Goblins (webcomic)

Goblins
Author(s)	Tarol "Thunt" Hunt
Website	www.goblinscomic.com
Current status/schedule	Running / Weekly
Launch date	June 26, 2005
Genre(s)	Fantasy

Goblins - Life through Their Eyes is a Dungeons & Dragons webcomic written and illustrated by Tarol "Thunt" Hunt. It is set in a humorously stereotypical fantasy setting, and follows the lives of a party of goblin adventurers who started as monsters and declared themselves player characters. The tagline for the comic - “Life through their eyes” - reflects the predominant theme of the comic: telling a heroic tale of creatures normally viewed only as evil and weak. Tarol Hunt cautions young readers about the comic, as it often contains scenes of strong violence.

Comic Background

The comic debuted on June 26, 2005 , and updates occur at the rate of approximately 1-2 pages per week. The strip began in black and white. Tarol began using color in the thirtieth strip. The comic often employs humor related to metagaming in Dungeons & Dragons, such as a cleric praying to the all-powerful Dungeon Master or characters arguing about whether or not they were subject to a random encounter. As the strip has progressed, the tone has become bleaker and the humor aspects have become less central than they were in early strips, although still present. In August 2006 Goblins joined Keenspot. In September 2006 it won Dragon Con's "Most Outstanding New Webcartoonist" award. A first bound volume of the webcomic is in print in North America and Europe, and contains a foreword by Dungeons and Dragons game designer Monte Cook. A second volume is due in 2009. In order to encourage donations, Tarol created a side comic with a goblin character named Tempts Fate, who is not connected with the main story. At the beginning of each donation drive, Tempts Fate is faced with a series of obstacles and dangers; whether or not he survives, and how skillfully he does so, directly correlates with how much money the donation drive makes. Were the donation goal not met, Tarol has promised Tempts Fate will perish, never to be brought back again. To date, Tempts Fate has survived nine donation drives. In 2008, Tarol attempted to create an interactive game with Tempts Fate, where fans could create their own goblin character and he would help them run it through an adventure. However, he was overwhelmed by the large response and has postponed the idea until it can be re-launched as a self contained game. In August 2008, Tarol began a webcam channel to broadcast his drawing, and in October, he made Goblins his full time occupation. He credits Phil Foglio, Dave Trampier of Wormy, Heavy Metal Magazine and Wendy Pini of Elfquest as influences on his artistic style. Tarol currently lives in British Columbia, Canada.

Thunt Stunts

For April Fool's Day (2009) Thunt decided to "launch" legal action against Sohmer over the usage of THAC0 in LEAST I COULD DO which lead to some crying foul, some defending the fair usage of the character and some pointing out it is 1 April so more than likely an April Fool's Stunt (Which Thunt later admitted to (in comic form) with confirmation that Sohmer was aware of the stunt prior to its use online)

Cast

The goblin party

The main characters of the story are goblins who managed to survive their warcamp massacre and proceed to become player characters with Character classes in order to get stronger and better defend themselves.

Chief: First Seen in Book 1, Comic # 1, he is the chief of the goblins, mainly because he was named "Chief." When the goblin adventuring party was formed, he became a cleric. While he knows that he is not the best possible chief of the goblins, he accepts his role as chief to prevent a civil war prophesied by their fortune teller, "Young-and-Beautiful." He is the son of the great goblin chief "Kills-a-Werebear."

Big-ears: First Seen in Book 1, Comic # 1, Big-Ears was one of the best warriors of the goblin warcamp. He has shown prowess with multiple weapons, most notably hand-axes. When the goblin adventuring party formed, he became a paladin, to protect the innocent (this was borne partially from the loss of his childhood friend, One-Eye, in the warcamp massacre).

Thaco: First Seen in Book 1, Comic # 14, he is one of the elders of the clan, Thaco (Whose name is derived from THAC0, meaning To Hit Armor Class Zero) has been around since 2nd Ed AD&D, at least. He was imprisoned long ago in Brassmoon City and has some history with Goblinslayer, the nature of which has only been hinted at. After the goblins decided to form an adventuring party, Thaco decided to become a monk because of their ability to escape from bonds. It was revealed that Thaco was destined to be the true chief of the goblin village, but turned the position down to avoid a civil war.

