Wolf-Riders

Wolf-Riders are goblins who, through sheer guts and determination, have managed to tame and ride the Giant Wolf into battle. They are among the most feared Goblin warriors to ever traverse the Whispy Woods, fulfilling their roles as a dedicated force of scouts, skirmishers, and fast-moving mounted cavalry.

Overview
It is still unclear how such a miserable race such as the goblins were able to tame the wild and ferocious nature of the giant wolf is beyond any scholars' guess. Some have theorized that perhaps it is their mutual instinct to pick on the helpless, the injured and the isolated that has made them such a good match for the equally malevolent goblins. Whatever the reason, in time, these goblins have managed to gain these creatures' trust, albeit at a very steep cost, but in the end it was worth it for these tribes of Wolf-Riders soon became the scourge of the open plains.

Due to the animals' vicious and stubborn behaviour, not every goblin is fit to become a Wolf-Rider. The animal is well known to attack anyone who tries to mount themselves upon their hairy back, killing goblins by the dozens until a wolf finally accepts one of the goblins as his rider. As a show of their pride, a mob of Wolf-Riders have been known to flash their status off to their brethren at an almost daily basis.

In combat, some Wolf-Riders use bows to shower their enemy with arrows from afar. They lope into range, unleash a hail of bowfire, and then hide before the enemy can respond to their attacks. Wolf-Riders often harass the flanks of oncoming troops but have also been known to charge into smaller, more vulnerable units such as artillery crews and enemy scouts. Other Wolf-Riders are more heavily-armored than others and it is these goblins who will dare to raise their weapons and attack larger enemy formations in a headlong rush. The combination of especially large and powerful goblins riding on top of an equally massive giant wolf makes for an even more devastating charge and, not surprisingly, even greater and swagger and bravado around many goblin camps.

Armor
The Wolf-Riders' armor are distinct from that of other goblins. Some wore little beyond bone and fur, whereas others preferred to be more heavily protected, wearing multiple layers of rotting hide, fur and hair or chainmail, but nearly all included something from the remains of their respective wolf's kill, such as bone and tooth, and from parts of the wolf itself. Keeping their weight down was a factor with most in order not to tire their mount. Their cuirass was often made from the bones of a horse's rib cage, to which was stitched pieces of hide and fur. Other goblins wore helmets made from the skulls and scalps of their kills, both beasts and men, and these often featured grisly crests of bone. A rough cloak of wolf fur would have completed the outfit.