The Crimson Talon, often incorrectly pluralized as the Crimson Talons, is an elite goblin scouting party which answers directly to Uglúk, the warchief of the Red Hand Tribe. Officially they have no rank within the command hierarchy of the Red Hand, but in practice their ambition and cruelty make them a de facto second only to Uglúk himself, in many cases being more greatly respected than the warchiefs they served before their tribe's realignment under Nalavara and Uglúk.
The Crimson Talon is currently tasked with finding the traitor Lagduf, who has been hidden away by the Ebon League. Because the trail went cold, they are falling on their secondary objective: finding whoever is responsible for the death of Uglúk's brother Muzgash (the Ebon League), who they falsely believe to have been the Blessed Brotherhood, in hopes that with their dying breaths the Brotherhood reveals Lagduf's location to them. After a Red Hand assassination squad failed to kill the Blessed Brotherhood at the House of the Morning, the Crimson Talon scouted the perfect location to strike at them: the goliath village of Rimespire in the Eastern Storm Horns.
Membership
Membership in the Crimson Talon is prestigious and goblins who are eager to prove themselves often act ferociously and cruelly, hoping to make a name for themselves. There are typically fifty goblins, hobgoblins, or bugbears serving in the unit at any time. Nine such goblins are:
- Hrothgar, Hobgoblin Warlord
- Baram, Bugbear Seeker
- Belgar, Bugbear Ranger
- Evgeni, Goblin Druid
- Grimbergen, Bugbear Barbarian
- Habakul, Hobgoblin Shaman
- Ogan, Hobgoblin Fighter
- Rumpletumpskin, Hobgoblin Warlord
- Wartooth, Hobgoblin Warden
- Splug, Goblin Rogue
Character Naming
You may be wondering why I have denied you the ability to name your own character; this is simply to ensure we end up with true goblin-sounding names and to forgo the hardest step in the character creation process. You may recognize some of them, as each of them is drawn from popular nerd culture.
- Hrothgar is the embattled king from the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf
- Baram is Shadow's former partner in Final Fantasy VI
- Evgeni (Malkin) is a center for the Pittsburgh Penguins
- Grimbergen is a Belgian abbey beer first brewed in 1128
- Habakul is a character from Ancient Domains of Mystery
- Ogan is a hammer-wielding goblin from Chrono Trigger
- Rumpletumpskin is a nonsense word from Eric Cartman's version of Wild, Wild West
- (Toki) Wartooth is the rhythm guitarist for the band Dethklok
- Splug the goblin was featured in H1 Keep on the Shadowfell.