Hobgoblin

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, hobgoblins are a larger, stronger, smarter and more menacing form of goblins, but not as high up on the goblinoid hierarchy as bugbears. Hobgoblins are humanoids, on average they stand nearly 6'6" tall, a little taller than orcs. They tend to have orange coloured skin.

Publication history

The hobgoblin was one of the earliest creatures introduced in the D&D game.

Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976)

The hobgoblin was one of the first monsters introduced in the earliest edition of the game, in the Dungeons & Dragons "white box" set (1974), where they were described as large and fearless goblins.

The koalinth, or aquatic hobgoblin, is introduced in Supplement II: Blackmoor (1975).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

The hobgoblin appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977) where it is described as a tribal lawful evil creature found nearly anywhere.

The mythology and attitudes of the hobgoblins are described in detail in Dragon #63 (July 1982), in Roger E. Moore's article, "The Humanoids."

The koalinth returns in Dragon #68 (December 1982).

Dungeons & Dragons (1977-1999)

This edition of the D&D game included its own version of the hobgoblin, in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (1977, 1981, 1983). The hobgoblin was featured as a player character race in the Orcs of Thar gazetteer (1989). hobgoblins were also later featured in the Dungeons & Dragons Game set (1991), the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991), the Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game set (1994), and the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game set (1999 & 2000).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)

The hobgoblin and koalinth appear first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989), and are reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).

The hobgoblin of the Dragonlance campaign setting appeared in the Tales of the Lance boxed set, in the "World Book of Ansalon" booklet (1992).

The hobgoblin is detailed as a playable character race in The Complete Book of Humanoids (1993). The hobgoblin is later presented as a playable character race again in Player's Option: Skills & Powers (1995).

Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)

The hobgoblin appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000).

Races of Faerûn (2003) presented the hobgoblin as a player character race for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)

The hobgoblin appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003).

The hobgoblin was detailed in Dragon #309 (July 2003), in the "Ecology of the Hobgoblin", with the hobgoblin presented as a player character race.

The fire hobgoblin appears in Unearthed Arcana (2004), as a player character race. The sunscorch hobgoblins appear in Dragon Magic (2006).

The hobgoblin duskblade, the hobgoblin spellscourge, and the hobgoblin warsoul appear in Monster Manual V (2007).

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)

The hobgoblin appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008), under the goblin entry, including the hobgoblin grunt, the hobgoblin warrior, the hobgoblin archer, the hobgoblin soldier, the hobgoblin warcaster, the hobgoblin commander, and the hobgoblin hand of Bane.

Description

Hobgoblins are a very militaristic species, with a good grasp of combat tactics and strategy. Individuals will keep their weapons and armour in good shape. Leaders generally maintain their control over a tribe through strength and violence rather than diplomacy.

In most campaign settings, Maglubiyet, the god of war and rulership, is the chief deity of hobgoblins. However, Nomog-Geaya, the deity of war and authority, is considered the patron deity of hobgoblins.

References

• Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson. Dungeons & Dragons (3-Volume Set) (TSR, 1974)
• Arneson, Dave. Blackmoor (TSR, 1975)
• Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)
• Moore, Roger E. "The Humanoids." Dragon #63 (TSR, 1982)
• Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson [1974], edited by J. Eric Holmes. Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (TSR, 1977)
• Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson [1974], edited by Tom Moldvay. Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (TSR, 1981)
• Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson [1974], edited by Frank Mentzer. Dungeons & Dragons Set 1: Basic Rules (TSR, 1983)
• Allston, Aaron, Steven E. Schend, Jon Pickens, and Dori Watry. Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (TSR, 1991)
• Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume One (TSR, 1989)
• Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1993)
• Slavicsek, Bill. The Complete Book of Humanoids (TSR, 1993)
• Cook, Monte, Jonathan Tweet, and Skip Williams. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)
• Reynolds, Sean K., Forbeck, Matt, Jacobs, James, Boyd, Erik L. Races of Faerûn (Wizards of the Coast, 2003)
• Edwards, Terry. "Paragons of War: The Ecology of the Hobgoblin." Dragon #309 (Paizo Publishing, 2003)
• Collins, Andy, Jesse Decker, David Noonan, and Rich Redman. Unearthed Arcana (Wizards of the Coast, 2004)
• Mearls, Mike, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2008)