Complains-of-Names: First Seen in Book 1, Comic # 1, Complains-of-Names is the son of Thaco, and one of the best warriors in the clan. He was named Complains-of-Names because of his tendency to complain about other people's names. Due to his violent temper, he became a Barbarian in the goblin's party. He has sworn to kill Minmax.

Fumbles/Señor Vorpal Kickass'o: First Seen in Book 1, Comic # 1, Fumbles was named for his clumsy nature. He was the first to decide to become a “player character”, although he is the only goblin to create an alter ego for that character: "Senor Vorpal Kickass'o." His character was created as 1/11th of each class, technically not possible in D&D. He travelled alone to the human city of Brassmoon, where he was captured and tortured by The Goblinslayer.

Other Notable Goblins

Notable Goblin characters who are not in the main party.

Dies-Horribly: First Seen in Book 1, Comic # 1, he was named Dies-Horribly by the clan fortune teller, Dies-Horribly lives his life in fear. He lost an arm in battle, and has a magical replacement made by Klik. His new arm is attuned to his emotions, growing spikes and blades when he is afraid. He was captured by the Viper clan of goblins, and is being used for their slave labor.

Young-and-Beautiful: First Seen in Book 1, Comic # 1, she is the Wisewoman/Fortune-teller of the goblin warband, Young-and-Beautiful was responsible for the naming of all the goblins at birth. She named herself and her name was a humorous misnomer because she is an ugly shriveled crone with an overdeveloped sense of self importance. A cleric who worshiped the goblin deity Maglubiyet, she was a staunch traditionalist. She survived the destruction of three previous warcamps by staying out of the fighting, but was eventually killed by Forgath while trying to flee.

The White Terror (Duv): First Seen in Book 2, Comic # 29, she is a special goblin foretold to lead all goblins to dominion over the Earth, The White Terror was a goblin of the Viper clan born with two large, majestic wings. However, the humans became too fearful of her power and attempted to burn her alive, causing burns to one side of her body and the loss of one wing. Now she is attempting to recover an artifact known as the orb of Bloodlight, which she hopes will be able to repair her damaged body.

Grem: First Seen in Book 2, Comic # 25, he is the son of Duv and the future leader of the Viper clan. He is likely the fiercest fighter of the clan. He defied Duv’s orders, however, and entered the Well of Darkness dungeon; partly from pride, partly to protect Saves-a-Fox, whom he fancies.

Saves a Fox: [19] First Seen in Book 2, Comic # 34, she is another slave to the Viper clan, she is the only one who can keep K'seliss, the giant lizardman, in line. She seems to have comforted Dies Horribly, who is constantly terrified that he will, well, die horribly, by telling him that fate is not writ in stone. She was named "Saves a Fox" because she was supposed to do just that on the day of her fifth birthday. Not wanting to be chained by fate, she found that same fox on that same day and instead killed it. She keeps the fox's tail by her to remind her that she makes her own destiny - unaware of the irony that she is in fact "saving" it, which may or may not have something to do with the prophesy. Her combat skills are described as astounding by The White Terror's prophet, Riss.

The Adventurers

Adventurers who participated in the Goblin warcamp massacre.

Forgath: First Seen in Book 1, Comic # 3, Forgath is a dwarf cleric of Herbert, the Dungeon Master. He killed Young-and-Beautiful the Fortune Teller, but not before she planted some seeds of doubt in his mind, giving him a more sympathetic view of the goblins. It has been prophesied by Young and Beautiful that he will die in battle with another dwarf.

Minmax: First Seen in Book 1, Comic # 3, Minmax is a human fighter named after the role-playing game practice of Minmaxing. His player has used every loophole and trick possible to give him superhuman fighting powers, but at the expense of even the most basic non-combat abilities (such as literacy, “or even [being able to] dress himself”) He has sworn to kill Complains of Names.

