Our Goblins Are Wickeder: Difference between revisions

[[File:goblinsappers.jpg|link=Warcraft|frame|[[Stop Poking Me|"We've got explosives! KABOOM! Ahhhhh, it's beautiful!"]]]]

 

 

 

In folklore, goblins and especially hobgoblins were diminutive household pests, or at best wild creatures, and were typically conflated with whatever [[All Trolls Are Different|trolls]] and/or [[Our Fairies Are Different|faeries]] fit the trope. If they were viewed at all as a mythical race, instead of just [[Random Encounter|monsters]] or diminutive [[The Fair Folk|faeries]] of the nasty sort, they would be generally viewed as the "[[Dark Is Evil|dark]]" [[Evil Counterpart|version]] of [[Our Elves Are Better|elves]] or [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same|dwarves]] in that culture.

A more recent trend in modern fantasy is to make them a [[Proud Merchant Race]] with a unique gift for [[Harry Potter|managing your money]], or [[World of Warcraft|separating you from it]].

 

 

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Little Nemo]] in Slumberland'' gave us the Boomps. While most goblins in Nightmareland are evil, the Boomps are good goblins who are outcasts in Nightmareland and enemies of the Nightmare King.

* [[Spider-Man]] features a number of villains with goblin motiffs (mostly [[Norman Osborn|Green Goblins]] and Hobgoblins). They are usually just super powered humans with gadgets. The only exceptions would be Demogoblin who was a demon that was once bonded to one of the many Hobgoblins and the ''[[Ultimate Marvel]]'' version of Norman Osborn who could turn into a green brute that bared a closer resemblance of a goblin.

 

== Film ==

== [[LARP]] ==

* In NERO, goblins are green, small and have orange mohawks. Depending on the average player level of the franchise the can range from significant threats in large numbers to comedy relief.

 

== Literature ==

** The History classes imply their past was filled with countless bloody rebellions until they arrived at some sort of compromise with the wizards.

*** They also have a different concept of ownership than humans do (you cannot own something goblins made; any exchange of money for possession of a goblin-made thing is by default a rental), which causes problems at a crucial moment of the final book when some goblins with whom Harry and Co. have made a deal decide the terms have been met by the stingiest definition possible and try to take back the sword of Godric Gryffindor by force.

* The goblins in [[Cecilia Dart Thornton|Cecilia Dart-Thornton]]'s ''Crowthistle Chronicles'' are ''completely'' different. They've been [[Sealed Evil in a Can|sealed up in a cave]] for so long that the folk tales about them have confused them with their diminutive, aggressive and stupid servants (Kobolds, so-called because they're some form of construct made of cobalt). The Goblins turn out to be more like traditional elves - tall, skinny, aristocratic. They're also vegan, but the whole book they appear in turns out to be [[Anvilicious|thinly veiled]] [[Author Filibuster|propaganda]] for PETA...

** Also some fun back-to-front etymology there. The element cobalt is named after the mythical kobolds, because medieval miners blamed them for poisoning the mine when they got sick from inhaling arsenic-laden cobalt dust.

** Coville's book and children's stage play "The Dragonslayers" features "goons", which are plainly run-of-the-mill dimwitted goblins who serve as henchmen to the witch antagonist.

* Eldon Thompson's ''[[Asahiel]]'' trilogy played most [[High Fantasy]] tropes extremely straight, but was notable for putting fresh spins on several nonhuman races- such as goblins. In this world, rather than being small and weak, goblins are related to elves, human-sized, highly intelligent, and ''extremely'' fast. This last in particular makes them one of the most dangerous of the "monster" races in the trilogy, generally ranked by those with experience fighting them only behind giants and dragons.

* ''[[Discworld]]'' uses the term goblin occasionally, but it just seems to be an alternate name for gnomes. (The original version of "Theatre of Cruelty" uses "goblin", the [http://www.lspace.org/books/toc/toc-english.html online version] has "gnome".)

*** The pots are extremely important to what is essentially their religion and entire culture all in one, being something made by a magical process out of anything handy that can't be replicated by non-goblins. The religion is founded on the notion that if one's body is a temple then the things that come out of it are holy, and thus the pots are used to store things like snot and feces; this has given them a reputation for being unpleasantly obsessed with all things nasty and unhygenic.

