Goblin (Ashan)

The Goblins from Ubisoft's continuation of the Heroes of Might and Magic series differ from all other Heroes or earlier Might and Magic games, yet have their own continuing background history. This type of Goblin first appeared in Heroes of Might and Magic V and has been seen ever since then in the series.

Behavior

Goblins are not considered intelligent by any means, though they are crafty. Diminutive creatures and weak physically, their strength comes in numbers and as such, they tend to stay in packs. Their dexterity might suffer from their transformation and they will avoid bows in their entirety, preferring to set up traps to catch their prey unawares. Once a victim is caught in their trap of choice (usually a bear trap), they will either pelt them with rocks or will close the distance to beat them to death with a club. Some more intelligent Goblins may also use a boomerang, which they have found very effective.

They seem attracted to their larger cousins, the Orcs, likely due to their sheer size that likely causes individual Goblins to feel safer. The Orc-Goblin alliance has also seemingly made a pact with Harpies, Centaurs, and their largest cousins, the Cyclopes.

Background history

The Goblins of Ashan were magically-created creatures that, along with orcs and the various beastmen tribes, were created by the wizards of the Seven Cities.

In 500 YSD (an abbreviation for "Year of the Seventh Dragon") the world of Ashan was invaded by hordes of demons, although it was not the first time such an event had occurred. This time however the wizards chose to develop shock troops for their armies; although records are somewhat cryptic about why, it is assumed that Ashan was losing the war by this point.

At first the wizards attempted to fuse demon blood to sinful humans, such as to criminals and thieves. However this resulted in the Goblins, which the wizards found disappointing for their perceived weakness. This failure led to the utilization of more demon blood but this second attempt would create the Cyclopes, which the wizards also deemed a failure. The Orcs would be created through equal parts blood and flesh and would be considered a success.

Heroes of Might and Magic V

"Goblins are cowardly creatures and do not make very good soldiers. Even if they have seen their kinsmen killed before their eyes, goblins would still not think anything of switching sides and joining forces with the enemy. And faced with the slightest threat to their own safety, they will try to flee as far as possible. Only once forced into a corner, and left no alternative, will a goblin actually put up a fierce fight for its life." -- In-game description

In Heroes of Might and Magic V: Tribes of the East, Goblins are a tier 1 unit associated with the Stronghold faction. They are subject to the "Raging Blood" status, which temporarily improve their battle stats during combat. They are also treacherous and when their numbers fall below 30% of the numbers they started the combat with, they will change sides and fight for their initial foe. This greatly affects their viability in combat as they can only betray once per combat and will stay with their new master should the survive the battle. This is combined with another creature ability: Cowardice, which forces them to flee to the closest unoccupied location hex within its melee range anytime that they are attacked from a melee attack. Should they be unable to move away they will retaliate. These combine to create a fairly poor unit in combat.

They can later be upgraded into either the Goblin Trapper or the Goblin Witch-Doctor.