It is a sad commentary on humanity that the progression of time does not always lead to progression of other sorts. A disturbing case in point is the treatment of the Goblin race in the game originally entitled “Dungeons and Dragons: Rules for Fantastic Medieval Wargames Playable with Paper and Pencil and Miniature Figures.”   

It is the height of irony that in 1974, this game took several minutes to name, but managed to describe the Goblin race with but a single, slight slur; but thirty years later, the concise and to-the-point “D&D: 3E” manages to besmirch, belittle, and degrade this fine race so obsessively one would think goblins had killed the lead designer’s dog, stolen his car, and run off with his wife.   

Herein, we document the evolution (“devolution” would be more appropriate) of the treatment of Goblins in the game known as Dungeons and Dragons.  

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The Original D&D (1974, TSR) entry was quick and to the point:

 

Though goblins are referred to as monsters, this is a trivial slight at best relative to what follows in future editions, The rest of the entry is benign: for instance, there is no shame in a race that lives primarily underground not being a fan of bright light – after all, Gizmo didn’t like bright light, and who doesn’t like Gizmo?

There is also reference to attacking dwarves on sight, but this is due to the fact, outlined in the original Chainmail rules, that dwarves will attack goblins on sight:

 

The best defense is, after all, a good offense. Note the mention of ‘reciprocal hatred’. This reciprocity in relations is something that will never be acknowledged again. 

(How, precisely, dwarves and elves and goblins could tell each other apart in the original Dungeons and Dragons is an exercise left to the reader.)  

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