When I read the description for Goblins, I realized that since they’re made from gnolls and dwarves, what would they look like? The traditional goblin is a short creature with typically sallow green skin and sometimes with tusks or fangs, but since these goblins were made from gnoll stock, it behooves me to ask whether they resemble the traditional goblin or do they perhaps resemble short, compact gnolls?
OldSchoolJelly’s canonical illustration in the MM is certainly in favor of “short, compact gnolls” as their proper appearance. The test says they “stand 3’ to 3 1/2’ tall and weigh 45 lbs, with strong, wiry builds”, which to me suggests a little thinner than the heavyset illustration, but very much in the same vein. Compared to the traditional goblin, their skin seems to be yellow-orange rather than green, and heavier built with fur/hair on the head, and a tail.
Very interesting, and I do suppose that if I wanted to justify the existence of classically appearing goblins, I could just say that they’re a distinct subrace that was created around the same time as the more gnollish ones.
Exactly so! Different goblin tribes may favor different progenitors, it’s intentionally flexible.