it appears that in Eberron, Goblin is the name for goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears? In 5E would those three be a subraces of goblin rather than listed separately?This is a problem with translation. In their tongue, they call the united races the Dar, and goblins are the golin'dar.
— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) October 30, 2017
Mechanically I wouldn't represent them with as a single race with three subraces. Goblin, Bugbear & Hobgoblin are too different for that…
— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) October 30, 2017
… And under the 5E system it's even possible that one of these races would have its own "subraces."
— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) October 30, 2017
For the most part I use 5E's subraces as a reflection of personal aptitude and development as opposed to genetics.
— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) October 30, 2017
Great, thank you. That is exactly what I needed. If someone says, “I killed 3 goblins”, they mean goblins, not bugbears. Much like elf is elf and drow is drow? When using Common, I use Goblin to mean the unified species and goblin (lower case) for the race. But more accurate to use Dar/golin'dar.
— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) October 30, 2017