Humanoids, Part I: Giving Humanoids a Raison d'être
![Image](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP14R7B0sZTbRJxVcd0YLZ5YUyq9kkE5WuOakGY_Qfq0eiNyi1E1M8SfCJPFrWwlP3_bBnR1x0cMKkDUl4icxyRyFAixioZ3a0gt3j7CBYXySA_bPZItjW7Dlvz_m093lNC0LcV1ionzE/s200/Broo.jpg)
Another issue frequently blogged about in the D&D and OSR blogosphere is the neverending variety of humanoids in D&D and their vague distinctions. Goblins,hobgoblins,bugbears,orcs,gnolls,kobolds,orogs,etc. It seems Gygax basically made a critter for each minor increment of hit dice - Their differing roles otherwise being trivial. I've struggled myself with this as well - What really distinguishes orcs from hobgoblins? What is the point of having kobolds and goblins? I think I have landed at what I feel is satisfactory writeup for the various humanoids that makes them distinct and gives me a reason to have them in the world. Partly because I've identified what I think is one of the main issues with the various humanoids - It is never clearly defined how they relate differently to humanity. I found that once I started thinking about these races having a history and then focusing on their ecology as they impact humanity, gave me inspiration to start writin