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Goblin

2022-08-14T15:38:22Z

2600:1003:B120:1897:9169:E945:F21C:28F3: /* Monstergirl Depictions */

[[File:Path Gob Rat.PNG|thumb|right|300px|Brushy brushy.]]

{{Topquote|I want to have goblins about me, for I am courageous. The courage which scareth away ghosts, createth for itself goblins--it wanteth to laugh.|Friedrich Nietzsche, ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra''}}

'''Goblins''' are mythological creatures of unclear origin and contradicting descriptions, but are generally agreed to be small humanoids with a mischievous nature, possibly belonging to the fey family (along with creatures such as redcaps, brownies, leprechauns, kobolds, etc).

The origin of the word "Goblin" can be traced back to the British "Gobelinus", which was the name of a demon that once caused trouble in Normandy. It has been theorized the term began with [[Kobold]], which was a German Fey spirit whose origins can be traced to one of a variety of earlier myths based in Paganism from various other cultures. Kobolds also gave their name to cobalt, due to the fact that new advances in mining in Germany during the Middle Ages allowed access to large amounts of cobalt ore, but the mining was very dangerous and they had no idea how to smelt the metal, so as a result the numerous mine collapses as well as the "theft of the ore, with only poison and ash left behind" were blamed on Kobolds. Either way, Goblin myths often involve mischief, mining, and chemistry.

In modern fantasy, the term "Goblin" has been very much determined by the Tolkienian use of the word - as in a species of humanoids in service to evil, with the "Orcs" being another word for the same thing, with Tolkien claiming the etymology for that word being an old English term for demon. Goblin appearance has been further shaped by both video- and boardgames, as well as various artists. They are universally smaller than humans, although the exact size varies, and often have large pointy ears (larger, wider/triangular, and more animalistic than elf ears) and either long, crooked, and pointed noses (For DnD goblins, a large or otherwise impressive nose is a sign of virility and attractiveness in a male) or orc-esque noseless features.

The basic goblin stereotype is that of a savage warrior and raider that attacks villages and ambushes unwary travelers; being one-dimensionally evil, they can be (and are) killed without remorse in large numbers (unless you read Eberron, G:LTTE, or Terry Pratchett's Snuff). They act and move in small groups (as they don't pose a large threat by themselves but are wary enough of human reprisals to avoid mass hordes that will bestir an army to mobilize and wipe them all out), and are commonly the first combat encounter for a young adventurer. Goblins tend to live in caves and gang up with orcs and similar races, with whom they are sometimes described as belonging to the same family or species. Their intelligence is usually fairly low, although among dumber and larger brutes they will be the clever ones doing the "skilled" work while the bigger ones shout orders.

A lesser but definitely competing Goblin stereotype is that they are an unusually technologically advanced and ludicrously smart/cunning race on par with if not better than [[Dwarves]], such as by creating fantasy machine guns or an entire robot army in Warcraft or Dungeon Siege, though usually with the handicap of being very blasé about construction- or even user-safety, as well as being consummate merchants; Tinker Goblins will gleefully sell or contract out to a wannabe evil conquerer, but almost never become one. If you couldn’t tell from the examples given, this was really more of video game trope for a long time; goblins in tabletop were sometimes described as oddly industrious, but until recent years it never extended beyond a joke gimmick or the occasional war machine pulled right out of their green asses just to give the PCs/Good Races a hard time in a campaign/lore battle.

Because of the comedy potential, players have always liked being goblins, and they were one of the three most-popular races requested for an add-on to 5e as of a (no longer) recent survey.

[[Goblinoid]]s include a vast array of species in D&D, ranging from obscurities like the stone-skinned [[Norker]]s and the "they heal when you hit them, die if you heal them" [[Nilbog]]s to mainstays like the more organized [[Hobgoblin]]s and the big, scary, pseudo-[[orcs]] called [[Bugbear]]s.

=In /tg/ Media=
In the [[Iron Kingdoms]] and [[Magic: The Gathering]] (sometimes), goblins have a penchant for technology and love to tinker with machinery (especially steampunk contraptions and the like), somewhat propagating the "mad scientist" archetype.

In [[Kings of War]] goblins are still a source of evil comic relief. They're often suggested to have been created by the [[Celestians (Kings of War)|Celestian]] Garkhan the Black after he finished creating the orcs with "whatever was left," although where exactly they came from is a mystery. They're still engineers as in many settings, but they tend to be very short-term thinking and don't like to test things before they use them.

In [[Eberron]], goblins are quite a bit different than their usual portrayal, described in the d&d section below

In [[Pathfinder]], they're stupid little freaks with all manner of strange quirks (good singing voices, fear horses and writing, like fire and pickles), sort of a cross between Gremlins and a baby-eating Stitch. They are also very funny and (somewhat) lovable, and even have their own comic series. Surprisingly, despite being described as naturally inclined towards a mixture of [[Chaotic Stupid]] (easily distractable to the point of stopping combat ''mid-swing'' to chase a frog or pick their nose) and [[Stupid Evil]] (love of torturing anything smaller than them) behaviors, they have no mental penalties. Pathfinder also has a goblin variant called the Monkey Goblin, which is even ''stupider'' than regular goblins, but much stronger and more agile, using a rat-like prehensile tail to aid it in a life in the trees.

In [[Malifaux]], they're noseless hillbillies with very few womanfolk called Gremlins complete with straw hats, jug bands, blunderbusses, and lots of pigs. Also come in an Asian variant.

=Tolkien Goblins=
[[File:Tolkien Goblins.JPG|thumb|The most accepted origin of Goblins in the Middle Earth setting.]]

{{Topquote|Now goblins are cruel, wicked, and bad-hearted. They make no beautiful things, but they make many clever ones.|J.R.R. Tolkien, ''The Hobbit''}}

Tolkien was not consistent on the relationship between goblins and orcs. Initially he said that "Goblin" was merely the halfling word for Orc. The main narrative text of <i>The Hobbit</i> contains no explicit mention of orcs at all; it is only remarked that the name of the sword "Orcrist" translates, in the ancient tongue of Gondolin, to "goblin cleaver." Later works said that goblins were a subtype of orc. Later still works treated goblins and orcs like completely separate creatures, so take your pick. Generally since The Hobbit is the central foundation to his stories and it makes a point of explaining that Orcs are just larger types of Goblins, along with Lord Of The Rings having most Orcs as being not much bigger than Hobbits, Goblins are seen as around Hobbit-sized.

Goblins and Orcs are given different backstories from Tolkien, although the most prominent one is they are the twisted forms of Elves tortured and beat into submission by Morgoth and Sauron. Other origins are being an Asian group of Elves stolen from their people and bred as slaves by Morgoth and Sauron, just being animals uplifted by M&S, fallen Maiar, men who were corrupted rather than Elves (or a mix of the two, with some interbreeding with humans as another possibility), or slimy rocks transformed by Morgoth's magic into living beings. Regardless, almost all were the backbone of Sauron's armies who have heavily industrialized and produce only ugly things that cause sickness (perhaps as a metaphor for wartime industry).
Canonically Christopher Tolkien decided on them being Elves who were among the first group of Elves but believed Morgoth’s whispers that the Valar were beings of evil and fled from them into the woods when the Valar first met the Elves, later captured by or lured into Morgoth’s power.

The notion of an entirely evil race conflicted big time with Tolkien's Catholic beliefs, so there are hints that not all Goblins and Orcs were evil, as a few passages indicate no race was wholly united for or against Morgoth; there are independent groups of Goblins in The Hobbit, and a few lines given indicate that Orcs will go to great lengths to avenge their fallen leaders, while in his notes he considered them a race capable of free-choice and thus not the "[[Always Chaotic Evil]]" that many later works paint them to be.

Although Tolkien did try to avoid overtly assigning any real life peoples to his fantasy races, the Goblins are very blatantly Asians with fangs and Tolkein once described them as "Mongol-types". If you want to be ''really'' charitable you could argue that alternatively, in dialect and mannerisms, orcs and goblins are exaggerated Cockney thugs or louts from urban South West England, in direct contrast to the very genteel Northern Farm Country hobbits, bumping the caricatures down a notch or two from "out-and-out racist" to "exceedingly classist and provincialist".

Orcs and Goblins are repeatedly stated by the narration to be fantastic inventors and engineers, with one of Tolkien's notes alleging that they have access to rudimentary blackpowder weaponry, but this isn’t really shown. Sure, Uruk-Hai are anachronistic in their munition armor and drilling exercises, but that's entirely thanks to being bred, trained, and outfitted by Saruman. I guess the shantytown metropolis inside the Misty Mountains is a rather impressive feat of construction, but that's really it for stuff they are seen to have actually built themselves.

=Warhammer=

{{Topquote|Gork and Mork made da Goblinz for us to kick, kill, and eat. Dey iz nothing. Dey iz less than nothing. Even dere magic iz weak an' pointless. Only use Dey got in a fight iz catchin' Humie arrows. Wiv der 'eads.|Sheglak, Orc Great Shaman}}

In early [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]], Goblins were merely a shorter variety of Orcs, which were greenskinned evil humanoids who sometimes bred with humans. In fact, Warhammer Fantasy was the very first depiction of Goblins and Orcs as green skinned, something that has since become a staple of the races in pop culture. This is mostly because they came from model ranges that GW had lost the rights to sell (e.g. Tolkien or D&D) and thus needed to quickly rebrand them as something with a veneer of uniqueness to finish selling their existing inventory. The specific choice of new complexion may have been inspired by [[Marvel Comics|The Incredible Hulk]], for like Orks he is also hugely muscled, mindlessly destructive, and originally ''grey''-skinned.

