Hobgoblins (Or."Ugong") were larger specimen of Orc-Kind, more ancient and primitive than later Breeds of Greater Orcs who appeared after their races creation in Utumno.
MERP[]
Hobgoblins in MECCG
In MERP the term Hobgoblin is used analogous to Uruk or Uruk-Hai and is considered a Hobbitic slang word in some publications. However the Gamemaster has always to bear in mind that MERP considers all greater Orcs, even those breeds who appeared before the Black Uruks of Mordor, who first appeared TA 2475 in Ithilien, or the Isengard Uruks, who first appeared TA 3018, Uruks or Uruk-Hai, so in Game-terms these "early Uruk-Hai" must be considered predecessing bloodlines of which the later true Uruk-Hai were the perfection.
LOTRRPG[]
Hall of fire Magazine[]
Thee Hall of fire Magazine proposes the Hobgoblins as Orcs of the first Age who were filled with the spirit of Morgoth,They were either unable to survive without their master or became immune to the influence of his servant Sauron and hid away from him in places like the grey mountains, making themselves lords of lesser orc-tribes.
See: Grim Orcs
LOTRO[]
Gundabad Hobgoblin in LOTRO
In The Lord of the Rings Online the term "Hobgoblin" is used ambiguously.Slightly taller and gaunt Goblins such as can be found at Mount Gram and lake Evendim are called Hobgoblins as are the far smaller Bugans in Enedhwaith.In Gundabad and the Ered Mithrin, a specific subbrace of huge, almost Troll- or Ogre-like Orcs are called "Hobgoblins".
TOR[]
In The One Ring - Roleplaying in Middle Earth, Hobgoblins were known in Middle-Earth as a malevolent race of creatures bred in the North in the past ages. They are tall and gaunt, with long limbs and flat, almost noseless faces. They had no Souls, minds or wills on their own and were directly controlled by the power of their master and most died after he had been banished from Arda.Only a few members of that fell race survive today, in dark caverns beneath the Grey Mountains and under the Mountains of Mirkwood. Like the smaller Goblins of the mountains, they hate the light of the sun and rarely venture far from their lairs, but they are exceedingly powerful at night or when prowling in darkness. Cruel and cannibalistic in their nature, Hobgoblins barely tolerate the company of Trolls, and prefer to conduct their raids with the help of Wolves and Great Bats.
Synopsis[]
The conflicting definitions of the Term Hobgoblin might be brought into accord if Hobgoblin would be considered an umbrella term for the great Orcs, in this case the great Orcs of Angband may have been either Demons or Maiarindi or the mindless creatures described in the Hall of fire magazine and the later greater Orcs their lesser descendants from which the true Uruk-Hai were bred as a perfected Hobgoblin sub-race.
See: