Goblins! These little feisty creatures have a major claim on Dungeons & Dragons adventures. They make excellent adversaries for early adventurers. Their markets can be a great source of rare and interesting goods. They’re extremely loyal to David Bowie. And in the D&D game, Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll face off against all the classic, evil goblins you can ask for.

Goblins and other goblinoids have been a mainstay in D&D adventures since the original Starter Set and Lost Mine of Phandelver. You’ll face off against them in Baldur’s Gate 3, and they’ll even be back with a brand new variant in Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk. This family of monsters is fun to fight, fun to play, and fun to DM. Let’s take a stroll off the Triboar Trail and visit some of the goblinoids of the D&D multiverse.

• The Different Kinds of Goblinoids in D&D
• Goblinoids of the Multiverse
• The Appeal of Goblins for Players
• Goblinoids As the DM Multi-Tool

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The Different Kinds of Goblinoids in D&D

You’ll run into plenty of goblins in Baldur’s Gate 3, but for players and Dungeon Masters at the D&D table, there’s plenty of opportunities to face off against legions of goblinoids in your adventures too! Let’s take a look at the three main varieties of goblinoids most commonly found in D&D.

Goblins

These short, stalwart little monsters are ubiquitous within D&D. In their classic presentation as antagonists, they’re often wicked little creatures ready to swing a club or unleash a bow in service of claimed valuables. As individual monsters, a goblin poses little threat, with a challenge rating of only ¼ each. The threat of goblins comes in their numbers. What might be an easy battle can suddenly turn devastating if a whole raiding party of goblins descends on a group of adventurers.

Goblins are often a popular choice for baddies in a D&D game because they can simultaneously be a legitimate threat while also being a space for some comic relief. They’re classically presented as lazy, greedy, and not particularly wise. So it’s often as fun to manipulate or outsmart a group of goblins as it is to smite them in battle. 

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Hobgoblins

Larger and more cunning than goblins, hobgoblins can pose a bit more of a threat to an adventuring party. Hobgoblins are much more disciplined and martial than their smaller, weaker cousins. Their high Armor Class can make them a tough target to hit for early-level combats, and their tendency to travel in military-style legions can make their threat levels scale quickly. 

In their depictions as conquerors, hobgoblins can conjure up images of Roman legions marching into and occupying lands. This makes them an excellent choice for masses of enemy troops in service of an evil overlord or other larger threat. A hobgoblin warlord can make a pretty decent villain for an early adventure arc, with a CR 6 rating and a tendency to fight with strategy and create fortified defenses for themselves. 

Bugbears

If hobgoblins are the more sophisticated cousin to goblins, bugbears are the goblinoids that take the hard turn into brutish warriors. Despite their size and their overall chaotic combat methods, bugbears are very skilled in stealth. Their ability to ambush unsuspecting adventurers allows them to deal extra damage early on in combat. 

An individual bugbear poses the largest threat out of the three core goblinoids, largely due to their higher hit points. Their disdain for being bossed around, and willingness to abandon bonds in the name of self-preservation, does mean less scaling up of bugbear threats for higher levels, because bugbears tend to have very little in the way of an organized command structure. A bugbear chief with a CR 3 does have stats available in the Monster Manual for DMs who want to give their bugbear attack parties a single strong leader, however. 

Setting Goblinoids Apart

One of the major differences between goblins and hobgoblins in the Forgotten Realms is their relationship with their common deity, Maglubiyet. Goblins fear their god and dread the possibility of an afterlife spent in service of him. Hobgoblins on the other hand see an afterlife at the side of Maglubiyet as a great honor to be earned. 

Bugbears also serve at the side of their deity, a lesser god, Hruggek, who dwells on the same plane as Maglubiyet.

Goblinoids of the Multiverse

Goblinoids have undergone a lot of lore updates and expansions over the years. The popularity of goblins as player characters, as well as their more nuanced depictions in non-Forgotten Realms D&D settings, have led to a bit of a goblin renaissance. These expanded portrayals and origins give goblins room to be classic baddies or more individual characters with their own unique motivations and control over their own destiny.

Eberron

In the Eberron setting, the three goblinoid species were once the dominant, ruling civilization of the main continent of Khorvaire, a civilization that ruled for thousands of years. By the time of the events of the Last War and beyond, goblinoids are still present throughout modern societies and are aware of their past heritage.

Ravnica

Similarly, goblins are also a common sight among the citizens of the planar city of Ravnica. Goblins are suggested characters for the scientists of the Izzet League, as leaders of Gruul Clan raiding parties, or as chaotic performers among the Cult of Rakdos. The adventure, “Krenko’s Way” in Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica even features a goblin mob boss, Krenko. 

Feywild Origins

In Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, goblinoids across the Material Plane are said to have actually originated in the Feywild, having served in the court of the archfey Queen of Air and Darkness prior to their domination by Maglubiyet. This brings goblinoids more in line with the actual folklore and fairy tales that inspired their D&D versions to begin with. 

The Appeal of Goblins for Players

I’ll admit, I’m a bit biased here because I love playing as goblins in D&D. There’s just something about the combination of small and scrappy that has a lot of appeal when putting together a character for an adventure. They’re one of my go-to's for one-shots especially because I find them to be an excellent choice for characters that can seem very silly but surprisingly have a lot of heart. They work great when being played as tiny barbarians, but are also super fun when working against type in atypical places, such as mages or clerics.

Goblins still feel like outsiders in most D&D settings, so they appeal a lot for characters who struggle to fit in or stubbornly carve a path for themselves. While you can’t play as a goblin in Baldur’s Gate 3, player character rules for all three goblinoid species got a fresh update in Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse. These refreshed goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears include their Feywild origins and incorporate the custom origin options for character species, first introduced in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.

Goblinoids As the DM Multi-Tool

The appeal of goblinoids to DMs comes from their versatility. They can shift from being a simple early baddie for lower-level characters to being a major threat simply by changing their numbers. They’re a great foe to use when utilizing the mob combat rules from the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Start with a few individual goblins and then add more as players get deeper into their lair. 

Goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears complement each other and have fun variations at different CR levels. These allow the species to be a great resource for DMs who are looking for a swath of NPCs and foes that can all fit in the same lair or within the same enemy organization.

I grew up with Labyrinth, so goblins as lackeys for villains have a special place in my heart, but leaning on the comedic elements of them can also be a cunning strategy. If the players’ characters have started to dismiss the threat of a goblin foe due to the expectation of them as an irreverent and ineffective sentry, they might find themselves caught off guard when that goblin reveals herself to be a serious threat. 

Finally, let’s just say what’s true: It’s fun to do goblin voices. Sometimes the more obnoxious the better. They’re like telling dad jokes, the more they make your players squirm, the more fun they can be.

From Baldur’s Gate to Phandalin and Beyond

With goblins featuring big in Baldur’s Gate 3 this summer, it’s only fitting that a new set of goblin foes be included in the upcoming adventure Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk. Emerging in this upcoming title’s bestiary are the psionic power-infused goblin psi brawler and goblin psi commander. These new goblins both are armed with powerful telekinetic and mental attacks and the ability to silently coordinate ambush strikes against unsuspecting adventurers. 

Riley Silverman (@rileyjsilverman) is a contributing writer to D&D Beyond, Nerdist, and SYFY Wire. She DMs the Theros-set Dice Ex Machina for the Saving Throw Show, and has been a player on the Wizards of the Coast-sponsored The Broken Pact. Riley also played as Braga in the official tabletop adaptation of the Rat Queens comic for HyperRPG, and currently plays as The Doctor on the Doctor Who RPG podcast The Game of Rassilon. She currently lives in Los Angeles.