With the creation of [[Warhammer 40,000]], the Goblins became [[Grots]], also called Gretchin, who like the [[Orks]] were actually a type of fungus ape. Between their legs is only two bulging spore-sacs which burst upon death and grow into new Grots/Orks in the ground.

After 40k had massive success, this was ported back into Warhammer Fantasy and Goblins along with the Orcs became fungus men. [[Skub|some oldschool Warhammer fans have rejected this, and the term "Orcgina" can make many on /tg/ go into flashbacks about the arguments inspired between the oldfags and newfags on the subject.]]

In both settings, Goblins/Grots are smaller greenskins who are extremely vicious but extremely cowardly and refuse to attack something unless they outnumber it ten to one (preferably more). Against nonthreatening foes however they enjoy torturing them, and POWs are subjected to horribly slow deaths to the chittering amusement of the tiny greenskins.

In Warhammer Fantasy Goblins are independent of Orcs, many living in their own tribes. A few even have their own gods, like the [[Forest Goblins]] who worship the [[Spider-god]]. Despite this, many Goblins also join groups with Orcs either to bully the Orcs into doing the manual labor, or where they are bullied into doing the manual labor. While only the [[Black Orc]]s are capable of actually producing new goods or learning technical knowledge among the larger greenskins, Goblins produce many things from giant flying ships to chariots. Of particular note is the Night Goblins, master chemists who's biology is bizarre and alien in its fungus nature even to other greenskins. Red Goblins existed in the early model ranges as well as Bugbears and Kobolds but they vanished as the old model ranges were replaced. Apart from all this, the main distinction between Goblins and 40k Grots is that Goblins aren't all weak, subservient slaves - Goblins individually ''are'' pretty weedy, but they do try and deck themselves out in armor and whatnot and can even take over Orc tribes, if a cunning or vicious enough Boss arrives. Most often this will be a Shaman (for his tricks and ability to scheme) or a Night Goblin Warboss (for being fucking insane), but even a normal (AKA Plains) Goblin Warboss can be a significant threat.

In 40k, Grots have almost no freedom and are only found alongside their bigger kin. They're not the strongest, quickest, meanest, or anything-est compared to the Orks, except for being better shots and more kunnin', to the point of generally being brighter (though that's not saying much). In most cases they are at best assistants, at worst slaves and moving targets. The only exception is the [[Gretchin Revolutionary Committee]], although that...ended badly. They fare a little bitter in Mek-controlled settlements where their technological know-how and small size are in more demand. They may even be allowed to make their own tanks - small and scrappy, but dangerous at least

In both Warhammers all greenskins speak in a British Cockney accent, with heavy Chav mixed in for variation. Goblins were renamed to Grots in [[Age of Sigmar]].

<gallery>
Image:Bad Moon Goblins.png|Warhammer Fantasy Goblins of today.
Image:Goblin Airship.JPG|Warboss Beater Pan(ic)!
Image:Gretchinmob.jpg|Grots.
</gallery>

{{Template:Playable Factions in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar}}

=D&D Goblins=
[[File:Goblin DMG 5e.jpg|right|300px]]

{{Topquote|Goblins are what you default to when you have no idea what the party should be fighting, because they're just so splattered all over the realm that everyone just accepts that they can show up anywhere|JoCat, ''A Crap Guide to D&D - Goblins''}}

[[Dungeons & Dragons]] did not do anything particularly innovative with goblins. Instead, they are fairly close(ish) to their Tolkien roots - or, rather, to the simplified version of Tolkien's goblins; small, hateful, savage creatures that infest the unwanted corners of the world, constantly squabbling amongst themselves for power and occasionally spilling out to raid and terrorize the neighboring civilized lands when their numbers build up enough. Whilst Tolkien's goblins were actually quite inventive and adept at building things, since they were a combination of the two peoples that Tolkien most disliked (the Central soldiers he'd fought in WW1, and the industrialists he believed were destroying the countryside), D&D's goblins lack that trait due to [[Medieval Stasis]] - they're not as primitive as [[lizardfolk]], but are still the quintessential depiction of them as "just tribal scavengers", in contrast to goblins in some other media being "the chaotic and/or evil tinker race".

In fact, when you scratch the surface, D&D goblins may tap into the same "evil mook" basis as Tolkien's goblins, but actually are deliberately taken in different ways. Whilst originally D&D [[orc]]s & goblins are implied to have often worked together, and even interbreed, by the time of [[Planescape]] the two were actually bitter enemies - the two races share the same "heaven" of [[Acheron]], where they constantly war in an attempt to drive the other race to extinction. This even persisted into 3rd edition, when the orcs' changed racial alignment of Chaotic Evil meant they shouldn't have been going to Acheron in the first place. This stands in stark contrast both to Tolkien (who initially said that "orc" and "goblin" were words in two different languages for the same race) and to other popular settings, such as [[Warhammer Fantasy]] & [[Warcraft]], where goblins tend to be a strong racial ally to orcs. Some sourcebooks, usually setting dependent, present a more nuanced portrayal of them and give them a deeper culture than that, but for the most part, D&D goblins are your standard generic cannon fodder evil mooks.

However, just like the [[orc]]s, goblins have a ''long'' history of being a potential PC race in [[Dungeons & Dragons]] - they've been playable in literally every single edition, with multiple incarnations in 3rd edition. The usual idea is to play them up as "spunky little troublemakers" - either a scrappier analogue for the [[halfling]] or a less kitschy counterpart to the [[gnome]] (or even a more high-functioning version of the [[Kender]], without the stigma). And, for what it's worth, goblin PCs are actually generally quite liked. In fact, goblins were one of the player races most requested for a formal update into 5th edition PC races. Given the second season of [[Critical Role]] features a goblin PC as a main character, in the form of Nott (a self-loathing female who wants to become a [[halfling]]), and the fact that [[Pathfinder]] goblins have such an fandom that Pathfinder 2e promotes them to a corebook race, many are expecting an eventual 6e to feature playable goblins in the PHB, just like how 4e added the [[tiefling]] and the [[dragonborn]].

The biggest exception to goblins being generic evil baddies in d&d is the Eberron
setting, where they're given a nuanced portrayal, with a deep and sophisticated culture. In [[Eberron]], "goblin" is used to refer to bugbears, hobgoblins, and goblins. They are the descendants of the once mighty continent spanning Empire of Dhakaan that collapsed because of an invasion by the Daelkyr, masters of the plane of madness. The invasion was eventually beaten back by an alliance between the empire and the orc tribes called the Gatekeepers (badass men-in-black style druids who protect the world from lovecraftian horrors), but the empire fell afterwards. They're not the banal savages that you can kill guilt free in many other settings.

In the current day they are split up into three broad cultural groups (and a few splinter groups) - the smallest of the big three are The Heirs of Dhakaan, or Dhakaani, which are the badass super disciplined remanents of the empire who preserved their way of life after the empire collapsed by hiding underground or in secluded mountains and would like to bring goblins back to their previous heights. The various goblin races are all equal under the Dhakaani and share a eusocial bond like ants. They specialize in different tasks - the hobgoblins are administrators and soldiers (females are usually bards), goblins are workers, scouts and spies, and the bugbears are shock troopers and heavy laborers - but if you're better at a job outside your cultural role, the empire doesn't waste talent and puts you in that job.

Then you have the Ghaal'Dar, who made up the bulk of the descendants of the collapsed empire and had to deal with the fallout. Their culture degenerated into petty barbarian tribes with a might-makes-right mentality, their eusocial bond destroyed by the daelkyr. They are usually ruled by hobgoblins due to their superior ability to organize vs the other two subspecies. However, during the conflict known as The Last War they united and stole a chunk of land from the human kingdoms that they named Darguun. It's their "new goblin Homeland" and they're starting to rebuild their culture from there, but nobody thinks it will last. It's ruled by an alliance of clans with the leader, Lhesh Haruuc maintaining a delicate balance of power between them to maintain stability. He's tried to institute the rule of law and has been mostly successful, but a few clans (mostly in desolate areas where they can get away with it) only pay lip service. The country has been a success so far and their culture is slowly clawing it's way out of the dumps, but many are worried that when Haruuc dies it will all fall apart, so he is desperately looking for a competent successor.

The last major cultural group are the city goblins. They're the descendents of Ghaal'Dar goblinoids who weren't killed or fled when the humans conquered the continent, and were enslaved for a few thousand years. They're mostly lower g goblins, and were released from slavery about a thousand years before the current time. They're considered tax paying citizens and have all the rights (on paper) of human or [[Demihuman]] citizens of the countries they live in. However, they tend to be poor and live as second class citizens in many places due to racism and lack of opportunities. The majority of them are loyal to their country of birth and consider themselves regular citizens, and they often dislike the Ghaal'Dar for commiting war crimes during the Last War and giving goblins a bad name. Most of the ones who were sympathetic to Ghaal'Dar moved to Darguun.

Goblins (like 99% of races in this setting) are not naturally evil in Eberron; they have the same range of alignments as every other sentient race. For cultural reasons they do tend towards being lawful neutral, but only slightly.

As a somewhat curious aside, D&D goblins are yellow (mostly) compared to the more usual goblin color of green. This trait survived even after the popularization of green Goblins in most other fantasy settings, most prominently the aforementioned Warhammer Fantasy and Warcraft. A few settings sometimes portray them as shades of grey, or the previously mentioned colors with a grey tint. They're even portrayed as red or deep orange in some artwork.

