Above is a detail from a cleaner image of the cover art . Below is info from pages 52 and 53 from the first edition Monster Manual.
"The hairy hides of hobgoblins range from dark reddish-brown to grey black. Their faces are bright red-orange to red. Large males will have blue noses."
Obviously those three baddies can be whatever you want them to be, but I've been convinced they're hobgoblins ever since I got the Monster Manual back in '81 or '82. I will grant that the guys on the cover of B2 have more piggish noses than the MM pictures. Also, it looks like AD&D hobgoblins are more insistent that the troops wear pants.
Anyway, this whole thing came up because in the past couple of weeks I ran across offhand remarks suggesting those were orcs on the cover. I was curious if I was the only one who thought they were hobgobs.
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As I recall, orcs of that era didn't just have snub noses—they were altogether piggier still. Otherworld's O and HG series tend to bear your assessment out.
ReplyDeleteOf course they're hobgoblins, they're wearing samurai helmets! Everyone knows hobgoblins wear samurai helmets! :)
ReplyDeleteAl calls it. Samurai Helmet equals Hobgoblin in classic era D&D.
ReplyDeleteAs I stated in my response to the original inquiry, I never thought the noses were pig like in that picture on the cover of B2. I see D&D Hobgobs as having vaguely canine noses, like a blue-nosed Pit Bull/Bull terrier.
Samurai are no fun without those awesome back-banners, which wikipedia tells me are called sashimono.
ReplyDeleteI'm this close to saying that adventurers should wear something similar whilst openly travelling overland. Sure, the players might not like having banners at first, but once you point out that they can attach kill-markers and even special pennants for dragon kills and towns saved they'll quickly come around.
Hm, add "party banner maker person" to the hirelings list, and have the occasional expedition to the docks and markets looking for just the right fabric...
Yeesh, I feel like an idiot now. Kobolds, what was I thinking?
ReplyDeleteWell, apparently whoever did that cover didn't feel like the hobgoblins or the dwarfs should wear pants.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I always thought they were hobgoblins as well. could be orc/hobgoblin cross breeds though, "As orcs will breed with anything, there are any number of unsavory mongrels with orcish blood, particularly orc-goblins, orc-hobgoblins,and orc-humans."
ReplyDeleteFrom the Monster Manual.
Is it just me, or is the front-and-centre Hob in the third picture wearing coke-bottle glasses?
ReplyDelete(I can't unsee them now...)
If you're talking about the second Sutherland picture, Chris, I agree--though I have to say those guys always looked like the generic mooks from some late-'70s Saturday morning action cartoon.
ReplyDeleteI like how the hobgoblin struck by the arrow in the first picture was hit so hard, his scalemail kilt busted into individual pieces.
ReplyDelete"No more pants. Everyone just start over with the pants-wearing"
ooh ... my CAPTCHA is "roper!"
I assumed that the B2 guys were goblins cuz the prefix "hob" means pants in some language, I'm sure of it.
ReplyDeleteAnd is the dude in platemail in the 3rd picture also the paladin in hell from the PHB?
I think my first glance at this cover back in the day suggested orcs, but they are most certainly hobgoblins.
ReplyDelete