In the rulebooks for early editions of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) in the 1970s, Gary Gygax outlined distinct appearances and statblocks for the kind of monsters that parties of heroic adventures could expect to encounter in their games: goblins, orcs, kobolds, hobgoblins, and bugbears included. These goblins are dark-skinned, cruel, tricky, but ultimately weak creatures—the exact opposite of the virtuous, light-skinned heroes of this game whose appearance reflected its target audience. Designers of countless other tabletop games have expanded upon these ideas by making goblins low-level antagonists and vessels for malevolent conduct that righteous heroes can avenge. The staleness of this fantasy trope, though, has led an increasing number of game designers to sympathize with the goblin and transform it into an underdog hero of sorts that can use its predisposition for trickery for good rather than evil. Players of the latest editions of D&D and Pathfinder can therefore embody heroic goblins whose species does not confine them to a life of predestined evil.