The D&D goblin has a ''huge'' family tree, to the point they even coined their own racial name; "[[goblinoid]]". The two most prominent goblin-kin are the [[bugbear]]s - large, hairy, brutish goblins that, arguably, are D&D's attempt to maintain the orcy archetype without making orcs & goblins officially related - and the [[hobgoblin]]s, who are literally Tolkien's uruk-hai.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Goblin ODD1.png|Original D&D
Goblin MM 1e.jpg|1e
Markessa goblins A2.png
Goblin Monster card.jpg|AD&D Monster Card
goblin MCV1.jpg|2e
Goblin MM 2e.png
goblin First Quest.jpg
Goblin slaver First Quest.jpg|They call him Baby-Face
Goblin A0-A4.png
Goblin 3e.jpg|3e
Goblin 4e.jpg|4e. The only edition with GREEN goblins!
Goblin 5e.jpg|5e
TWBTW Jingle Jangle.png|Post-Tasha's they are looking pretty [[gnome]]y
TWBTW chucklehead.png
Goblin B1.png|Pathfinder
goblin ARG 1.png
goblin ARG 2.png
Goblin SF.png|Starfinder
</gallery>

==PC Stats==
===BECMI===
Goblin PCs first appeared, alongside many other "classic humanoids", as PCs in the Known World Gazetteer #10: The Orcs of Thar. Under the Basic system, they had the following crunch:

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Goblin Ability Modifiers: -3 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Constitution
::Note: Like all Humanoids from "The Orcs of Thar", a Goblin has racial ability score caps of 18 in all scores bar [[Intelligence]] and [[Wisdom]], which are capped at 16.
::Note: Like all Humanoids from "The Orcs of Thar", a Goblin determines its [[Charisma]] score for interacting with [[human]]s and [[demihuman]]s by dividing its Charisma score by 3 (rounding down) and subtracting the result from 9.
::Goblin Natural Armor Class: 8
::Can become a [[Shaman]] (8th level) and a [[Wokani]] (6th level)

{| class=wikitable
!Goblin's's level || XP Required || Goblin's hit dice
|-
|0||0||d8-1
|-
|1||800||2d8-2
|-
|2||1,600||3d8-3
|-
|3||3,200||-
|-
|4||6,400||4d8-4
|-
|5||13,000||5d8-5
|-
|6||26,000||6d8-5
|-
|7||55,000||-
|-
|8||110,000||7d8-5
|-
|9||220,000||+2 Hit Points
|-
|Subsequent||160,000||+2 Hit Points
|}
</div></div>

===AD&D===
Goblins went on to appear in [[The Complete Book of|The Complete Book of Humanoids]]:
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Ability Score Modifiers: -1 Strength, -1 Charisma
::Ability Score Range: Strength 4/15, Dexterity 4/17, Constitution 5/16, Intelligence 3/18, Wisdom 3/18, Charisma 3/12
::Class Restrictions: [[Fighter]] 10, [[Cleric]] 9, Shaman 7, Witch Doctor 7, [[Thief]] 12
::Infravision 60 feet
::Can detect new or unusual constructions in an underground area with a 25% chance of success (1-2 on a d8).
::Goblin shamans have access to the Spheres of Divination, Reversed Healing, Protection and Reversed Sun.
::-1 Penalty to their attack rolls when in bright sunshine
::Monstrous Traits: Appearance (-2 to to reaction rolls), Bestial Habits (-2 to reaction rolls)
::Weapon Proficiencies: Axe, Military Pick, Morning Star Sling, Short Sword, Spear
::Nonweapon Proficiencies: Alertness, Animal Handling, Animal Training (Worg), Begging, Chanting, Close-Quarter Fighting, Fast-Talking, Fortune Telling, Hiding, Hunting, Information Gathering, Looting, Mining, Religion, Riding (Worg), Set Snares
</div></div>

===3e Stats===
In 3rd edition, goblins appeared as an NPC race in the [[Monster Manual]] and were made fully playable in [[Forgotten Realms: Races of Faerun]]. They were reprinted without change in a few books after that.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::-2 Strenth, +2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma
::Small
::Humanoid ([[Goblinoid]])
::Base speed 30 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::+4 racial bonus on Move Silently and Ride checks
::[[Favored Class]]: [[Rogue]]
</div></div>

===4e Stats===
Like in 3e, the goblin appeared as a PC class in the [[Monster Manual]] for 4th edition. However, like all such races in 4e, its statblok there was...serviceable, but underwhelming. However, one of the last sourcebooks of that edition to be published, "The Dungeon Survival Handbook", brought them back as an official race, and boy were they beefy!

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom OR +2 Charisma
::Small
::Speed 6 squares
::Low-light vision
::+2 Bluff, +2 Stealth
::Goblin Reflexes: +1 to Reflex defense.
::Racial Power - Goblin Tactics: At will, as an immediate reaction to being missed by an enemy melee attack, you can shift 1 square.
</div></div>

The biggest boost that the DSHb gave, besides the flexible mental ability score boost, was a selection of racial feats and racial utility powers, both of which really strengthened the goblin's mechanics and thematics.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the list of goblin racial traits
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
''Goblin Racial Feats:''
* Ankle Biter: +1 feat bonus per tier to damage rolls vs. creatures larger than you, +1d6 damage on critical hits against creatures larger than you.
* Desperate Goblin Tactics: When bloodied, Goblin Tactics lets you shift 3 squares.
* Goblin Feint: When you use Goblin Tactics, you gain Combat Advantage against the triggering enemy until the end of your next turn.
* Shadowcreeper: Requires [[Assassin]] class. When you use Goblin Tactics, you shift 2 squares and gain Partial Concealment until the end of your next turn.
* Sneaky Stabber: Requires [[Rogue]] class. When you deal Sneak Attack damage to an adjacent foe, reroll any damage rolls of 1 until you get a result higher than 1.
* Wrist Biter: When you use Goblin Tactics, the triggering enemy takes 1d4 damage per your character's tier before you shift.

''Goblin Racial Utility Powers:''
* Fast Filch: At-will. When adjacent to a creature granting combat advantage, as a minor action, you can make a Thievery check to pick its pocket or perform sleight of hand. Level 2.
* Leg Up: Encounter. When adjacent to a creature, as a move action, you can jump your speed horizontally or up to 10 feet vertically. Level 2.
* Little Green Lie: Encounter. If you fail a Bluff, Diplomacy or Intimidate check, you can re-roll the check as a free action. If it was a Diplomacy or Intimidate check, you can use your Bluff modifier instead. Level 2.
* Living Shield: Encounter. If you are hit by an enemy melee or ranged attack whilst adjacent to an ally, as an immediate interrupt, you can shift 1 square and transfer the hit to that ally. Level 6.
* Unwitting Guardian: Encounter. When adjacent to a Medium or larger creature, as a move action, you can can shift 1 square to enter the target's space, occupying it until the end of your next turn and being hidden from all creatures except the target. Level 6.
* Down and Through: Encounter. As a move action, choose a Medium or larger enemy adjacent to you and shift up to 5 squares to a different square adjacent to that creature; you can move through its space during this shift. Level 10.
</div></div>

===5e Stats===
Finally, goblins appeared as a PC race in 5th edition's Volo's Guide to Monsters. Like their fellow [[goblinoid]]s, the [[kobold]], the [[orc]] and the [[Yuan-ti]], they were officially described as "unbalanced", which has earned a lot of fan flak, as this is literally an open invitation for more close-minded DMs to refuse goblin PCs - goblin fans are still hoping that WotC will eventually put out a splatbook with a "more official" and/or balanced version of goblin PC stats. Ironically, they were better off than the poor kobold.

Hopes of a reboot were shattered when the Guildmaster's Guide to [[Ravnica]] came out in November 2018; whilst earlier [[Plane Shift]] articles had presented an alternative goblin statblock, the GGR simply reprinted the Volo's Guide stats below.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+2 Dexterity, +1 Constitution
::Small
::Speed 30 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::Fury of the Small: Once per short or long rest, when you inflict damage with an attack or spell on a creature larger than you, inflict bonus damage equal to your level as you attack from below, probably punching the enemy in the balls.
::Nimble Escape: You can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns.
</div></div>

Surprisingly enough, after a second reprint in Eberron: Rising, the children’s “activity book” Adventure with Muk gave an alternative playable writeup, specifically for the Dankwood Goblins featured. All this does though is raise +1 Wis instead of +1 Con, and replaces Fury of the Small for the Forest Gnome’s Speak with Small Beasts, letting them communicate simple ideas to Small beasts and smaller. Which is nice for the utility, I guess.

As mentioned above, [[Plane Shift]] featured alternative goblin stats first - two separate versions, in fact. Whether they are better than the official versions is a matter of debate, though...

;[[Zendikar]]
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+2 Constitution
::Small
::Speed 25 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::Grit: You have Resistance to Fire and Psychic damage, your Unarmored AC is 11 + Dexterity modifier.
::Tribal Affinity: Choose either the Grotag Tribe (you have Proficiency in Animal Handling), the Lavastep Tribe (you have Advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made in rocky or subterranean environments) or the Tuktuk Tribe (you have Proficiency with Thieves Tools).
</div></div>

;[[Ixalan]]
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::+2 Dexterity
::Small
::Speed 25 feet, Climb 25 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::Climber: You have a Climb speed of 25 feet if you are not encumbered or wearing either medium armor or heavy armor.
</div></div>

====3rd Party Settings====
;[[World of Farland]]
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Ability Score Increase: +2 Dexterity
::Size: Small
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::Goblin Proficiencies: You are proficient with the Scimitar, Shortbow, and Light Armor.
::Nimble Escape: This is basically the same as the trait of the same name from 5e canon, except this version can only be used once per short rest.
::Subrace: Choose the Urban Goblin or Subterranean Goblin.
</div></div>

''Urban Goblin''
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Ability Score Increase: +1 Constitution
::Urban Stealth: You have Proficiency in Stealth and apply twice your Proficiency bonus, rounded down, when making Stealth checks in Urban environments.
::Tenacious: After failing a saving throw, a skill check, or an ability check, you gain Advantage the next time that you make a save or check using that same ability score. This trait lasts until used or 24 hours have passed.
</div></div>

''Subterranean Goblin''
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the statblock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::Ability Score Increase: +1 Wisdom
::Dungeon Stealth: You have Proficiency in Stealth and apply twice your Proficiency bonus, rounded down, when making Stealth checks in subterranean environments.
::Pious: You have Proficiency in the Religion skill.
::Improved Darkvision: Your Darkvision increases to 120 feet.
</div></div>

===Pathfinder===
Of course the [[Pathfinder]] ruleset included Goblins, and tweaked them up a bit from their third edition version by giving them more dexterity. By Paizo's own reckoning, this puts their overall Race Points (RP) on a par with the other PC races, so should be a viable option for players, even if it is a bit uninspired.