Seth Bainwraith: First Seen in Book 1, Comic # 3, Seth Bainwraith is a drow renegade who abandoned the evil of his birth and embraced the goodness of the surface, becoming a truly unique, tragic hero like his half-cousin Drizzt. He bled to death after losing a duel with Thaco.

Drowbabe: First Seen in Book 1, Comic # 3, Drowbabe, whose real name was never revealed, did a very poor job of acting like a real woman—as Minmax commented, it was like she was created and controlled by a lonely, horny, teenage guy who had never kissed a girl and had no idea how women reacted realistically in any situation. As a first-level sorceress, she was perhaps the most powerful member of her adventuring group, and not only killed One-Eye with a Magic Missile, but nearly killed the three elder goblins by casting Sleep on them. However, Big-Ears' critical hit proved too much for her.

Drasst Don'tsue: First Seen in Book 1, Comic # 3, Drasst was Drizzt's half-brother, and was the third renegade Drow in the adventuring party. He fought with two stumpy little scimitars, which matched his stumpy little frame. Sadistic and egotistical, he planned to torture Dies-Horribly to death to vent his frustration over being outwitted by Big-Ears. He cut off Dies' left hand, but Klik, apparently considering Dies a friend and Drasst an enemy, morphed into a long bastard sword and killed Drasst.

Baka: First Seen in Book 2, Comic # 14, he is Seth's new character, who is now a Samurai and is currently traveling with the other dead Drow's new characters. His name is a pun on his "Japanese" background, baka meaning "stupid" in Japanese.

Tuck: First Seen in Book 2, Comic # 14, he is Drasst's new character, would appear to be either a Halfling or Elf archer, most likely a rogue. His character is still only a few feet tall, and even his bow is bigger than him. He was later confirmed to be a Halfling by Tarol in a live drawing session.

Yodette: First Seen in Book 2, Comic # 14, Drowbabe's new character, who now actually has a name, and is apparently a human cleric or something similar.

Others

Not-Walter: First Seen in Book 1 Comic # 4, Not-Walter is Herbert's (The DM’s) Pit Fiend messenger boy. His real name has yet to be figured out. He has to serve anyone who speaks his true name. Minmax guessed “Walter.” Minmax was wrong.

Klik: First Seen in Book 1, Comic # 25, Klik appears to be a living, flying bowling ball with a mouth. The goblins purchased it from an orc trader. It was held in a birdcage that Drasst knocked over by accident. Klik consumes metal and can polymorph into any shape, but blood burns it like acid. Klik created Dies Horribly’s new arm out of part of his own body, something his race forbids him to do.

Kore: First Seen in Book 1, Comic # 10, Kore is a dwarven "paladin" from beyond the Godskull mountains. He is said to have single-handedly killed armies of orcs and ogres alike. He fights from behind a wheeled pavise with twin multi-crossbows (which are used in a fashion much like dual pistols), and is also handy with a pair of axes. He believes evil is a disease, and even those exposed to it are considered by him to be “infected,” and therefore must be slaughtered. He came upon the goblin warcamp after it had been ransacked by Minmax and Forgath and learned the location of the goblin village. Young-and-Beautiful referred to him as "the cursed one," and there has been some question about how he can still be a paladin after slaughtering innocents.

Captain Dellyn Goblinslayer (The Goblinslayer): First Seen in Book 2, Comic # 13 - captain of the army of Brassmoon city (a rank that he gained by killing the head sheriff and taking his home), he is a ranger who appears to be human except for the fact that the right half of his body heavily resembles a tree. He can "grow" swords and other weapons from his wooden arm. After an ambush on Brassmoon by a group of radical orcs, Goblinslayer commissioned an "Elite Guard" whose sole purpose was to capture and torture all manner of monsters to ascertain ways of defeating them should they ever attack Brassmoon again. Through his own words and graphic examples, however, it has been shown that the torture has evolved to an end upon itself. He kept, until recently, a Yuan-ti by a magical power-restricting leash as a pet - see below.

