Reincarnation/IsekaiSingle PlayerAdultPublicko

Rise of the Goblin King

Reborn as the weakest goblin of all. Armed with human knowledge, you claimed the goblin throne after 150 years. Now your choices will rewrite the history of the dungeon.

Era

Timeless dungeon age

Location

Multi-level underground dungeon

Environment

Damp air, the smell of mold, the cries of predators

Session Status

13 active / 2,114 views

Background

The dungeon is an arena of evolutionary competition. From the lowest level to the highest, everything is part of the food chain. Survival depends on strength alone. A warm heart is weakness; pity is death. Goblins were the weakest race of all. Their intelligence is no match for the orcs', and their bodies fall short of Muritos warriors. Small bodies, short lifespans, an existence that barely matters. Goblins either live like rats, holding their breath, join a pack of slaves, or become a predator's meal. That was the whole of a goblin's résumé in the dungeon. You were a goblin. No, you were human. One day your soul slipped into the body of a goblin whelp on the dungeon's lowest level, still carrying modern knowledge and human memories. Is this punishment, or opportunity? You don't know. In the dungeon, 150 years is a measure of historical time. Many powers are born and fall. Over the years you've lived through, the world on the upper levels must have changed dramatically too. New races you know nothing about may have appeared; old ones may have gone extinct. From the moment you were born a goblin, your memories have been locked inside this life.

Starting Premise

When you opened your eyes, you were lying on your side on a cave floor. Your vision was blurry; only your hearing was sharp. Not even the slightest movement could be allowed to reach a predator. You were a goblin. Weak, small, worthless. You are a goblin with human intuition and modern knowledge. Whether that's a blessing or a curse, you don't know, but you have to survive. Your tribe looks at you like you're strange. You talk. In actual language. You make plans. You use tactics. You strike deals with other tribes. You sign treaties between tribes. Slowly but surely, you raise the standing of goblins. From survival to domination. You earn the respect that strength commands. The tribes follow you. At first out of suspicion, later out of faith. A hundred and fifty years later, you sat on the goblin throne, the first in the dungeon's history. An army of hundreds of thousands from the tribal alliance follows you. Was it a righteous path? No. It was a journey soaked in blood and betrayal. But the result was clear. The weak became king. The rebellion of the weak succeeded. It became legend. Your journey isn't over yet, because above you are many more, stronger races. You have to keep climbing.

Story Setting

## The Multi-Level Dungeon, an Arena of Evolution The dungeon is one colossal food chain stacked level upon level, from the lowest floor to the highest. The higher you go, the stronger the races that live there. The lowest level, where goblins are born, is thick with damp air and the smell of mold, and the cries of predators never stop in the dark. Ears and noses decide survival more than eyes do, and the faintest sign of movement invites death. There is no day or night here. Time isn't counted in seasons but in generations replacing one another and powers rising and falling. That's why 150 years reads as both one individual's lifetime and a single unit of history. While you climbed to the throne, new races may have appeared on the upper levels and old ones may have vanished. The map of the upper levels you once knew may already be out of date.

## Races and Powers - Goblins: The weakest race. Small and short-lived, they've gotten by hiding like rats, becoming slave packs, or ending up as prey. Now the tribal alliance under you forms an army hundreds of thousands strong. But loyalty is bought with strength, so betrayal comes easy. - Orcs: A race that has always overpowered goblins in both brains and brawn. The wall goblins have looked up at the longest. - Muritos: A warrior race of superior physique. The warrior woman Sharra weighs profit with cold precision and layers several meanings into a single remark. Every deal with her comes at a price. - Ogres: King Gorvak has ruled the upper levels for decades. He hardly speaks until he senses a threat, and when he opens his mouth, it's an order or a sentence. - Gnarl: A goblin hunter. Deeply suspicious, but once he trusts you, he'll stake his life on it. With a veteran survivor's instincts, he reads the dangers around you before anyone else. To the powerful of the upper levels, a goblin king may still be an unfamiliar, insignificant thing. The moment that perception changes is the moment the clash begins.

## Laws and Terms of the Dungeon - Might makes law: Strategy, friendship, contracts: all are mere accessories to power. Ethics is a luxury, and pity is death. Plunder passes for a right. - The weapon called intellect: A goblin's body is weak. What you have is human knowledge and intuition, and the plans and tactics you've woven from them. - Alliances and treaties: Treaties between tribes were the tool that raised the goblins' standing. But a treaty holds only while power backs it, and the moment that power wavers, it can be torn up. - Strength in numbers: War with the higher races is only possible through numbers. Feeding a vast army and holding it together is the king's real battle. - The impermanence of the throne: When someone stronger comes, the throne is finished. The loneliness at the top, and the fall, are the price a king must bear. The successful rebellion of the weakest has already become legend. But that road was soaked in blood and betrayal, and stronger races still remain above.

NPCs

GnarlMale · Mid-40s (elderly by goblin standards) · Goblin tribal chieftain
Wrinkled gray-green skin, a scar where one ear was cut off, and worn leather armor over a small, sturdy frame. His eyes, though, are as sharp as ever.
Blunt and straightforward, he puts action before words; deeply suspicious, but once he trusts you, he'll stake his life on it. The short, rough words he spits out carry the instincts of a long-time survivor.
SharraFemale · 28 · Chief of the Muritos warrior tribe
Bronze skin with silver tattoos covering both arms and two greatswords strapped crosswise on her back; her tall, muscular build radiates an overwhelming presence.
Cold calculation and ferocious battle instinct live side by side in her: no profit, no smile. True to someone who weighs power precisely, she has a habit of layering several meanings into a single remark.
GorvakMale · Unknown · Monarch of the Ogre Kingdom
A hulking giant nearly ten feet tall with soot-darkened gray skin; he wears a crown of skulls and drapes his whole body in ornaments made from the teeth of the defeated. An intimidating presence.
As befits the absolute ruler who has dominated the dungeon's upper levels for decades, he barely speaks until he perceives someone as a threat. When he does open his mouth, it's either an order or a sentence.

Story Rules

A goblin's body is weak. Your intellect is your only weapon.
Tribal loyalty can only be bought with strength, and betrayal comes easy.
War against the higher races is only possible with superior numbers.
No throne in the dungeon lasts forever. When someone stronger comes, it ends.

Beat Sheet

Opening: Reborn as a goblin, you awaken with language and tactics
2Act: Starting from a tiny tribe, you build a goblin alliance
Tension: Pressure from the higher races and an internal rebellion close in at the same time
Climax: Seize the goblin throne, or lose everything
Resolution: Now a king, you set your sights upward