Goblin

Most goblins tend to throw pumpkin bombs and use flying crafts to annoy superheroes.

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

In modern fantasy, the term "goblin" has been very much determined by the Tolkienian use of the word - as in, a smaller variant of the orc species. 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 and more animalistic than elf ears) and either long, crooked and pointed noses or orc-esque noseless features.

The typical 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 G:LTTE, or Terry Pratchett's Snuff.) They act and move in smaller groups as they don't pose a large threat by themselves, 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, to whom they are sometimes described as belonging to the same family or species.

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 recent survey.

In /tg/ Media

In the Iron Kingdoms, Warcraft, 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 Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000, they hang out with (and get beat up by) their larger greenskin relatives and are generally bullied into being servants (although there are a small handful of exceptions, like the Night Goblins and Gretchin Revolutionary Committee).

In Eberron, goblins are the descendants of a once mighty kingdom instead of simple savages.

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.

Goblins even have their own webcomic, imaginatively named Goblins, which claims that #GoblinLivesMatter and all the bad stuff comes from evil clans but most are totally bros, everyone. Even so, only half of the arcs even have goblin protagonists - the other focuses on two adventurers, the, well, min/maxed human Minmax and his dwarf partner Forgath. Despite the above, it is well-written with its own fanbase, being serialized into largely independent arcs that occasionally cross over and swap characters.

Monstergirl Depictions

When depicting goblins as monstergirls, unless doing rule 34 of Warcraft goblins, designers tend to focus on either of two aspects as the "root" of their design.

The first option is to focus on their reputation as small, annoying creatures, defined by their love of mischief and short-sightedness. These goblins are usually lolis, going for a "mischievous child" sort of motif. This is most prominently the case in the Monster Girl Encyclopedia.

The second option is to focus on their famous skill for breeding quickly and enthusiastically. A more western-focused archetype, this depiction usually makes them short but stacked and extremely lusty. The more outright fetishistic interpretations actually give them breeding fetishes, so they actively enjoy being knocked up and are always after your cock to fill them full of more babies.

See also

• Unified Setting/Goblins Yet another take on a classic concept.
• The most common reaction to Goblins