Kin: First seen in Book 2, Comic #37, Kin is Goblinslayer's Yuan-ti pet. Kept in a magical leash, she was helpless and unable to free herself - until recently, when her master left her under his suboridinate, and she managed to take advantage of the situation and escape. She is now alongside Chief, attempting to open the front gate of the city. Kin is highly polite and intelligent, but prone to use unnecessary long words and sentences when nervous. She is armed with a magical crossbow that can replenish its own bolts.

Saral Caine: First Seen in Book 2, Comic # 13, he is a physically intimidating, large man with stone-grey skin and strange mechanical-looking armor, which was part of his weapon. He is second in command of the Elite guard and a close friend of Dellyn. It has been implied that he was a mix of man and stone giant. In addition Saral wore a belt buckle identical to the crest that both Chief and his father before him wear. Saral was the one who captured Fumbles when he sneaked into Brassmoon. He possessed the Axe of Prissan, a weapon he stole from a Paladin he killed. After a short but violent battle between Big Ears and Caine, Big Ears managed to kill and behead Saral Caine with the Axe, which is revealed to be a powerful artifact designed for paladins.

K'seliss: First Seen in Book 2, Comic # 34, he is a member of the lizardfolk who is much larger and more intimidating than one would expect, though he doesn't seem to be particularly articulate. He is a slave under The White Terror, and he has a reputation for killing any slaves forced to pair up with him (his preferred method seems to be eating them). The only one who seems to be able to keep him in line is Saves a Fox. According to Fox, there are rumors that K'seliss is so large and brutish because a mad wizard mutated him and mixed in genes of orc or ogre inside of him. He has now, along with Saves A Fox and Dies Horribly, entered the dungeon holding the orb of Bloodlight.

Pan and Yala: First seen in Book 3, Comic #57, they are a pair of tortured and mutilated ex-prisoners of Brassmoon, working together to fight and escape. Pan is an ogre, physically large and strong, but also blind: Yala is a kobold whose legs and tongue have been cut out, riding on Pan's back and guiding him along by tapping his head. They share a strong emotional bond, as seen when Yala fell off Pan's back, rendering them both near helpless and throwing them in panic as they struggled to reunite. As of now, they have finally escaped Brassmoon, along with some other prisoners.

Scrole: First seen - briefly - in Book 3, Comic #32, he is what appears to be an exceptionally moral and compassionate hobgoblin, who has escaped from the Brassmoon prison and since joined the main adventuring party in their escape. Although he can be violent when provoked, in general he holds nothing but sympathetic feelings towards his fellow monsters, mercy-killing an escaped owlbear in his first appearance, and having grown rather close with the goblins especially, whom he calls his "little cousins".

Takn: First seen in Book 3, Comic #60, he is a kobold, and another Brassmoon escapee, who has joined the party of the goblins in order to get away from the city. He is rather agile and acrobatic, as well as a very effective warrior even bare-handed. Having briefly been noted to be famous among his own kind for some reason, he is also quite selfish, having seemingly no loyalty or compassion to his fellow runaways, and being only interested in saving his own skin: he may be among the best examples of a "traditional" monster character seen in the comic so far, at least in the company of the main party. Curiously, he is the only one of the ex-prisoners who would seem to have no injuries or signs of torture whatsoever.

Hawl the Trader:First seen in Book 1, Comic Hawl The Trader, Hawl is an orc trader that stops by the goblin war camp to trade the junk he found in human cities for things like smoked boar meat and spear heads, he also brings Chief information on what's happening in the world. He also claims to be the worlds smartest orc, and this seems to have some truth to this being that he ended the war between the City of Brassmoon and the orc clan Greyblood. He is also the adopted father to the dwarf Targoth BladeBeard after he killed his real father in battle in during winter one year earlier. They have grown very close with Hawl begging Kore to spare Targoth's life right before Kore killed him. Kore then goes over to Targoth and tells that evil is like a disease and by living with the orcs Targoth was infected and may grow to be evil and that all evil, even potential evil, must be eradicated. Then you hear the THUNK of Kore's crossbow but you don't see him killing Targoth, so he may still be alive.

