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!Goblin Priest
Another new class of goblin with divinely gifted powers, encountered in volume 8.
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* BloodMagic: [[spoiler: Priestess is stumped at first to see him maintain a Protection spell without exerting any energy or focus against their assault, then realizes that it is feeding upon the blood on the floor of the dungeon]].
* DeflectorShield: His principle spell is an extremely powerful Protection that even the whole party combined can't breach, [[spoiler: until Priestess cuts off its material component by turning blood to water again]].
* ExcuseMeWhileIMultitask: [[spoiler: His magic is fueled by physical components, namely blood, so he feels no physical or mental when casting and can freely berate his lackeys while keeping his shields up.]]
* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler: When his spells get cut off and he gets cut down, he pulls himself onto the demon alter and ritual-suicides himself to bring the Demon Lord back to kill Goblin Slayer]].
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* ColdIron: The group says that [[SilverHasMysticPowers these metals are particularly effective as weapons against the demons]].
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* ColdIron: The group says that this metal [[SilverHasMysticPowers these metals and others]] are particularly effective as weapons against the demons]].demons, though not strictly necesssary at their power levels.
* DeathByLookingUp: [[spoiler: Priestess destroys the Demon Lord's reconstructed arm by baiting it into an elevator shaft then sealing the door with Protection after calling it down. The arm realizes her ploy and has just enough time to punch through her barrier... but not climb back out before it gets pressed.]]
* DeathByLookingUp: [[spoiler: Priestess destroys the Demon Lord's reconstructed arm by baiting it into an elevator shaft then sealing the door with Protection after calling it down. The arm realizes her ploy and has just enough time to punch through her barrier... but not climb back out before it gets pressed.]]
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* FromASingleCell: [[spoiler: The Demon Lord's arm contains his full spirit, which notes that it could eventually regenerate its whole bodyt if it kills enough people, starting with Goblin Slayer's party.]]
* GodOfEvil: The Demon Lord is noted to have power on par with the full-on Dark Gods, and even [[spoiler: can grant miracles to the goblin priest of volume 8]].
* GodOfEvil: The Demon Lord is noted to have power on par with the full-on Dark Gods, and even [[spoiler: can grant miracles to the goblin priest of volume 8]].
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* WouldHitAGirl: [[spoiler:He had thoughts of murdering Guild Girl as early as his first appearance, and attempts it during Volume 3]].
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* NinjaLooting: His major crime that gets him demoted and banned from town. Evidence of how much he is scalping his fellows of money can be seen in just how shabby and ragged the rest of his party are in comparison to him and the previous Steel-rank crew from Volume 1.
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* NinjaLooting: His major crime that gets him demoted and banned from town. Evidence of how much he is scalping his fellows of money can be seen in just how shabby and ragged the rest of his party are in comparison to him and the previous Steel-rank crew from Volume 1. And it just shows how callous he is considering one of them is working as an adventurer to support his family.
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* KarmicDeath: Spent weeks sending his gargoyles out to kill anyone one who approached his turf, and then Goblin Slayer and friends put an end to him the same way his creatures liked to kill; dropping him from on high.
* MageTower: Operates out of one. It's height is integral to Goblin Slayer's method of killing him.
* MageTower: Operates out of one. It's height is integral to Goblin Slayer's method of killing him.
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* KarmicDeath: Spent weeks sending his gargoyles out to kill anyone one who approached his turf, and then Goblin Slayer and friends put an end to him the same way his creatures liked to kill; dropping him from on high.
high. Being dropped by Goblin Slayer adds to the karma since one of his gargoyles' victims included a priestess like his own companion.
* MageTower: Operates out of one. It's height is integral to Goblin Slayer's method of killing him.
* MageTower: Operates out of one. It's height is integral to Goblin Slayer's method of killing him.
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* TheSociopath: A [[ShownTheirWork remarkably textbook example]] that encompasses an entire race. Goblins are born without any empathy or ability to self-reflect; they do not, will not, and more importantly ''cannot'' recognize the pain they inflict on their victims. They see themselves as the superior race against common sense, and feed into that sense of superiority by degrading others through deception and assault. At the same time, they are blind as to why some people would hunt them down as a result, [[NeverMyFault instead vowing to continue raping and murdering as revenge for something that was their own fault to begin with]]. Not that they need much more motivation anyway, because their need for instant-gratification and short-term thinking means they will almost never pursue anything beyond their destructive impulses. They don't even care for their own brethren, backstabbing and abuse being commonplace within their ranks. Most damningly, like any cornered sociopath they will default to [[WoundedGazelleGambit cheap sympathy-ploys]] akin to slipping a mask on - there's no genuine sorrow present, just the hope that someone falls for their lies.
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* TheSociopath: A [[ShownTheirWork remarkably textbook example]] that encompasses an entire race. Goblins are born without any empathy or ability to self-reflect; they do not, will not, and more importantly ''cannot'' recognize the pain they inflict on their victims. They see themselves as the superior race against common sense, and feed into that sense of superiority by degrading others through deception and assault. At the same time, they are blind as to why some people would hunt them down as a result, [[NeverMyFault instead vowing to continue raping and murdering as revenge for something that was their own fault to begin with]]. Not that they goblins need much more motivation anyway, because their need for instant-gratification and short-term thinking and inability to delay gratification means they will almost never pursue anything beyond their destructive impulses. They don't even care for their own brethren, backstabbing and abuse being commonplace within their ranks. Most damningly, like any cornered sociopath they will default to [[WoundedGazelleGambit cheap sympathy-ploys]] akin to slipping a mask on - there's no genuine sorrow present, just the hope that someone falls for their lies.
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May get to putting The Sociopath under Goblin Lord's entry as well (switching from rage to instant crocodile tears) unless someone does it first.
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* TheSociopath: A [[ShownTheirWork remarkably textbook example]] that encompasses an entire race. Goblins are born without any empathy or ability to self-reflect; they do not, will not, and more importantly ''cannot'' recognize the pain they inflict on their victims. They see themselves as the superior race against common sense, and feed into that sense of superiority by degrading others through deception and assault. At the same time, they are blind as to why some people would hunt them down as a result, [[NeverMyFault instead vowing to continue raping and murdering as revenge for something that was their own fault to begin with]]. Not that they need much more motivation anyway, because their need for instant-gratification and short-term thinking means they will almost never pursue anything beyond their destructive impulses. They don't even care for their own brethren, backstabbing and abuse being commonplace within their ranks. Most damningly, like any cornered sociopath they will default to [[WoundedGazelleGambit cheap sympathy-ploys]] akin to slipping a mask on - there's no genuine sorrow present, just the hope that someone falls for their lies.
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* OurGoblinsAreDifferent: Weirdly enough for a work all about goblins, subverted. Their behaviors and antics in ''Goblin Slayer'' aren't too far away from what you'd find in flavor text of many fantasy RPG's. Rather, it's how said antics are examined through the eyes of other characters that makes them fearsome instead of amusing. They are also very much in the Tolkien-ish mold, being an unrepentantly evil, feral, and cave-dwelling.
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* OurGoblinsAreDifferent: Weirdly enough for a work all about goblins, subverted. Their behaviors and antics in ''Goblin Slayer'' aren't too far away from what you'd find in flavor text of many fantasy RPG's. Rather, it's how said antics are examined through the eyes of other characters that makes them fearsome instead of amusing. They are also very much in the Tolkien-ish mold, being an unrepentantly evil, feral, and cave-dwelling.cave-dwelling species.
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* MarsNeedsWomen: Maybe not to the same extent as goblins, but he has stated that he intends rape Priestess and High Elf Archer if he is able to capture them alive.
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* MarsNeedsWomen: Maybe not to the same extent as goblins, but he has stated that he intends to rape Priestess and High Elf Archer if he is able to capture them alive.
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* MarsNeedsWomen: Maybe not to the same extent as goblins, but he has stated that he intends rape Priestess and High Elf Archer if he is able to capture them alive.
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* InterimVillain: Is just a random evil spell-caster off to the side between Volume 3's Dark Elf (who was TheManBehindTheMan to several high-power goblin nests and pawn of choice of the GreaterScopeVillain), and Volume 5's [[spoiler:next evolution of the goblin threat]]. Hell, the hunt for him isn't even the central focus of the volume.
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* InterimVillain: Is just a random evil spell-caster off to the side between Volume 3's Dark Elf (who was TheManBehindTheMan to several high-power goblin nests and pawn of choice of the GreaterScopeVillain), and Volume 5's [[spoiler:next evolution of the goblin threat]]. Hell, the hunt for him isn't even the central focus of the volume.volume and is used only as a side story in the manga.
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* AttackItsWeakPoint: Its outer shell is hard to penetrate, even with magical enhanced weapons. However, Newbie Swordsman was able to injury it by attacking its inner mouth and Heavy Swordsman was able to inflict a deep cut on it by attacking between the plates.
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* AttackItsWeakPoint: Its outer shell is hard to penetrate, even with magical enhanced weapons. However, Newbie Swordsman was able to injury it by attacking its inner mouth and Heavy Swordsman was able to inflict a deep cut on it by attacking between the plates. [[spoiler: Spearman was able to give the killing blow by impaling it in the eye]].
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* {{Cyclops}}: A giant fifty meter long monster with a single eye.
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* EyeScream: [[spoiler: After a long drawn out fight with the Adventurer's Guild, Spearman was able to kill it by impaling it's single eye]].
* FlunkyBoss: The Adventurer's Guild was forced to fight this monster and a horde of slimes that the Rock Eater seem to be controlling. [[spoiler: After the Rock Eater was killed the slimes dispersed]].
* FlunkyBoss: The Adventurer's Guild was forced to fight this monster and a horde of slimes that the Rock Eater seem to be controlling. [[spoiler: After the Rock Eater was killed the slimes dispersed]].
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* NonMaliciousMonster: Unlike most of the antagonist on this list, the Rock Eater is giant feral monster that doesn't display an sadistic tendencies other than trying to survive.
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* {{Mooks}}: Because of their [[AlwaysChaoticEvil malevolence]] and relative ease to control through [[DirtyCoward fear]] and the [[RapePillageAndBurn promise of plunder and women]], Goblins are sometimes utilized by other nasties who happen to be in the market for expendable, nasty minions. Most times Goblins roam the countryside in unassociated packs, establishing nests or engaging in banditry, becoming a very real threat to the immediate area, though considered more of a minor to intermediate threat in the grand scheme of things. It's only when they grow enough in numbers to become [[TheHorde a horde]] are they considered to be a true threat.
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* EvilIsSterile: While they are fast learners, Goblins have no culture or ability to invent anything of their own. They'd rather just steal whatever they desire, and anything more advanced than their trademark debauchery is done through mimicry.
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* EvilIsSterile: While they are fast learners, Goblins have no culture or ability to invent anything of their own. They'd rather just steal whatever they desire, and anything more advanced than their trademark debauchery is done through mimicry. [[spoiler:[[AvertedTrope Averted]] with the goblin paladin who was given divinely enhanced intellect among other blessings that makes him so intelligent he can [[AwesomenessByAnalysis copy fighting styles by sight]], anticipate his opponent's actions, and turn a savage goblin horde into disciplined warriors while instilling comradere' and a genuine desire to lay down their lives for a greater cause. He's even more intelligent than a goblin lord and is creative enough to have his people actively plan and build things as opposed to just copying. FridgeHorror for both the readers and heroes as the goblin's ability to learn quickly and spread their knowledge among their own kind means that if the paladin's horde and the paladin himself aren't killed then more goblin paladins may be created. Even killing him and his horde is no guarantee as if it was done once, it could be done again.]]
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* DirtyCoward: No matter how strong they become, a goblin will remain a coward at heart. From lowly child to reigning Lord, the probability of fleeing at danger and abandoning fellow goblins to their fates remains roughly the same. Unfortunately, it is because of this that they are an everlasting threat.
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* DirtyCoward: No matter how strong they become, a goblin will remain a coward at heart. From lowly child to reigning Lord, the probability of fleeing at danger and abandoning fellow goblins to their fates remains roughly the same. Unfortunately, it is because of this that they are an everlasting threat. [[spoiler:Only one type of goblin [[AvertedTrope Averts]] this and there's [[ThePaladin a good reason he does]] and [[DivineEmpowerment not without help]]]]
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* LackOfEmpathy: Every single goblin is a self-obsessed and pitiless savage who would watch every other creature on earth die with a smile. This extends to the rest of their race and even their nest-mates; no goblin has any genuine camaraderie with any other one, and the closest they get to mourning their dead is feeling personally affronted that a filthy adventurer would dare rob them of a spare MeatShield and prospective crony.
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* LackOfEmpathy: Every single goblin is a self-obsessed and pitiless savage who would watch every other creature on earth die with a smile. This extends to the rest of their race and even their nest-mates; no goblin has any genuine camaraderie with any other one, and the closest they get to mourning their dead is feeling personally affronted that a filthy adventurer would dare rob them of a spare MeatShield meat shield and prospective crony.
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* BadBoss: The leader of Water Town barely qualifies as a boss. His horde only follows him because he's the biggest, he himself has no plans or sophisticated set-up, and he mostly fights by himself and sees his subordinates as meatshields, if he acknowledges their presence in the midst of battle at all. He's even ''worse'' in his reappearance, [[GiantFootOfStomping stomping on a peon who runs from Goblin Slayer]], and slicing through his own men like sheet paper just to get at him.
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* BadBoss: The leader of Water Town barely qualifies as a boss. His horde only follows him because he's the biggest, he himself has no plans or sophisticated set-up, and he mostly fights by himself and sees his subordinates as meatshields, meat shields, if he acknowledges their presence in the midst of battle at all. He's even ''worse'' in his reappearance, [[GiantFootOfStomping stomping on a peon who runs from Goblin Slayer]], and slicing through his own men like sheet paper just to get at him.
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* GuttedLikeAFish: [[spoiler: Dies when he gets slashed in the stomach by Goblin Slayer after a failed attempt at killing the latter.]]
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* MagicKnight: [[spoiler:Comes with being a Paladin of the God of Wisdom. A skilled spellcaster specializing in healing and reinforcement magic who is also a skilled warrior, he's one of Goblin Slayer's most dangerous foes to date]].
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* MagicKnight: [[spoiler:Comes with being a Paladin paladin of the God of Wisdom. A skilled spellcaster specializing in healing and reinforcement magic who is also a skilled warrior, he's one of Goblin Slayer's most dangerous foes to date]].
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* AttackItsWeakPoint: It's outer shell is hard to penetrate, even with magical enhanced weapons. However, Newbie Swordsman was able to injury it by attacking it's inner mouth and Heavy Swordsman was able to inflict a deep cut on it by attacking between the plates.
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* AttackItsWeakPoint: It's Its outer shell is hard to penetrate, even with magical enhanced weapons. However, Newbie Swordsman was able to injury it by attacking it's its inner mouth and Heavy Swordsman was able to inflict a deep cut on it by attacking between the plates.
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* GodzillaThreshold: When the guild learned about his creature, their first response is to send an entire army of adventurers after it, including the then Porcelain-ranked Spearman, Witch, Heavy Swordsman, and Female Knight. This clearly shows how much more dangerous this monster is compare to many of the other creatures shown.
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* GodzillaThreshold: When the guild learned about his this creature, their first response is to send an entire army of adventurers after it, including the then Porcelain-ranked Spearman, Witch, Heavy Swordsman, and Female Knight. This clearly shows how much more dangerous this monster is compare compared to many of the other creatures shown.
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* ShoutOut: In the {{Manga}}, when the Water Town demon transforms to fight Chosen Heroine, it takes on an elongated appearance with a gaping maw similar to the [[ComicBook/{{Spawn}} Violator]].
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* ShoutOut: In the {{Manga}}, manga, when the Water Town demon transforms to fight Chosen Heroine, it takes on an elongated appearance with a gaping maw similar to the [[ComicBook/{{Spawn}} Violator]].
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* ExplosiveBreeder: A thoroughly horrifying twist on the "breed like rabbits" analogy, as all goblins are [[ChildByRape forcibly bred from other species]]. Considering how '''many''' of these new (literal) bastards pop out of the ground all the time, [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil do the math]]. In Volume 1, Goblin Slayer discovers four goblin children in a den and remarks that they would have numbered ''fifty'' before long.
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* ExplosiveBreeder: A thoroughly horrifying twist on the "breed like rabbits" analogy, as all goblins are [[ChildByRape forcibly bred from other species]]. Considering how '''many''' of these new (literal) bastards pop out of the ground all the time, [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil do the math]]. Even worse; the time from conception the birth of ''multiple'' goblin children from a single mother is '''less than one week.''' In Volume 1, Goblin Slayer discovers four goblin children in a den and remarks that they would have numbered ''fifty'' before long.
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* ShoutOut: In the {{Manga}}, when the Water Town demon transforms to fight Chosen Heroine, it takes on an elongated appearance with a gaping maw similar to the [[ComicBook/{{Spawn}} Violator]].
