Hobs (Action)

Attributes and Schticks

Body: 3-6
Mind: 4-12
Reflexes: 6-10
Move: 5

Description

Hobs are a varied mix of small humanoid pranksters, often regarded as different races altogether. All varieties of hobs are fey, magical beings with powers of Illusion.

Appearance

Hobs are diminutive but clever humanoids, merely 90 to 120 centimeters (3' to 4') tall. They have short stocky bodies, long thin limbs, and large heads with pointed ears. They are generally not considered attractive, nor are they very strong or powerful. Beyond this, details vary greatly from hob to hob and clan to clan.

Role

Hobs are fey creatures, not completely comprehensible to normal Folk. All hobs are at least somewhat tricky. Their word lacks worth, for it is known they lie readily in order to bargain, amuse and pique. They are rarely malicious liars, however, and those fooled are often simply told to be less gullible in the future. But hobs live by strange rules understandable only to them, and when these rules are broken, they are quick to anger. Hobs love crafts and can be obsessive with perfection, but place little regard in the finished product. As long as they get their due of praise, they can be very generous, even careless with the product of their labor.

Note that hobs are not aware of their changing natures. To them, these distinctions are not meaningful. They are who they are. Different kinds of hobs do not recognize each other as kin, even if they easily assimilate with other hobs of similar disposition.

Hob Rules

Here are some hob rules, but be careful, not all hobs know or care about all rules. Note that these are not the actual rules, which only hobs can understand. This is a translated and abridged version of the rules for general consumption, any of which can be wrong in any particular case.

An offer of clothing offends a hob greatly, implying its not maintaining its guise properly. This is a grave insult to a creature of illusion.
An offer of food is almost always appreciated.
Accepting a hob gift without reservations is rude. A hob gift is almost always some kind of trick or riddle, and merely accepting it without questioning it proves you are either a dullard, or ignoring the challenge of the riddle.
Games of wits are fun, such as riddles, tricks, and double-plays.
Trade is a serious matter, a word-game and match of wits. It is generally much more convenient to steal, at least small everyday items. Stealing is not a crime.
A hob wants respect, first and foremost. They want respect for their skills and first pick of everything, but are not really greedy.

Hob Kinds

Hobs have lots of different names in different locales and roles, and an individual hob often changes role and personality. The same hob can be malign one day, boisterously friendly the next. In general, hobs have three dispositions, friendly, neutral, and hostile. Here is what a hob can be called in each disposition.

Friendly

Brownie: Individual benign hobs, often adopting a place or person to protect and help, brownies are very friendly, tough they still have quirks. Gnome: A gnome looks and behaves much like a Dwarf, only smaller and more humorous. Gnomes live in tribes and nations and travel the world like respectable folk. Halfling: These are the most human-like of hobs, looking like rotund human children and living in idyllic settlements that almost seem like parodies of rural humanity.

Neutral

Goblin: Feral creatures, living in tribes in the wild. They are territorial and do mischief to travelers to what they consider their lands. Kobold: Associated with mines, a kobold can be either a friendly comrade or a fierce competitor to miners and spelunkers. Leprochaun: A lone trickster on the edge of civilization, the leprochaun thrives on respectability and mimics the actions of nearby folk.

Hostile

Boggart: A lonely malicious trickster, the boggart is rarely seen but cause untold pranks and general destruction. Gremlin: The gremlin delights in causing malfunction and misfortune. Redcap: The most direct and dangerous hob, the redcap is a murderer that soaks his cap in the blood of slain enemies. Spriggan: A fey of wild chaos, small bands of spriggans set traps for the unwary and raid settlements.

Politics

Hob tribes are usually trouble. The more remote they are from civilization, the more idiosyncratic they are. Tough rarely large, an offended hob tribe can be a menace to isolated homesteads and a blight on an entire region. Keeping the hobs placated is an important thing when you live close to the wilderness.

Hob kingdoms are rare, and consists of halflings or gnomes. A whole nation of these little creatures, living in a good place with plenty of things to play with is an asset to friendly neighbors and the most folk-like of all hobs.

Integration

Good hobs interact famously with most other Folk and are seen as happy, clever, and somewhat childish, but even they are usually able to disappear at will. Even if their faith is good, their word is not to be trusted. It is better to make friends with them and tolerate their odd ways and occasional thefts than to try to bind them with business contracts. The best hobs are the ones that focus so deeply in a task or craft that they have no time for mischief, such as craftsmen or alchemists. Not all communities are willing to tolerate them, the rich usually distrusting them more than the poor; the existence of a hob in a community is often kept secret.

Family

Hobs have families depending in their attitudes. Sometimes, this means outsider see a family idyll of glowing health and cleanness, sometimes a disgusting hive of filth and maltreatment. It is almost as if the hobs were putting on a show for outsiders. If you ask them, answers are just as ambiguous. It is almost as if the entire issue of family was a big charade to hobs.