nature.  Each as a unique perspective on history, and has unique goals toward shaping the future.

HMDJVNW, Monvesian Great Old Ones

The warlock entry in "Mages of Monvesia" offered the briefest look at the Great Old Ones of Monvesia--a class of beings called the HMDJVNW (pronounced "am-DIV-new"), which had once been worshiped by ancient humans and goliaths in their homeland of Desolation.  Seven HMDJVNW were named in that early post, but little else was offered beyond these names and an epithet each.

In this post, I will take some time to explore each of the HMDJVNW, including their individual roles in the world of Monvesia.  Though these beings came to overthrow the giants and take over Desolation, they are daemon lords of Limbo--and as such have dominion over aberrations.

Behind the Scenes:  The name HMDJVNW is an adaptation of the initialism AMDIVNU--the the seven Temperaments, including Universalism.  Originally, AMDIVNU (whose name is always capitalized, and never replaced with a pronoun) was only one Great Old One; and AMDIVNU was once considered was the "god" of mages (or at least the originator of magic, see ENSHZRYD).  As the history of goliaths and humans has evolved with the setting, so has AMDIVNU also evolved--into the HMDJVNW.

Taint in Monvesia

A major element that separates Monvesia from other fantasy settings is Taint--the transformation of some individuals and communities into monstrous reflections of themselves.  Since taint is responsible for the goblinoid and similar races, I first touched on it in "Other Non-Humans of Monvesia."  I didn't really explore the nature of the ailment, however.

Taint is adopted, in part, from Legend of the Five Rings.  However, unlike in that setting, Taint in Monvesia is not a result of personal choice or action--it is the result of public belief and perception.  Monvesian Taint is further inspired by the Taint from the Thaumcraft mod for Minecraft; as well as the Blight from Dragon Age.

Taint is a "psychosomatic" disorder--that is, it is a mental condition that alters the physical body.   From a metaphysical, cosmologial perspective, it originates in Limbo (the Plane of Subconscious Thought).  Here, the subconscious minds of all living creatures connect; and a collective unconscious "shadow" exists--an iridescent, black and purple storm-cloud dominating the horizon.