Forest Goblin

"You've never seen anything crueler than three Goblins torturing a wounded deer that had caught its foot in their crude traps"

- Fritz Bodger, Forester

Forest Goblins are a distinctive sub-species of the Goblin species that are known to live exclusively within the forested woodlands of the Old World. Similar in both culture and appearance to the Savage Orcs, the Forest Goblins have in a sense, degenerated into a primitive shamanistic culture that make extensive use of weapons made of simple bone, stone or wood, forgoes the use of armor in exchange for spiritual warpaint, feathers and crude spider symbols. The origins of the Forest Goblins came about around the age known as the Time of Woes, during which time the Greenskin race migrated from the Eastern Hemisphere of the Warhammer World and began to invade the tranquil lowlands of the Old World.

Since the Goblin tribes first entered the primeval woods of the distant past, they have been prey to the spiders that dwelt within the forest for many generations. The Goblins eventually adapted to this new and harsh environment, becoming the precursors to the Forest Goblin tribes of today. The Goblins reasoned that since the powerful arachnids could not be defeated, perhaps they could be appeased. In time, eight-legged totems festooned with webbed skulls began to appear alongside the traditional idols of Gork and Mork. Ever since then, the culture of Forest Goblin communities usually revolve around the worship of the Spiders as gods that would require a constant supply of fresh sacrifices in order to appease them, and to keep them from killing the Forest Goblins. This is especially prominent when these Forest Goblins tries to appease the great Arachnarok Spider in the hopes of luring one

Eventually, even their Shamans were given visions about the Spiders, and have since turned to worshiping them as Gods of the Forest. The tribes followed their Shamans in supplicating themselves to this new religion, eventually resulting in the creation of the first Spider Kult. In time, these Forest Goblins were able to push back the Spiders, and have even been able to, over time, raise those clutches of Spider Eggs they've captured as pets or mounts. Taming the Spiders of the Forest became a pivotal point in the Forest Goblins history, for this allowed the Forest Goblins to spread their reach out to all of the forested lands of the Old World, where they soon became a belligerent threat to all lumber communities, often competing with other forest-dwelling races such as the Beastmen for territorial supremacy.

When these Goblins go out to raid neighboring communities, these Forest Goblins would often fight alongside warbands of Spider Riders. These cunning hunters are often employed exclusively as skirmishers or light cavalry, where they have been known to manoeuvre into dense terrain where they lure their enemy into an ambush. Some of these Spider Riders fulfil their roles as archer or skirmisher cavalry, where they are either equipped with crude bows or javelins to throw at their enemy from a relatively safe distance before retreating back into the woodworks. Most Forest Goblins fight on foot, and fulfill the same role as skirmishers and archers when engaging the enemy. They are often dressed with feathers that would help distinguish themselves from other Forest Goblin tribes,

Source

 * Warhammer Armies: Orcs and Goblins (8th Edition) -- pg. 50 - 51