Goblins

"Before the world ends, the goblins will put an end to many more villages. We cannot ignore the goblins because the world is in danger."

- Goblin Slayer's response to High Elf Archer regarding the fate of the world.

Goblins (ゴブリン) are the primary antagonists of the series. Although they are generally considered the weakest of monsters, goblins are known for being particularly vicious, cunning and sadistic.

Overview
Goblins primarily haunt the frontier lands where the military doesn't have a strong presence. Individually they are not very threatening and are considered the weakest of monsters. However, their numbers grow fairly quickly due to their ability to come into maturity at an accelerated rate, making them a rapidly increasing threat if not dealt with quickly.

Goblins are commonly found in caves and rely on attacking or stealing from settlements to sustain themselves, including the raw flesh of sapient species. The place a group of goblins are living together in is referred to as a 'goblin nest'. Goblins are an all-male species, but possess the ability to breed with any race with the pregnancy always resulting in goblin children. Even within the span of one week, a single captive can be forced to birth several new goblins. As such, women are among what they take from settlements to use for breeding until their eventual deaths at the hands of their goblin captors.

Goblins have an excellent sense of smell, especially when it comes to prey. They can even smell metal, making them dangerous to anyone wearing metal armor. They also have excellent night vision; if they detect any light in their nest, they know there are intruders.

While most goblins are described as thoughtless, they aren't fools, and thus have the ability to learn, as seen in Water Town when goblins were taught to use boats. According to Goblin Slayer, they learn from the mistakes of the dead and adapt. They are clever enough to make a strong poison by mixing their own saliva and excrement with herbs they find in the wild; they usually coat this poison on daggers and sometimes arrows. There are a handful of goblins that are capable of becoming smarter and therefore much more dangerous, Goblin Lord being one example.

One of the items most affected by the Goblins are the meat shields of women they have captured, which the Goblins have grown tired of and use as shields from enemy attacks, as normally Adventures would want to save the women and not attack them.

In general, each individual considers himself to be smarter and better then the goblins around him, and therefore to be deserving of more than their fellows. They have a self-serving mindset that one should not hesitate in taking the best for themselves, as it would be exactly what other goblins would do, only leaving what is less desirable for others and thus one should help themselves first. The only value they see in grouping together in greater numbers is purely how the individual can selfishly gain benefits from what the group brings to him (food, females to rape/breed, meat shields), not because they care for each other; in fact, goblins can usually be seen laughing at the torment and even deaths of their own kind, showing that they love to see others in misery so long as its not them and when without strength and/or advantageous numbers, will always flee in terror of being killed themselves.

In spite of their notorious reputation and danger they pose, most adventurers perceive goblins as mere pests that shouldn't be taken seriously. As a result, many rookies end up being killed and/or raped by the goblins for underestimating them, such as with Warrior and Fighter. Additionally, some adventurers make the mistake of sparing goblin children, which potentially allows them to develop into stronger variations of goblins.

Variations
Goblins come in different variations as they mature:

Hobgoblins
Hobgoblins (ホブゴブリン) are a larger and stronger variant of goblins that act as bodyguards for nests or wanderers who travel from one to another.

Shamans
Goblin shamans (ゴブリンシャーマン) are goblins that have gained the ability to use magic. They often lead nests and are intelligent enough to make crude strategies. The presence of goblin totems in a goblin nest are indicators that a shaman is present.

Riders
Goblin riders (ゴブリンライダー) are goblins which have tamed captured wolves to be used as mounts or as guards. Only well-off hordes that can afford the resources to keep the wolves alive have them.

Champions
Goblin champions are a variant of goblins considered to be heroes among the goblin race. Compared to a hobgoblin, they are much larger in comparison in both muscles, mass and equipment. They often lack in intelligence, but are capable fighters that can give even veteran adventurers trouble. They are considered to be platinum-ranked among goblins.

Lords
Goblin lords are considered to be kings among the goblin race. These goblins have gained enough intelligence over time to command large goblin hordes. Like goblin champions, they are thought of as platinum-ranked among goblins, one of whom was capable of speaking the common tongue, shown when the Goblin Lord attempted to trick Priestess into showing him mercy by apologizing.

Paladins
Goblin paladins are a highly intelligent, but rare breed of goblins. As shown with the only appearance of this breed, paladins equip enchanted armor and devote themselves to deities; as a result, they are capable of casting miracles and receiving handouts. This goblin paladin was affiliated with the God of Wisdom and acted as the main antagonist of the fifth light novel.

The goblin paladin was capable of branding Noble Fencer with the symbol of the God of Wisdom to use magic granted by the latter. He was also able to use a Lunacy miracle to turn his goblins into an insane and fearless army that desired only to destroy Goblin Slayer's party.

Priests
Goblin priests are an uncommon class of goblin that worships the gods of Chaos. As shown with the first occurence of a goblin priest, they differ from shamans with their more ornate clothing and body-wide tattoos. This goblin priest was able to use Protection using the blood of corpses littering the Dungeon of the Dead, as well as conjure a greater demon's arm, albeit at the cost of its own life.

Fire Goblin
Fire Goblins as a unique subset of Goblins, discovered by Goblin Slayer during the Mock Dungeon competition. The Goblin had discovered a special magic staff from a Fire Demon's sarcophagus and stole it. The resulting magic giving the Goblin a great deal of power and intelligence, however, it's newfound power and intellect was completely dependent on the Staff. When in battled with Goblin Slayer, a Meteor Spell in the distance and his own manic movements caused him to drop the staff, making him akin to a regular Goblin again, but with an uncontrollable need to regain his "precious".

Appearance
Goblins start out as small, green rough-skinned humanoids with pointy ears, claws, fangs, and long noses. Some goblins are bald while others have shaggy hair or facial hair. Some goblins grow over time and become bigger than the size of a grown man, while others remain small and about the size of a child. They often dress in loincloths, though more resourceful ones gather armor or clothes, and carry crude or stolen weapons to use.

Trivia

 * There are numerous stories about where goblins came from.
 * Lizard Priest believes they originated in a deep-underground kingdom.
 * Priestess was taught that they appear when people misbehave, but this was simply a story told to make children obey their elders.
 * Goblin Slayer was told by his sister that they originate from the green moon, which is a barren place that has no vegetation or hydration. The tale adds that this made goblins jealous of humans, and drove them to come to the main world.
 * In the lands of the north, goblins are called "Orcs" by the Vikings.
 * The evolution of goblin race continues, it all started with riders, hobgoblins, shamans, and then rare goblins: champions and lords.  But now goblins have started to evolve again, as seen in Goblin Priest, Goblin Paladin, and Fire Goblin.
 * In Volume 15, the Goblin Slayer's party encountered 10 Goblin Riders, who did not ride wolves, but were riding Wargs. Goblin Slayer even saw a Goblin ride a freshly awoke Dragon in Light Novel Volume 11!