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* NiceJobBreakingItHero: ...or 'Heroes' as the case may be. The reason there are so many goblins running around in the world is due to the fact that there is so little reward in Goblin-related quests. People who ask to rid their farm of goblins often do not have the money to pay a proper adventurer to do so. Due to so many adventurers rejecting these quests, the goblins are allowed to RapePillageAndBurn with free rein.
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* NiceJobBreakingItHero: ...or 'Heroes' as the case may be. {{Nice Job Breaking It Hero}}es!: The reason there are so many goblins running around in the world is due to the fact that there is so little reward in Goblin-related quests. People who ask to rid their farm of goblins often do not have the money to pay a proper adventurer to do so. Due to so many adventurers rejecting these quests, the goblins are allowed to RapePillageAndBurn with free rein.
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* FatalFlaw: [[{{Wrath}}]]. When Guild Girl points out his crimes and her reasons for demoting him, he seriously considers threatening and hurting her were it not for Goblin Slayer, who would bash his skull in if he tried. [[spoiler:Blaming his shame on Goblin Slayer for not vouching for him, Rhea Scout later joins Dark Elf and his [[TheHorde Goblin army]] in a bid to [[DisproportionateRetribution kill Goblin Slayer as painfully and as slowly as possible]], showing that he can hold grudges for a long time. At this point, consumed by vengeance and using any means necessary to achieve it, [[NotSoDifferent he's not much different from a Goblin]].]]
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* FatalFlaw: [[{{Wrath}}]].{{Wrath}}. When Guild Girl points out his crimes and her reasons for demoting him, he seriously considers threatening and hurting her were it not for Goblin Slayer, who would bash his skull in if he tried. [[spoiler:Blaming his shame on Goblin Slayer for not vouching for him, Rhea Scout later joins Dark Elf and his [[TheHorde Goblin army]] in a bid to [[DisproportionateRetribution kill Goblin Slayer as painfully and as slowly as possible]], showing that he can hold grudges for a long time. At this point, consumed by vengeance and using any means necessary to achieve it, [[NotSoDifferent he's not much different from a Goblin]].]]
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* DirtyCoward: Admits in his internal monologue that he actually doesn't care about being promoted because he hates putting himself in dangerous situations and is content to take easy quests and horde any loot he lucks into for profit.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Is entirely ready to jump Guild Girl with a knife when she demotes him, only stopped by awareness that Goblin Slayer would bash his skull in if he tried. [[spoiler:Blaming his shame on Goblin Slayer for not vouching for him, Rhea Scout joins with the Dark Elf, leader of an ApocalypseCult and his [[TheHorde troop of goblins]], all in a bid to kill Goblin Slayer for what he sees as abetting his humiliation]].
* DisproportionateRetribution: Is entirely ready to jump Guild Girl with a knife when she demotes him, only stopped by awareness that Goblin Slayer would bash his skull in if he tried. [[spoiler:Blaming his shame on Goblin Slayer for not vouching for him, Rhea Scout joins with the Dark Elf, leader of an ApocalypseCult and his [[TheHorde troop of goblins]], all in a bid to kill Goblin Slayer for what he sees as abetting his humiliation]].
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* DirtyCoward: Admits in his internal monologue that he actually doesn't care about being promoted because he hates putting himself in dangerous situations and is content to take easy quests and horde hoard any loot he lucks into for profit.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Is entirely ready to jump Guild Girl with a knife when she demotes him, only stopped by awareness that Goblin Slayer would bash his skull in if he tried. [[spoiler:Blaming his shame on Goblin Slayer for not vouching for him, Rhea Scout joins with the Dark Elf, leader of an ApocalypseCult and his [[TheHorde troop of goblins]], all in a bid to kill Goblin Slayer for what he sees as abetting his humiliation]].profit.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Is entirely ready to jump Guild Girl with a knife when she demotes him, only stopped by awareness that Goblin Slayer would bash his skull in if he tried. [[spoiler:Blaming his shame on Goblin Slayer for not vouching for him, Rhea Scout joins with the Dark Elf, leader of an ApocalypseCult and his [[TheHorde troop of goblins]], all in a bid to kill Goblin Slayer for what he sees as abetting his humiliation]].
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* FatalFlaw: [[{{Wrath}}]]. When Guild Girl points out his crimes and her reasons for demoting him, he seriously considers threatening and hurting her were it not for Goblin Slayer, who would bash his skull in if he tried. [[spoiler:Blaming his shame on Goblin Slayer for not vouching for him, Rhea Scout later joins Dark Elf and his [[TheHorde Goblin army]] in a bid to [[DisproportionateRetribution kill Goblin Slayer as painfully and as slowly as possible]], showing that he can hold grudges for a long time. At this point, consumed by vengeance and using any means necessary to achieve it, [[NotSoDifferent he's not much different from a Goblin]].]]
* FauxAffablyEvil: He's quite civil when things go his way, but [[BerserkButton doing anything to him that makes him look bad to others]] will enrage him.
* FauxAffablyEvil: He's quite civil when things go his way, but [[BerserkButton doing anything to him that makes him look bad to others]] will enrage him.
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* NeverMyFault: [[spoiler:He blames Goblin Slayer entirely for his demotion and humiliation despite having made the choice of committing crimes that resulted in such.]]
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* GodzillaThreshold: When the guide learned about his creature, their first response is to send an entire army of adventurers after it, including the then Porcelain-ranked Spearman, Witch, Heavy Swordsman, and Female Knight. This clearly shows how much more dangerous this monster is compare to many of the other creatures shown.
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* GodzillaThreshold: When the guide guild learned about his creature, their first response is to send an entire army of adventurers after it, including the then Porcelain-ranked Spearman, Witch, Heavy Swordsman, and Female Knight. This clearly shows how much more dangerous this monster is compare to many of the other creatures shown.
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* GodzillaThreshold: When the guide learned about his creature, their first response is to send an entire army of adventures after it, including the then Porcelain-ranked Spearman, Witch, Heavy Swordsman, and Female Knight. This clearly shows how much more dangerous this monster is compare to many of the other creatures shown.
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* GodzillaThreshold: When the guide learned about his creature, their first response is to send an entire army of adventures adventurers after it, including the then Porcelain-ranked Spearman, Witch, Heavy Swordsman, and Female Knight. This clearly shows how much more dangerous this monster is compare to many of the other creatures shown.
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* AttackItsWeakPoint: It's outer shell is hard to penetrate, even with magical enhanced weapons. However, Newbie Swordsman was able to injury it by attacking it's inner mouth and Heavy Swordsman was able to inflict a deep cut on it by attack between the plates.
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* AttackItsWeakPoint: It's outer shell is hard to penetrate, even with magical enhanced weapons. However, Newbie Swordsman was able to injury it by attacking it's inner mouth and Heavy Swordsman was able to inflict a deep cut on it by attack attacking between the plates.
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* AttackItsWeakPoint: It's outer shell is hard to penetrate, even with magical enhanced weapons. However, Newbie Swordsman was able to injury it be attacking it's inner mouth and Heavy Swordsman was able to inflict a deep cut on it by attack between the plates.
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* AttackItsWeakPoint: It's outer shell is hard to penetrate, even with magical enhanced weapons. However, Newbie Swordsman was able to injury it be by attacking it's inner mouth and Heavy Swordsman was able to inflict a deep cut on it by attack between the plates.
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Giant fifty meter long worm/centipede like creature that serves as the main antagonist to a [[PlotThreads B-plot]] in ''Goblin Slayer: Side Story Year One''.
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* AttackItsWeakPoint: It's outer shell is hard to penetrate, even with magical enhanced weapons. However, Newbie Swordsman was able to injury it be attacking it's inner mouth and Heavy Swordsman was able to inflict a deep cut on it by attack between the plates.
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* GodzillaThreshold: When the guide learned about his creature, their first response is to send an entire army of adventures after it, including the then Porcelain-ranked Spearman, Witch, Heavy Swordsman, and Female Knight. This clearly shows how much more dangerous this monster is compare to many of the other creatures shown.
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Removed YMMV tropes
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* AdaptiveAbility: {{Downplayed}}, but goblins are [[BrilliantButLazy amazingly quick to absorb new skills for how dimwitted and oafish their reputation is]]. The main reason Goblin Slayer is so adamant of leaving no survivors is because he is sure that one goblin just seeing his traps and techniques and living would then be able to reverse engineer his strategies and pass those new skills on to the rest of its race in time. [[spoiler:This can work against them sometimes, such as in volume 5 when the Snow Mountain goblins copy Goblin Slayer's loosened arrowheads trick and assume they must better all-round than what they were doing before if an adventurer is doing it, only to be rendered less effective than usual when using them on different targets]].
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* AdaptiveAbility: {{Downplayed}}, but goblins are [[BrilliantButLazy amazingly quick to absorb new skills for how dimwitted and oafish their reputation is]]. The main reason Goblin Slayer is so adamant of leaving no survivors is because he is sure that one goblin just seeing his traps and techniques and living would then be able to reverse engineer his strategies and pass those new skills on to the rest of its race in time. [[spoiler:This can work against them sometimes, such as in volume Volume 5 when the Snow Mountain goblins copy Goblin Slayer's loosened arrowheads trick and assume they must better all-round than what they were doing before if an adventurer is doing it, only to be rendered less effective than usual when using them on different targets]].
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* MarsNeedsWomen: Regardless of race, any pregnancy sired by goblins will only result in another goblin. [[FridgeHorror Recall]] [[{{Squick}} those children]] [[FanDisservice and the kidnapped girls]] [[NightmareFuel in the introductory arc]]. The trope is even more fitting [[spoiler:given the hints that Goblin Slayer's sister's story that goblins hail from the green moon is actually true]].
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* MarsNeedsWomen: Regardless of race, any pregnancy sired by goblins will only result in another goblin. [[FridgeHorror Recall]] [[{{Squick}} those children]] [[FanDisservice Recall those children and the kidnapped girls]] [[NightmareFuel in the introductory arc]].arc. The trope is even more fitting [[spoiler:given the hints that Goblin Slayer's sister's story that goblins hail from the green moon is actually true]].
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* OneGenderRace: Female goblins don't exist. ''Every single last'' goblin is born a male; hence their constant need to hunt for the females of ''other'' races just to... [[NightmareFuel multiply]].
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* OneGenderRace: Female goblins don't exist. ''Every single last'' goblin is born a male; hence their constant need to hunt for the females of ''other'' races just to... [[NightmareFuel multiply]].to multiply.
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* SmugSnake: Of the "very nearly qualifies as MagnificentBastard but falls just short" category. As detailed above, he is legitimately a high-level threat physically, intellectually, and resources-wise, but is simply edged-out by Goblin Slayer and friends. Also helping his case is that his DirtyCoward nature mitigates his arrogance and lets him recognize [[KnowWhenToFoldThem when it's best to just give up,]] but its still not enough to prevent him from assuming he holds the upper-hand when entering a fight or gloating if it looks like fortune has turned in his favor.
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* SmugSnake: Of the "very nearly qualifies as MagnificentBastard but falls just short" category. As detailed above, he is legitimately a high-level threat physically, intellectually, and resources-wise, but is simply edged-out by Goblin Slayer and friends. Also helping his case is that his DirtyCoward nature mitigates his arrogance and lets him recognize [[KnowWhenToFoldThem when it's best to just give up,]] up]], but its it's still not enough to prevent him from assuming he holds the upper-hand when entering a fight or gloating if it looks like fortune has turned in his favor.
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* {{Hobbits}}: Here called "Rheas". He's a fairly stereotypical specimen of manga-style [[SerialNumbersFiledOff not-Halflings]]; a spoon-eared TokenMiniMoe whose kind is the designated rogues of the fantasy setting in question. [[spoiler: though he takes the negative implications of such traits to the extreme conclusion, his NinjaLooting habits in particular giving him more in common with a [[Literature/{{Dragonlance}} Kender]] than a Hobbit]].
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* {{Hobbits}}: Here called "Rheas". He's a fairly stereotypical specimen of manga-style [[SerialNumbersFiledOff not-Halflings]]; an Eastern-style not-Halfling - a spoon-eared TokenMiniMoe whose kind is the designated rogues of the fantasy setting in question. [[spoiler: though he takes the negative implications of such traits to the extreme conclusion, his NinjaLooting habits in particular giving him more in common with a [[Literature/{{Dragonlance}} Kender]] than a Hobbit]].
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* BigBadEnsemble: With the goblins in Goblin Slayer: Side Story Year One. While Goblin Slayer is busy fighting goblins, the other adventurers like Newbie Swordsman and Spearman are dealing with this thing.
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* BigBadEnsemble: With the goblins in Goblin Slayer: Side Story Year One.in''Year One''. While Goblin Slayer is busy fighting goblins, the other adventurers like Newbie Swordsman and Spearman are dealing with this thing.
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* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: This monster's mouth is full of multiple rings of teeth that tears any unfortunate prey it catches into ribbons, like poor Half-Elf Shaman and Steel-Leveled Scout.
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* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: This monster's mouth is full of multiple rings of teeth that tears any unfortunate prey it catches into ribbons, like poor Half-Elf Shaman and Steel-Leveled Steel-ranked Scout.
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* SirSwearsALot: The Water Town demon belts out a laundry list of cusses in the wake of Goblin Slayer killing his goblin minions and sealing his portal mirror, peppered generously with [[GoshDarnItToHeck "fudge" and "fooey"]] and [[CreatorWorship invoking Gary Gygax to send him to hell]].
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* SirSwearsALot: The Water Town demon belts out a laundry list of cusses in the wake of Goblin Slayer killing his goblin minions and sealing his portal mirror, peppered generously with [[GoshDarnItToHeck "fudge" and "fooey"]] and [[CreatorWorship invoking [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Gary Gygax Gygax]] to send him to hell]].hell.
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[[center: [-[[Characters/GoblinSlayer Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/GoblinSlayerTravelingCompanionsAndLovedOnes Traveling Companions and Loved Ones]] |[[AC:Adventurers Guild]] ([[Characters/GoblinSlayerAdventurersGuildMembers Guild Members]] | [[Characters/GoblinSlayerAdventurersGuildStaff Staff]]) | [[Characters/GoblinSlayerOtherSignificantPlayers Other Significant Players]] | [[Characters/GoblinSlayerTheGods The Gods]] | '''Antagonists''']]-]
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[[center: [-[[Characters/GoblinSlayer Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/GoblinSlayerTravelingCompanionsAndLovedOnes Traveling Companions and Loved Ones]] |[[AC:Adventurers | [[AC:Adventurers Guild]] ([[Characters/GoblinSlayerAdventurersGuildMembers Guild Members]] | [[Characters/GoblinSlayerAdventurersGuildStaff Staff]]) | [[Characters/GoblinSlayerOtherSignificantPlayers Other Significant Players]] | [[Characters/GoblinSlayerTheGods The Gods]] | '''Antagonists''']]-]
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%%* DeathOfAChild: There's a reason that goblin children do need to be killed.
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[[center: [-[[Characters/GoblinSlayer Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/GoblinSlayerTravelingCompanionsAndLovedOnes Traveling Companions and Loved Ones]] |[[AC:Adventurers Guild]] ([[Characters/GoblinSlayerAdventurersGuildMembers Guild Members]] | [[Characters/GoblinSlayerAdventurersGuildStaff Staff]]) | [[Characters/GoblinSlayerOtherSignificantPlayers Other Significant Players]] | [[Characters/GoblinSlayerTheGods The Gods]] | '''Antagonists''']]-]
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[[header: Antagonists]]
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[[header: Antagonists]]
[[folder:Goblins]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblinslayergoblins.png]]
The very monsters that the Goblin Slayer is killing in his crusade. They're known for attacking various villages in the story.
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! General Tropes associated with Goblins
* AdaptiveAbility: {{Downplayed}}, but goblins are [[BrilliantButLazy amazingly quick to absorb new skills for how dimwitted and oafish their reputation is]]. The main reason Goblin Slayer is so adamant of leaving no survivors is because he is sure that one goblin just seeing his traps and techniques and living would then be able to reverse engineer his strategies and pass those new skills on to the rest of its race in time. [[spoiler:This can work against them sometimes, such as in volume 5 when the Snow Mountain goblins copy Goblin Slayer's loosened arrowheads trick and assume they must better all-round than what they were doing before if an adventurer is doing it, only to be rendered less effective than usual when using them on different targets]].
* AlienFairFolk: [[spoiler:Goblin Slayer's sister would tell him that goblins came from one of the sky's moons, specifically the green one. A peek into a portal mirror reveals goblins working a machine made entirely out of human bones under a pitch-black sky, surrounded by endlessly-stretching fields of green sand]]...
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Make no mistake, these guys are some of the vilest depictions of your standard fantasy goblin in modern fiction. To put it ''mildly'', their entire existence rests on making people's lives as horribly miserable as can be.
* BaldOfEvil: For whatever reason, few if any goblins seem to have a full head of hair.