* The one appearance of goblins in the ''[[Garrett P.I.]]'' novels was surprisingly peaceful, in that the goblins in question were bounty hunters Garrett paused to chat with in the street. They were searching for a runaway wife, which was their main line of work: in this world, goblin males outnumber females seven to one, and the gobliness had grown sick and tired of over-macho oafs brawling over possession of her. Note that the goblins rode mangy, red-eyed wolves ''in the middle of a human city'', without rousing any disturbance, thus both adhering to ''and'' subverting their usual [[The Lord of the Rings|LotR]] image.

* ''[[Brian Froud]]'s Goblins'' paints them as something like mischievous fairies, intent on driving people insane with constant minor pranks like dancing on freshly cleaned floors with dirty feet or removing your ability to lie in social situations.

* ''The Goblin Wood'' takes this trope and runs with this trope to the point you can see the goblin themed gear it wears

* ''General Punk'' duology has goblins as protagonists. They're [[Combat Pragmatist|pragmatic warriors]] of roughly human size, with inherent magic talent and [[I'm a Humanitarian|humanoiditarian]] reputation.

* [[Charles Dickens]] wrote a now-obscure Christmas-themed ghost story (which has strong shadows of [[A Christmas Carol|that other one]]) called "The Goblins who Stole a Sexton", sometimes retitled "The Gravedigger and the Goblins" or similar such, about a mean-spirited gravedigger who is kidnapped by goblins on Christmas Eve and taught a lesson. Though the creatures are ultimately beneficial, they are also distinctly ghoulish and sinister. Received an even more obscure animated adaptation from Emerald City Films, which is probably more terrifying than the creators intended.

 

* Phineas on ''[[Power Rangers Mystic Force]]'' was only half-goblin. But being half troll, both halves combined to make a really ugly guy, according to his explanation of his [[Backstory]].

* Just as [[Star Trek|Vulcans and Klingons]] are basically Space Elves and Orcs respectively, so Ferengi are very much Space Goblins and may have helped inspired the recent interpretation of goblins as a mercantile race

* ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' had a literal goblin in Goblin's Gold. It was a small, greenish, bald creature that loved gold and playing tricks on people. It made several people fart, made Uther lose his hair and gave Arthur donkey ears. It could take over a person's body and control them, and the only way to get it out was to almost kill the host.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** Other goblinoids exist as well. Hobgoblins are larger and more orc-like, and tend to be militaristic and intelligent. Bugbears (which are ''even bigger'') are brutal, savage thugs who enjoy attacking from ambush.

** In ''[[Eberron]]'', Hobgoblins used to control most of the main continent. They had [[The Empire]] that fell due to extraplanar & Human invasions. In the current situation goblinoids might be working class labourers to scholar or well to do merchants. There's also a country that tries to recreate some of the old empires splendor. Goblins and Bugbears were also integral part of the empire, though they were not the ruling class.

**** Another example of this is that the orcs are the ones who put up the barriers warding off the daelkyr, Eberron's Eldritch Abomination(s).

** Aside from standard goblins, ''[[Ravenloft]]'' has "goblyns": humans transformed by a curse or spell into scaly, fanged brutes who unquestioningly obey the evil master who transformed them. Gremishkas, furry snarling pests resembling rabid monkeys, are more animalistic than either, but match the fairy-tale "goblin" concept, being small aggressive creatures that enjoy thievery and sabotage.

** Overall, there are a TREMENDOUS number of small humanoid races that could fit the "goblin" profile, and might even be called goblins in other worlds. There's Measels, Xvarts, Norkers, Nilbogs (goblins with a bizarre inversion of reality - swing a sword at them or fireball at them, and they heal; cure them and they die), and many many more.

* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' goblins are small, weak, cowardly and cunning and probably a good deal cleverer than the orcs, having been the ones to come up with catapults and bolt throwers. They are, as mentioned before, extremely weedy, and as such usually spend their lives being bullied by any Orcs in the area, when they're not simply being bullied by a bigger Gobbo (and that's assuming they don't just knock you over the head and eat you).