Plot Summary

Book 1

We are introduced to the goblins living in a warcamp, as they are forewarned by their fortune teller of an impending attack from adventurers. We also meet the adventurers who will be mounting the attack. Most of the introductions and action revolve around jokes and humor based on the Dungeons and Dragons game and its players. While the “fourth wall” of fiction is never broken, there are many meta references, as various characters talk openly about the D&D rulebooks, the Dungeon Master of the “game” they are in, and study "character sheets” of their opponents.

One of the stated goals of the artist in these early comics was also to show that although the drawing style was somewhat cartoonish and the characters could be likable, “goblins were not elves.” ie - their world was not as clean and “nice” as many other races as portrayed in modern fiction. These goblins ate huge spiders and grass maggots as snacks. They decorated with skulls, and when Chief loses his eye, his eyepatch is bolted onto his face.

Beginning in chapter ten, the character of Kore is introduced, and the tone of the story takes a quick and somber turn. From then on, the humor is interspersed with intense, and often graphic fight scenes as the adventurers finally find the goblin camp and begin their battle. It goes poorly for most of the player characters, as all three Drow are killed, but the goblins fare far worse, and most of the camp is massacred by Minmax and Forgath.

The two most important developments take place at the end of the book. The goblin fortune teller “Young and Beautiful” makes a powerful case to Forgath that it is not the goblins who are the “bad guys” in this case, since they had committed no crime or sin when the adventurers attacked; that it was instead the adventurers who were the aggressors against the goblin race because of their race. Forgath shrugs off the words as trickery at first, but after witnessing the end of the battle, with goblins begging for mercy and still being skewered, and with the mortally wounded Thaco telling his clansmen to “Just don’t let him hurt my son,” Forgath realizes the players have made “a tragic mistake” and that the world is not as black and white as they had wanted it to be.

The other major plot development is between Complains of Names and Minmax. The two spar once, but it ends in a stalemate. Vowing to beat him, Complains then violates his own clan’s laws and uses the forbidden clan treasure to give himself a major edge over Minmax. He catches the fighter at unawares and severely wounds him. Minmax rallies at the end and pins Complains, but one of the magic items Complains had taken - the Shield of Wonder - is struck, and magic vines somehow entangle the human fighter. The final scene has the remaining goblins pulling Complains away as he and Minmax are screaming vows of vengeance against each other.

Book 2

Book 2 starts with the Goblins recuperating from the loss of the warcamp. Thaco, Big Ears, Complains of Names, Fumbles and Chief seem to be all that are left. We learn some of the secrets of Chief’s past, and what consequences Complains of Names must face for breaking his clan’s law. The survivors are bemoaning the fact that they are so vulnerable to adventurers when they come upon a radical idea.

Following the lead of Fumbles, who had created a alternate personae to be a player character, each of the remaining goblins takes up a “player character” class - something unheard of before for a “monster” to do. They then decide to use these new classes to defend their people, not just to seek out “experience points” by attacking strangers. Unfortunately Fumbles does just that, with harsh consequences that leave him wracked with guilt. He vows to atone, and heads off alone to the human city of Brassmoon. The rest of the Goblin Adventuring Party (GAP) follow a day behind. They have some battles on the way, and soon enter the city through the sewers.

We learn of another human “villain” - Dellyn Goblinslayer. He is a sadistic and powerful ranger who has developed his own small army with the intent of destroying all "monster” races. Unlike Kore, who kills without emotion, Dellyn is shown gleefully torturing his victims, trying to find how to cause them the most pain, and encouraging his men to do the same. Tarol Hunt has stated that he tried to draw strong parallels between the dungeons that Dellyn had set up, and the Nazi concentration camps, where prisoners were subjected to horrific experiments in the name of some perverted “science.” Dellyn’s second in command captures Fumbles inside the city, and the next day, the other goblins are seen entering the city sewers. This convinces the ranger that a goblin army is poised to strike the city, and he prepares for the invasion.

Meanwhile, a sixth survivor of the warcamp, Dies Horribly, staggers to a nearby pond. He is suffering massive blood loss from a severed arm and is carrying Klik, a strange object/creature, that saved his life. Klik is a lifeform of living metal, and it somehow takes some of his own essence and grafts a new arm onto the unconscious goblin. When Dies awakes, the two start an awkward friendship.