* CannonFodder: To adventurers, to other monsters, and even to each other. As long as an objective is eventually completed, the death toll matters little to goblins.
* ChildByRape: Every single goblin by default is one. ''And there's no end to them.''
* ChildrenAreInnocent: [[spoiler:Not at all. They know from an early age that acting helpless can easily gain an adventurer's mercy]].
* ColdBloodedTorture: When they aren't raping their kidnapped victims, they are committing this. There is no rhyme or reason for it, and they don't care if they prematurely kill the victim in the middle of their fun. After all, they can always just capture more.
* CycleOfRevenge: It never explicitly stated what started and who's responsible for the escalating series of attacks that eventually resulted in the goblins' trademark hatred and fervent pursuit of the destruction of human civilization, but they clearly see themselves as part of such a cycle against all other races. As Goblin Slayer notes, [[GuiltFreeExterminationWar it will only end when one side is completely eradicated]].
%%* DeathOfAChild: There's a reason that goblin children do need to be killed.
* DirtyCoward: No matter how strong they become, a goblin will remain a coward at heart. From lowly child to reigning Lord, the probability of fleeing at danger and abandoning fellow goblins to their fates remains roughly the same. Unfortunately, it is because of this that they are an everlasting threat.
* DominantSpeciesGenes: When they rape a woman, the child is always a goblin.
* DressedToPlunder: Quite a few of the boat-riding goblins underneath Water Town dress like pirates, [[RapePillageAndBurn appropriately enough]].
* EliteMook: Goblin champions, who are big and powerful enough to casually tear off an adventurer's head, and whom Silver-ranked adventurers (who otherwise see goblins as just newbie targets) regard as worthwhile challenges.
* EvilIsSterile: While they are fast learners, Goblins have no culture or ability to invent anything of their own. They'd rather just steal whatever they desire, and anything more advanced than their trademark debauchery is done through mimicry.
* ExplosiveBreeder: A thoroughly horrifying twist on the "breed like rabbits" analogy, as all goblins are [[ChildByRape forcibly bred from other species]]. Considering how '''many''' of these new (literal) bastards pop out of the ground all the time, [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil do the math]]. In Volume 1, Goblin Slayer discovers four goblin children in a den and remarks that they would have numbered ''fifty'' before long.
* {{Expy}}: Rather than generic fantasy-based green-skins in the original web novel, the goblins were these to [[Manga/TerraforMARS the Terraformars]] - creatures fueled by ThePowerOfHate with specific [[EvolutionPowerUp evolutionary traits]] and [[AlienFairFolk non-terrestrial origins]].
%%** Intentionally or not, their concept is very similar to that of [[https://media.wizards.com/2014/downloads/dnd/TuckersKobolds.pdf "Tucker's Kobolds"]], now infamous in the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' community, in the premise that a race known for being pathetic CannonFodder and usually dismissed by players, if given sufficient numbers, some nasty traps and a setting that puts the opposing party at a disadvantage, can and '''will''' wipe the floor with a group of adventurers many times their level.
* TheFarmerAndTheViper: The only thing that an adventurer is going to get out of sparing a Goblin straggler after clearing a nest is a Wanderer with a fresh batch of knowledge of adventurer fighting techniques, experience in exploiting human magnanimity, and [[ItsPersonal redoubled hatred of the Praying Races]]. This applies ''especially'' to [[EnfantTerrible Goblin whelps]].
* GoalOrientedEvolution: Some of Goblin Slayer's comments suggest that the specialized tier older Goblins develop into is determined through choice of the Goblin itself.
* GrassIsGreener: All goblins harbor a deep and all-consuming font of envy and resentment in what passes for their souls, exacerbated by the perpetual squalor of their lives and homes and their refusal to actively change any of it. They steal whatever they can, let it get destroyed from lack of maintenance, and do nothing but curse others for having nicer things. A good illustration of this comes from the goblin viewpoint chapter in Volume 4, where a goblin who took a spear from a captured adventurer decides he wants the belt his brother took instead, only to become outraged and possessive when he realizes his brother wants the spear as well.
* HatesEveryoneEqually: Every individual goblin views all non-goblins as wretched animals that exist to be subjugated and preyed upon until death, and all other goblins besides itself as dopey, fair-weather cronies to exploit and dispose of for its own gain.
* HateSink: ''And how!'' You'd be ''very'' hard-pressed to find any instances where you can sympathize with such creatures. Even then, they will rapidly and cheerfully yank that moment away with a fresh example of their vile cruelty.
* HellishPupils: Usually they are portrayed with BlankWhiteEyes, but the occasional GrossUpCloseUp in later chapters reveals bulging, goat/octopus-like eyeballs with a ''cluster'' of small, uneven pupils around the center one, with branches of them stretching to each corner of the eyes.
* TheHorde: The most common and savage of the "Unpraying," the monstrous races and servants of the Demon Lords and Evil Gods, goblins are obsessively hostile and completely incapable of being reasoned with. Guild Girl ruefully notes that even evil Lizardmen tribes and other traditionally villainous humanoid races are still open to the possibility of negotiations, and have at least [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy moderately constructive cultures]], Goblins are just ravaging marauders with no inclination of rising above their basest impulses.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Let's just say that no one calls out Goblins for being barbaric, wasteful, stupid, and arrogant more than other Goblins, or with less self-awareness.
* ImAHumanitarian: Goblins will eat anything they can find, but they especially like the taste of human flesh.
* InnateNightVision: They can see in the dark just fine and use it to their advantage. Unfortunately for them, this leaves them vulnerable to sudden bright lights (such as Priestess's Holy Light spell), which Goblin Slayer takes advantage of on numerous occasions
* ItCanThink: Goblins are dumb and weak, but they are also resourceful enough to know how to set traps, as well as to make use of wolves as sentry dogs.
** What is most concerning about goblins is their learning capacity; Goblin Slayer implies many of the tools and skills the creatures use are crude imitations of adventurers'. If that's not enough, hordes under servitude can be taught effectively by their masters, making them even more a hassle than goblins already ought to be.
** For example, they've already at some point figured out that if they see a light in the darkness, then chances are an adventurer was nearby to kill.
* KarmicDeath: With every foul KickTheDog moment they commit, you're going to ''want'' the death of every goblin to be as violent as Goblin Slayer can muster.
* TheKillerBecomesTheKilled: Every Goblin is born thinking they can rule the Frontier and take whatever they want, be it food, women, or somebody's life. Every Goblin massacred by Goblin Slayer is reminded of their proper place in the world - that of bloody smears staining the armor of adventurers.
* LackOfEmpathy: Every single goblin is a self-obsessed and pitiless savage who would watch every other creature on earth die with a smile. This extends to the rest of their race and even their nest-mates; no goblin has any genuine camaraderie with any other one, and the closest they get to mourning their dead is feeling personally affronted that a filthy adventurer would dare rob them of a spare MeatShield and prospective crony.
* MagikarpPower: Goblins are genuinely {{Mooks}} a dime a dozen, with all the intelligence and and individual effectiveness as that implies. Older goblins that have survived the gauntlet of adventurers for years though, they are a much different story. Some become leaders who ensure the survival of their horde, much to the detriment of everything else. Others grow strong enough to give elite adventurers a run for their money. [[spoiler:A rare few, such as Goblin Lords, throw off the characteristic stupidity altogether and develop intelligence on par, if not exceeding that, of a human]].
* MarsNeedsWomen: Regardless of race, any pregnancy sired by goblins will only result in another goblin. [[FridgeHorror Recall]] [[{{Squick}} those children]] [[FanDisservice and the kidnapped girls]] [[NightmareFuel in the introductory arc]]. The trope is even more fitting [[spoiler:given the hints that Goblin Slayer's sister's story that goblins hail from the green moon is actually true]].
* MoralMyopia: Whenever the story switches perspectives to that of the goblins, it is made very clear that they vehemently oppose humans and adventurers for slaughtering them in droves, taking away their children and homes to leave them with nothing. They are justified in their vengeance... [[NeverMyFault so says the wantonly sadistic thieves and rapists who actively prey on the weak without remorse or acknowledgement of consequences]].
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: ...or 'Heroes' as the case may be. The reason there are so many goblins running around in the world is due to the fact that there is so little reward in Goblin-related quests. People who ask to rid their farm of goblins often do not have the money to pay a proper adventurer to do so. Due to so many adventurers rejecting these quests, the goblins are allowed to RapePillageAndBurn with free rein.
** Because nobody save Goblin Slayer is actually doing ''any'' of these quests, the Guild has no choice but to send newbie adventurers en masse to deal with the problem at their nests...some of whom are ill-prepared to deal with the actual threat the goblins themselves pose. Those that survive and succeed are promoted straight-away without any fuss.
** According to Goblin Slayer, the problem is made even worse when people allow fleeing goblin children to live, letting them run away to grow up strong enough to get their vengeance.
** Not helping matters at all are central governing bodies like the Capital, who are too focused on the Demon Lord, politics, and internal affairs to spend any effort protecting the outskirt villages settling the Frontier, where the majority of goblin raids (and other monster attacks) occur. Villagers are forced to rely on adventurers they can't afford, when even a lonely military outpost could have sufficed in repelling the Frontier's threats.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: But then, their atrocities also led to the birth of their worst nightmare: Goblin Slayer, a relentless crusader hellbent on hunting any and all goblins he can until either they go extinct or he dies.
* NormalFishInATinyPond: In spite of all the havoc they wreak on villages, most goblins really are just CannonFodder in the grand scheme of things. Every other species shown in the story (outside of rats) has individually proven to be far more destructive than even what a whole horde could possibly muster. Which, admittedly, doesn't say great things about the world. Still, at least one can take some small comfort in that most monsters are more likely to "kill" when attacking than to [[FateWorseThanDeath "abduct"]]...
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Novice adventurers tend to significantly underestimate the threat goblins represent due to how weak they are individually. The Guild also provides less than stellar rewards for resolving goblin related problems, largely due to poor villages being the ones who submit them. This makes goblin hunting unattractive and fuels a misconception that weak monsters result in low prize money.
* OneGenderRace: Female goblins don't exist. ''Every single last'' goblin is born a male; hence their constant need to hunt for the females of ''other'' races just to... [[NightmareFuel multiply]].
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Goblin Slayer always makes a mental note whenever he sees or hears of a goblin behaving outside of the norm. The little beasties are creatures of habit and typically driven by their base desires first and foremost, so ''something'' must be powerful and fearsome enough to force a change of self-conduct. A vivisected corpse found in an alleyway? Captured victims not being raped already after a certain amount of time? [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Knowledge on how to make and row boats?]] All of these make for important details.
* OurGoblinsAreDifferent: Weirdly enough for a work all about goblins, subverted. Their behaviors and antics in ''Goblin Slayer'' aren't too far away from what you'd find in flavor text of many fantasy RPG's. Rather, it's how said antics are examined through the eyes of other characters that makes them fearsome instead of amusing. They are also very much in the Tolkien-ish mold, being an unrepentantly evil, feral, and cave-dwelling.
** That being said, as the series goes on and lore on them gets more detailed, they start to differentiate themselves by combining a number of more niche or obscure facets from other works together into one background; being a OneGenderRace who must [[MarsNeedsWomen reproduce with females of other species]] is a distinct departure from most mainstream depictions (though still a relatively common monster trait in [[Manga/{{Berserk}} certain]] hardcore {{Seinen}} works and particularly edgy {{Hentai}}), them being capable of EvolutionPowerUp is fairly unique outside of some video games, and [[spoiler:the fact that they are probably literal alien invaders to the setting is novel outside of the WarhammerFantasy setting]].
* RapePillageAndBurn: Their main MO. In addition to raiding lonely villagers, they're also known to rape women... even worse of a matter if you're an [[{{Elfeminate}} elf woman]].
* {{Sadist}}: An entire race of them, or else goblins wouldn't have been treated with nearly as much fear by their victims.
* SinisterSchnoz: Long and hooked as a vulture's beak, to a one.
* SmugSnake: Goblin Slayer mentions this will lead to their downfall; goblins think they're so superior to everything else that they can't fathom that other beings can copy their tactics and use it against them. So goblins fall for tricks and traps every time.
* SoleSurvivor: Nearly all "higher-tier" goblin types (except for Riders) start off as Wanderers; runaway, last living members of their original nests who travel across the land leading hand-to-mouth existences that either end with them starving to death out on their own... [[MagikarpPower or achieving evolution and then status in a new horde]].
* StarfishLanguage: In the manga, whenever goblins actually talk, their speech is rendered as large runic symbols scattered across their speech bubbles that often extend out of their boundaries.
* [[HisOwnWorstEnemy Their Own Worst Enemy]]: As stated above, the whole reason the goblins are so ruthless and sadistic is due to vengence against other races for the destruction of their homes and slaughter of their race. They feel justified in what they do, but they conveniently ignore the fact they go out of their way to kill anyone that isn't a goblin and happily kidnap and rape any woman they manage to grab on to. If anything, the goblins have only themselves to blame for the onslaught of their people.
* WouldHurtAChild: This alone would be bad enough, but they ''specifically'' seek out young girls to kidnap for their complete defenselessness.
* ZergRush: Goblins alone are weak, and dumb as a brick; but most low-level adventurers underestimate them due to the low reward of the quest. Thus, they can find themselves subject to this when they're ill-prepared.
** Even when adventurers aren't ill-prepared, they often succumb to this tactic because, no matter how easily they die, when it's one against a hundred, the odds are against the adventurers. It's mentioned that part of the reason adventurers who are high-leveled don't go after them is because it's high-risk and low reward, and Goblin-related deaths are downright nasty.
!Hobgoblins
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblinslayerhob.png]]
Goblins that have grown larger and put on more muscle. They act as bodyguards for nests.
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* TheBrute: Of the Goblin Race, easily big enough to single-handedly manhandle the average young adult adventurer in-universe.
* EliteMooks: Rarely become leaders of hordes, shown instead to mostly become the top enforcers of the actual leaders or remain solitary wanderers.
* EvolutionaryLevels: Clearest cut example among the Goblin sub-types; while all goblins become bigger and stronger continuously throughout their lives, hobgoblins develop radically different physical frames and more than double in body mass. They're also the only ones so far to be shown to have a third tier, with a rare few hobgoblins growing even further, enough to become the legendary, ogre-like goblin champions.
* StoutStrength: They tend to be rather corpulent.
!Goblin Shamans
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shaman.jpg]]
Goblins that have gained the ability to use magic. They often lead nests.
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* DealWithTheDevil: Most common shamans are more precisely warlocks in terms of how they actually get their magic powers; a minor demon or evil deity will sometimes temporarily possess or bond with a Wanderer, and the aftereffects of their spirit-inhabitation will leave the newly christened shaman with an instinctual understanding of spell-crafting.
* EvilGenius: They are not quite smart enough, but in terms of overall goblin intelligence they qualify. They display leadership skills, integral to an effective horde, and have the capacity to learn basic spells.
* PlayingPossum: The brand of goblin most likely to pull this trick when injured, not that Goblin Slayer ever falls for it.
* ShockAndAwe: Shamans during the Raid of the Farm are capable of using lightning magic. The first shaman Goblin Slayer faces in ''Year One'' also has the magic capacity to liberally spam Thunderbolt spells during their fight.
* SurroundedByIdiots: Tend to express this sentiment; particularly the chronologically first one faced by GS, who liberally whacks all his surviving followers with his staff when he discovers that his entire horde put together couldn't put down a solitary greenhorn adventurer.
* TheUsualAdversaries: Due to the fact that baseline goblins aren't a substantial threat to the MainCharacters without a leader, and the noted extreme rarity of champions, lords, and people able or willing to collaborate with their kind, shamans appear with increased frequency in the later light novels and spin-offs, and are by far the most often seen "evolved" goblins and the go-to [[MonsterOfTheWeek target of small, secondary hunts that take up only a few pages]].
* TooImportantToWalk: The first shaman Goblin Slayer ever faces forces his underlings to carry him into battle on a small, bone-constructed litter.
* TrapMaster: Goblin Slayer credits them as the primary architects of den defenses.
!Goblin Riders
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblin_riders.jpg]]
Goblins that have tamed captured wolves to the point they can use them as mounts.
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* BeastOfBattle: Well-stocked hordes would already use a wolf as an AngryGuardDog, but the riders lead them directly into battle.
* CripplingOverspecialization: Having the mental faculties to train a wolf to this extent shows a level of maturity well ahead of the curve of a bog-standard goblin, but the pay-out is these specimens never acquire the magic potential of shamans or increased stature of hobgoblins. Goblin Slayer also notes that they only ever develop in hordes that are extremely large and with easy access to resources, making the practice seem almost like a status-symbol for well-off raiders.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: Use wolves as this, serving as a bona fide cavalry unit for particularly numerous and aggressive hordes.
!Goblin Champions
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblin_champion.png]]
Heroes of the Goblin race, those that have become large enough to even be seen as ogres in terms of strength. One serves as the main antagonist of Volume 2 of the Light Novel.
