reddish-brown hide, blue noses, crescent-crested helms

By: Unknown on 03:26

Here's my take on yesterday's question about the cover art from B2 The Keep on the Borderlands.

Above is a detail from a cleaner image of the cover art . Below is info from pages 52 and 53 from the first edition Monster Manual.

"The hairy hides of hobgoblins range from dark reddish-brown to grey black. Their faces are bright red-orange to red. Large males will have blue noses."

Obviously those three baddies can be whatever you want them to be, but I've been convinced they're hobgoblins ever since I got the Monster Manual back in '81 or '82.  I will grant that the guys on the cover of B2 have more piggish noses than the MM pictures.  Also, it looks like AD&D hobgoblins are more insistent that the troops wear pants.

Anyway, this whole thing came up because in the past couple of weeks I ran across offhand remarks suggesting those were orcs on the cover.  I was curious if I was the only one who thought they were hobgobs.