A hobgoblin general can control vast swaths of territory under this system, but the hobgoblins' own ambitious and disloyal nature usually prevents them from forming such empires with certain exceptions such as Kaoling.

Hobgoblin settlements, referred to in military terms like 'companies', 'regiments', 'divisions', 'armies', or 'hordes', are ruled by a single general, who commands numerous ranking officers with their own subordinates, so on down to the grunts and laborers who make up the majority of the tribe. Hobgoblins favor temperate hills for their territory. A hobgoblin is considered ready to fight by the age of four. Infants are weaned after only three weeks and can walk and talk by six months, at which point he or she begins combat training. Hobgoblins gestate much faster than humans (though not as fast as goblins). Hobgoblins are highly promiscuous and do not practice monogamy.

Hobgoblins mate freely, but only with willing members of their own rank-matings between hobgoblins of different rank is seen as scornful. Though their strongholds are often sloppily constructed, they are extremely tenacious in their defense. Unlike their capricious goblin cousins, hobgoblins are strong, cunning, and organized, with a natural inclination toward hierarchies and social order. Their short, powerful legs coupled with their long, muscular arms grants the hobgoblin vague similarities with that of a brutish ape. Their dull, gray-green skin is coarse and largely devoid of hair. Their round, hairless heads sit atop wide, thick necks, and their long, tattered ears flank a pair of savage orange eyes. A hobgoblin is nearly the same height as a human.

How to trade with hobgoblins