From TES issue 61 (January 2010)

Series 3/5/6/8. Level 1/3.
HOBGOBLINS

As Barry so rightly tells the Brollachan during the final episode of series 7, a hobgoblin is a large goblin – that’s according to Knightmare and Tolkien, mind you, not to popular folklore. But boy, does it strike an impressive pose! About three times the size of a regular goblin, a hobgoblin could have been a terrifying foe for any dungeoneer… but unfortunately, most of Knightmare’s hobgoblin appearances are a little disappointing in my opinion.
The first (and by far the best) appearance of a hobgoblin can be found in the fifteenth episode of series 3, as Martin and friends are taking on the daunting challenges of deepest level three. Martin has just picked up a sprig of energy in the rocky cave that is usually home to cavernwights when a hobgoblin strides purposefully into the chamber without warning, waving a giant sword above its head. The fact that it is accompanied by a regular goblin serves to underline what a huge and potentially deadly creature the hobgoblin is: ”Extreme warning, team – a hobgoblin in the level!” – Treguard. I still remember the unadulterated thrill and shock I experienced when I first saw this scene back in 1989 – a classic moment of Knightmare at its most exciting.

Watching the encounter on video in the cold light of day soon reveals that Martin isn’t actually in too much danger from the hobgoblin, which doesn’t make any attempt to move towards him or threaten him in any way, unlike its smaller counterpart. Neither goblin stands much chance of nabbing Martin anyway, as he is practically at the exit when they arrive, but this takes nothing away from the excitement of the encounter – at the time it was totally unexpected and totally terrifying, epitomising Knightmare at its very best!

Unfortunately, the three subsequent hobgoblin appearances are far less exciting. During the latter stages of series 5, Skarkill (in his role as Goblin Master) starts bugging Lord Fear to procure a hobgoblin for him, and we eventually meet the giant creature – Tiny – in the final episode of the series. It’s certainly a shock to see the hobgoblin wandering in to the final chamber of level one with the obvious intention of doing away with dungeoneer Kelly, but the Gatemaster is present and he very quickly uses his magic staff to send Tiny back to Mount Fear. What a shame that Kelly - unlike Martin - never seemed to be in any real danger – without the Gatemaster’s reassuring presence, this could have been a worthy follow-up appearance to the one in series 3.

However, that series 5 scene is still far better than the final two hobgoblin appearances, as neither shows the huge foe presenting any threat to a dungeoneer whatsoever – in fact, the hobgoblin does nothing more than sit on a large stool on both occasions! During Sofia’s quest in series 6, a hobgoblin can be seen as a pupil at Hordriss’s school for aspiring sorcerer’s apprentices. Perhaps we can assume that Tiny was getting a bit bored of following Skarkill’s orders all the time and was looking to broaden his horizons by studying a bit of magic – he clearly wasn’t interested in antagonising Sofia, anyway!

The fourth and final hobgoblin appearance takes place during the first minute or so of series 8, in the introductory scene before the opening credits of the first episode. We see Lord Fear and all the other members of the Opposition (as well as freelancers Snapper-Jack and Maldame) gathered together in Marblehead, and a hobgoblin is there as part of the array, along with two miremen, a red dragon (presumably Bhal-Shebah) and a couple of regular goblins. Perhaps this hobgoblin was Tiny himself, although he had not been mentioned by name since series 6, but rather disappointingly this was the last we saw of any hobgoblin – what a shame another one didn’t appear during an actual quest!

It was always nice to see a hobgoblin, but I do feel there should have been a few more appearances, and that teams should have actually had to do something to escape from the enormous monsters on occasion, such as casting a spell. But if you ever find yourself having to pick one hobgoblin appearance to watch before you die, don’t think about it for a second – go for Martin’s, and enjoy that classic Knightmare moment once again!

Fear Factor: 10 Huge and deadly!
Killer Instinct: 1 Unfortunately, they didn’t get much of a chance.
Gore Factor: 6 Depends how you feel about goblins, I suppose…
Humanity: 7 Goblins and humans may be closer than goblins and other creatures of folklore, according to Tim Child.

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Knightmare.com Forum member. HobGoblin, real name Chris, joined in October 2012 and submitted questions for James Aukett's interview with Knightmare artist David Rowe, remarking that 'his Catacombite on the cover of 'Can you Beat the Challenge?' is the most memorable thing ever to emerge from my [Christmas] stocking!' HobGoblin's 2012 article on the effect on Knightmare of computer animation, How Knightmare got lost in the Uncanny Valley, can be read on Knightmare.com, as can his piece about Knightmare and jumping the shark.

In January 2013, HobGoblin revealed that he was friends with advisor Anthony from Team 7 of Series 4 and passed on information about the team's Knightmare experience: 'He seems to have had a great time staying in a nice hotel and playing Double Dragon on the greenroom Amiga in between set-ups! I do know that his sister Amanda was less keen on the experience and was dragged along to make up a foursome.'

HobGoblin attended the Knightmare Convention in 2014. He was appointed to the Knightmare.com staff in 2016.

Hobgoblin was also the name of a character who appeared briefly on the Knightmare Roleplay Forum in 2004. Hobgoblin drank with Young Grimwold, FrightKnight and Yasuke the samurai in the Crazed Heifer.

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