Pathfinder did considerably more to support Goblins as a usable race, for both players and DMs. An entire splatbook was dedicated to their place in Golarion, while they were also included in the Advanced Race Guide and had additional options in the Monster Codex, allowing for a respectable variety in race trait customisations, giving them things like bite attacks, perceptions boosts, weapon familiarity, among others; the ability to create a medium-sized goblin who is not a [[Hobgoblin]]; a bunch of racial feats; and a handful of dedicated class archetypes, including [[Alchemist]]s with [[Awesome|flying mount companions]].

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Click "Expand" to see the stablock.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
::-2 Strength, +4 Dexterity, -2 Charisma
::Small
::Humanoid ([[Goblinoid]])
::Base speed 30 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::+4 racial bonus on Move Silently and Ride checks
</div></div>

=[[Half-Goblin]]s=
Given the strong connections between goblins and [[orc]]s in some settings, particularly in [[Dungeons & Dragons]]' older editions, and the existence of [[half-orc]]s, one may ask if there's ever been any love give to half-goblins? Well, ironically, not really; though [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] claimed that [[goblinoid]]s interbred with each other and with orcs all the time, that fluff was lost after the change to 3rd edition, which wanted to try and make the two races distinct. As for goblin/human crossbreeding? Forget about it; they barely gave half-orcs any love, so you can imagine they'd be less than interested in half-goblins.

Except... there was one setting where [[goblinoid]]s took the place of orcs. In the [[Dragonlance]] setting, orcs don't exist, being replaced by goblins and [[draconian]]s, and so the half-goblin appeared there in 3.5's Races of Ansalon sourcebook. Surprisingly, they're known for both being very self-confident and assured (in fact, their Charisma penalty is described as stemming from coming across as ''too'' confident, making them seem overbearing or aggressive), in contrast to the propensity for wangsting endemic to half-orcs and half-elves in other settings, very brave (in contrast to the traditional goblin cowardice) and with a drive to be peacemakers and diplomats, rather like half-elves. Essentially, rather than bitching about being rejected by both worlds (human and goblin) or about the lack of a "true" half-goblin culture, half-goblins are near-universally driven to try and force the world to shape up and make a culture for them, by bringing goblins and humans to work together in peace. Which is actually kind of badass, and certainly a change from the norms for half-breeds. In essence, they're said to combine human ambition and drive with goblin ferocity and mob mentality.

Half-goblins are described as looking more or less like human-sized goblins; half-bugbears might be particularly hairy, and half-"common" goblins shorter than average, but still within the human stature. Although this stature can lead to them being mistaken for [[hobgoblin]]s, they apparently lack quite as many fangs and have more human-like eyes, which makes the difference obvious enough at a closer look.

=[[Magic: The Gathering]]=
{{Topquote|Goblins are eager to follow orders, especially when those orders involve stealing, hurting, annoying, eating, destroying or swearing.|''Krenko's Command'' flavour text}}

It should be no surprise that Goblins appear in Magic. Showing up in the very first set, Goblins have risen to be one of the most popular tribes in the game, and boy do they get a ton of support. They are known as the "characteristic" species of red, which means that they show up in pretty much every plane as the default red-aligned race. In fact, the number of planes in which goblins do not appear on can be counted on one hand. In general, when goblins show up, they are shown to be chaotic and unruly. They almost always have green or red skin, and travel in large groups, though this isn't always the case. On [[Ixalan]], they look more like monkeys with white fur and black skin, and tend to be individualistic. They love fire and scrapping together machines and weapons that should by no stretch of the means work, but they do. More often than not, these inventions require the sacrifice of another goblin to get it working properly.

As a tribe, goblins often have small bodies and weak frames. When they show up with high power, it's usually at the cost of toughness. They are cheap to get out onto the battlefield, cheap to search up, and attack fast. They are perfect for aggressive red strategies, and they often come with ways to dump out even more goblins out onto the field. This usually comes in the form of goblin creature tokens, but some of the most powerful goblins let you dump them straight from your hand! If you don't wipe the board, or take out the few key goblins holding the deck together, you can expect the battlefield to be swarming with the little guys, and you'll be losing fast.

Goblins aren’t always evil in MtG settings. Usually they’re more of a footnote that don’t even appear in any actual stories, and on cards they’re portrayed often more destructive than outright evil; picture an entire race whose approach to warfare is indistinguishable from an audition for Jackass. There are occasional appearances of Goblins in less chaotic contexts such as Boros Recruit, which depicts a Goblin footman. Mirrodin offers the biggest example of a heroic Goblin, with the forest Elf main character of the first block having a companion named Slobad who was an elderly Goblin machinist.

=[[Warcraft]]=

{{Topquote|Every great goblin invention was born from necessity, bubble gum, or an accident.|Goblin adage}}

Goblins are a staple race in the Warcraft franchise. They have green skin, are very short, have long and strong fingers, long noses, large pointy ears, and sharp teeth.

In Warcraft 2, when the game expanded to more than just Humans, Orcs, Ogres, and Demons, Goblins were first mentioned. They were small mechanically-inclinded lunatics who invented great devices and were god-tier chemists. They offered their services to the Horde since it gave them more opportunities to wreak havoc and the races that would come to be those of the Alliance had ignored them for their entire history.
The Goblins mainly performed recon and VIP transport for the Horde via their Zeppelins, demolitions in the form of suicide Sapper squads, the invention of airtight missile-launching capsules that were tied to the backs of giant turtles to use as submarines, and finally experimenting on their Forest Troll allies to transform them into giant Berserkers. In secret they also helped the resident Sauron, an insane evil dragon named Deathwing, in his various endeavors. Goblins were described as insane, sadistic, and greedy for gold.

In Warcraft 3, Goblins became a neutral group. It was revealed only a small portion of the Goblin race actually worked with the Horde, while the others have always provided their services to anyone with gold to spend and after the fall of the first Horde they have enforced that their own race remain entirely neutral to all factions. They did little of importance other than provide transportation for the various power players in this time.
When the second Horde was building their capital of Durotar, a small number of Goblins lead by world famous Gazlowe provided them with fair deals (which is itself a big deal for their race) for Goblin services including demolition.

In vanilla World of Warcraft, Goblin lore expanded even further; a small number of Goblins were seen in the Alliance, some among the Horde, while it was revealed almost the entirety of their race dwell on an island called Kezan which has a massive underground city called the Undermine. The Cartels run Kezan, the most powerful of which is the Steamwheedle Cartel which performs the basic services offered in Warcraft 3. They maintain a few cities around the world including Ratchet (Gazlowe's city nearby Durotar), Booty Bay (a port which services anyone who reaches it, mainly pirates although they are just as much at threat from pirate attack), Gadgetzan (a desert city of scum and villainy, plus a small gladiatorial arena), and Everlook (a town high in the mountains of Kalimdor near by ancient magical Elf ruins).

Goblins have a racial rivalry with the other mechanically minded race, [[Gnomes]], although hostility varies from giant robot wars to having a giant racetrack where they see which race can build the best vehicles to next-door neighbors who collaborate with each other on inventions and take any opportunity to try and make the other admit their philosophy is better. In general, the Goblin philosophy is "Chemicals, 50% chance of exploding is acceptable, build it fast, what we’re really here to make is big bucks people!" while the Gnomish philosophy is "Magic and radiation, 10% chance of turning anything from your hair a different color to your entire self into a chicken is acceptable, take your time and spend decades if need be, do it all for the love of knowledge and invention".

In Cataclysm, Goblins recieved a MAJOR update as they became a player race. One of the cartels which was one of the weaker ones (having their section of Kezan entirely on the surface, mainly producing pop culture, cars, sports, and edibles) joined the Horde after Deathwing set their portion of Kezan on fire (since in the middle of a not-football game a ball was kicked and hit him). Their trade prince sold the entire Cartel into slavery after charging them all their possessions for supposedly safe passage off the island, and the ships were caught in a naval battle between the Horde and Alliance. After conquering the island, they then joined the Horde which was in the middle of becoming a fascist genocidal dictatorship again thanks to shit leaders (also, their trade prince got to keep his job despite the mess he caused). They quickly upgraded the Horde from catapults to giant robots and from bow and arrow to machineguns, then created their own new capital by completely renovating a huge chunk of the continent into the symbol of the Horde complete with a Mount Rushmore of their racial leader.
During the Kezan levels it was also revealed that Goblins have become multicultural, taking on things previously alien to them like worship of the light and shamanism (although the former is seen as a combination of medic and television evangelism, while the latter is perceived as cutting deals with nature). Kezan is very modern and has television, pop stars, sunglasses, champagne, fancy cars, neon lights, not-Chinese food, electricity and lightbulbs, and many other conveniences not seen elsewhere in the rest of the Renaissance setting outside the homeland of the Gnomes.