Minmax and Forgath make brief appearances in book two, and we also meet the three new characters created by the players of the now deceased Drow. They come across Dies Horribly and Klik and Dies is shot twice, plummeting off a waterfall. He is found by the Vipers - a much stronger clan of goblins who immediately enslave him.

Book two has fewer jokes than the first, as the storylines are shaped into much larger scopes. But the remaining humor is all the sharper when used so sparingly. Much of the humor is still “meta:” dealing with some of the absurdities of role playing rules and role players. Tarol Hunt has DM-ed for most of his life, and many of the jokes (and some of the plot twists) he admits are based on actions by players in his games. But the stories are now also following a more traditional high fantasy narrative, and it is easy to forget this is all supposed to be taking place in a game. By the end of book two (which is about twice as long as book one) we have good portraits of the two new antagonists in the goblins’ lives, and hints of several great battles to come.

Book 3

The first half of Book 3 alternates between the Dies Horribly and GAP storylines. Dies had met several fellow slaves, including Saves-a-Fox. He also met K’seliss, the violent mutated lizardman. Book 3 opens with the Viper camp being attacked by a force of Hobgoblins and in the battle most of the slaves die falling off a cliff. We learn more of Dies Horribly’s new hand and how how it works as he ends up skewering Saves-a-Fox with the blades to keep her from falling.

After the battle, Duv forces Dies, Saves, and K’seliss into the nearby dungeon to retrieve a magical artifact for her. Duv’s son, Grem, also sneaks in to join them, and Klik arrives shortly thereafter. There is great tension among all the group - few of whom trust or even like any of the others; but the dungeon officially welcomes them to begin, whether they are ready or not. Meanwhile in Brassmoon, Thaco, Complains of Names, Chief and Big Ears completely surprise a large group of Dellyn’s new guards and nearly kill them all when Dellyn’s second in command, Saral Cain, is detected nearby. Big Ears senses a massive evil in the ax that Saral carries, and sacrifices himself as bait to lead him away from the rest of the goblins. However, at the moment Big Ears should have died, the true nature of the ax is revealed to him, and he is able to use its powers to pull a stunning upset against Saral Cain, and he decapitates the giant man.

The goblins race through the dungeons, but Dellyn has moved Fumbles, and they find only a notice of his execution planned for the next day. Meanwhile Dellyn finds out Thaco is among the goblins invading his keep, and broods revenge on the only creature ever to escape him.

The second half of Book Three deals entirely with the battle of Brassmoon the next day. Complains of Names can’t help but rage at the sight of Fumbles being lead to slaughter, and the rest of the group are forced to fight all of Dellyn’s army. Yet through a series of pure bad luck, bad calls and faulty strategies, the Goblinslayer not only loses his chance to kill Thaco, but many of his men fall to the goblins’ weapons and magic.

Big Ears reaches and heals Fumbles, but because of Dellyn’s tortures, Fumbles’ “mind is broken,” and he remains in a catatonic stupor. When Big Ears and Complains are trapped in a dead-end street, they make a desperate last charge, and Complains’s Shield of Wonder takes dozens of hits. The Shield is a magic device invented by Tarol that generates a “random magical effect” every time it is struck in melee: anything from creating a miniature thunderstorm, to entangling vines, to turning guards into various random monsters. Many of the effects actually help the vastly outnumbered goblins, but the final two effects are so powerful, that Complains is fundamentally altered. Only quick thinking by Big Ears keeps him from being destroyed forever.

Thaco managed to use this time to run back to Dellyn’s (now unguarded) dungeons and free all the remaining prisoners. They stampede out into the city, attacking the remaining troops, and further enraging and humiliating the Goblinslayer, who is now blinded to all else but running down and slaying his old nemesis.