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* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: In contrast to shamans and lords, self-grown champions have [[DumbMuscle almost no capacity for effective leadership or planning]], becoming leaders of hordes by feat of physical dominance.
* AxCrazy: The Water Town goblin champion loses what little composure he had after his first fight against Goblin Slayer, and rips apart his own men in a blind fury to try and kill him.
* BadBoss: The leader of Water Town barely qualifies as a boss. His horde only follows him because he's the biggest, he himself has no plans or sophisticated set-up, and he mostly fights by himself and sees his subordinates as meatshields, if he acknowledges their presence in the midst of battle at all. He's even ''worse'' in his reappearance, [[GiantFootOfStomping stomping on a peon who runs from Goblin Slayer]], and slicing through his own men like sheet paper just to get at him.
* BossInMookClothing: These things are strong enough that only Silver-ranked adventurers can stand up to them when they come out en masse during the Siege of the Farm.
* BoxingLessonsForSuperman: The distinction between hobgoblins and champions has less to do with build (seeing as the former can already exceed average humans in size and strength) as the phenomenon of champions living through enough battles to pick up decent, durable gear and at least some inkling of proper martial arts.
-->'''Heavy Warrior:''' I thought they were just really big goblins, but this thing knows how to ''fight!''
* CarryABigStick: They often carry clubs.
* DumbMuscle: In spite of likely being the heaviest hitters of the horde, champions evidently don't have much in ways of brainpower. Goblin Slayer was able to easily rodeo one and trick it into swinging several times, killing countless goblins in droves.
* EyeScream: Goblin Slayer rips the eye out of the champion leading the horde in Water Town.
* GiantMook: Their basic size utterly dwarfs even the very biggest and most muscular of human fighters seen and they edge out [[GentleGiant Lizard Priest]] in height and breadth. Ones allowed to monopolize horde resources can grow even further until they rival ogres in size, as demonstrated by the Water Town Boss.
* GrievousHarmWithABody: During the Battle of the Farm, one champion gets a hold of an adventurer and throws him halfway across the valley with enough force to bounce, leave a crater, and hit a boulder with a splat. Several other fighters are sent sprawling to avoid the human missile, and one rookie that sees the mangled corpse left behind [[StressVomit vomits in horror]].
* KingMook: A particularly large champion leads his own horde in the sewers of Water Town. Most of his page-space just shows how bad an idea it is to let TheBrute set his own rules, as this particular horde has no organization, no base defenses, and the champion [[BadBoss ends up killing most of his horde himself through friendly fire]].
* ImAHumanitarian: [[spoiler:Volume 2's champion was in the middle of eating Priestess before Goblin Slayer strangles him into stopping]].
* LargeAndInCharge: The goblin champion leading the horde beneath Water Town is a towering brute, easily rivaling Volume 1's ogre in both height and physical power.
* LecherousLicking: In the manga, The Water Town champion drags his tongue across Priestess' face with a sneer in between taking bites out of her shoulder.
* MoralMyopia: In Goblin Slayer's rematch with the champion in Volume 2, he lures it into pancaking goblins several times in a row. The champion becomes angrier and angrier with every failed attack and blames Goblin Slayer for his companions' deaths, when perhaps the lug should have stopped after the first swing. [[{{Hypocrite}} That's not counting an earlier moment when he used a fellow goblin as a meat shield without hesitation]].
* WhatTheHellAreYou: Mixed alongside WhyWontYouDie, the Water Town champion asks both these questions repeatedly in an increasingly panicked tone as it tries and fails to shake Goblin Slayer off after he gets up from being knocked across the room and starts strangling it.
!Goblin Lords
[[quoteright:252:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblin_lord.jpg]]
Kings of the goblin race, these goblins have gained intellect and ambition, allowing them to command hordes to great effectiveness.
----
* AllEncompassingMantle: The goblin lord leading the assault on the farm wears a rough, voluminous cloak with a fur collar.
* AnAxeToGrind: The lord assaulting Cow Girl's farm wields an ornate battleaxe [[spoiler:taken as a trophy off of an evidently high-level adventurer]], and is rather proficient with it in its fight against Goblin Slayer.
* ArmorPiercingAttack: The goblin lord is strong enough and his battleaxe well-made enough to cave in Goblin Slayer's buckler in one hit, cut through it in two, and sunder it completely and break Goblin Slayer's wrist in three.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: A dedicated thinker he may be, but no Goblin ever got to the top of the pile by being easy to put down. He can even fight toe-to-toe with Goblin Slayer, a [[ExperiencedProtagonist specialized Silver-ranked veteran adventurer]] who has spent half his life preparing to find and kill goblins just like him!
* BadBoss: Beheads his scout and personal aide out of hand for criticizing him, sends the remainder of his forward army out against the adventurers despite being outmatched to cover his retreat while they die, considers his troops worthless, and his flashbacks reveal he had a habit of literally shoving his fellows at adventurers as a distraction technique while still a grunt.
* BeardOfEvil: A short fringe of ratty black hair framing his jawline.
* CarpetOfVirility: His flashbacks show he has a large patch of greasy back hair across his chest. Being a goblin (with all the [[DirtyCoward traits]] [[SmugSnake that]] [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil implies]]) it's a signifier of repulsiveness on him.
* CoolCrown: Befitting the acquired title of lord, the one we see wears a helmet-like winged crown, with antlers outfitting as the wings. [[WardrobeWound He gets extra pissed when Goblin Sayer knocks it off with a slash of his sword]].
* CrossPoppingVeins: His veins bulge with adrenaline and frustration when he is confronted by Goblin Slayer, and as the fight between them drags on, they just throb worse and extend across more of his face like [[Manga/OnePiece Doflamingo]].
* DareToBeBadass: Weirdly enough. The goblin lord in the first light novel presents a RousingSpeech to drive its horde up in an excited fervor, while simultaneously displaying its eloquence (at least in its own tongue).
* TheDreaded: [[ExperiencedProtagonist Goblin Slayer]] doubts his chances of ''surviving'' a fight against a lord by himself, and evidence of one near the farm sends him booking to tell Cow Girl DontAskJustRun immediately. News of a horde on the march with a lord at the helm has the veteran adventurers, quick to brush goblins off and disparage Goblin Slayer any other time, regard each other with genuine sobriety and worry. That should tell you all you need to know about the threat they represent.
* EloquentInMyNativeTongue: Particularly in the manga, where his speech when commanding other goblins or thinking of his next move can become almost flowery at points.
* EvilGenius: To the point where they can form strategies and match wits with humans when push comes to shove. Although, it says something about both them and Goblins in general that they are the ones capable of ''long-term planning''.
* FearsomeFoot: The goblin lord in the end of Volume 1 is given extremely long, muscled, dinosaur-like digitigrade legs in the manga adaptation, which are shown off prominently when he [[TrampledUnderfoot crushes the severed head of his servant while fleeing the battlefield]]. It is worth noting that not only is this feature unique to him (or at least not nearly as pronounced in other goblins), but his flashback shows that his foot configuration [[EvolutionPowerup became more warped and animalistic with age and development of his eventual lordly cunning]].
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Started as just another goblin whelp, pitiable-looking enough that an adventurer didn't even want to kill him, but grew to be a ruthless and bloodthirsty MonsterLord with enough power at his command that Goblin Slayer himself needed to buy the services of the entire rest of the Adventurers Guild to oppose him.
* GeneralRipper: The one that attacks the farm leads a horde of over one hundred Goblins with uncommon discipline, and his capacity for deferred gratification has refined, not restrained, his natural Goblin bloodlust.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Has a large slash across his face and a chunk taken out of the right corner of his mouth.
* ISurrenderSuckers: The lord leading the Raid of the Farm has a tendency of doing this. It performed this on an adventurer as a child, [[spoiler: braining her with a rock once her back was turned]]. It retreated from battle the moment its horde was being pushed back, intending to try again after replenishing numbers with its stock of captured women. It tried to prostrate while under [[spoiler:Priestess']] mercy, lying through its teeth as it begged to be let go. [[spoiler: Goblin Slayer saw to make certain it never surrenders again]].
* ItCanThink: All goblins display this trope to some extent, but Lords express it the best with near-human levels of intelligence and cognition.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: The fact that Volume 1's Goblin Lord achieved his status in the first place means that he's been screwing over people and fellow goblins alike for a long, long time. His backstory only offers a glimpse of the many atrocities he's committed and gotten away with. Naturally, Goblin Slayer is there to finally punch his overdue ticket.
* TheKillerBecomesTheKilled: Applies to all goblins, but this one in particular gets it good: [[spoiler:After Priestess ensnares it between two Protection walls like a pressed cockroach, Goblin Slayer slips in his broken sword and crushes the lord's windpipe]] .
* KnowWhenToFoldThem: Is perfectly able and willing to abandon a fight and a horde that he knows he is about to lose. His inner monologue while running away implies that the Farm Raid isn't the first time he has cut his losses to start over from scratch. [[spoiler:Too bad for him that Goblin Slayer is the one adventurer that leaves no survivors]].
* TheLeader: They play this role to their goblin hordes.
* LeanAndMean: Stands almost twice as tall as his baseline grunts, and though he's packed on quite a bit of muscle throughout his violent life, it's almost all in his legs, [[DirtyCoward a feature he has no qualms of utilizing to cut a hasty dash away from the first sign of danger]].
* MonsterLord: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Goblin Lords are considered the pinnacle form of their kind, and their capacity for uniting and organizing scores of other goblins under their direction is viewed as just as much of a special power/characteristic as a shaman's spellcasting or a champion's quintupled muscle mass.
* NotSoDifferent: The sole survivor of its family, giving birth to a vehement grudge against its attackers that lasts a lifetime. It gets stronger from its encounters, gets more cunning, cycling through different weapons and methods until it ascends to the top rank among its contemporaries. And Goblin Slayer has been aware of that since the very beginning.
* OffhandBackhand: When the assault on the farm starts to visibly be pushed back, his MookLieutenant standing directly beside him turns and starts screaming at him angrily [[StarfishLanguage in gobbledygook]]. The Lord just swings his arm back without even a twitch of warning, neatly decapitating him with his axe before sending in the goblin champions to attack...and then turning tail and fleeing into the woods.
* OutGambitted: The goblin lord encountered at the end of Volume 1 has lived his life in preparation to leading a march through the Human Frontier. He has spent years amassing a horde of over a hundred strong, about half of whom are specialized ranks, including no less than ''ten'' specimens of the near-mythic [[BossInMooksClothing goblin champion]]. He leads smart, he has all his ducks in a row, he uses legitimate tactical maneuvers such as cavalry charges on the enemy's flanks and a vanguard with a HumanShield wall to provide cover for his spellcasters, by all measures he was poised to steamroll the outlying farmland. It's merely his misfortune that his march brought him immediately up against Goblin Slayer, a man with near-psychic understanding of goblin thinking and fighting, and Guild Girl, a girl that understands the true danger of goblins and has access to the funds to bribe veteran adventurers into finally taking his kind on seriously.
* ProperlyParanoid: When you're a goblin, there's never a situation where you're wrong to run away. [[spoiler:When you're a goblin in Goblin Slayer's sights, there's [[OutGambitted nowhere you can run]] that will save your hide]].
* SlasherSmile: Grins maniacally at the sight of humans falling before him.
* SmugSnake: Of the "very nearly qualifies as MagnificentBastard but falls just short" category. As detailed above, he is legitimately a high-level threat physically, intellectually, and resources-wise, but is simply edged-out by Goblin Slayer and friends. Also helping his case is that his DirtyCoward nature mitigates his arrogance and lets him recognize [[KnowWhenToFoldThem when it's best to just give up,]] but its still not enough to prevent him from assuming he holds the upper-hand when entering a fight or gloating if it looks like fortune has turned in his favor.
* TheStrategist: According to Goblin Slayer, a lord has to forgo achieving magic potential like a shaman or building the extreme bulk of a hob in order to develop the analytical, problem-solving mindset needed to discipline a horde to the extent they do. Again, it says a lot about Goblins that instilling halfway-decent long-term planning and large-scale organizational skills takes as much dedication and resources as extreme body-building or learning how to cast spells.
* WoundedGazelleGambit:
** Killed an adventurer while still just a toddler-equivalent by playing up his defenselessness and fear until she turned her back for him to jump.
** Tried doing it once more to [[spoiler:Priestess]] the moment he realized his arrestor wouldn't be intimidated into releasing him. He plays his pitiful groveling for all its worth. This time around, it ends in abject failure.
* YouNoTakeCandle: {{Downplayed}} to the point of being {{Averted}} - him using the CommonTongue when pleading for Priestess to release him comes out mostly in complete, grammatically correct sentences, and the parts where he swallows his words or has stilted diction can be ascribed to him being [[JustForPun pressed for breath]] and trying to play up how pathetic he was.
!Goblin [[spoiler:Paladin]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblinpaladin.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see this character]]
An utterly new breed of goblin encountered and fought by Goblin Slayer's party in Volume 5. Even smarter than a lord, as well equipped and martially skilled as a veteran adventurer - the new pinnacle of goblinkind and heralded as the "hero" of the goblin race.
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* ArmorPiercingAttack: His stolen silvered sword can easily cut through Goblin Slayer's shield and armor. [[spoiler:Goblin Slayer is able and willing enough to allow such an attack to punch through so he can catch hold of it, stealing back the sword as the original owner requested]].
* BishounenLine: {{Downplayed}}; [[spoiler:the paladin still has the face of a setting-typical [[{{Gonk}} goblin]], but he is of completely human stature and body type, as opposed to the hunched or animalistic stances of his lesser kin, and his way of carrying himself is likewise almost noble]].
* TheBlacksmith: [[spoiler: At least intended to become one; his ultimate goal was for him and his horde to learn how to craft iron weapons and armor for themselves]].
* BrightIsNotGood: His armor is boldly painted and his silvered sword cuts a white line through the air, and he is probably the most dangerous goblin to ever exist.
* TheChosenOne: [[spoiler:Basically this of the goblin race; certainly, few if any of the others of his kind have ever received divine favor, and the cult most of his followers were a part of got it in their heads to coronate him as the great leader of their race]].
* ChurchGoingVillain: [[spoiler:In a novel twist, here is religious fantasy villain who worships one of his setting's ''non-evil'' deities]].
* {{Counterspell}}: Can whip this out on the fly to disable a Snare that Dwarf Shaman had set directly in front of his charging army.
* DarkMessiah: [[spoiler:Was to be crowned this to goblinkind after completing his metamorphosis into this new class of higher goblin. Sadly for the goblins, Goblin Slayer showed up that very day to crash the ceremony and put him down before he could live up to expectations]].
* EvilGenius: [[spoiler:Goblin Slayer credits him with a [[EmpoweredBadassNormal divinely boosted learning capacity]]. He's learned combat techniques from observing adventurers well enough to give Goblin Slayer a run for his money, can indeed devise counters to his fighting style from seeing his moves just once each, and instills enough discipline in his ranks to get them to actively build things and perform sophisticated religious rituals]].
* LightIsNotGood: [[spoiler:Beyond his white armor, the goblin paladin is explicitly a "Holy Knight" and in a major twist, he is not a blackguard of some generic GodOfEvil, despite his affiliation with an evil cult. He is instead the devotee of the god of wisdom and knowledge]].
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Makes enough use of his shield to actually survive trading blows with Goblin Slayer twice.
* MagicKnight: [[spoiler:Comes with being a Paladin of the God of Wisdom. A skilled spellcaster specializing in healing and reinforcement magic who is also a skilled warrior, he's one of Goblin Slayer's most dangerous foes to date]].
* MonsterKnight: [[spoiler:The illustration depicting his fight with Goblin Slayer shows him in brightly painted plate armor and wielding a kite shield alongside his stolen silvered sword]].
* NoCureForEvil: {{Averted}}; [[spoiler:the biggest red flag to Goblin Slayer that something unprecedented is behind the Snow Mountain horde is when he sees a goblin he had shot with a poisoned arrow back on the battlefield with a magically-healed scar]].
* {{Paladin}}: [[spoiler:[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Epithets don't lie]] - his power and intellect are bolstered by his making a pact of devotion to the divine]].
* ReligionOfEvil: [[spoiler:In an odd twist, he has teamed up with one (specifically the "cult of the Green Crescent Moon" that worships his kind's home) but is himself inducted in a different, not-necessarily-evil faith]].
* UnstoppableRage: Uses the spell "Lunacy" to drive his subjects into a fearless berserker frenzy to run down Goblin Slayer's party.
* VillainousValour: [[spoiler:All traces of goblin cowardliness have long since been burned out of him. He doesn't hesitate for an instant to leap through fire and collapsing walkways to pounce on his foes. He can even instill this in his lowly subjects, who display an unheard of level of camaraderie and competence for a goblin horde, with one even [[TakingTheBullet jumping in front of an arrow]] for him. I repeat; ''a goblin willingly laid down its life for him'']].
