Today’s daily doodle is a the Goblin. He is part of the 100 Creatures Challenge. You can find more on the Drawing Challenges page. Normally, I’d just make a couple of one liners about the critter base on what I learned from it’s wikipedia page, but I feel that as a gamer I am obligated to talk a bit more about Goblins than other monstrosities.
I’ve got 2 things to say about them:
1) Goblins Are a Critical Staple of Fantasy
Goblins are essential to fantasy. In my opinion they’re even more important than elves. The humble Goblin is one of the first fantasy creatures to appear in a work of fiction beyond folklore (less than 100 years after Shakespear’s fey courts of A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Of course, it wouldn’t be until Tolkien’s interpretation in Lord of the Rings that we get our modern view of the little dudes.
Goblins are almost always one of the first antagonists a new group of fantasy adventures will face. Even in the world of Harry Potter, goblins are the first real fantasy creature he encounters. They play a vital role in the entire series.
You just can’t get away from them.
I don’t think that is a bad thing. To me, Goblins represent one of the basic building blocks of a fantasy story. A goblin popping up is as much a reminder that the story your reading, watching or listening to is not in our world. They might as well be a sword or magic. They are fantasy.
Goblins Webcomic
Of course, being a fantasy staple hasn’t been kind to everyone’s favorite mooks. That’s why I love the webcomic Goblins! so much. Goblins turns everything you were thinking about fantasy (especially Dungeons and Dragons) on it’s head, following a group of little, big-eared, multi-colored punching bags on their quest to become better than the adventurers that would kill them and take their treasure.
The comic is mostly about the goblins, but it goes deeper into gamer culture through it’s meta-jokes and references. I recommend it to anyone that likes to giggle about stereotypes in gaming, from the “Re-Rolls” a group of gamers that are so engrained in their gamer popculture that they first appear as a small group of Drizzt clones, to the appropriately named “Minmax the Warrior,” who gave up his ability to read in exchange for a bonus feat.
Seriously, I’d be a bad, bad man, if I didn’t tell you to go and read this webcomic.
Anyway. Enjoy my little green doodle, and if you get a chance, remind everyone around you that darkvision and 1/2 a hit die doesn’t make you a monster…
… It’s the fact that there are thousands of you coming all at once that does that.