Hobgoblins were larger, stronger, smarter, and more menacing forms of goblinoids than goblins, but not as powerful as bugbears.[11]
Their home is ours to conquer, their children our slaves.
Acheron! Acheron! Victory is ours!
Personality[]
By and large, hobgoblins, like their kin, were considered to be evil creatures and often met this expectation. While goblinoid society was typically cruel and harsh, some individuals escaped it to carry on lives of virtue. The few who took this risk and succeeded often met cautious praise and acceptance from outsiders. Those that managed to escape goblinoid society, however, were continuously plagued by their goblinoid nature. Though hobgoblins were not necessarily evil, they were prone to violence and hot tempers, and often found it difficult to be truly altruistic.[3]
When provoked, which was not a hard task, hobgoblins were vindictive creatures who took glee in causing pain to those that injured them. Those hobgoblins who overcome this nature often managed this because of the rewards they found in serving good, rather than evil.[3]
Society[]
A hobgoblin bandit lord and his crew.
Hobgoblins were mostly found in communities where they were in command of either goblins or bugbears, or sometimes both. The most civilized goblinoid communities were ruled by the race. This was in large part because hobgoblin society was more industrious and less savage than that of goblins or bugbears.[11] Though bugbears sometimes took control due to their raw strength, most such communities were ruled over by the strongest hobgoblin, who served as the warchief.[14]
Hobgoblins had a long tradition of mastering and breeding the creatures of the world into slaves of various sorts. Many, for instance, enjoyed working with wolves or worgs. Similarly, many drake breeds were first bred by hobgoblins. Some even believed hobgoblins carried this practice on within their own race, creating the goblins and bugbears in such a manner.[11]
Hobgoblins were immensely protective of their tribe's reputation and military status, so much so that meetings between different groups could turn violent if proper protocol was not followed. However, though hobgoblin tribes were territorial and egotistical in nature, they often united for a common purpose, such as war against non-goblinoids.[14]
Religion[]
Hobgoblins once had their own pantheon, however, Maglubiyet, the god of war and rulership, killed most of the gods. Since then, he was the chief deity of hobgoblins. However, Nomog-Geaya, the deity of war and authority, was considered their patron deity, and many followed Bargrivyek.[15] After the Spellplague but prior to the Second Sundering, Maglubiyet was an exarch of Bane.[16][note 1]
Magic[]
Hobgoblins were warriors by nature and prefered martial combatants to those who draw on magic. Those few spellcasters who were to be found were expected to work well with soldiers.[14]
Notable Hobgoblins[]
- Ardenor Crush, leader of the mercenary company known as the Chill.[17]
- Dror Ragzlin, the hobgoblin True Soul of the Absolute.[18]
- Maaqua, queen of the Razor Heart tribe in the Giantspire Mountains.[19]
- Yargoth the Breaker, head of the clan that dwelled within Trobriand's Graveyard.[20]
- Z'neth, a once-promising warlord who became a larva merchant in the Wandering Emporium.[21]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ In 4th edition, beginning with the Player's Handbook, a new deity named Bane was introduced, an evil god of war and conquest, for the Nentir Vale/Nerath setting. However, the "Deities & Demigods: Bane" article in Dragon #372 states in the "Bane vs. Bane" sidebar "The Bane of the core D&D® setting is not the same god as the Bane of the Forgotten Realms® setting!" and ends saying the article "shouldn't necessarily apply to the Bane of Faerûn." While it argues some similarities with the Forgotten Realms Bane, it misses key difference that the Nerath Bane is a god of war, while the Realms Bane is a god of tyranny. The article gives the Nerath Bane a very different backstory, as a brother to Kord named Achra, but still gives him a curiously familiar title: the Black Hand.
Appearances[]
Adventures
Anauroch: The Empire of Shade
Novels & Short Stories
The Ruin
Film & Television
Comics
Gamebooks
Knight of the Living Dead
Video Games
Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford
Board Games
Card Games
Miniatures
Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
Touched by Darkness
Further Reading[]
- Roger E. Moore (July 1982). “Point of View: The humanoids – Goals and gods of the kobolds, goblins, hobgoblins, & gnolls”. In Kim Mohan ed. Dragon #63 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 25–32.
- Terry Edwards (July 2003). “Paragons of War: The Ecology of Hobgoblins”. In Jesse Decker ed. Dragon #309 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), pp. 52–61.
Gallery[]
Video Games[]
External Links[]
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the following links do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of this wiki, nor does any lore presented necessarily adhere to established canon.
Hobgoblin article at the Eberron Wiki, a wiki for the Eberron campaign setting.- Hobgoblin article at the Baldur's Gate 3 Community Wiki, a community wiki for Baldur's Gate 3.
- Hobgoblin article at the Baldur's Gate Wiki, a wiki for the Baldur's Gate games.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 184–187. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, et al. (November 2016). Volo's Guide to Monsters. Edited by Jeremy Crawford, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 161–162. ISBN 978-0786966011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Rob Heinsoo, Logan Bonner, Robert J. Schwalb (September 2008). Forgotten Realms Player's Guide. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 20. ISBN 978-0-7869-4929-8.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 153–154. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Doug Stewart (June 1993). Monstrous Manual. (TSR, Inc), p. 191. ISBN 1-5607-6619-0.
- ↑ Gary Gygax (December 1977). Monster Manual, 1st edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 52. ISBN 0-935696-00-8.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (2014). Player's Handbook 5th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 29–31. ISBN 978-0-7869-6560-1.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Mike Mearls, et al. (November 2016). Volo's Guide to Monsters. Edited by Jeremy Crawford, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 119. ISBN 978-0786966011.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Julia Martin, Jeff Grubb (1993). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2nd edition (revised), A Grand Tour of the Realms. (TSR, Inc), p. 25. ISBN 1-5607-6617-4.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, et al. (November 2016). Volo's Guide to Monsters. Edited by Jeremy Crawford, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 45–52. ISBN 978-0786966011.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). Monster Manual 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 135. ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, et al. (November 2016). Volo's Guide to Monsters. Edited by Jeremy Crawford, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 47. ISBN 978-0786966011.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, et al. (November 2016). Volo's Guide to Monsters. Edited by Jeremy Crawford, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 49. ISBN 978-0786966011.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). Monster Manual 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 140. ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, et al. (November 2016). Volo's Guide to Monsters. Edited by Jeremy Crawford, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 46. ISBN 978-0786966011.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 180. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Tim Beach (1992). Gold & Glory. (TSR, Inc), p. 19. ISBN 1-56076-334-5.
- ↑ Larian Studios (October 2020). Designed by Swen Vincke, et al. Baldur's Gate III. Larian Studios.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 161. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ Christopher Perkins (November 2018). Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. Edited by Jeremy Crawford. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 117. ISBN 978-0-7869-6626-4.
- ↑ Adam Lee, et al. (September 2019). Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus. Edited by Michele Carter, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 130. ISBN 978-0-7869-6687-5.
Connections[]
Batiri • Blue • Grodd goblin • Nilbog
Other Goblinoids
Bakemono • Bugbear • Dekanter goblin • Goblin rat • Hobgoblin • Koalinth • Norker • Snow goblin • Varag • Verdan • Vril
Goblinoid Hydrids
Butu • Half-goblin • Worghest
Related Creatures
Boggle • Dolgrim • Gremlin