* WalkingSpoiler: Its entire existence is a major reveal for the plot of the fifth volume.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ogre]]
[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ogre.png]]
A minor antagonist occupying an ancient man-made fortress, he made his name in infamy for possessing both incredible strength and magical prowess. He was granted an army of goblins by one of the Demon Generals, which naturally draws the attention of Goblin Slayer and his team.
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* AccidentalMisnaming: Not so much as "misnaming" as it is "forgetting"; Goblin Slayer never bothers to remember the ogre's name. The ogre takes offense with that.
* ArrowCatch: Grabs one of Elf's arrows out of the air when the party tries to rush him. Does it again when she tries to interrupt his spell-casting, though he's distracted enough that all he can do is let them pierce his free hand, [[HealingFactor to little real effect]].
* CarryABigStick: As expected of Oni, he wields an iron club (specifically an Aribo, for those curious).
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Yeah, he may be an evil sadist at heart, but [[spoiler:getting bisected and repeatedly stabbed to finish the job]] is a nasty way to die.
* EyeScream: Elf shoots his eye out. [[HealingFactor He almost instantly grows it back when he pulls it out]].
* GeniusBruiser: Despite his massive, muscular appearance, he's no slouch in the mental departments either, as he's able to command a nest of goblins and possess mighty magical powers in addition to that.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: [[spoiler:A Gate Scroll is a surprisingly devastating weapon with the right mindset and tons of sea water]].
* HealingFactor: It's bad enough that most attacks can't even draw much blood, but he also sports a powerful regenerative ability that can restore a destroyed eyeball within seconds. [[spoiler:It's a shame for him that he can't regenerate his entire body from the torso down]].
* HeroKiller: Has personally killed at least a few high-profile Silver-ranked adventurers in his past. His infamy and strength is what leads a Demon General to ordain him a captain of the armies of chaos with a goblin army at his command.
* HumiliationConga: The ogre is put under this in the end. After proving himself to be capable of taking on the entire party single-handedly, [[spoiler:Goblin Slayer simply one-shots him with an improvised water jet cutter. He is outraged that Goblin Slayer would reserve that kind of power just to massacre goblins, basically equating him to the mere mooks. In his final moments, he could only cry fearfully and curse Goblin Slayer for considering him beneath notice, as the latter stabs him repeatedly with a simple sword to finish him off]]. And just to add the final insult to injury, [[spoiler: Goblin Slayer hardly recalls ogre's existence afterwards, much less his name. Only a couple days later, he had to be reminded by Priestess that they ever encountered one]].
* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: Priestess stopping his Fireball brought as much of his attention to her as it did contempt. He takes sadistic pleasure in taunting her comrades on how, after he kills them, he will take her as [[ImAHumanitarian food]], [[MarsNeedsWomen a goblin bearer]], or [[SexSlave his personal toy]].
* KillItWithWater: [[spoiler:How Goblin Slayer ultimately puts this monster down. No, not by drowning him. By ''bisecting him'']].
* LargeAndInCharge: Is easily twice the height of Lizard Priest if not more, who's no slouch when it comes to size himself. Then there is the case of his army, but Goblin Slayer had already taken care of that problem.
* {{Oni}}: Is certainly this, rather than [[OurOgresAreHungrier its other naming counterpart]]. The loincloth, characteristic iron club, and ability to cast magic gives it away.
* PlayingWithFire: It mainly uses a Fireball spell in its fight with the party. In the ogre's case, however, his fireball is akin to throwing ''a miniature sun''.
* RunningGag: He becomes one. At some point in a novel, Goblin Slayer will wonder what an ogre is, [[ButForMeItWasTuesday never mind the fact that he killed one]].
* StarterVillain: The very first challenge the party faces together and the first significant non-goblin threat Goblin Slayer has faced since he became a veteran if not ever, the quest that ends with his demise marks the beginning of Goblin Slayer's road to becoming a "true" adventurer.
* SuperToughness: Part of the reason why he is such a challenge is because blades can't penetrate his skin. Even soft tissue like his eyes, which would be obvious weak points, is rendered fruitless due to his natural regeneration. [[spoiler:Of course, as Goblin Slayer proves, there is a limit to his durability]].
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: {{Defied}}, then DoubleSubverted - he charges at the group with his club while Dwarf was chanting to cast an elemental spell, quipping at him if he really thought he'd let them just cast with impunity. Elf then [[EyeScream shoots him in the eye]], and Dwarf can just pick up where he left off in his chant while he's distracted to no ill effect.
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: He entertains this notion twice with his massive Fireball, intending to char the whole team into cinders in one fell swoop. The first time was stopped by Priestess casting Protection twice. [[spoiler: The second has Goblin Slayer return the favor in kind]].
* WakeUpCallBoss: He is introduced with a brief history detailing how he killed countless adventurers, many of them Silver-ranked, and it shows: No one in the party could inflict anything more than ScratchDamage on him, and he comes dangerously close to killing them all multiple times. Goblin Slayer is forced to change tactics after a single swing seriously injures him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Dark Elf]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblinslayerdarkelf.jpg]]
A summoner and remnant of Evil Sect, the nebulous cult operating beneath Water Town until a Platinum-ranked hero took it down. He attacked Goblin Slayer's town on the night of the Harvest Festival in a bid to summon Hecantocheir, the hundred-handed giant.
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* AlwaysChaoticEvil: [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch There are the rare occasions of course]], but dark elves are generally agents of chaos who find joy in destruction and turmoil, and this one is no different.
* AnArmAndALeg: [[spoiler: A well-placed throw of a mambele slices off the arm carrying his magic artifact, disabling his arrow deflection]].
* AnnoyingArrows: Due to Hecantocheir's protection, he deflects piercing projectiles with ease. [[spoiler:Once deprived of that protection though, he gets an arrow straight through his throat]].
* DisintegratorRay: His strongest spell not part of a greater ritual.
* EvilIsHammy: This dude just simply won't shut up. An interlude title in the light novel even lampshades it: "Of The Mastermind, Quite Full Of Himself Behind The Scenes".
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** The goblins Goblin Slayer had been exterminating lately were nested in odd locations such as faraway mines instead of dens, and take too long to touch their captives before they could be rescued. Additionally, the usual torrent of goblin-slaying quests flooding the bulletin boards have trickled to a complete stop. As Goblin Slayer notes, there is almost always an outside factor that could have goblins behaving so erratically and reserved.
** He was one of two cloaked figures seen lurking around town while everyone was preparing the Harvest Festival. His presence had been noted by both Goblin Slayer and High Elf Archer, but they went on with their business instead of investigating closer.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:He was the one who supplied the rhea traitor with the goblins' stock of poisoned blades. Goblin Slayer, having already taken care of the rhea and filched a poisoned knife for himself, cuts the Dark Elf to seal his fate]].
* TheManBehindTheMan:
** He was a member of the sect conducting dark rituals within Water Town's labyrinth, and thus had a hand producing the goblin infestation. And, [[spoiler:considering his fondness for human sacrifices, the vivisected girl whose discovery initiated the whole investigation into the sewers in the first place may very well be his handiwork]].
** He was responsible for there being relatively quiet goblin activity before the Harvest Festival in Volume 3, seeing as he was preparing them for a march into town.
* MissionFromGod: He received a vision from his Dark God that drove him to start the events of Volume 3.
* MultiArmedAndDangerous: Because he is an apostle of Hecantocheir, he can cast a spell that grows five additional arms from his back, granting a total of seven. The spiritual arm granted as a protective enchantment would add to become eight.
* NightmareFetishist: Repeatedly calls the Goblins under his command "adorable."
* NoManOfWomanBorn: Because he is protected by Hecantocheir's enchantment, [[AnnoyingArrows arrows aimed at him are simply caught out of the air and nullified]]. This becomes a problem when [[TakingYouWithMe he attempts a last-ditch spell at death's door]] and is too distant to be stopped by most other means. [[spoiler: So Goblin Slayer chucks a unique throwing knife at him. Because it was designed to slash instead of pierce, the weapon successfully lops off the Dark Elf's arm]].
* SummoningArtifact: The biggest factor that makes him a threat is an artifact resembling a HandOfGlory. Granted to him by the gods of chaos ([[spoiler:[[TheManBehindTheMan implied to be]] [[KillerGameMaster Truth]]]]), it allows him to grow arms and manifest a ghostly limb of Hecantocheir that plucks arrows straight out of the air. He intended to use it to summon the real deal during the events of Volume 3.
* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:He was already pissed off when Goblin Slayer managed to land a single strike on him, but when it turned out the wound was fatally poisoned, he mustered all of his reserves into a last spell that would have wiped the party out. An arrow through the neck prevented him from finishing the incantation]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Rhea Scout]]
[[quoteright:334:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblinslayerrheascout.png]]
A former Steel-ranked adventurer who was disgraced after it was discovered he was hoarding loot for himself from his party.
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* DirtyCoward: Admits in his internal monologue that he actually doesn't care about being promoted because he hates putting himself in dangerous situations and is content to take easy quests and horde any loot he lucks into for profit.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Is entirely ready to jump Guild Girl with a knife when she demotes him, only stopped by awareness that Goblin Slayer would bash his skull in if he tried. [[spoiler:Blaming his shame on Goblin Slayer for not vouching for him, Rhea Scout joins with the Dark Elf, leader of an ApocalypseCult and his [[TheHorde troop of goblins]], all in a bid to kill Goblin Slayer for what he sees as abetting his humiliation]].
* {{Expy}}: A smarmier, more [[TheDandy affectatious]] version of [[Manga/DungeonMeshi Chilchuck]]; like the latter, he's [[OnlyInItForTheMoney only interested in looting]].
* FlechetteStorm: Pulls out some throwing darts [[spoiler:in his fight with Goblin Slayer]].
* HandsomeLech: Fairly bishie-looking for a hobbit {{Expy}}, and the first hint we get that the guy is scummy is when he starts having sleazy thoughts about Guild Girl.
* {{Hobbits}}: Here called "Rheas". He's a fairly stereotypical specimen of manga-style [[SerialNumbersFiledOff not-Halflings]]; a spoon-eared TokenMiniMoe whose kind is the designated rogues of the fantasy setting in question. [[spoiler: though he takes the negative implications of such traits to the extreme conclusion, his NinjaLooting habits in particular giving him more in common with a [[Literature/{{Dragonlance}} Kender]] than a Hobbit]].
* NinjaLooting: His major crime that gets him demoted and banned from town. Evidence of how much he is scalping his fellows of money can be seen in just how shabby and ragged the rest of his party are in comparison to him and the previous Steel-rank crew from Volume 1.
* PoisonedWeapons: [[spoiler:The Goblins provide him with a toxin to coat his blades with when he attacks Goblin Slayer and Guild Girl]].
* StopBeingStereotypical: Guild Girl caps off her ReasonYouSuckSpeech by saying that the report of his behavior is just going to reinforce prejudices against Rheas as untrustworthy natural thieves. [[VillainHasAPoint Scout internally calls her out on being sanctimonious for going there]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Evil Wizard]]
An evil wizard that Heavy Swordsman, Spearman, and Goblin Slayer team up to hunt down together in Volume 4.
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* DestinationDefenestration: How Goblin Slayer kills him.
* EvilGloating: Starts a prepared speech when Spearman, Heavy Warrior, and Goblin Slayer make it to the top of his tower. He barely gets two lines out before Goblin Slayer chucks a sword through his lung, [[NoManOfWomanBorn which only really shut him up for a little bit]].
* InterimVillain: Is just a random evil spell-caster off to the side between Volume 3's Dark Elf (who was TheManBehindTheMan to several high-power goblin nests and pawn of choice of the GreaterScopeVillain), and Volume 5's [[spoiler:next evolution of the goblin threat]]. Hell, the hunt for him isn't even the central focus of the volume.
* KarmicDeath: Spent weeks sending his gargoyles out to kill anyone one who approached his turf, and then Goblin Slayer and friends put an end to him the same way his creatures liked to kill; dropping him from on high.
* MageTower: Operates out of one. It's height is integral to Goblin Slayer's method of killing him.
* NoManOfWomanBorn: He believes he is protected from harm by a prophecy that states he "cannot be slain by human hands." Goblin Slayer points out that all they need to do is use [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou indirect means that leave nature as the direct killer]] to put an end to him.
* OurGargoylesRock: Creates and controls these for defense to clear out the area around his base.
* ShockAndAwe: Knows a spell that can conjure a complete thunderstorm.
* SummonMagic: How he gets new gargoyles as opposed to crafting them.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Rock Eater]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rockeater.png]]
Giant fifty meter long worm/centipede like creature that serves as the main antagonist to a [[PlotThreads B-plot]] in ''Goblin Slayer: Side Story Year One''.
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* ArchEnemy: To Newbie Swordsman after it kills his ImpliedLoveInterest Half-Elf Shaman.
* BigBadEnsemble: With the goblins in Goblin Slayer: Side Story Year One. While Goblin Slayer is busy fighting goblins, the other adventurers like Newbie Swordsman and Spearman are dealing with this thing.
* BigCreepyCrawlies: This thing is giant worm/centipede-like monster.
* ExtremeOmnivore: Rock, slimes, people, this monster eats just about anything.
* ImAHumanitarian: Its diet mainly consists of slimes, but it isn't picky when it comes to people.
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: This monster's mouth is full of multiple rings of teeth that tears any unfortunate prey it catches into ribbons, like poor Half-Elf Shaman and Steel-Leveled Scout.
* RockMonster: It outer shell seems to be made out of rocks.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Demons]]
Evil spirits from the pits of hell that seek to destroy the cities of Man and overthrow the gods. [[VillainOfAnotherStory Every adventurer that isn't Goblin Slayer or his supporters considers these to be the principle threat in the setting]].
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* BigRedDevil: High Elf Archer, Dwarf Shaman, and Lizard Priest fought two lesser demons when they first partnered up that were described as red-skinned gargoyles.
* ClippedWingAngel: [[spoiler:A goblin priest sacrifices himself to bring the Demon Lord partly back to life to kill Goblin Slayer in Volume 8. He only comes back as an arm - a fully cognizant, ambulatory, spellcasting arm that is still strong enough that it could have killed the whole party in a straight fight]].
* ColdIron: The group says that [[SilverHasMysticPowers these metals are particularly effective as weapons against the demons]].
* DemonLordsAndArchdevils: There is one Demon Lord over all others, who keeps threatening to destroy the world, getting killed by TheChosenOne (or a particularly lucky RagTagBunchOfMisfits) and [[DeathIsCheap coming back to do it all over again about once a decade]]. He has sixteen Demon Generals that serve directly under him and recruit/organize the mortal monsters, though it's unclear if they can resurrect as he does or if new ones are appointed when they get cut down.
* EldritchAbomination: [[spoiler:Though it might have been due to the dungeon operating under ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu''-esque rules, the partially resurrected Demon Lord in Volume 8 is so grotesque that just looking at his disembodied arm is enough to fray High Elf Archer's sanity]].
* EvilIsBurningHot: The demons the party are seen fighting have the ability to spit fire balls.
* EvilIsDeathlyCold: [[spoiler:The Demon Lord himself however, most just uses Blizzard spells during his battle against Goblin Slayer's party]].
* ShapeShifter: One quest that Spearman, Witch, High Elf Archer, Dwarf Shaman, and Lizard Priest all go on together is to take out a demon disguised as a human that had started a cult in a farming village. The demon taking refuge in Water Town that Chosen Heroine kills also takes the form of a human warlock.
* SirSwearsALot: The Water Town demon belts out a laundry list of cusses in the wake of Goblin Slayer killing his goblin minions and sealing his portal mirror, peppered generously with [[GoshDarnItToHeck "fudge" and "fooey"]] and [[CreatorWorship invoking Gary Gygax to send him to hell]].
* SmugSnake: The Water Town demon rants over how Goblin Slayer and friends could have foiled his "perfect" plan of just releasing a swarm of goblins into the city sewers to scare Sword Maiden. One of the Chaos Gods actually physically manifests just to call out his laziness and short-sightedness, before [[YouHaveFailedMe bluntly refusing to grant him any boons and leaving him for dead when Chosen Heroine bursts into his lair]].
* VillainOfAnotherStory: Pose a constant/cyclical existential threat to the entire world, but Goblin Slayer couldn't give a damn about them; that's what the rest of the Guild's adventurers are for.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Goblins]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblinslayergoblins.png]]
The very monsters that the Goblin Slayer is killing in his crusade. They're known for attacking various villages in the story.
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! General Tropes associated with Goblins
* AdaptiveAbility: {{Downplayed}}, but goblins are [[BrilliantButLazy amazingly quick to absorb new skills for how dimwitted and oafish their reputation is]]. The main reason Goblin Slayer is so adamant of leaving no survivors is because he is sure that one goblin just seeing his traps and techniques and living would then be able to reverse engineer his strategies and pass those new skills on to the rest of its race in time. [[spoiler:This can work against them sometimes, such as in volume 5 when the Snow Mountain goblins copy Goblin Slayer's loosened arrowheads trick and assume they must better all-round than what they were doing before if an adventurer is doing it, only to be rendered less effective than usual when using them on different targets]].