As the Goblinslayer chases Thaco through Brassmoon, he is eventually led to an open sewer hole, which he promptly jumps into. The hole and all the other ones in the street are then closed over by escaped prisoners under instructions from Thaco. Down in the sewer Thaco attacks Dellyn, who without light from the holes is helpless against Thaco and his darkvision, until he casts the ranger spell "Magic Fang" on his sword illuminating the immediate area. While Thaco still manages to hold up fairly well, he is no match and eventually receives several wounds. Dellyn however is infuriated that Thaco is doing so well, and resorts to acting more like a torturer than an adversary, which causes Thaco to breakdown and attempt to flee, when he is promptly shot in the back.

Meanwhile Chief is attempting to hold off a contingent of soldiers with the escaped Yuan-ti at the Brassmoon gate mechanism, which is impossible for just the two of them. Just when the soldiers are about to charge several prisoners attack and kill the soldiers, then offer to help with the gate. Tension soon rises between the group, however.

Thaco is still alive in the sewers even after being shot, much to the surprise and anger of the Goblinslayer. Just as he's trying to figure out how a Goblin can survive this much damage, he realizes Thaco has taken adventurer levels. That an inferior being like a Goblin has done what real people do infuriates Dellyn, who again attempts to shoot Thaco, who catches his arrow and proceeds to land a critical hit kick which impales him onto a broken piece of pipe, which he is unable to remove himself from. Thaco proceeds to cut off his ear, then telling him he is a random encounter, not worthy of experience he would gain from killing him - and departs, leaving the screaming Goblinslayer behind.

Themes

Several major themes run through Goblins.

Dungeons and Dragons based humor Tarol Hunt includes jokes about the inconsistencies of the rules, the foibles of the players and the DM’s, and the logic (or lack thereof) of the entire game. But as Dungeons and Dragons author Monte Cook pointed out in talking about Goblins, the humor is done by one who lives within the world of D&D gamers, not by one attacking it. Whether it is players making illogical or stereotypical characters, or the goblins forgetting they are only imagining what they would do in a hypothetical dungeon crawl (“There is no treasure chest!”) Tarol Hunt keeps humor in his story without turning the story itself into a joke.

The nature of good and evil There are two paladins in the story of Goblins. The first is a dwarf who has become a sort of mindless killing machine. This character explains his actions in Book One as eradicating the “sickness” of evil. However, in his mind this means killing even those who have come into contact with evil (a dwarven child who was being raised by someone from a traditionally evil race) since that “infection” may lead to the potential for future evil. Yet a paladin should not be able to kill an innocent without losing his status and powers as a paladin. Tarol has stated he intends to explain this discrepancy. The second paladin is the goblin adventurer Big Ears, who is noble and self sacrificing, in contrast to the expected tendencies of his race.

Racism and prejudice Overcoming prejudice is probably the central dramatic theme of the entire Goblins series. Starting with the very concept of presenting the traditionally weakest, nastiest race in the Dungeons and Dragons game (D&D rule books have described them as everything from "a nuisance" to "cowardly") as one that could produce brave warriors, noble protectors and wise elders, Tarol Hunt makes the characters in his tale question their preconceived notions and motives. Some of them (Saves-a-Fox, Thaco) argue that destiny can be overcome, and we can choose not to believe what has been told to us as “the truth.” Others (Forgath, Complains of Names) begin learning that the world - even the ideas of racism - are not as simple and clear cut as they once believed. And some of Tarol’s characters not only reject these new ways of thought, they thrive on perpetuating the old fears and hatreds. Duv was betrayed by humans, and now seeks a world where all races are enslaved to the goblins, and all goblins would serve her tribe. Dellyn cultivates fear of all monstrous races, regardless of alignment, in order to increase his own power and allow him the freedom to continue his sadistic activities. Even the banner in the main hall of his keep spells out his paternalistic and racist goal: “Protecting you from that which you do not understand.” In a Dungeons and Dragons world - where racism isn’t just about differences among humans, but differences between humans and other species of animals and intelligent beings, the concepts of prejudice, of natural rights, of free will and destiny and respect are much easier to express, but then also that much harder to solve.

Merchandise

Goblins merchandise is available from several locations as the comic is picked up by fans of Roleplaying Games