*** Which is a serious downplay on how they were originally portrayed. In the older hardback book editions, Hobgoblins were not quite as tough as Orcs, but far more disciplined, and not only dressed like Mongols, they also rode around on ''animated stone temple dog guardians'', of the Chinese style. They were also more humanlike in build and size, and were the only goblinoids in Warhammer to be able to grow hair. Now they're just bigger goblins.

** Gnoblars are large-eared (and nosed) Goblinoids who get bossed around by the Ogres.

** They are also a fair bit more important than that. Gretchin are the societal organisers, making sure everything runs behind the scenes (Orks are noted many times as not having much energy for anything other than war, and during the sporing process, Grots arrive before the Orks, actually making sure the Orks have a society to enhabit when they arrive), being in most part responsible for the entire Orkoid Race's domestic and commercial (non-war related) endeavours. There are Grot entrepreneurs called "Dodgas" who seem to mostly have the talent for ripping off other Orkoids. Grots are rather understated in most Ork fluff, but their importance is less reflected on warfare, which in 40k is unsurprisingly not particularly well explored. Snotlings also have more importance, although most of it is implied. It seems Snotlings have some use in keeping the Squigs in check, and were at one point originally the most dominant and intelligent part of the race, and are now merely childlike organisms.

** Of course, there is the [[The Alliance|Grot Rebellion...]]

*** The Kyren goblins of ''Mercadian Masques'' were inversions of the normal stupid headstrong goblin: They are the true rulers of Mercadia. They're actually more evil than most other ''MtG'' goblins.

*** The Akki of the Japanese mythology-influenced plane Kamigawa are based on the ''kappa'' of Japanese folklore. In fact, the concept has often been described as "fire kappa".

*** Goblins on the Alaran shard of Jund are ratlike creatures who simply live to be eaten by the dragons that dominate the shard.

** In terms of actual gameplay, most Magic goblins are small, cheap creatures that lend themselves well to [[Zerg Rush]] tactics or uses as convenient sacrificial fodder. Some even come with relevant abilities built right in.

* ''<nowiki>[[Changeling: The Lost]]</nowiki>'' has the hobgoblins, things that live in the the dimension between Earth and Faerie. They're not quite as powerful as the [[The Fair Folk|True Fae]], but they operate by the same fucked-up rules as them. They're also extremely diverse, ranging from will-o'-the-wisps to kelpies to cunning merchants to gigantic trap door spiders.

** In ''[[Changeling: The Dreaming]]'', on the other hand, the closest thing to goblins are the Nocker kith, wiry and foul-mouthed individuals with a tendency towards mad science (and [[Explosive Instrumentation]]). In folklore "nockers" or "knockers" are more or less the same as kobolds. Goblins later appeared as their own race, one of the Thallain, and part of the Shadow Court.

* In the German [[Tabletop RPG]] ''Das Schwarze Auge'' aka ''[[The Dark Eye]]'', goblins are creatures with reddish-brown fur. They still are clever, dangerous in large numbers and often get bullied by larger races like orcs. Instead of wolves, they ride wild boars, which is also how they depict their mother-goddess. In the latest edition of the game, goblins (along with orcs and lizardmen) became a playable race.

* ''[[Iron Kingdoms]]'' has Gobbers. Look like Goblins, act like [[Hobbits|halflings]].

 

== Video Games ==

** It's easy to explain the disappearance of the suicidal tendencies in the goblins of ''[[World of Warcraft]]''; the suicidal ones all blew themselves up, and the survivors have a stronger sense of self-preservation.

** Hobgoblins also exist in Whitewolf's ''WarCraft'' rpg. They're huge, stupid, purple-skinned mutant goblins that were created by goblin alchemists as guards. They have acidic sweat. Blizzard possibly [[Canon Immigrant|introduced]] their own interpretation of the species as part of the Alchemist Hero in ''WarCraft'' III. Hobgoblins spent most of ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' in the unreachable Goblin island of Kezan, but in a recent expansion they finally appear through the world as friendly go-fers and worker bees. The other races have taken to calling them Lumbering Oafs and [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"|the name has started to stick]], even in [[Word of God|official]] [http://www.wowhead.com/spell=90546 ability text].