* AlienFairFolk: [[spoiler:Goblin Slayer's sister would tell him that goblins came from one of the sky's moons, specifically the green one. A peek into a portal mirror reveals goblins working a machine made entirely out of human bones under a pitch-black sky, surrounded by endlessly-stretching fields of green sand]]...
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Make no mistake, these guys are some of the vilest depictions of your standard fantasy goblin in modern fiction. To put it ''mildly'', their entire existence rests on making people's lives as horribly miserable as can be.
* BaldOfEvil: For whatever reason, few if any goblins seem to have a full head of hair.
* CannonFodder: To adventurers, to other monsters, and even to each other. As long as an objective is eventually completed, the death toll matters little to goblins.
* ChildByRape: Every single goblin by default is one. ''And there's no end to them.''
* ChildrenAreInnocent: [[spoiler:Not at all. They know from an early age that acting helpless can easily gain an adventurer's mercy]].
* ColdBloodedTorture: When they aren't raping their kidnapped victims, they are committing this. There is no rhyme or reason for it, and they don't care if they prematurely kill the victim in the middle of their fun. After all, they can always just capture more.
* CycleOfRevenge: It never explicitly stated what started and who's responsible for the escalating series of attacks that eventually resulted in the goblins' trademark hatred and fervent pursuit of the destruction of human civilization, but they clearly see themselves as part of such a cycle against all other races. As Goblin Slayer notes, [[GuiltFreeExterminationWar it will only end when one side is completely eradicated]].
%%* DeathOfAChild: There's a reason that goblin children do need to be killed.
* DirtyCoward: No matter how strong they become, a goblin will remain a coward at heart. From lowly child to reigning Lord, the probability of fleeing at danger and abandoning fellow goblins to their fates remains roughly the same. Unfortunately, it is because of this that they are an everlasting threat.
* DominantSpeciesGenes: When they rape a woman, the child is always a goblin.
* DressedToPlunder: Quite a few of the boat-riding goblins underneath Water Town dress like pirates, [[RapePillageAndBurn appropriately enough]].
* EliteMook: Goblin champions, who are big and powerful enough to casually tear off an adventurer's head, and whom Silver-ranked adventurers (who otherwise see goblins as just newbie targets) regard as worthwhile challenges.
* EvilIsSterile: While they are fast learners, Goblins have no culture or ability to invent anything of their own. They'd rather just steal whatever they desire, and anything more advanced than their trademark debauchery is done through mimicry.
* ExplosiveBreeder: A thoroughly horrifying twist on the "breed like rabbits" analogy, as all goblins are [[ChildByRape forcibly bred from other species]]. Considering how '''many''' of these new (literal) bastards pop out of the ground all the time, [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil do the math]]. In Volume 1, Goblin Slayer discovers four goblin children in a den and remarks that they would have numbered ''fifty'' before long.
* {{Expy}}: Rather than generic fantasy-based green-skins in the original web novel, the goblins were these to [[Manga/TerraforMARS the Terraformars]] - creatures fueled by ThePowerOfHate with specific [[EvolutionPowerUp evolutionary traits]] and [[AlienFairFolk non-terrestrial origins]].
%%** Intentionally or not, their concept is very similar to that of [[https://media.wizards.com/2014/downloads/dnd/TuckersKobolds.pdf "Tucker's Kobolds"]], now infamous in the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' community, in the premise that a race known for being pathetic CannonFodder and usually dismissed by players, if given sufficient numbers, some nasty traps and a setting that puts the opposing party at a disadvantage, can and '''will''' wipe the floor with a group of adventurers many times their level.
* TheFarmerAndTheViper: The only thing that an adventurer is going to get out of sparing a Goblin straggler after clearing a nest is a Wanderer with a fresh batch of knowledge of adventurer fighting techniques, experience in exploiting human magnanimity, and [[ItsPersonal redoubled hatred of the Praying Races]]. This applies ''especially'' to [[EnfantTerrible Goblin whelps]].
* GoalOrientedEvolution: Some of Goblin Slayer's comments suggest that the specialized tier older Goblins develop into is determined through choice of the Goblin itself.
* GrassIsGreener: All goblins harbor a deep and all-consuming font of envy and resentment in what passes for their souls, exacerbated by the perpetual squalor of their lives and homes and their refusal to actively change any of it. They steal whatever they can, let it get destroyed from lack of maintenance, and do nothing but curse others for having nicer things. A good illustration of this comes from the goblin viewpoint chapter in Volume 4, where a goblin who took a spear from a captured adventurer decides he wants the belt his brother took instead, only to become outraged and possessive when he realizes his brother wants the spear as well.
* HatesEveryoneEqually: Every individual goblin views all non-goblins as wretched animals that exist to be subjugated and preyed upon until death, and all other goblins besides itself as dopey, fair-weather cronies to exploit and dispose of for its own gain.
* HateSink: ''And how!'' You'd be ''very'' hard-pressed to find any instances where you can sympathize with such creatures. Even then, they will rapidly and cheerfully yank that moment away with a fresh example of their vile cruelty.
* HellishPupils: Usually they are portrayed with BlankWhiteEyes, but the occasional GrossUpCloseUp in later chapters reveals bulging, goat/octopus-like eyeballs with a ''cluster'' of small, uneven pupils around the center one, with branches of them stretching to each corner of the eyes.
* TheHorde: The most common and savage of the "Unpraying," the monstrous races and servants of the Demon Lords and Evil Gods, goblins are obsessively hostile and completely incapable of being reasoned with. Guild Girl ruefully notes that even evil Lizardmen tribes and other traditionally villainous humanoid races are still open to the possibility of negotiations, and have at least [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy moderately constructive cultures]], Goblins are just ravaging marauders with no inclination of rising above their basest impulses.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Let's just say that no one calls out Goblins for being barbaric, wasteful, stupid, and arrogant more than other Goblins, or with less self-awareness.
* ImAHumanitarian: Goblins will eat anything they can find, but they especially like the taste of human flesh.
* InnateNightVision: They can see in the dark just fine and use it to their advantage. Unfortunately for them, this leaves them vulnerable to sudden bright lights (such as Priestess's Holy Light spell), which Goblin Slayer takes advantage of on numerous occasions
* ItCanThink: Goblins are dumb and weak, but they are also resourceful enough to know how to set traps, as well as to make use of wolves as sentry dogs.
** What is most concerning about goblins is their learning capacity; Goblin Slayer implies many of the tools and skills the creatures use are crude imitations of adventurers'. If that's not enough, hordes under servitude can be taught effectively by their masters, making them even more a hassle than goblins already ought to be.
** For example, they've already at some point figured out that if they see a light in the darkness, then chances are an adventurer was nearby to kill.
* KarmicDeath: With every foul KickTheDog moment they commit, you're going to ''want'' the death of every goblin to be as violent as Goblin Slayer can muster.
* TheKillerBecomesTheKilled: Every Goblin is born thinking they can rule the Frontier and take whatever they want, be it food, women, or somebody's life. Every Goblin massacred by Goblin Slayer is reminded of their proper place in the world - that of bloody smears staining the armor of adventurers.
* LackOfEmpathy: Every single goblin is a self-obsessed and pitiless savage who would watch every other creature on earth die with a smile. This extends to the rest of their race and even their nest-mates; no goblin has any genuine camaraderie with any other one, and the closest they get to mourning their dead is feeling personally affronted that a filthy adventurer would dare rob them of a spare MeatShield and prospective crony.
* MagikarpPower: Goblins are genuinely {{Mooks}} a dime a dozen, with all the intelligence and and individual effectiveness as that implies. Older goblins that have survived the gauntlet of adventurers for years though, they are a much different story. Some become leaders who ensure the survival of their horde, much to the detriment of everything else. Others grow strong enough to give elite adventurers a run for their money. [[spoiler:A rare few, such as Goblin Lords, throw off the characteristic stupidity altogether and develop intelligence on par, if not exceeding that, of a human]].
* MarsNeedsWomen: Regardless of race, any pregnancy sired by goblins will only result in another goblin. [[FridgeHorror Recall]] [[{{Squick}} those children]] [[FanDisservice and the kidnapped girls]] [[NightmareFuel in the introductory arc]]. The trope is even more fitting [[spoiler:given the hints that Goblin Slayer's sister's story that goblins hail from the green moon is actually true]].
* MoralMyopia: Whenever the story switches perspectives to that of the goblins, it is made very clear that they vehemently oppose humans and adventurers for slaughtering them in droves, taking away their children and homes to leave them with nothing. They are justified in their vengeance... [[NeverMyFault so says the wantonly sadistic thieves and rapists who actively prey on the weak without remorse or acknowledgement of consequences]].
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: ...or 'Heroes' as the case may be. The reason there are so many goblins running around in the world is due to the fact that there is so little reward in Goblin-related quests. People who ask to rid their farm of goblins often do not have the money to pay a proper adventurer to do so. Due to so many adventurers rejecting these quests, the goblins are allowed to RapePillageAndBurn with free rein.
** Because nobody save Goblin Slayer is actually doing ''any'' of these quests, the Guild has no choice but to send newbie adventurers en masse to deal with the problem at their nests...some of whom are ill-prepared to deal with the actual threat the goblins themselves pose. Those that survive and succeed are promoted straight-away without any fuss.
** According to Goblin Slayer, the problem is made even worse when people allow fleeing goblin children to live, letting them run away to grow up strong enough to get their vengeance.
** Not helping matters at all are central governing bodies like the Capital, who are too focused on the Demon Lord, politics, and internal affairs to spend any effort protecting the outskirt villages settling the Frontier, where the majority of goblin raids (and other monster attacks) occur. Villagers are forced to rely on adventurers they can't afford, when even a lonely military outpost could have sufficed in repelling the Frontier's threats.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: But then, their atrocities also led to the birth of their worst nightmare: Goblin Slayer, a relentless crusader hellbent on hunting any and all goblins he can until either they go extinct or he dies.
* NormalFishInATinyPond: In spite of all the havoc they wreak on villages, most goblins really are just CannonFodder in the grand scheme of things. Every other species shown in the story (outside of rats) has individually proven to be far more destructive than even what a whole horde could possibly muster. Which, admittedly, doesn't say great things about the world. Still, at least one can take some small comfort in that most monsters are more likely to "kill" when attacking than to [[FateWorseThanDeath "abduct"]]...
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Novice adventurers tend to significantly underestimate the threat goblins represent due to how weak they are individually. The Guild also provides less than stellar rewards for resolving goblin related problems, largely due to poor villages being the ones who submit them. This makes goblin hunting unattractive and fuels a misconception that weak monsters result in low prize money.
* OneGenderRace: Female goblins don't exist. ''Every single last'' goblin is born a male; hence their constant need to hunt for the females of ''other'' races just to... [[NightmareFuel multiply]].
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Goblin Slayer always makes a mental note whenever he sees or hears of a goblin behaving outside of the norm. The little beasties are creatures of habit and typically driven by their base desires first and foremost, so ''something'' must be powerful and fearsome enough to force a change of self-conduct. A vivisected corpse found in an alleyway? Captured victims not being raped already after a certain amount of time? [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Knowledge on how to make and row boats?]] All of these make for important details.
* OurGoblinsAreDifferent: Weirdly enough for a work all about goblins, subverted. Their behaviors and antics in ''Goblin Slayer'' aren't too far away from what you'd find in flavor text of many fantasy RPG's. Rather, it's how said antics are examined through the eyes of other characters that makes them fearsome instead of amusing. They are also very much in the Tolkien-ish mold, being an unrepentantly evil, feral, and cave-dwelling.
** That being said, as the series goes on and lore on them gets more detailed, they start to differentiate themselves by combining a number of more niche or obscure facets from other works together into one background; being a OneGenderRace who must [[MarsNeedsWomen reproduce with females of other species]] is a distinct departure from most mainstream depictions (though still a relatively common monster trait in [[Manga/{{Berserk}} certain]] hardcore {{Seinen}} works and particularly edgy {{Hentai}}), them being capable of EvolutionPowerUp is fairly unique outside of some video games, and [[spoiler:the fact that they are probably literal alien invaders to the setting is novel outside of the WarhammerFantasy setting]].
* RapePillageAndBurn: Their main MO. In addition to raiding lonely villagers, they're also known to rape women... even worse of a matter if you're an [[{{Elfeminate}} elf woman]].
* {{Sadist}}: An entire race of them, or else goblins wouldn't have been treated with nearly as much fear by their victims.
* SinisterSchnoz: Long and hooked as a vulture's beak, to a one.
* SmugSnake: Goblin Slayer mentions this will lead to their downfall; goblins think they're so superior to everything else that they can't fathom that other beings can copy their tactics and use it against them. So goblins fall for tricks and traps every time.
* SoleSurvivor: Nearly all "higher-tier" goblin types (except for Riders) start off as Wanderers; runaway, last living members of their original nests who travel across the land leading hand-to-mouth existences that either end with them starving to death out on their own... [[MagikarpPower or achieving evolution and then status in a new horde]].
* StarfishLanguage: In the manga, whenever goblins actually talk, their speech is rendered as large runic symbols scattered across their speech bubbles that often extend out of their boundaries.
* [[HisOwnWorstEnemy Their Own Worst Enemy]]: As stated above, the whole reason the goblins are so ruthless and sadistic is due to vengence against other races for the destruction of their homes and slaughter of their race. They feel justified in what they do, but they conveniently ignore the fact they go out of their way to kill anyone that isn't a goblin and happily kidnap and rape any woman they manage to grab on to. If anything, the goblins have only themselves to blame for the onslaught of their people.
* WouldHurtAChild: This alone would be bad enough, but they ''specifically'' seek out young girls to kidnap for their complete defenselessness.
* ZergRush: Goblins alone are weak, and dumb as a brick; but most low-level adventurers underestimate them due to the low reward of the quest. Thus, they can find themselves subject to this when they're ill-prepared.
** Even when adventurers aren't ill-prepared, they often succumb to this tactic because, no matter how easily they die, when it's one against a hundred, the odds are against the adventurers. It's mentioned that part of the reason adventurers who are high-leveled don't go after them is because it's high-risk and low reward, and Goblin-related deaths are downright nasty.
!Hobgoblins
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblinslayerhob.png]]
Goblins that have grown larger and put on more muscle. They act as bodyguards for nests.
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* TheBrute: Of the Goblin Race, easily big enough to single-handedly manhandle the average young adult adventurer in-universe.
* EliteMooks: Rarely become leaders of hordes, shown instead to mostly become the top enforcers of the actual leaders or remain solitary wanderers.
* EvolutionaryLevels: Clearest cut example among the Goblin sub-types; while all goblins become bigger and stronger continuously throughout their lives, hobgoblins develop radically different physical frames and more than double in body mass. They're also the only ones so far to be shown to have a third tier, with a rare few hobgoblins growing even further, enough to become the legendary, ogre-like goblin champions.
* StoutStrength: They tend to be rather corpulent.
!Goblin Shamans
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shaman.jpg]]
Goblins that have gained the ability to use magic. They often lead nests.
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* DealWithTheDevil: Most common shamans are more precisely warlocks in terms of how they actually get their magic powers; a minor demon or evil deity will sometimes temporarily possess or bond with a Wanderer, and the aftereffects of their spirit-inhabitation will leave the newly christened shaman with an instinctual understanding of spell-crafting.
* EvilGenius: They are not quite smart enough, but in terms of overall goblin intelligence they qualify. They display leadership skills, integral to an effective horde, and have the capacity to learn basic spells.
* PlayingPossum: The brand of goblin most likely to pull this trick when injured, not that Goblin Slayer ever falls for it.
* ShockAndAwe: Shamans during the Raid of the Farm are capable of using lightning magic. The first shaman Goblin Slayer faces in ''Year One'' also has the magic capacity to liberally spam Thunderbolt spells during their fight.
* SurroundedByIdiots: Tend to express this sentiment; particularly the chronologically first one faced by GS, who liberally whacks all his surviving followers with his staff when he discovers that his entire horde put together couldn't put down a solitary greenhorn adventurer.
* TheUsualAdversaries: Due to the fact that baseline goblins aren't a substantial threat to the MainCharacters without a leader, and the noted extreme rarity of champions, lords, and people able or willing to collaborate with their kind, shamans appear with increased frequency in the later light novels and spin-offs, and are by far the most often seen "evolved" goblins and the go-to [[MonsterOfTheWeek target of small, secondary hunts that take up only a few pages]].
* TooImportantToWalk: The first shaman Goblin Slayer ever faces forces his underlings to carry him into battle on a small, bone-constructed litter.
* TrapMaster: Goblin Slayer credits them as the primary architects of den defenses.
!Goblin Riders
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblin_riders.jpg]]
Goblins that have tamed captured wolves to the point they can use them as mounts.
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* BeastOfBattle: Well-stocked hordes would already use a wolf as an AngryGuardDog, but the riders lead them directly into battle.
