For awhile now, I've had a problem with the way goblins and similar races (hobgoblins, bugbears, etc.) are portrayed in D&D, all the way back to 1st edition.
Simply put, D&D goblinoids are too boring and generic. Aside from the fact that goblins are Lawful Evil and orcs are Chaotic Evil, there isn't much separating them from orcs in terms of appearance and the role they fill in the game world. (Before anyone says anything: yes, yes, I KNOW their statistics adjustments are a LITTLE different...) They're both just races of evil jerks who look similar (snub nose, big teeth, mean expression...). This probably goes back to Tolkein, in whose works orcs and goblins are essentially different words for the same thing. To put it bluntly, in 1st edition D&D goblins and hobgoblins were just "orcs with 1-1 or 1+1 hit dice instead of 1 hit dice", and the same problem continues, to some extent, all the way up to D&D3.5. All the (small amount of) "flavor" that's been added to goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears is just a retroactive attempt to patch up their basic generic-ness dating back to 1st edition.
It shouldn't be like this, though. In terms of fantasy archetypes, the idea of "goblins" is right up there with dragons, elves and dwarves. There's no reason that, in D&D, they should be a dorky-ass race which no one ever wants to play as player-characters. Goblins should be COOL!
How could goblins be cooler? Well, personally, I'm always inspired by Brian Froud, who (in addition to doing lots of books with titles like FAERIES) did the art design for the movies LABYRINTH and THE DARK CRYSTAL. His "faeries" and "goblins" are mysterious, earthy forest creatures, mostly hideous, sometimes comical, sometimes strangely beautiful. The sheer variety of his designs seems perfect for a chaotic, weird race... the archetypal goblins.
(For that matter, while I'm nitpicking, I've always felt that goblins should be Chaotic and orcs should be Lawful. Orcs are the ones who, in Tolkien, are the foot soldiers of evil pseudo-fascist armies... goblins have a long history before Tolkien, and they're more often depicted just living in the woods, kidnapping babies and screwing with people's heads...)
F'rexample, here's what I did with goblins in my current campaign world (*cough ahem*)...
(BEGIN MY BORING CAMPAIGN WORLD DESCRIPTION)
In my campaign, goblins fill the role of gypsies, traders, sorcerers and nature-loving forest-dwellers. As creatures of chaos, they have a -2 Wisdom, but they're immune to confusion- and insanity-causing effects (since they're sort of insane already). They're all Small creatures, but they have an incredibly variable appearance: most look like malformed humans, some have birdlike or animal-like heads, some have long elf-like ears, some have plants growing out of their head instead of hair, some look like fairies, etc. They breed profusely and live short lives. Occasionally, goblin babies are born which look just like human babies, leading to the "changeling" effect.
Hobgoblins are bigger than goblins, being about human-size. Their appearance isn't as variable (they look more like standard D&D hobgoblins, although occasionally you get a really weird-looking one with a pig's head or something), and they generally live in small settlements or roaming packs of warlike raiders, horse-breeders, hunters or (occasionally) sorcerers. They don't breed as quickly as goblins. Goblins stay away from hobgoblins, because hobgoblins are cannibalistic, and often eat their smaller cousins. Unfortunately, it's impossible for goblins to entirely stay away from hobgoblins, because occasionally a goblin baby grows much more rapidly than its fellows, and becomes a flesh-hungry hobgoblin (if it isn't killed by the goblin parents first). In short, goblins and hobgoblins are really the same species, and hobgoblins are a mutated form of goblins which develops in response to certain environmental pressures.
Bugbears are the biggest, toughest, evilest iteration of the "goblin phenotype." Occasionally hobgoblins give birth to babies which grow up even bigger and stronger and hungrier than normal hobgoblins. They're about 8 feet tall and have batlike faces.
(/END MY BORING CAMPAIGN WORLD DESCRIPTION)
***
Well, that's my own version of the goblin races. I'd be interested in hearing other people's modified goblins.
Jason
Simply put, D&D goblinoids are too boring and generic. Aside from the fact that goblins are Lawful Evil and orcs are Chaotic Evil, there isn't much separating them from orcs in terms of appearance and the role they fill in the game world. (Before anyone says anything: yes, yes, I KNOW their statistics adjustments are a LITTLE different...) They're both just races of evil jerks who look similar (snub nose, big teeth, mean expression...). This probably goes back to Tolkein, in whose works orcs and goblins are essentially different words for the same thing. To put it bluntly, in 1st edition D&D goblins and hobgoblins were just "orcs with 1-1 or 1+1 hit dice instead of 1 hit dice", and the same problem continues, to some extent, all the way up to D&D3.5. All the (small amount of) "flavor" that's been added to goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears is just a retroactive attempt to patch up their basic generic-ness dating back to 1st edition.
It shouldn't be like this, though. In terms of fantasy archetypes, the idea of "goblins" is right up there with dragons, elves and dwarves. There's no reason that, in D&D, they should be a dorky-ass race which no one ever wants to play as player-characters. Goblins should be COOL!
How could goblins be cooler? Well, personally, I'm always inspired by Brian Froud, who (in addition to doing lots of books with titles like FAERIES) did the art design for the movies LABYRINTH and THE DARK CRYSTAL. His "faeries" and "goblins" are mysterious, earthy forest creatures, mostly hideous, sometimes comical, sometimes strangely beautiful. The sheer variety of his designs seems perfect for a chaotic, weird race... the archetypal goblins.
(For that matter, while I'm nitpicking, I've always felt that goblins should be Chaotic and orcs should be Lawful. Orcs are the ones who, in Tolkien, are the foot soldiers of evil pseudo-fascist armies... goblins have a long history before Tolkien, and they're more often depicted just living in the woods, kidnapping babies and screwing with people's heads...)
F'rexample, here's what I did with goblins in my current campaign world (*cough ahem*)...
(BEGIN MY BORING CAMPAIGN WORLD DESCRIPTION)
In my campaign, goblins fill the role of gypsies, traders, sorcerers and nature-loving forest-dwellers. As creatures of chaos, they have a -2 Wisdom, but they're immune to confusion- and insanity-causing effects (since they're sort of insane already). They're all Small creatures, but they have an incredibly variable appearance: most look like malformed humans, some have birdlike or animal-like heads, some have long elf-like ears, some have plants growing out of their head instead of hair, some look like fairies, etc. They breed profusely and live short lives. Occasionally, goblin babies are born which look just like human babies, leading to the "changeling" effect.
Hobgoblins are bigger than goblins, being about human-size. Their appearance isn't as variable (they look more like standard D&D hobgoblins, although occasionally you get a really weird-looking one with a pig's head or something), and they generally live in small settlements or roaming packs of warlike raiders, horse-breeders, hunters or (occasionally) sorcerers. They don't breed as quickly as goblins. Goblins stay away from hobgoblins, because hobgoblins are cannibalistic, and often eat their smaller cousins. Unfortunately, it's impossible for goblins to entirely stay away from hobgoblins, because occasionally a goblin baby grows much more rapidly than its fellows, and becomes a flesh-hungry hobgoblin (if it isn't killed by the goblin parents first). In short, goblins and hobgoblins are really the same species, and hobgoblins are a mutated form of goblins which develops in response to certain environmental pressures.
Bugbears are the biggest, toughest, evilest iteration of the "goblin phenotype." Occasionally hobgoblins give birth to babies which grow up even bigger and stronger and hungrier than normal hobgoblins. They're about 8 feet tall and have batlike faces.
(/END MY BORING CAMPAIGN WORLD DESCRIPTION)
***
Well, that's my own version of the goblin races. I'd be interested in hearing other people's modified goblins.
Jason