A map of the Tribal Kingdoms
A Shanty Town is any area where Gnoblars gather together and live independently of their Ogre overlords. Most shanty towns resemble a cross between a scrapheap and an anthill, with Gnoblars dragging all available junk from their surrounding area to incorporate into their hovels. Gnoblar homes vary widely; the more advanced Gnoblars have tents made from animal hide stretched across poles, or build crude huts from random junk. The less intelligent simply pile up junk and soil and crawl into or burrow beneath it.[1a]
Stealing building materials from the neighbours is considered the norm; a lone Gnoblar that leaves his house unguarded for any length of time can expect to come back to find nothing left, or in some cases a completely new group of Gnoblars busily setting up home. Gnoblars do, however, have some sense of community spirit. In times of great hardship, neighbours will often band together to kill and eat the smallest of their number. Elaborate deals for the division of body parts and shiny things are struck up, and the Gnoblars descend on their unfortunate victim in a bickering mob. Particularly smart Gnoblars have been known to turn the mob upon itself and hopefully take a bite out of a stray limb or two in the confusion.[1a]
Overview[]
The Ogre kingdoms are a dangerous place for a Gnoblar, and most Ogre camps represent a constant source of food, scrap materials and safety. Well, apart from the odd Gnoblar that gets sat on, playfully disembowelled, accidentally crushed, kicked to death in an Ogre game, picked off by his fellows, or inadvertently offends an Ogre (a Gnoblar deliberately offending an Ogre is counted as suicide). As a result most Gnoblars like to live as near the Ogres as possible. Most shanty towns start in any available space within the Ogre camp and spread outwards. However, Ogres will not tolerate a gaggle of Gnoblars infesting their own living space. As a result, any empty areas the Ogres have no interest in are treated as prime land. Rubbish tips, rock piles, rubble pits and latrine areas quickly fill up with Gnoblar lodgers. If an Ogre feels a Gnoblar junkpile or tent is too close, he will smash it flat (hopefully with the Gnoblars still inside) and fling the remains away.[1a]
The smarter Gnoblars have caught onto the potential inherent in this, and often try to trick their larger neighbours into pitching camp in a dangerous area. When all available space within the camps is taken and Gnoblars can pile junk no higher or burrow no deeper, junkpiles start to appear on the far most fringes of Ogre camps. A careful observer (a careless one tends to get a club through the back of their skull or rusty mantrap through their legs) can judge the amount of Gnoblars in any given Ogre camp by how far the shanty town extends beyond the camp. Why anyone would care how many Gnoblars there are in any one Ogre camp is another question entirely. It is common for an Ogre camp to use several Gnoblars tied back-to-back and hoisted up a tree or flagpole as a kind of early warning system — if a threat approaches the camp the Gnoblar facing the appropriate direction will cry out, raising the alarm. Given the notoriously short attention span and bickering nature of these Hill Goblins, this system sometimes falls completely. However Ogres go to great pains to ensure at least some of the Gnoblars remain vigilant most of the time.[1a]