Goblin origins were also explained. In ancient times, Goblins were a semi-intelligent race of monkeys which were enslaved by Island Trolls and forced to mine a substance called Kajamite. Kajamite has a side-effect of causing a huge boost to intelligence (although not coherent thought) in anyone who imbibes it, and one day the Troll slavemasters entered the mines to whip their tiny laborers and were disintegrated with laser beams. Since then, the Goblins have mined Kajamite and used it as an ingredient in ingestibles of all kinds (including "Kaja-cola") although their supply was beginning to run out, and there was fear they may regress back to being mere monkeys without it. Like most Cataclysm plots, this was never brought up again, although there were hints that with the Kaja-cola that was left everywhere they go, that monkeys drinking it have started becoming intelligent as well.

Goblins in Warcraft 2 had extremely squeaky, high-pitched voices and tended to babble or shriek. In Warcraft 3 the shrillness of the voice was lessened, and they became more calm and coherent. The Goblins in World of Warcraft still have a voice that is higher-pitched than a human, although only slightly more for males while gaining something of an American Brooklyn accent. The non-Bilgewater Goblins still speak in their Brooklyn accent or a general American accent, whereas the Bilgewater Goblins speak like they're from New Jersey both in accent and expression.

<gallery>
Image:GoblinZeppelin.png|A Goblin Zeppelin pilot in Warcraft 2.
Image:GoblinSappers 2.jpg|Goblin Sappers in Warcraft 2.
Image:Goblin Sappers.jpg|Warcraft 3 Goblin Sappers.
Image:Goblin Tinker WX.png|Warcraft 3 Goblin Tinker.
Image:WoW Goblin Fem.jpg|World of Warcraft female Goblin player characters.
Image:Warcraft Goblin Player Male.jpg|World of Warcraft male Goblin player characters.
Image:GOBLINS AND GNOMES.jpg|Goblin/Gnome rivalry.
Image:Kezan.png|The Bilgewater portion of Kezan.
Image:Goblin Easter.png|Goblins are into holidays in a big way, either as a business conspiracy or over-enthusiasm.
Image:Goblin femSapper.jpg
</gallery>

=[[Goblin Slayer]]=

{{Topquote|Before the demons destroy the world, the goblins will destroy the villages. The world being in danger isn't an excuse to let the goblins live.|The slayer himself}}

[[Skarsnik|The said goblin in this manga while being a weak, tiny and barbaric humanoid is capable of many unorthodox tactics and teamwork that they could outplay and murder low level adventurers numerous times, whom the said adventurers underestimate the cunning goblins]]. They are barbaric primitives so they have to loot tools. However, they are capable of some degree of intelligence, like using signs like totems to create distractions as well as cover their weapons with urine and poisonous herbs to not only prevent adventurers from healing themselves, but also mark them with scents for goblins have an acute sense of smell. While they use mercenaries and pets such as wolves and orcs to further boost their effectiveness, the biggest contributors of their horde are their red shirt goblin goons, who are weak, small, but expendable and effective while attacking in groups. The horde is often led by a goblin mage that is capable of casting spells like fireball.

Oh, and this being Japan, they're sadists native to the moon who have only one gender and use females of other races to reproduce; given their brutal nature, it's done via rape. What the hell else would you read this shit for?

=Troll 2 Goblins=
The notorious movie Troll 2 infamously [[Irony|features no actual trolls]]<ref>Nor any connection to its purported prequel, ''Troll'' from 1986, which is a fascinatingly bad movie in itself. Troll 1 features a surprisingly strong cast and a pair of protagonists both named "[[Harry Potter]]" (Sr. and Jr.), among a great deal of other weirdness unrelated to its "sequels". Further, there have been ''two'' movies released as "Troll 3", neither of which has a [[troll]], nor much connection to either Troll 1 or 2 or each other (one purported Troll 3 features a "hobgoblin" and the other features killer trees). And then there was a semi-official sequel to Troll 2 called "Goblin 2" (Troll 2 being originally filmed under the title "Goblins") that actually featured a [[troll]] (and no actual goblins). But enough about other filmmakers' [[Pun|Trolling]] of audiences.</ref>. It instead features goblins (thus, its presence in this article), who live in the town of Nilbog ("Its Goblin backwards!"), and who, for the purposes of this movie, are vegetarian monsters who turn their human victims into plants via various potions and other concoctions. (The writer/director was an Italian with ''issues'', okay?)

That being said, the Troll 2 goblins are worth mentioning just because "vegetarian monsters who convert their prey into plants" is a fairly good line for "just how weird you can go with goblins", and also a good adventure seed that could be used for a minor [[World of Darkness]] mystery baddie.

=Monstergirl Depictions=
{{Monstergirls}}
[[Image:Goblin_Bar_Wench.png|thumb|200px|"Hey sugar, what'll you be having? Tonight's special is already served to your table."]]
Traditionally, the idea of goblins being [[monstergirls]] was something of a niche, at best; most thought of them as just hideous, stupid, filthy little monsters - who would want to put their dicks in that?

Ironically, it was [[Warcraft]] that probably first sowed the seeds of female goblins being fuggable; whilst the attractiveness of female goblins in that game is contentious, people must admit that they were better-looking than the tumor-riddled, snaggle-toothed, scarred abominations that make up the canon depictions of most goblins prior to that. They were certainly attractive enough to start scoring [[Rule 34]] artwork, and this became a revelation to fa/tg/uys: that goblin-girls did ''not'' have to be fugly!

From there, goblin-girls became an underground sensation, slowly developing and evolving in the steamier underbelly of /tg/ and on /d/ (or at least its "western counterpart" /aco/) until they have become as mainstream in the /tg/ fandom as any monstergirl has a chance of being. When brought up, expect the occasional joking argument on whether it should be standard for female goblins to be referred to as "goblettes".

Because goblins vary so widely in their depictions, it shouldn't be surprising that goblin-girls likewise have been a particularly fertile ground for interpretations. There are five "mainstream" depictions of the goblin-as-monstergirl you will probably encounter on /tg/, and many different sub-forms and cross-pollinations. All depend on which of the various "goblin aspects" a creator deigns to focus on; tinker skills, short-sighted hedonism, mischievousness, propensity towards rapaciousness, and/or fertility:

* The "Pervy Tinker" archetype directly traces its roots back to Warcraft's Rule 34'd goblins: this envisions goblins as a "techy" race with a strong lewd streak, leading to them focusing their mad science skills on coming up with newer and more deviant ways of getting off. Depending on the fundamental tech level of the setting and the creator's own tastes, this can range from aphrodisiac gas grenades and crystal-powered sybians, to [[golem]]s built as living sex engines, bimbofying/transforming [[magitek]] rayguns, and vat-grown tentacle monster pets. Rule 34 interpretations of World of Warcraft lore can be counted as this, as well as rare goblins in Corruption of Champions that are mentally stable enough to keep their panties on while in a lab.
* The "Shameless Slut" archetype likewise has its roots in Warcraft goblins, vis-a-vis their canonical obsession with money, but is perhaps one of the more widely known "generic" archetypes as well. These goblins are hedonists who take a great deal of pride in their libido and their love of pleasure, integrating with the other races and usually gravitating towards roles based on "entertaining"; from barmaids to outright prostitutes. In fact, they are often depicted as actively enjoying whoring themselves out, as it ensures a steady stream of partners and profit, whilst sating their perverse and degrading sexual desires. These goblin-girls are often size-queens, specifically choosing partners based on the stature of their masculine organs. The adult comic artist Incase is focused on this one, and might as well have started it with his drawings.
* The "Mischief Maker" archetype is the most innocent of the archetypes; portraying goblins as just playful, fun-loving hedonists whose greatest aims in life are pranking, partying, and making love, not necessarily in that order. This archetype is the closest to a pornified parallel of the old "civil goblins are just green-painted Halflings/Gnomes" canard, as the latter two in porn tend to also be found in whimsical depictions of normalized-sex communes. These goblins are still generally less sentimental with their "free love" compared to them, but are significantly less transactional than the Shameless variety, and derive plenty of pleasure out of teasing their paramours.
* The "Savage Slut" archetype is perhaps the oldest of the archetypes, for it owes its origins to the original interchangeability of goblin and [[orc]]. These goblins are basically sexy "savages"; wild and primal little monstergirls who live a primitive lifestyle centered on hunting, playing, and of course capturing & having sex with men. Essentially, this depicts goblins as [[shortstack]] or [[loli|"a loophole for masturbating to underage children"]] orcs. Kenkou Cross' Monster Girl Encyclopedia is squarely focused on this aspect.
* The "Breederphile" archetype is, in comparison, probably the youngest of these archetypes. These goblins are defined by their racial pregnancy fetishism, and by having bodies almost literally built to breed. Being impregnated is intensely orgasmic, pregnancy either fills them with bliss, makes them incredibly horny, or both, birth is a series of some of the most intense orgasms of their lives, and social standing revolves around how many daughters they have to boss around. {{BLAM|+++...SCANNING...+++}} {{BLAM|+++Congratulations Neophyte, you have just weathered the single worst psychic assault a slaaneshi daemon is capable of unleashing; you may now be promoted into the ranks of the [[Grey Knights]]+++}}This archetype does make some sense if you think about it: after all, as a 'cannon fodder' species for PCs, where do all the Goblins come from? Corruption of Champions might as well have pioneered this archetype.
* The "Ghetto Goblin", while not part of the "five aspects" breakdown, has a decent-sized backlog of smut and is unique enough to be worth an honorable mention. This variant of goblin-girl portrayal is native to [[Urban Fantasy]] settings. Mostly played as a watered-down mix of the "Shameless Slut" and "Breederphile" archetypes (the "water" in this case being some occasionally-awkward racial coding), Ghetto Goblins tend to be used as an attempt at a less-overtly-offensive repackaging of old "hot-blooded Latina" or "Ghetto Black Girl" racial stereotypes, in that they are sexually open, tend toward foul language and fiery tempers when angry and lewd vocalizing or body-language when aroused or teasing others, and frequently dress provocatively. While breeding for the Ghetto Goblin isn't usually as erotic as it is for the Breederphile, the social status of the Ghettoblin is often measured by how many offspring they have, how often they have sex, and how early they first had sex. They arouse easily, to the point that human men in their stories often need to talk Ghetto Goblins out of outright molesting them openly in public. As you can imagine, this is a niche community variant. More precisely, it was codified and achieved popularity on /aco/ based almost entirely on the output of one prolific writefag.