* CripplingOverspecialization: Having the mental faculties to train a wolf to this extent shows a level of maturity well ahead of the curve of a bog-standard goblin, but the pay-out is these specimens never acquire the magic potential of shamans or increased stature of hobgoblins. Goblin Slayer also notes that they only ever develop in hordes that are extremely large and with easy access to resources, making the practice seem almost like a status-symbol for well-off raiders.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: Use wolves as this, serving as a bona fide cavalry unit for particularly numerous and aggressive hordes.
!Goblin Champions
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblin_champion.png]]
Heroes of the Goblin race, those that have become large enough to even be seen as ogres in terms of strength. One serves as the main antagonist of Volume 2 of the Light Novel.
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* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: In contrast to shamans and lords, self-grown champions have [[DumbMuscle almost no capacity for effective leadership or planning]], becoming leaders of hordes by feat of physical dominance.
* AxCrazy: The Water Town goblin champion loses what little composure he had after his first fight against Goblin Slayer, and rips apart his own men in a blind fury to try and kill him.
* BadBoss: The leader of Water Town barely qualifies as a boss. His horde only follows him because he's the biggest, he himself has no plans or sophisticated set-up, and he mostly fights by himself and sees his subordinates as meatshields, if he acknowledges their presence in the midst of battle at all. He's even ''worse'' in his reappearance, [[GiantFootOfStomping stomping on a peon who runs from Goblin Slayer]], and slicing through his own men like sheet paper just to get at him.
* BossInMookClothing: These things are strong enough that only Silver-ranked adventurers can stand up to them when they come out en masse during the Siege of the Farm.
* BoxingLessonsForSuperman: The distinction between hobgoblins and champions has less to do with build (seeing as the former can already exceed average humans in size and strength) as the phenomenon of champions living through enough battles to pick up decent, durable gear and at least some inkling of proper martial arts.
-->'''Heavy Warrior:''' I thought they were just really big goblins, but this thing knows how to ''fight!''
* CarryABigStick: They often carry clubs.
* DumbMuscle: In spite of likely being the heaviest hitters of the horde, champions evidently don't have much in ways of brainpower. Goblin Slayer was able to easily rodeo one and trick it into swinging several times, killing countless goblins in droves.
* EyeScream: Goblin Slayer rips the eye out of the champion leading the horde in Water Town.
* GiantMook: Their basic size utterly dwarfs even the very biggest and most muscular of human fighters seen and they edge out [[GentleGiant Lizard Priest]] in height and breadth. Ones allowed to monopolize horde resources can grow even further until they rival ogres in size, as demonstrated by the Water Town Boss.
* GrievousHarmWithABody: During the Battle of the Farm, one champion gets a hold of an adventurer and throws him halfway across the valley with enough force to bounce, leave a crater, and hit a boulder with a splat. Several other fighters are sent sprawling to avoid the human missile, and one rookie that sees the mangled corpse left behind [[StressVomit vomits in horror]].
* KingMook: A particularly large champion leads his own horde in the sewers of Water Town. Most of his page-space just shows how bad an idea it is to let TheBrute set his own rules, as this particular horde has no organization, no base defenses, and the champion [[BadBoss ends up killing most of his horde himself through friendly fire]].
* ImAHumanitarian: [[spoiler:Volume 2's champion was in the middle of eating Priestess before Goblin Slayer strangles him into stopping]].
* LargeAndInCharge: The goblin champion leading the horde beneath Water Town is a towering brute, easily rivaling Volume 1's ogre in both height and physical power.
* LecherousLicking: In the manga, The Water Town champion drags his tongue across Priestess' face with a sneer in between taking bites out of her shoulder.
* MoralMyopia: In Goblin Slayer's rematch with the champion in Volume 2, he lures it into pancaking goblins several times in a row. The champion becomes angrier and angrier with every failed attack and blames Goblin Slayer for his companions' deaths, when perhaps the lug should have stopped after the first swing. [[{{Hypocrite}} That's not counting an earlier moment when he used a fellow goblin as a meat shield without hesitation]].
* WhatTheHellAreYou: Mixed alongside WhyWontYouDie, the Water Town champion asks both these questions repeatedly in an increasingly panicked tone as it tries and fails to shake Goblin Slayer off after he gets up from being knocked across the room and starts strangling it.
!Goblin Lords
[[quoteright:252:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblin_lord.jpg]]
Kings of the goblin race, these goblins have gained intellect and ambition, allowing them to command hordes to great effectiveness.
----
* AllEncompassingMantle: The goblin lord leading the assault on the farm wears a rough, voluminous cloak with a fur collar.
* AnAxeToGrind: The lord assaulting Cow Girl's farm wields an ornate battleaxe [[spoiler:taken as a trophy off of an evidently high-level adventurer]], and is rather proficient with it in its fight against Goblin Slayer.
* ArmorPiercingAttack: The goblin lord is strong enough and his battleaxe well-made enough to cave in Goblin Slayer's buckler in one hit, cut through it in two, and sunder it completely and break Goblin Slayer's wrist in three.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: A dedicated thinker he may be, but no Goblin ever got to the top of the pile by being easy to put down. He can even fight toe-to-toe with Goblin Slayer, a [[ExperiencedProtagonist specialized Silver-ranked veteran adventurer]] who has spent half his life preparing to find and kill goblins just like him!
* BadBoss: Beheads his scout and personal aide out of hand for criticizing him, sends the remainder of his forward army out against the adventurers despite being outmatched to cover his retreat while they die, considers his troops worthless, and his flashbacks reveal he had a habit of literally shoving his fellows at adventurers as a distraction technique while still a grunt.
* BeardOfEvil: A short fringe of ratty black hair framing his jawline.
* CarpetOfVirility: His flashbacks show he has a large patch of greasy back hair across his chest. Being a goblin (with all the [[DirtyCoward traits]] [[SmugSnake that]] [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil implies]]) it's a signifier of repulsiveness on him.
* CoolCrown: Befitting the acquired title of lord, the one we see wears a helmet-like winged crown, with antlers outfitting as the wings. [[WardrobeWound He gets extra pissed when Goblin Sayer knocks it off with a slash of his sword]].
* CrossPoppingVeins: His veins bulge with adrenaline and frustration when he is confronted by Goblin Slayer, and as the fight between them drags on, they just throb worse and extend across more of his face like [[Manga/OnePiece Doflamingo]].
* DareToBeBadass: Weirdly enough. The goblin lord in the first light novel presents a RousingSpeech to drive its horde up in an excited fervor, while simultaneously displaying its eloquence (at least in its own tongue).
* TheDreaded: [[ExperiencedProtagonist Goblin Slayer]] doubts his chances of ''surviving'' a fight against a lord by himself, and evidence of one near the farm sends him booking to tell Cow Girl DontAskJustRun immediately. News of a horde on the march with a lord at the helm has the veteran adventurers, quick to brush goblins off and disparage Goblin Slayer any other time, regard each other with genuine sobriety and worry. That should tell you all you need to know about the threat they represent.
* EloquentInMyNativeTongue: Particularly in the manga, where his speech when commanding other goblins or thinking of his next move can become almost flowery at points.
* EvilGenius: To the point where they can form strategies and match wits with humans when push comes to shove. Although, it says something about both them and Goblins in general that they are the ones capable of ''long-term planning''.
* FearsomeFoot: The goblin lord in the end of Volume 1 is given extremely long, muscled, dinosaur-like digitigrade legs in the manga adaptation, which are shown off prominently when he [[TrampledUnderfoot crushes the severed head of his servant while fleeing the battlefield]]. It is worth noting that not only is this feature unique to him (or at least not nearly as pronounced in other goblins), but his flashback shows that his foot configuration [[EvolutionPowerup became more warped and animalistic with age and development of his eventual lordly cunning]].
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Started as just another goblin whelp, pitiable-looking enough that an adventurer didn't even want to kill him, but grew to be a ruthless and bloodthirsty MonsterLord with enough power at his command that Goblin Slayer himself needed to buy the services of the entire rest of the Adventurers Guild to oppose him.
* GeneralRipper: The one that attacks the farm leads a horde of over one hundred Goblins with uncommon discipline, and his capacity for deferred gratification has refined, not restrained, his natural Goblin bloodlust.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Has a large slash across his face and a chunk taken out of the right corner of his mouth.
* ISurrenderSuckers: The lord leading the Raid of the Farm has a tendency of doing this. It performed this on an adventurer as a child, [[spoiler: braining her with a rock once her back was turned]]. It retreated from battle the moment its horde was being pushed back, intending to try again after replenishing numbers with its stock of captured women. It tried to prostrate while under [[spoiler:Priestess']] mercy, lying through its teeth as it begged to be let go. [[spoiler: Goblin Slayer saw to make certain it never surrenders again]].
* ItCanThink: All goblins display this trope to some extent, but Lords express it the best with near-human levels of intelligence and cognition.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: The fact that Volume 1's Goblin Lord achieved his status in the first place means that he's been screwing over people and fellow goblins alike for a long, long time. His backstory only offers a glimpse of the many atrocities he's committed and gotten away with. Naturally, Goblin Slayer is there to finally punch his overdue ticket.
* TheKillerBecomesTheKilled: Applies to all goblins, but this one in particular gets it good: [[spoiler:After Priestess ensnares it between two Protection walls like a pressed cockroach, Goblin Slayer slips in his broken sword and crushes the lord's windpipe]] .
* KnowWhenToFoldThem: Is perfectly able and willing to abandon a fight and a horde that he knows he is about to lose. His inner monologue while running away implies that the Farm Raid isn't the first time he has cut his losses to start over from scratch. [[spoiler:Too bad for him that Goblin Slayer is the one adventurer that leaves no survivors]].
* TheLeader: They play this role to their goblin hordes.
* LeanAndMean: Stands almost twice as tall as his baseline grunts, and though he's packed on quite a bit of muscle throughout his violent life, it's almost all in his legs, [[DirtyCoward a feature he has no qualms of utilizing to cut a hasty dash away from the first sign of danger]].
* MonsterLord: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Goblin Lords are considered the pinnacle form of their kind, and their capacity for uniting and organizing scores of other goblins under their direction is viewed as just as much of a special power/characteristic as a shaman's spellcasting or a champion's quintupled muscle mass.
* NotSoDifferent: The sole survivor of its family, giving birth to a vehement grudge against its attackers that lasts a lifetime. It gets stronger from its encounters, gets more cunning, cycling through different weapons and methods until it ascends to the top rank among its contemporaries. And Goblin Slayer has been aware of that since the very beginning.
* OffhandBackhand: When the assault on the farm starts to visibly be pushed back, his MookLieutenant standing directly beside him turns and starts screaming at him angrily [[StarfishLanguage in gobbledygook]]. The Lord just swings his arm back without even a twitch of warning, neatly decapitating him with his axe before sending in the goblin champions to attack...and then turning tail and fleeing into the woods.
* OutGambitted: The goblin lord encountered at the end of Volume 1 has lived his life in preparation to leading a march through the Human Frontier. He has spent years amassing a horde of over a hundred strong, about half of whom are specialized ranks, including no less than ''ten'' specimens of the near-mythic [[BossInMooksClothing goblin champion]]. He leads smart, he has all his ducks in a row, he uses legitimate tactical maneuvers such as cavalry charges on the enemy's flanks and a vanguard with a HumanShield wall to provide cover for his spellcasters, by all measures he was poised to steamroll the outlying farmland. It's merely his misfortune that his march brought him immediately up against Goblin Slayer, a man with near-psychic understanding of goblin thinking and fighting, and Guild Girl, a girl that understands the true danger of goblins and has access to the funds to bribe veteran adventurers into finally taking his kind on seriously.
* ProperlyParanoid: When you're a goblin, there's never a situation where you're wrong to run away. [[spoiler:When you're a goblin in Goblin Slayer's sights, there's [[OutGambitted nowhere you can run]] that will save your hide]].
* SlasherSmile: Grins maniacally at the sight of humans falling before him.
* SmugSnake: Of the "very nearly qualifies as MagnificentBastard but falls just short" category. As detailed above, he is legitimately a high-level threat physically, intellectually, and resources-wise, but is simply edged-out by Goblin Slayer and friends. Also helping his case is that his DirtyCoward nature mitigates his arrogance and lets him recognize [[KnowWhenToFoldThem when it's best to just give up,]] but its still not enough to prevent him from assuming he holds the upper-hand when entering a fight or gloating if it looks like fortune has turned in his favor.
* TheStrategist: According to Goblin Slayer, a lord has to forgo achieving magic potential like a shaman or building the extreme bulk of a hob in order to develop the analytical, problem-solving mindset needed to discipline a horde to the extent they do. Again, it says a lot about Goblins that instilling halfway-decent long-term planning and large-scale organizational skills takes as much dedication and resources as extreme body-building or learning how to cast spells.
* WoundedGazelleGambit:
** Killed an adventurer while still just a toddler-equivalent by playing up his defenselessness and fear until she turned her back for him to jump.
** Tried doing it once more to [[spoiler:Priestess]] the moment he realized his arrestor wouldn't be intimidated into releasing him. He plays his pitiful groveling for all its worth. This time around, it ends in abject failure.
* YouNoTakeCandle: {{Downplayed}} to the point of being {{Averted}} - him using the CommonTongue when pleading for Priestess to release him comes out mostly in complete, grammatically correct sentences, and the parts where he swallows his words or has stilted diction can be ascribed to him being [[JustForPun pressed for breath]] and trying to play up how pathetic he was.
!Goblin [[spoiler:Paladin]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblinpaladin.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see this character]]
An utterly new breed of goblin encountered and fought by Goblin Slayer's party in Volume 5. Even smarter than a lord, as well equipped and martially skilled as a veteran adventurer - the new pinnacle of goblinkind and heralded as the "hero" of the goblin race.
----
* ArmorPiercingAttack: His stolen silvered sword can easily cut through Goblin Slayer's shield and armor. [[spoiler:Goblin Slayer is able and willing enough to allow such an attack to punch through so he can catch hold of it, stealing back the sword as the original owner requested]].
* BishounenLine: {{Downplayed}}; [[spoiler:the paladin still has the face of a setting-typical [[{{Gonk}} goblin]], but he is of completely human stature and body type, as opposed to the hunched or animalistic stances of his lesser kin, and his way of carrying himself is likewise almost noble]].
* TheBlacksmith: [[spoiler: At least intended to become one; his ultimate goal was for him and his horde to learn how to craft iron weapons and armor for themselves]].
* BrightIsNotGood: His armor is boldly painted and his silvered sword cuts a white line through the air, and he is probably the most dangerous goblin to ever exist.
* TheChosenOne: [[spoiler:Basically this of the goblin race; certainly, few if any of the others of his kind have ever received divine favor, and the cult most of his followers were a part of got it in their heads to coronate him as the great leader of their race]].
* ChurchGoingVillain: [[spoiler:In a novel twist, here is religious fantasy villain who worships one of his setting's ''non-evil'' deities]].
* {{Counterspell}}: Can whip this out on the fly to disable a Snare that Dwarf Shaman had set directly in front of his charging army.
* DarkMessiah: [[spoiler:Was to be crowned this to goblinkind after completing his metamorphosis into this new class of higher goblin. Sadly for the goblins, Goblin Slayer showed up that very day to crash the ceremony and put him down before he could live up to expectations]].
* EvilGenius: [[spoiler:Goblin Slayer credits him with a [[EmpoweredBadassNormal divinely boosted learning capacity]]. He's learned combat techniques from observing adventurers well enough to give Goblin Slayer a run for his money, can indeed devise counters to his fighting style from seeing his moves just once each, and instills enough discipline in his ranks to get them to actively build things and perform sophisticated religious rituals]].
* LightIsNotGood: [[spoiler:Beyond his white armor, the goblin paladin is explicitly a "Holy Knight" and in a major twist, he is not a blackguard of some generic GodOfEvil, despite his affiliation with an evil cult. He is instead the devotee of the god of wisdom and knowledge]].
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Makes enough use of his shield to actually survive trading blows with Goblin Slayer twice.
* MagicKnight: [[spoiler:Comes with being a Paladin of the God of Wisdom. A skilled spellcaster specializing in healing and reinforcement magic who is also a skilled warrior, he's one of Goblin Slayer's most dangerous foes to date]].
* MonsterKnight: [[spoiler:The illustration depicting his fight with Goblin Slayer shows him in brightly painted plate armor and wielding a kite shield alongside his stolen silvered sword]].
* NoCureForEvil: {{Averted}}; [[spoiler:the biggest red flag to Goblin Slayer that something unprecedented is behind the Snow Mountain horde is when he sees a goblin he had shot with a poisoned arrow back on the battlefield with a magically-healed scar]].
* {{Paladin}}: [[spoiler:[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Epithets don't lie]] - his power and intellect are bolstered by his making a pact of devotion to the divine]].