** Goblins also started out a bit more like goblins of old, dumb as a stump and used for dumb muscle, they were a slave race used by trolls native to Kezan, the Kaja'mite the trolls had the goblins mine mutated them over time, making them intelligent, short, and very, very greedy, allowing them to overthrow their troll lords and become the bastards we know and love.

*** They were short as slaves, as their appeal to the trolls was they could fit into spaces trolls can't. Whether goblins still looked like goblins or were something else (tiny trolls? Pygmies?) before they touched Kaja'mite one of the lore's big mysteries.

** In the first game a member of the Order of the Red Dawn actually refers to them as goblins when explaining to the titular character why he will not be let inside their "establishment".

* Recent ''Zelda'' games play this trope straight with Bokoblins, which are smaller versions of the orc-like Moblins that appeared throughout the series.

** There's also Miniblins, the smallest member of the [[Fan Nickname|Blin species]]. They're little gremlins with pitchforks who make a weird honking noise often in unison. And [[Goddamned Bats|infinitely respawn]].

* Many goblins, like those in ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'', [[Honest John's Dealership|are perfectly willing to sell their mother for a nickel]]. The Moblins of Vana'diel, however, seem more inline with a religious sect than anything else. A [[Steampunk]] sect, mind you.

** In the early ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' games, goblins were little ugly humanoids with knives who existed to give Level 1 Adventurers their very first experience points. Something either goblin-like or named a Goblin appears in pretty much every installment in the series. They are known for the "Goblin Punch" attack (usually falling under [[Power Copying|Blue Magic]]) which traditionally does weak physical damage with a powerful bonus if the attacker and target are the same level.

* There is a playable goblin in the game ''[[Enclave (video game)|Enclave]]''. That alone [[Squee|made it worth playing]].

* The goblins in ''[[Goblin Commander]]'' were created by a wizard for the sole purpose of constructing a Great Machine, whose function they do not clearly understand. They come in five subraces, with different jobs: the Stonekrusher clan mines metals for the machine, the Hellfire clan harvests wood for the machine, the Stormbringer clan researches magic and energy for the machine, the Plaguespitter clan grows poisonous herbs to fuel the machine, and the Nighthorde clan's purpose is unclear until late in the game.

* ''[[Atlantica Online]]'', going by the original myth, has goblins as a sort of demon that looks much like humans and are extremely strong for their level, completely inverting the usual portrayal.

* The original ''[[Rogue (video game)|Rogue]]'' has Ur-Viles, a type of goblin leader (not sure of the source), represented by a capital U. They show up towards the end of the game, and are very dangerous-being hard to hit, and hitting hard in return.

** Hobgoblins are present too, although in here, they're the result of goblin and ork interbreeding. Hobgoblins are less civilized than goblins.

** Goblins were natives of the plane of Yu'biusk, a fey like place. However, during the God Wars, they were pulled off of it, and Yu'buisk was brought to ruin by Bandos, god of war, whom they served (and refer to as "big high war god"). After the wars, the influence of Bandos faded and they began to fight amongst themselves with no stronger ruler.

** Even more subverted when it's found (using a 3rd party tool that read the dwarves' emotions) that snatched children are ECSTATIC! Goblins are one of the most non-xenophobic race around. They regard the 'slaves' as the same as common goblins!

*** Indeed, snatched children from other species can even become goblin military leaders. They're all about equal opportunities.

* Goblins in ''[[Dragon Fable]]'' and ''[[Adventure Quest Worlds]]'' are known as Sneevils. They're pretty annoying low-level minions that like to steal things, especially boxes. Sneevils do love their boxes.

* In ''[[Age of Wonders]]'', goblins generally have cheap and weak units that make up for their weaknesses using poison. They are a filthy and evil race that prefers the underground, and they love to cause destruction and chaos even if it means they have to blow themselves up while doing it. They also have a twisted sense of aesthetics, as they hate the smell of perfumes, and try to stink up their caverns as much as possible by means such as wearing old socks as long as possible. Also, one goblin hero's profile describes her as a magic user who is skilled in altering her appearances, and she chose a form most hideous and repulsive to other goblins to strike fear into them. She happens to look like a slightly funny looking little girl.