Whilst these archetypes are certainly well known and defined, there are also two setting-specific depictions of goblin monstergirls that have achieved enough recognition to be recognizable by name; the MGE Goblin and the CoC Goblin.

The [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]] depiction of the goblin is essentially a mashup of the Mischief Maker and the Savage Slut archetypes. These primitive mamono live in tribal clusters, entertaining themselves by playing pranks on each other or the races around them, hunting game, and conducting banditry for fun, profit, and boyfriends. In appearance, they resemble pointy-eared human [[loli]]s with horns and superhuman strength, allowing them to fight with weapons that only a strong human man would normally have a chance of lifting. Simple-minded and carefree, they have no intention of giving up the lifestyle they so enjoy.

The CoC Goblin takes its name from Corruption of Champions, a [[/d/|hentai]] fantasy text adventure game that was popular on /tg/ for a while, before the fact that [[furries]] are much more willing to put money where their mouth is when it comes to getting fetishistic shit done led to the inevitable flooding of the game with [[beastfolk]] waifus and encounters and /tg/ promptly banished it. Still, before it went under, it had a significant impact on the goblin-girl arena: CoC may not have created the idea of the Breederphile archetype, but it certainly brought it to the attention of what passes for /tg/ mainstream. CoC's goblins are Breederphiles who became a pregnancy-obsessed all-female race due to succubus-corruption in their water supply. Once a brilliant race of alchemists and inventors, they have since devolved into a Savage Slut culture, living in crude tribes based on a massively curvy matriarch, her husband(s), and as many daughters as she can make who are willing to stick around - whilst goblins are fiercely competitive with each other, there is also safety in numbers, keeping them from being eaten by [[hellhound]]s or raped/beaten to death by [[minotaur]]s. Such clans are often notably inbred, for their corruption means they have little sense of objection to incest, with only the matriarch's jealous possessiveness in regards to her husband keeping her daughters at bay. They're also examples of the Pervy Tinker archetype, using what remains of their former knack for invention to create sex toys and perverse alchemical concoctions for use in subduing husbands and molding them to their liking.

One memorable goblin monstergirl is Zanik from [[RuneScape]]. Zanik is a badass female goblin adventurer who is the star of one of the game's major story arcs, wherein she helps the player save her tribe of technologically advanced goblins from a KKK-like cult of racist humans and then from an evil god of war who wants to take back control of her tribe. Fans of the game were so mad when the developers killed her off unfairly (and also gave her a graphical update that made her extra-ugly) that they later brought her back with a cuter redesign (though now fans complain that her new look is ''too'' cute).

<gallery>
Image:Cute_Goblin_Adventurer.jpg
Image:Goblin_Dancer.jpg
Image:Goblin_Adventurer_1.png
Image:Goblin_Monk_1.jpg
Image:Goblin_Shamaness_1.jpg
Image:Goblin_Shamaness_2.jpg
File:MGE Goblin.jpg|When Lolis go after predators.
</gallery>

=Gallery=
<gallery>
Image:Sneaky Goblin.gif
Image:Goblin Knight.JPG|A more "player character" variety.
Image:GreenGoblin3.jpg|Most goblins tend to [[Alchemist|throw pumpkin bombs]] and use flying crafts to annoy [[/co/|superheroes]].
</gallery>

=See also=
* [[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition races]]
* [[Unified Setting/Goblins]] Yet another take on a classic concept.
* [[Goblin Slayer]], a man with a serious beef against goblins.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqx4ywmqYUw The most common reaction to Goblins]
* [[Goblinoid]], for the extended goblin family.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLLHu8qtxjg Rare footage of an Goblin ritual. Purpose unknown.]

{{D&D1e-Races}}
{{D&D2e-Races}}
{{D&D4e-Races}}
{{D&D5e-Races}}
{{Pathfinder-Races}}
{{Starfinder-Races}}
[[Category:Kings of War]][[Category:Monsters]]
[[Category: Goblin]]

Order of the Stick

2022-08-14T04:02:01Z

2600:1003:B120:1897:9169:E945:F21C:28F3:

{{/co/}}
[[Image:PostersTogetherBig.jpg|center|500px]]

{{Topquote|Holy shit, this is still ongoing?!|Every anon, at some point}}

'''Order of the Stick''' (also known as '''WORDSWORDSWORDS'''), written and drawn by Rich Burlew, is by far one of the most popular /tg/-related [[webcomic]]s in existence. Essentially, it's about a party of classic [[Dungeons & Dragons]]-style adventurers on an epic, high fantasy adventure, except they are well aware they're actually in a game AND in a comic (meaning they break the fourth wall all the time, and also casually discuss things like saving throws and to-hit bonuses as though they were common knowledge). However, it quickly grew from a very funny parody of D&D to serious pastiche of fantasy in general (a lesser form of the condition what TVTropes calls as [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CerebusSyndrome Cerebus Syndrome]), gaining a complicated-yet-interesting plot, a host of characters from all sides of the [[Alignment]] table, while retaining the humourous tone the comic is known for.

This has caused OotS to devolve into a [[skub]] topic, at least on /tg/. Half of /tg/ thinks the comic has shit pacing, poor jokes, and an army of sycophants who refuse to see that everything has gone wrong, whereas the other half of /tg/ believes that the comic is just as funny as it always was, and with better plotlines than most fantasy novels to boot. Many fa/tg/uys also complain that the comic is "too simplistic" art-wise, given it has a strict stick-figure aesthetic. Burlew has proven his drawing chops on many occasions and notes in the FAQ that the stick-figures "bring the right air of humor to the strip," not to mention the fact that the style, for better or worse, has become the comic's hallmark and can't be changed now. Also, compared to [[Servants of the Imperium]], the later OotS strips are pure gold. That being said, Burlew is a fan of the "wall of text" method of comic design, and frequently seems like he'd be much happier just writing a book, and that's before getting into how he keeps slicing open his hand enough to severely impact his ability to draw and force him into a hiatus every other year it seems.

In other words, standard skub stuff, and has given rise to the fa/tg/uy project [[thog edits]], redos of the comic to eliminate the words and in the process twist the dialogue into something dirty.

[[Image:Miko_ready_to_smite.png|thumb|Spared no expense on the art budget for this climax]]

Rich Burlew's only other claim to fame is coming in second place (or, as he likes to call it, "first loser") in [[Wizards of the Coast]]'s "design a campaign setting" contest. He lost to Keith Baker's [[Eberron]]. This is either a great thing or a terrible thing, depending on how you feel about Eberron. Unfortunately, WotC kept all rights to the setting and put the designers under NDA, so we'll never actually see his entry, as it seems they locked it in a darkened room and forgot about it.

The comic is hosted on [[Giant in the Playground]] and has been put into a number of printed volumes, with the latest volumes funded via [[Kickstarter]].

==The Cast==
Of course a D&D story would be nothing without [[PC]]s, [[BBEG]]s and a supporting cast of [[NPC]]s. They are on all sides of the spectrum between [[skub]] tier and god tier.

{{spoilers}}

===The Party===
The titular Order of the Stick, named first for the artstyle, then retconned into a nearby object. All of their builds are purposely terrible (on Burlew's part) to both A) make the fight scenes last longer than two panels, and to B) emphasize reliance on clever tactics and teamwork to win. The exception, impossibly enough, being Elan.

