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<blockquote data-quote="Wik" data-source="post: 6670264" data-attributes="member: 40177">In short, and my own humble opinions:1.&nbsp; Hobgoblins are part of a larger group of races.&nbsp; They are tied together with goblins and bugbears.&nbsp; They are, ultimately, a society, with hobgoblins forming the most dangerous subrace (goblins are small and disorganized;&nbsp; bugbears are big and disorganized... hobgoblins are, well, organized).&nbsp; &nbsp; Orcs, however, are their own thing.&nbsp; There are orogs, I suppose, and half-orcs, but these are a result of the fact that orcs will breed with anything.&nbsp; They intermix with other species.&nbsp;&nbsp; (there's a bit of real-world racism in there.&nbsp; Orcs are often lumped in with the idea of &quot;impure races&quot;, whereas hobgoblins are more like an evil version of Rome).&nbsp; 2.&nbsp; Hobgoblins are organized.&nbsp; They have a military command structure.&nbsp; Man for man, they are not an orc's equal... but in a battlefield, they'll win every time.&nbsp; Orcs are barbarian tribes.&nbsp; They have an individualistic, warrior culture.&nbsp; 3.&nbsp; Both races are cruel.&nbsp; But while hobgoblins lean towards an enjoyment for the expression of strength over the weak and the corruption of those around them (similar to devils), Orcs are all about physical cruelty and the use of force (similar to demons).&nbsp; 4.&nbsp; Hobgoblins form their own nations and mercenary units.&nbsp; Orcs ignore national boundaries and form tribes... and individuals will join mercenary companies.&nbsp; 5.&nbsp; In a one on one battle, you'd want to fight a hobgoblin.&nbsp; But if it was ten against ten, you'd prefer fighting the orcs, where the use of tactics would give you an edge.&nbsp; As a sidenote, I ran an encounter of&nbsp; a group of orcs, orogs, and orc commanders against some hobgoblins, a hobgoblin captain, and a low-level hobgoblin mage in 5e.&nbsp; The XP amounts were about the same.&nbsp; The orcs had the combat for the first few rounds, but eventually the hobgoblins turned the tides and won the battle.&nbsp; I've run similar combats in every edition, and the results tend to the same.&nbsp; Played out as barbarians versus Romans, the Romans (hobgoblins) always win.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Wik, post: 6670264, member: 40177"] In short, and my own humble opinions: 1. Hobgoblins are part of a larger group of races. They are tied together with goblins and bugbears. They are, ultimately, a society, with hobgoblins forming the most dangerous subrace (goblins are small and disorganized; bugbears are big and disorganized... hobgoblins are, well, organized). Orcs, however, are their own thing. There are orogs, I suppose, and half-orcs, but these are a result of the fact that orcs will breed with anything. They intermix with other species. (there's a bit of real-world racism in there. Orcs are often lumped in with the idea of "impure races", whereas hobgoblins are more like an evil version of Rome). 2. Hobgoblins are organized. They have a military command structure. Man for man, they are not an orc's equal... but in a battlefield, they'll win every time. Orcs are barbarian tribes. They have an individualistic, warrior culture. 3. Both races are cruel. But while hobgoblins lean towards an enjoyment for the expression of strength over the weak and the corruption of those around them (similar to devils), Orcs are all about physical cruelty and the use of force (similar to demons). 4. Hobgoblins form their own nations and mercenary units. Orcs ignore national boundaries and form tribes... and individuals will join mercenary companies. 5. In a one on one battle, you'd want to fight a hobgoblin. But if it was ten against ten, you'd prefer fighting the orcs, where the use of tactics would give you an edge. As a sidenote, I ran an encounter of a group of orcs, orogs, and orc commanders against some hobgoblins, a hobgoblin captain, and a low-level hobgoblin mage in 5e. The XP amounts were about the same. The orcs had the combat for the first few rounds, but eventually the hobgoblins turned the tides and won the battle. I've run similar combats in every edition, and the results tend to the same. Played out as barbarians versus Romans, the Romans (hobgoblins) always win. [/QUOTE]

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