** Whereas in the original Dungeon Siege, goblins inhabit an [[Elaborate Underground Base]] containing a variety of spectacularly anachronistic [[Steampunk]] machinery, weaponry, and magically-powered battle robots. Contrast the goblin footsoldiers, who are weak, fight with melee weapons and dress in loincloths, all the while fighting beside goblinoids that are wielding flamethrowers, [[Lightning Gun|lightning guns]] and [[Gatling Good|gatling guns]]. This makes it more likely that the goblin leader - who is [[Smart People Wear Glasses|bespectacled]], has hair, [[Hulk Speak|speaks Hulk]] and can [[Villain Teleportation|teleport]], all unlike his brethren - is responsible for the existence of the facility.

 

** Alignment system is played straight in this webcomic: many villains even detect as Evil, and they are, well, evil - [[Ax Crazy|very]] [[Psycho for Hire|much]] [[Complete Monster|so]]. It is just that the main cast of goblins is Good and they are opposed by Evil, but self-righteous, humans.

*** And yet there is a mysterious paladin who still retains his class powers despite murdering innocent children and cripples just because they are of monster races or even just had friendly contact with them.

** A few comics showed a glimpse of an alternate universe where goblins are similar to but oh so very different from those in the main universe.

* ''[[Order of the Stick]]'' has one high-ranking villain, Redcloak, who is actually just a goblin with a lot of character class levels.

*** There are also orange-skinned hobgoblins who serve as the villains' army. Early strips mention the two subraces not getting along, but more recent strips have painted them as part of the same unified goblinoid race (along with the yet-unseen bugbears).

* The webcomic ''[[Goblin Hollow]]'' features goblins that are small, fuzzy, have enormous pointy ears, improbably small functional wings, and are (though it's not obvious in the black and white strip) bright green. They are also capable of turning selectively invisible (though this can be thwarted by either an infrared camera, or blacklight, which makes them glow), and of teleporting (or "poiting" as they call it). Their lifecycle is similar to that of a cuckoo: after the female goblin lays her eggs, they will leave them either where an ideal "goblin parent" will find them or in close proximity to them. The unborn goblin basically reads the mind of whomever is near the egg: first their mother, then their "adoptive parent", absorbing knowledge and adding them to their own goblin race memories so that they are basically born full grown, mentally and physically. They are VERY loyal to their adoptive "parents" and will accompany and protect them throughout life.... though their mischief often makes their foster parent wish they weren't QUITE so doting.

* Goblins from the [[Porn with Plot]] webcomic Anathema are dark-skinned humanoids with [[Pointy Ears]] and [[Cute Little Fangs]], and a [[More Dakka]] approach to [[Anti-Air]] (their flak cannons are so big they're difficult to manouver). [[Gas Mask Longcoat]] [[Gas Mask Mooks|uniforms]].

 

== Web Original ==

* ''[[The Account]]'', a podcast audio drama, features Nyro Guillome, a modern-day goblin squire who possesses a keen sense for magic and considerable one-on-one fighting finesse. She's also considered traditionally attractive, though the all-audio show makes it difficult to confirm that.

** Kobolds resemble goblins, but with red skin instead of green. They live in mines beneath mountains and fight dwarves for territory while trying to protect their wealth from human looters. Their society is rigid and more stratified than goblins.

** Hobgoblins follow the "larger, stronger goblin" stereotype, but instead of being wicked and cruel they're slow and methodical, being seen by humans as reliable workers.

* ''[[Adylheim]]'' has goblins that can only be seen through the corner of the eye, and spend much of their time seemingly moving small objects around randomly. Oh and touching them is very, very bad luck.

* A goblin appears in every Halloween toon from ''[[Homestar Runner]]'', but most of the time it just "looks around and does a dance" {{spoiler|except for that time he saved Homestar from [[It Makes Sense in Context|a zombie sheep]]}}.

 

== Western Animation ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Our Monsters Are Different]]

[[Category:Our Tropes Are Different]]

[[Category:Fantastic Sapient Species Tropes]]

[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]