* Roy Greenhilt, the party's [[fighter]] and leader. Despite avoiding the whole "INT is a fighter's [[dump stat]]" thing, he still spends most of his time hitting things with his green-hilted (get it?) greatsword, putting up with the party's bullshit and, for a good chunk of the comic, being dead. Comes up with the plans and gives out the orders too, if they'd transitioned to 4e he'd be a [[warlord]]. Or a tactician archetype in [[Pathfinder]]. Or a battle-master in [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition|5e]]. Or... well, let's just say that he's playing in the worst edition possible. There was a gag about him not going for [[warblade]], a class he'd probably excel at, because his bitter old wizard father didn't want to shell out for a ''doctorate'' from Fighter College. Late in the story he starts taking levels in a homebrew prestige class that lets him unlock new powers from his ancestral weapon.
* Haley Starshine, the party's [[rogue]] and second in command. [[Blood Ravens|Will steal everything that isn't bolted down, then steal the bolts, followed by stealing the thing that was bolted down.]] Has an actual reason to do so: to pay off her father's life-sentence in prison. Then, when she met him he wanted nothing to do with her because she was snackin' on the rapier of the son of the man who put him there. Welp. Wields a bow and is comfortable with fighting as dirty as possible to win. Despite her greed and cynicism she is a loyal party member, and manages to stay "[[Chaotic Good]]-ish." Dating Elan after a messy incident involving her being unable to speak for about a hundred comics and him meeting a Final Fantasy character. Note... Haley's speaking in aforementioned incident is actually in a cryptogram, but it CHANGES EVERY STRIP, which is fine in 2005 when you have a week to work on each one before the next comes out, but is just a waste of like, an hour when you have a hundred to go through and went in with the assumption that they all used the same code.
* Elan, the party's [[bard]]. He is the living embodiment of every derpy character you ever rolled up just to screw with your friends. He's as thick as a loaf of fine [[meatbread]], sucks at barding duties (often resulting in "wacky" hijinks) and has a homebrew [[prestige class]] that forces him to make bad puns as he fights. As the story goes on, he starts to suck less, and it helps that he's the ONLY member of the team with an optimized build. (Maxed CHA for everything bard-related, plus that prestige class adds it to his attack and damage, meaning that he doesn't suffer from [[MAD]] as much as a typical bard.) Apparently, if Haley can be trusted, that maxed CHA is also worth a good deal "under the hood." As a bard consciously aware that he exists in a fantasy story, Elan is the character most, "narratively equipped," to deal with the environment and is often able to use rules of traditional storytelling to predict, even manipulate events. In other words, he's a metagamer.
* Durkon Thundershield, the [[dwarf]]en [[cleric]] of [[Thor]]. Gruff, dutiful and honorable, as all good dwarves should be. Pretty stereotypical and solid in his support of the team. Has an accent so thick that it affects the way his dialouge is spelled, despite no other dwarf family in the comic talking like him. His clan had a vision that his return would herald a great cataclysm, so they sent him away and told him they'd tell him when he could come back and never did, because no one in fantasy stories has ever read a fantasy story. Was turned into a [[vampire]] for 200 strips until he got staked, died, got resurrected, died ''again'' 30 seconds later after an ill-advised marriage proposal, then got resurrected for real. Received a hell of a plot dump from Thor while dead, and was tasked with convincing Redcloak and his dark god to betray Xykon, lend their aid, and save the world(s). Also now wields a powerful lightning hammer which Thor told him where to find.
* Belkar Bitterleaf, the chaotic evil [[halfling]] [[multiclassing|multiclassed]] [[ranger]]-[[barbarian]]. A hard-drinking, hard-fighting, hard-fucking killing machine, Belkar is one of the best characters in the comic. [[Murderhobo|He kills what he can't fuck and he fucks what he can't kill, sometimes fucking things before he kills them]] (but not the other way around, ew). His style of fighting involves stabbing as many dudes as possible with as many knives as possible. Despite being able to steamroll regular enemies, his low Will means that any spellcasters he faces will kick his ass, and his effed-up build (barbarian-ranger is an unhappy marriage where XP is concerned, his low STR means he mostly has to kill minions with tricky maneuvering, his low WIS makes him useless at casting Ranger spells, and despite being a 3.5e ranger he didn't put <i>any</i> points into his tracking ability) means that bigger people (like Roy) can still kick his ass. Still, he is murderously awesome and the PC with the biggest body count thus far (or would be if it wasn't for the time a powered up Vaarsuvius cast an evil epic spell that unintentionally caused a far bigger genocide than they intended). Has a pet cat called Mr. Scruffy, hurting him will cause Belkar to rip you inside out and feed them to you, and vice versa. Also has a motherfucking allosaurus (currently polymorphed into a small lizard).
* Vaarsuvius, the [[elven]] [[wizard]]. V's undescribed gender is something of a running joke - emphasis on "something"- in the series, which makes you wonder what their voice must sound like for it to be of no help in the matter. They have a spouse at home who is also of unknown gender, and it isn't even clear if they are the same or different sexes; both are likely a play on elven androgyny. V's primary M.O. is "use fireball", [[Meme|and if that doesn't work, "use more fireball"]] (fitting, given their name). They also like to prank people with the Explosive Runes spell, and other forms of blaster magic may or may not be prominent. The fact that this is probably the worst way to play a wizard in no way diminishes the fact that V is easily the most powerful member of the Order by a country-mile, able to turn the tide of entire battles unless some convenient dramatic device takes them out of the action for a while, which it often has. While they used to possess an ego befitting both an elf and a wizard, V was recently taken down a notch when they were forced to <Strike>sell</Strike> rent their soul to a [[Tanar'ri|demon]], [[Baatezu|devil]] and [[Yugoloth|daemon]] (all at the same time) to save their spouse and (adopted) children from a black [[dragon]]. They eventually [[RAGE|flipped the fuck out]] and [[powergamer|killed up to a quarter of all black dragons in existence through a nasty 'Familicide' custom spell]] alongside their direct non-blood related (read: non-dragon) families in order to posthumously spite said dragon. They are horrified when they realized the unintended consequences of this caused the deaths of countless innocent people with black dragon ancestry or even with no dragon ancestry who had relations to those people.
* Minrah Elle Shaleshoe: A female Dwarf Cleric/Fighter multiclass who joins the party much later in the story. She first joins with them to stop an attack on the dwarven lands by vampires led by vampire Durkon, but at the end of that arc decides to join up with them permanently after learning about the threat of the Snarl while she and Durkon were both dead. Hasn't had as much of a chance to show off her stuff as everyone else, but she's apparently Durkon's cohort and a fighter/cleric multiclass.

===Antagonists===
====The Snarl====
Backstory time. In the beginning of the universe, four pantheons of gods came together to create a world, but they had disagreements with each other over what the world should be like and the threads of creation became tangled together and created a god killing monster that attacked and completely wiped out one of the pantheons. The remaining gods created a new world to act a prison for the snarl, but the prison was flawed and rifts in space time began to open leading to the snarl. A group of heroes sealed the rifts away with magical gates. But then, a goblinoid known as the Dark One ascended to godhood and was outraged when he learned that goblins and been created just to be a source of exp for low level characters and came up with a plan to take control of the snarl using the gates. That is Team Evil's goal (Or at least Redcloak's).

====Team Evil====
* Xykon the formerly human [[lich]]. An [[epic]] level [[sorcerer]], Xykon is bored out of his skull and as such toys around with holes in reality that serve as gates to [[Warp|a dimension containing a world-eating snarl]]. Used to be Redcloak's pawn and henchman as the magical equivalent of a stupid brute, until the intelligence and wisdom boosts from being lich-i-fied gave him the brains to snap any kind of controls his former master could put on him, (or at least thinks that he has). Doesn't like [[wizard]]s because they were condescending to him during his life, and likes beating the shit out of them with his ability to cast spells over and over again (like Energy Drain). He is wholly and unapologetically evil, and [[Eldrad|kind of a dick]], but he's still kind of funny because his charisma is through the fucking roof (as a sorcerer, it kinda has to be). In fact, the author purposefully avoided giving him a sympathetic backstory in the prequel book so that readers wouldn't see him as any less evil, unlike Redcloak who does a sympathetic motivation for evil.
* Redcloak the [[goblin]] [[cleric]] and high priest of the Dark One. Xykon's main henchgoblin and ruler of a major goblin tribe and later also the leader of a much larger hobgoblin army, Redcloak is the guy who's told to "get it done". And hoo boy, does he get it done. He murders the resistance to his people's occupation of a major city, has another of Xykon's servants eaten by her own wights and reveals that he was using Xykon from the beginning for the good of his people, all in the span of a half dozen pages. Has a lot of backstory in the prequel comic, but you have to pay for it so f*#$ that noise. ''During'' the comic, he grows out of his racism towards hobgoblins, and is generally the cool, logical, rules-nerd left brain to his boss's impulsive, screwball right brain. He gets his name from the crimson mantle he wears, which is an artifact created by the Dark One that grants the goblin that wears it knowledge of the plan to take control of the Snarl, as well as an extended lifespan. He has never revealed his original name because Xykon hates long names.
* The Monster in the Darkness is a creature of many mysteries and few truths. All we know that it has two yellow eyes and acts even stupider than Elan. It also is stupidly powerful: it can punch people so far they are launched into the sky; it stomping on the ground is powerful enough to cause localized earthquakes; and it can teleport people with but a word and a thought. Has the personality of a child (a non-evil one). After extended contact with O-Chul, has begun to think for himself, discovering, to his own surprise, that he is actually ''extremely'' intelligent and doesn't ''want'' Team Evil to win, and so has begun subtly undermining their efforts from within, something that has been enormously successful because none of his teammates see it coming or expect him to do ''anything'' smart. [https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?646977-MITD-Sweet-XVI-and-Never-Been-Guessed If you think you've got the brains, feel free to jump on the ride that never ends and try to follow the breadcrumbs and figure out what he is.] We'll wait. [[Troll| Remember to only pick ones with Trenchant Political Analysis as a listed special attack!]]
* Tsukiko, a mystic theurge. A necrophile necromancer with a crush on Xykon (which grossed <i>him</i> out) and also a parody of the [[Mary Sue]] archetype. She was in charge of the wight brigade until she discovered Redcloak's plan to double-cross Xykon, which got her eaten by her own wights for her troubles.