* ReligionOfEvil: [[spoiler:In an odd twist, he has teamed up with one (specifically the "cult of the Green Crescent Moon" that worships his kind's home) but is himself inducted in a different, not-necessarily-evil faith]].
* UnstoppableRage: Uses the spell "Lunacy" to drive his subjects into a fearless berserker frenzy to run down Goblin Slayer's party.
* VillainousValour: [[spoiler:All traces of goblin cowardliness have long since been burned out of him. He doesn't hesitate for an instant to leap through fire and collapsing walkways to pounce on his foes. He can even instill this in his lowly subjects, who display an unheard of level of camaraderie and competence for a goblin horde, with one even [[TakingTheBullet jumping in front of an arrow]] for him. I repeat; ''a goblin willingly laid down its life for him'']].
* WalkingSpoiler: Its entire existence is a major reveal for the plot of the fifth volume.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ogre]]
[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ogre.png]]
A minor antagonist occupying an ancient man-made fortress, he made his name in infamy for possessing both incredible strength and magical prowess. He was granted an army of goblins by one of the Demon Generals, which naturally draws the attention of Goblin Slayer and his team.
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* AccidentalMisnaming: Not so much as "misnaming" as it is "forgetting"; Goblin Slayer never bothers to remember the ogre's name. The ogre takes offense with that.
* ArrowCatch: Grabs one of Elf's arrows out of the air when the party tries to rush him. Does it again when she tries to interrupt his spell-casting, though he's distracted enough that all he can do is let them pierce his free hand, [[HealingFactor to little real effect]].
* CarryABigStick: As expected of Oni, he wields an iron club (specifically an Aribo, for those curious).
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Yeah, he may be an evil sadist at heart, but [[spoiler:getting bisected and repeatedly stabbed to finish the job]] is a nasty way to die.
* EyeScream: Elf shoots his eye out. [[HealingFactor He almost instantly grows it back when he pulls it out]].
* GeniusBruiser: Despite his massive, muscular appearance, he's no slouch in the mental departments either, as he's able to command a nest of goblins and possess mighty magical powers in addition to that.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: [[spoiler:A Gate Scroll is a surprisingly devastating weapon with the right mindset and tons of sea water]].
* HealingFactor: It's bad enough that most attacks can't even draw much blood, but he also sports a powerful regenerative ability that can restore a destroyed eyeball within seconds. [[spoiler:It's a shame for him that he can't regenerate his entire body from the torso down]].
* HeroKiller: Has personally killed at least a few high-profile Silver-ranked adventurers in his past. His infamy and strength is what leads a Demon General to ordain him a captain of the armies of chaos with a goblin army at his command.
* HumiliationConga: The ogre is put under this in the end. After proving himself to be capable of taking on the entire party single-handedly, [[spoiler:Goblin Slayer simply one-shots him with an improvised water jet cutter. He is outraged that Goblin Slayer would reserve that kind of power just to massacre goblins, basically equating him to the mere mooks. In his final moments, he could only cry fearfully and curse Goblin Slayer for considering him beneath notice, as the latter stabs him repeatedly with a simple sword to finish him off]]. And just to add the final insult to injury, [[spoiler: Goblin Slayer hardly recalls ogre's existence afterwards, much less his name. Only a couple days later, he had to be reminded by Priestess that they ever encountered one]].
* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: Priestess stopping his Fireball brought as much of his attention to her as it did contempt. He takes sadistic pleasure in taunting her comrades on how, after he kills them, he will take her as [[ImAHumanitarian food]], [[MarsNeedsWomen a goblin bearer]], or [[SexSlave his personal toy]].
* KillItWithWater: [[spoiler:How Goblin Slayer ultimately puts this monster down. No, not by drowning him. By ''bisecting him'']].
* LargeAndInCharge: Is easily twice the height of Lizard Priest if not more, who's no slouch when it comes to size himself. Then there is the case of his army, but Goblin Slayer had already taken care of that problem.
* {{Oni}}: Is certainly this, rather than [[OurOgresAreHungrier its other naming counterpart]]. The loincloth, characteristic iron club, and ability to cast magic gives it away.
* PlayingWithFire: It mainly uses a Fireball spell in its fight with the party. In the ogre's case, however, his fireball is akin to throwing ''a miniature sun''.
* RunningGag: He becomes one. At some point in a novel, Goblin Slayer will wonder what an ogre is, [[ButForMeItWasTuesday never mind the fact that he killed one]].
* StarterVillain: The very first challenge the party faces together and the first significant non-goblin threat Goblin Slayer has faced since he became a veteran if not ever, the quest that ends with his demise marks the beginning of Goblin Slayer's road to becoming a "true" adventurer.
* SuperToughness: Part of the reason why he is such a challenge is because blades can't penetrate his skin. Even soft tissue like his eyes, which would be obvious weak points, is rendered fruitless due to his natural regeneration. [[spoiler:Of course, as Goblin Slayer proves, there is a limit to his durability]].
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: {{Defied}}, then DoubleSubverted - he charges at the group with his club while Dwarf was chanting to cast an elemental spell, quipping at him if he really thought he'd let them just cast with impunity. Elf then [[EyeScream shoots him in the eye]], and Dwarf can just pick up where he left off in his chant while he's distracted to no ill effect.
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: He entertains this notion twice with his massive Fireball, intending to char the whole team into cinders in one fell swoop. The first time was stopped by Priestess casting Protection twice. [[spoiler: The second has Goblin Slayer return the favor in kind]].
* WakeUpCallBoss: He is introduced with a brief history detailing how he killed countless adventurers, many of them Silver-ranked, and it shows: No one in the party could inflict anything more than ScratchDamage on him, and he comes dangerously close to killing them all multiple times. Goblin Slayer is forced to change tactics after a single swing seriously injures him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Dark Elf]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblinslayerdarkelf.jpg]]
A summoner and remnant of Evil Sect, the nebulous cult operating beneath Water Town until a Platinum-ranked hero took it down. He attacked Goblin Slayer's town on the night of the Harvest Festival in a bid to summon Hecantocheir, the hundred-handed giant.
----
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch There are the rare occasions of course]], but dark elves are generally agents of chaos who find joy in destruction and turmoil, and this one is no different.
* AnArmAndALeg: [[spoiler: A well-placed throw of a mambele slices off the arm carrying his magic artifact, disabling his arrow deflection]].
* AnnoyingArrows: Due to Hecantocheir's protection, he deflects piercing projectiles with ease. [[spoiler:Once deprived of that protection though, he gets an arrow straight through his throat]].
* DisintegratorRay: His strongest spell not part of a greater ritual.
* EvilIsHammy: This dude just simply won't shut up. An interlude title in the light novel even lampshades it: "Of The Mastermind, Quite Full Of Himself Behind The Scenes".
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** The goblins Goblin Slayer had been exterminating lately were nested in odd locations such as faraway mines instead of dens, and take too long to touch their captives before they could be rescued. Additionally, the usual torrent of goblin-slaying quests flooding the bulletin boards have trickled to a complete stop. As Goblin Slayer notes, there is almost always an outside factor that could have goblins behaving so erratically and reserved.
** He was one of two cloaked figures seen lurking around town while everyone was preparing the Harvest Festival. His presence had been noted by both Goblin Slayer and High Elf Archer, but they went on with their business instead of investigating closer.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:He was the one who supplied the rhea traitor with the goblins' stock of poisoned blades. Goblin Slayer, having already taken care of the rhea and filched a poisoned knife for himself, cuts the Dark Elf to seal his fate]].
* TheManBehindTheMan:
** He was a member of the sect conducting dark rituals within Water Town's labyrinth, and thus had a hand producing the goblin infestation. And, [[spoiler:considering his fondness for human sacrifices, the vivisected girl whose discovery initiated the whole investigation into the sewers in the first place may very well be his handiwork]].
** He was responsible for there being relatively quiet goblin activity before the Harvest Festival in Volume 3, seeing as he was preparing them for a march into town.
* MissionFromGod: He received a vision from his Dark God that drove him to start the events of Volume 3.
* MultiArmedAndDangerous: Because he is an apostle of Hecantocheir, he can cast a spell that grows five additional arms from his back, granting a total of seven. The spiritual arm granted as a protective enchantment would add to become eight.
* NightmareFetishist: Repeatedly calls the Goblins under his command "adorable."
* NoManOfWomanBorn: Because he is protected by Hecantocheir's enchantment, [[AnnoyingArrows arrows aimed at him are simply caught out of the air and nullified]]. This becomes a problem when [[TakingYouWithMe he attempts a last-ditch spell at death's door]] and is too distant to be stopped by most other means. [[spoiler: So Goblin Slayer chucks a unique throwing knife at him. Because it was designed to slash instead of pierce, the weapon successfully lops off the Dark Elf's arm]].
* SummoningArtifact: The biggest factor that makes him a threat is an artifact resembling a HandOfGlory. Granted to him by the gods of chaos ([[spoiler:[[TheManBehindTheMan implied to be]] [[KillerGameMaster Truth]]]]), it allows him to grow arms and manifest a ghostly limb of Hecantocheir that plucks arrows straight out of the air. He intended to use it to summon the real deal during the events of Volume 3.
* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:He was already pissed off when Goblin Slayer managed to land a single strike on him, but when it turned out the wound was fatally poisoned, he mustered all of his reserves into a last spell that would have wiped the party out. An arrow through the neck prevented him from finishing the incantation]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Rhea Scout]]
[[quoteright:334:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goblinslayerrheascout.png]]
A former Steel-ranked adventurer who was disgraced after it was discovered he was hoarding loot for himself from his party.
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* DirtyCoward: Admits in his internal monologue that he actually doesn't care about being promoted because he hates putting himself in dangerous situations and is content to take easy quests and horde any loot he lucks into for profit.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Is entirely ready to jump Guild Girl with a knife when she demotes him, only stopped by awareness that Goblin Slayer would bash his skull in if he tried. [[spoiler:Blaming his shame on Goblin Slayer for not vouching for him, Rhea Scout joins with the Dark Elf, leader of an ApocalypseCult and his [[TheHorde troop of goblins]], all in a bid to kill Goblin Slayer for what he sees as abetting his humiliation]].
* {{Expy}}: A smarmier, more [[TheDandy affectatious]] version of [[Manga/DungeonMeshi Chilchuck]]; like the latter, he's [[OnlyInItForTheMoney only interested in looting]].
* FlechetteStorm: Pulls out some throwing darts [[spoiler:in his fight with Goblin Slayer]].
* HandsomeLech: Fairly bishie-looking for a hobbit {{Expy}}, and the first hint we get that the guy is scummy is when he starts having sleazy thoughts about Guild Girl.
* {{Hobbits}}: Here called "Rheas". He's a fairly stereotypical specimen of manga-style [[SerialNumbersFiledOff not-Halflings]]; a spoon-eared TokenMiniMoe whose kind is the designated rogues of the fantasy setting in question. [[spoiler: though he takes the negative implications of such traits to the extreme conclusion, his NinjaLooting habits in particular giving him more in common with a [[Literature/{{Dragonlance}} Kender]] than a Hobbit]].
* NinjaLooting: His major crime that gets him demoted and banned from town. Evidence of how much he is scalping his fellows of money can be seen in just how shabby and ragged the rest of his party are in comparison to him and the previous Steel-rank crew from Volume 1.
* PoisonedWeapons: [[spoiler:The Goblins provide him with a toxin to coat his blades with when he attacks Goblin Slayer and Guild Girl]].
* StopBeingStereotypical: Guild Girl caps off her ReasonYouSuckSpeech by saying that the report of his behavior is just going to reinforce prejudices against Rheas as untrustworthy natural thieves. [[VillainHasAPoint Scout internally calls her out on being sanctimonious for going there]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Evil Wizard]]
An evil wizard that Heavy Swordsman, Spearman, and Goblin Slayer team up to hunt down together in Volume 4.
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* DestinationDefenestration: How Goblin Slayer kills him.
* EvilGloating: Starts a prepared speech when Spearman, Heavy Warrior, and Goblin Slayer make it to the top of his tower. He barely gets two lines out before Goblin Slayer chucks a sword through his lung, [[NoManOfWomanBorn which only really shut him up for a little bit]].
* InterimVillain: Is just a random evil spell-caster off to the side between Volume 3's Dark Elf (who was TheManBehindTheMan to several high-power goblin nests and pawn of choice of the GreaterScopeVillain), and Volume 5's [[spoiler:next evolution of the goblin threat]]. Hell, the hunt for him isn't even the central focus of the volume.
* KarmicDeath: Spent weeks sending his gargoyles out to kill anyone one who approached his turf, and then Goblin Slayer and friends put an end to him the same way his creatures liked to kill; dropping him from on high.
* MageTower: Operates out of one. It's height is integral to Goblin Slayer's method of killing him.
* NoManOfWomanBorn: He believes he is protected from harm by a prophecy that states he "cannot be slain by human hands." Goblin Slayer points out that all they need to do is use [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou indirect means that leave nature as the direct killer]] to put an end to him.
* OurGargoylesRock: Creates and controls these for defense to clear out the area around his base.
* ShockAndAwe: Knows a spell that can conjure a complete thunderstorm.
* SummonMagic: How he gets new gargoyles as opposed to crafting them.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Rock Eater]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rockeater.png]]
Giant fifty meter long worm/centipede like creature that serves as the main antagonist to a [[PlotThreads B-plot]] in ''Goblin Slayer: Side Story Year One''.
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* ArchEnemy: To Newbie Swordsman after it kills his ImpliedLoveInterest Half-Elf Shaman.
* BigBadEnsemble: With the goblins in Goblin Slayer: Side Story Year One. While Goblin Slayer is busy fighting goblins, the other adventurers like Newbie Swordsman and Spearman are dealing with this thing.
* BigCreepyCrawlies: This thing is giant worm/centipede-like monster.
* ExtremeOmnivore: Rock, slimes, people, this monster eats just about anything.
* ImAHumanitarian: Its diet mainly consists of slimes, but it isn't picky when it comes to people.
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: This monster's mouth is full of multiple rings of teeth that tears any unfortunate prey it catches into ribbons, like poor Half-Elf Shaman and Steel-Leveled Scout.
* RockMonster: It outer shell seems to be made out of rocks.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Demons]]
Evil spirits from the pits of hell that seek to destroy the cities of Man and overthrow the gods. [[VillainOfAnotherStory Every adventurer that isn't Goblin Slayer or his supporters considers these to be the principle threat in the setting]].
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* BigRedDevil: High Elf Archer, Dwarf Shaman, and Lizard Priest fought two lesser demons when they first partnered up that were described as red-skinned gargoyles.
* ClippedWingAngel: [[spoiler:A goblin priest sacrifices himself to bring the Demon Lord partly back to life to kill Goblin Slayer in Volume 8. He only comes back as an arm - a fully cognizant, ambulatory, spellcasting arm that is still strong enough that it could have killed the whole party in a straight fight]].
* ColdIron: The group says that [[SilverHasMysticPowers these metals are particularly effective as weapons against the demons]].
* DemonLordsAndArchdevils: There is one Demon Lord over all others, who keeps threatening to destroy the world, getting killed by TheChosenOne (or a particularly lucky RagTagBunchOfMisfits) and [[DeathIsCheap coming back to do it all over again about once a decade]]. He has sixteen Demon Generals that serve directly under him and recruit/organize the mortal monsters, though it's unclear if they can resurrect as he does or if new ones are appointed when they get cut down.
* EldritchAbomination: [[spoiler:Though it might have been due to the dungeon operating under ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu''-esque rules, the partially resurrected Demon Lord in Volume 8 is so grotesque that just looking at his disembodied arm is enough to fray High Elf Archer's sanity]].
* EvilIsBurningHot: The demons the party are seen fighting have the ability to spit fire balls.
* EvilIsDeathlyCold: [[spoiler:The Demon Lord himself however, most just uses Blizzard spells during his battle against Goblin Slayer's party]].
* ShapeShifter: One quest that Spearman, Witch, High Elf Archer, Dwarf Shaman, and Lizard Priest all go on together is to take out a demon disguised as a human that had started a cult in a farming village. The demon taking refuge in Water Town that Chosen Heroine kills also takes the form of a human warlock.
* SirSwearsALot: The Water Town demon belts out a laundry list of cusses in the wake of Goblin Slayer killing his goblin minions and sealing his portal mirror, peppered generously with [[GoshDarnItToHeck "fudge" and "fooey"]] and [[CreatorWorship invoking Gary Gygax to send him to hell]].
* SmugSnake: The Water Town demon rants over how Goblin Slayer and friends could have foiled his "perfect" plan of just releasing a swarm of goblins into the city sewers to scare Sword Maiden. One of the Chaos Gods actually physically manifests just to call out his laziness and short-sightedness, before [[YouHaveFailedMe bluntly refusing to grant him any boons and leaving him for dead when Chosen Heroine bursts into his lair]].
* VillainOfAnotherStory: Pose a constant/cyclical existential threat to the entire world, but Goblin Slayer couldn't give a damn about them; that's what the rest of the Guild's adventurers are for.
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