Super Goblins: Did they invent 'trick-or-treat'?

[captaincrumbcake]

I plan on utilizing Bugbears a lot in my Lost Lands campaign material. So I returned to (for me) the source of the creatures: Greyhawk Supplement.
Page 34 (my edition) makes it very clear: Bugbears are just giant, hairy goblins. This is cool, because, though they are treated as "giant class" (for the sake of those DMs that allow such a category and the Ranger), they are not as strong as ogres, but can take a lot of damage (3d6+1 hp) before going down. This provides a nice and easy to conduct encounter for characters of levels 2nd through 4th; if the numbers jell, and everything goes well. It also potentially provides a lot of XP for a group of characters (at 300 xp per creature under the right circumstances.)

My only problem is with Bell's illustration of the creature on page 67--  . No way! Now, i know that there is a portion of the gamers that like this approach to the bugbear but, for me, its just too halloweeny looking. It depicts the creature more as a conglomorate created by some witchy coven for some pagan ritual. Well, I'm jesting a bit, but you get the idea.

So what's your vote?

1. Giant hairy goblin.
2. Punkin headed thingamabob.

[waysoftheearth]

I prefer the giant, hairy goblin model--mainly because bugbears are related to goblins and/or hobgoblins in folklore and language, but perhaps also because Halloween isn't much of a thing where I live.

Having 5-20 bubgbears appearing in a lair and 3+1 HD places them pretty solidly in the heroic/fantastic category alongside wights, gargoyles, lycanthropes, centaurs, and the like.

I see them kinda like goblin-Heroes and I'd possibly go back and update M&T's definition of the goblin lair to utilise bugbears in addition to hobgoblins. The goblin King himself should also then fight as a bugbear

[randyb]

I prefer the "big, hairy goblin" myself. It offers an interesting dynamic for goblins if types are mixed in a single lair or settlement - goblins as fodder, hobgoblins as leaders, and bugbears as brutes.