====The Linear Guild====
* Started out as evil counterparts of the PCs (which was deliberately done by their leader, Elan's twin brother Nale (get it? Nale is Elan backwards!)). The Guild consists of three core members plus two other slots that keep having replacements due to death or quitting:
** Nale, a Fighter-Rogue-Sorcerer multiclass specializing in enchantment, which is, if you didn't notice, basically a [[bard]] only [[Tzeentch|more complicated]] and capable of being Lawful Evil. This tells you a great deal about Nale's personality. Is permanently dead; he was stabbed by his father and was subsequently disintegrated for murdering Malack and rejecting his father's attempt to reconcile.
** Sabine, a [[succubus]] and Nale's lover with whom she shares a deep and fulfilling relationship based on human sacrifice. Is currently stuck somewhere in the Lower Planes, trying to get revenge on her boyfriend's murderer, and since Thog is also probably dead she the last member not to die or quit.
** Thog, a [[Half-Orc]] [[barbarian]] who's part of the Dumbass Triumvirate alongside Elan and the Monster in the Darkness. He talks like the Incredible Hulk. Although unconfirmed, he likely is dead after Roy tricked him into collapsing a ceiling on himself, burying him under a ton of rubble.
* On the four different occasions the teams have clashed the Linear Guild employed a subset of the following people:
* '''First Encounter'''
** Zz'Dtri, the [[drow]] wizard. An obvious copy of [[Drizzt]], he was hauled off by the lawyers of [[Wizards of the Coast]] for being an obvious [[Drizzt]] copy. [[Wat|Yes, that happened]]. Later returned ([[Wat|because he was a parody, not a copy, protected speech bitches!]]) and clashed with V using all the interim levels to tailor his build just to fighting the wizard. This did him no good against Durkon, the party cleric, particularly with that vampire strength boost. Currently dead
** Hilgya Firehelm, a dwarven cleric of [[Troll|Loki]] who fucked, fought and fled from Durkon during the Guild's first encounter with the Order, in that approximate order. Reappeared after over 1000 strips to save the party from a vampire horde in the nick of time. Has a self-serving memory, believing everyone around her is selfish when she's one of the most selfish beings on the planet. Brought Durkon's baby into the battle [[Dwarf_Fortress|like a true dorf]].
** Yikyik the [[kobold]] ranger. Was beheaded by Belkar and turned into a [[hat]]. Currently dead.
* '''Second Encounter'''
** Pompey the [[half-elf]] wizard (get it? Pompey and Vaarsuvius are named after Pompeii and Vesuvius! We're clever). Had a crush on Roy's sister and teamed up with the Linear Guild so that he could have her, but he was defeated, imprisoned, and then escaped, signing on with Leeky. Has not been seen since.
** Leeky Windstaff the [[gnome]] [[druid]]. Turned into a giant monster and rampaged through a city (get it? [[CoDzilla]]!) before being defeated by Durkon and escaping alongside Pompey.
** Yokyok, son of Yikyik. A parody of [[The Princess Bride|Inigo Montoya]] who attacked Belkar for... oh do I even have to say it? Belkar was under a curse preventing him from killing, so he set a tavern full of [[adventurer]]s loose on Yokyok, then turned his head into a nacho repository. Currently dead.
* '''Third Encounter'''
** Yukyuk. Yet another kobold: this one was dominated (the status effect, mind you) by V and got used as a litter box ([[Sick| without being decapitate first!]]) and living trap-springer before dying in a horrific accident protecting a [[cat]].
* '''Fourth Encounter'''
* The fourth encounter with the Linear Guild included Tarquin and Malack (as below). It also involved Chancellor Kilkil (Urd, a Kobold variant... with wings! Its in the 2nd ed MM), who is more a clerk and personal assistant than a combatant, though he is a hyper-competent bureaucrat and a flying calculator.
** General Tarquin, a human [[warlord]], general of the Empress of Blood and de facto ruler of the Empire of Blood. Despite the suggestion of him being aligned to [[Khorne]] this is far from the truth: he is a friendly and cheerful person like his son Elan, but at the same time is outright ruthless and has the evil smarts like his other son, Nale. He is the ultimate in [[Alignment|Lawful Evil]]: he understands that his rule is not eternal, but his legacy can be. As such he is forging an entire continent into his empire: even when he is defeated (which he holds as being inevitable) he gets to be a legend. Though he's not very keen on the "being stabbed by a hero" part, it would mean he gets to live like a god for who-knows-how-long, and only the last few minutes sucked. [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0763.html The man himself explains it best.] On the other hand, given his Lawful obsession with forcing the messy chaos of reality to conform to the outline of a neat little story, refusing to conform to the character archetype he expects you to fill (e.g. playing a [[bard]] when he thinks you're the protagonist) causes him to quickly fly into a fit of [[butthurt]] rage to put [[That Guy]] to shame and start [[railroading]]. On joining the Linear Guild he disguised himself as Thog.
** Minister Malack is a lizardfolk (possibly yuan-ti) cleric of Nergal and serves as adviser to the Empress of Blood and Tarquin. Is actually a [[vampire]] and has just turned Durkon into one. Like his former adventuring companion Tarquin, Malack is an affable and well-spoken person and is the heir to the Empire of Blood after Tarquin's death. When he does become the next Emperor he plans to [[Emperor|sacrifice a thousand people to his god per day]] [[grimdark|in rooms that serve as gas chambers/abattoirs, the sacrifices generated by a continent's worth of people living and dying for the glory of Nergal]] (although the writer later stated he means meat packing rooms as he plans to use the thousand sacrifices to feed to himself and his vampiric spawn, who'll be running the empire). Like I said, real nice guy. Has a beef with Nale for killing three of his "children", but set aside his grudge at Tarquin's behest. Even then he is a honorable person: when he promises not to kill someone despite it serving his goals, he does so. A very different sort of Lawful Evil, but still fits. Perma-dead, having been killed by Nale with sunlight, which has a disintegration effect on vampires.

===Other Characters===
* Eugene Greenhilt, Roy's deceased father who occasionally visits him as a ghost and the one who originally sent Roy on the quest to kill Xykon. Although his alignment supposedly is lawful good, he is extremely arrogant and an emotionally abusive jerk. He is very proud of being a wizard and resents his son for not also becoming a wizard. When he was younger, he swore a blood oath to kill Xykon for the murder of his master (beating him to death with his own whizzy award), but eventually got tired of this quest and decided to raise a family. His former wife describes him as a man who is very passionate about his interests, but doesn't stay interested in things forever. He was a good father and husband for a while but eventually got tired of it. Because he gave up on fulfilling his blood oath, he is banned from entering Celestia until one of his descendants fulfils the oath for him, and he is very frustrated with having to rely on his non-wizard son for this. Roy eventually gets so sick of Eugene's behavior that he makes Eugene agree to never contact any member of his family again once he is allowed into Celestia.
* Miko Miyazaki, an absolutely and fanatically [[Lawful Stupid]] [[Paladin]]. None of the other paladins like her so they send her on far away missions as much as possible. She is sent to capture the Order of the Stick after they destroy one of the gates containing the Snarl and though Roy initially is attracted to her he later realizes that she really is a horrible unlikeable person. She is so convinced that she is a good person who does everything right due to being a servant of the gods that she becomes increasingly detached from reality as the evidences stacks up that she is doing wrong. After losing her paladin powers by killing a wacky old dude, she tries to redeem herself by sacrificing herself to save the day, but [[Fail|the only thing she accomplished was making the situation worse]].
* O-Chul. The Lawful [[Awesome]] Paladin. He is everything that a paladin should be and everything that Miko isn't. He is reasonable and a nice guy. While captured by Team Evil, he is put through all kinds of tortures both for Xykon's amusement and Redcloak trying to get information and survives all of them, never giving up defying them. During his time as a prisoner he manages to befriend The Monster in the Darkness and convince him that Xykon and Redcloak are not his friends. He is another poorly optimized character. He used to be a normal Fighter so his charisma score is terrible, and thus is bad at casting his paladin spells, but has an insanely high constitution that lets him tank godly amounts of damage (he has a hit point total on par with ''young adult dragons'').

==Before You Get Butthurt About Battle Strategies...==
{{topquote|Here's the thing: No matter what I draw in any battle scene, within ten minutes of posting it someone chimes in about how the characters are stupid for not executing this, that, or the other tactic. Never mind that said tactic would likely end the fight in one panel when it is my job to provide you with an entertaining battle scene. Never mind that said tactic may result in the person winning whom the plot does not need to win. Never mind that the fight may not be over yet. No, all that matters is that these characters are not living up to someone's imagined D&D tactical mastery.<br/><br/>Well, I don't give a damn anymore. The characters fight the way they fight to make an interesting page. They may make subpar decisions, I don't care. I don't spend enough time with the D&D rules anymore to eke out all of these Ultimate Killer Strategies anyway, so we're really running up against the limits of my knowledge and ability. The characters can't be better strategists than I am, and I care more about other aspects. Such strategies are usually boring to read and visually bland to look at anyway. There aren't going to be a lot of invisible save-or-die effects thrown around, because there are only so many ways I can draw characters succeeding at Fortitude saves (and then I still have to verbally explain what just happened). You should stop expecting them, because I'm not going to use them.<br/><br/>My job is to entertain, not to showcase perfect D&D tactics. If you can't be entertained by anything BUT perfect D&D tactics, that's on you.|A quote from Burlew on the matter}}

It helps that Burlew has never revealed what anyone's level is, specifically so he can fudge the rules. To pull a random example, Vaar snags 13 people in Mass Enlarge Person, implying they're level 13, only to immediately use four Wiz6 spells (Mass Bull's Strength, Mass Bear's Endurance, two Disintegrates) in less than two minutes -- level 13 Wizards should only be able use two Wiz6 spells per day.

In spite of this, however, fans have [[Get shit done|speculated extensively on the levels, abilities, and feats of various characters]], and have managed to create a [http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?545476-Class-and-Level-Geekery-XV-What-s-the-Damage-of-a-Thrown-Pineapple fairly comprehensive list] of these, usually accurate to 1-2 levels.

== Links ==
* [[Skub]]
* [http://www.giantitp.com/Comics.html The website]
* [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick The article on] [[TVTropes]] where you can see all the clichés Burlew uses/makes fun of.

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Webcomics]]