Moblins and others
Moblins (or Molblins, or Moriblins) are large humanlike creatures with a bulldog's face. Their
skin can very in color and this seems to determine their strenght and (inversely) their
intelligence They typically inhabit forests and their name could in fact be interpreted as "Mean
spirit from the Forest" (their natural habit). However, as anybody in Hyrule could easily tell
you, they are all too concrete. Molblins are for the most part as ruthless as beasts yet
deviously intelligent. Enough to at least make leather armor and primitive weapons. Some
Molblins are even capable of coherent speech, and jumbled writing too! Their eyesight, however,
seems to be rather poor; probably because they have too distanced eyes.
Even when without a master Moblins have been, throughout history, a constant danger for the
careless and all small settlements; but they do instinctively respect their leaders, who are
simply the biggest and cruellest among them and whole gangs of Moblins have been known to
disband and run away if their leader is killed. Not surprisingly, they have often been minions
for Ganon. Truth be told, some pacific Moblins who have refused to serve the Evil King and lived
in hiding from their own kin did exist, but whether their motives were genuinely noble or mere
cowardice can't really be told.
Different, yet often mistaken as Moblins, are the Butablins. The confusion comes from the fact
that members of these two species often band up together, and even among themselves they all
come to be called Moblins. The Butablins can however be told apart very easily: their faces bear
the features of pigs as opposed to those of a bulldog.
The Butablins were in great numbers among Ganon's soldiers in the Dark World, it is therefore
suspected that their ancestors were evil men changed by the Dark World; but it could be that
these men were changed into something that already existed, just as outcasts were turned into
the fox-like keatons. In fact it would seem that Butablins originally belonged to the dark tribe
of evil that attacked Hyrule in the distant past and was then sealed in a chest by the Picori
blade.
Whatever their origin is, they are clearly a species of their own (despite their claims of being
Moblins). Their intelligence is on a similar level to a Moblin's, and as an additional pig trait,
Butablins have hooves. These are however absent in a subrace of theirs, the Bokoblins. Bokoblins
are smaller than Moblins and Butablins (and therefore not usually confused with the other two)
but they are more apt at using tools of all kinds, in particular, sticks made from the Boko Baba
flowers which eventually came to influence their name. They are rather noisy, except when hiding.
But even more noisy are the bizarre Miniblins, they are as small as children, but this is hardly
deceptive as they are devilish both in looks and mind. Well aware of their limited strenght,
Miniblins gang up in large numbers to defeat their preys. More than few adventures had to run
away before a seemingly endless horde of these creatures.
The bulblins then are yet another race that is commonly grouped together with moblins because of
their savage behavior, appearence and inclination to band with bokoblins. As the latter they are,
in general, short and slender but they can be distinguished by green skin, small dirty yellow
bull horns, faintly glowing eyes, and almost flat faces. A few individuals, like King Bulblin,
can grow very heavy and very tall, topping out at almost eight feet. Individuals this size prove
exceedingly durable and can survive great trauma, such as falling off a high bridge.
The bulblins are notable for having led Zant's monsters to the springs of the Light Spirits, and
generally assisting Ganondorf when he tried to take over Hyrule upon returning from the Twilight
Realm. However their loyalty is fleeting since, as stated by King Bulblin, following the
strongest side is all they know (they can talk, and seem to have their own language, but rarely
say anything, at least to humans). Outside of this incident, Bullblins have mostly remained in
the shadows throughout Hyrule history, Moblins and Butablins being much more prominent in that
sense.
Bulblins (and bokoblins?) were among the few, or only (moderately) intelligent race in Hyrule
that could retain a corporeal form within the Twilight in which Zant covered it. However, the
Twilight corrupts them like it does animals native to Hyrule, and their already ugly appearance
becomes truly monstrous while they are within its boundaries, their faces covered in strange
masks. It is unclear whether this difference was because of their allegiance to Zant or because
they are more alike soulless beasts than enlightened beings such as humans, gorons etc (who
would instead turn into spirits).
The bulblins are crude fighters, usually using clubs or crude swords in melee and flaming arrows
in ranged combat. Their eyesight may be better than a moblin's because the bulblins are actually
passable archers. They ride giant boars called bulbos into battle, usually in pairs (one holding
the reins while the other fights, typically with arrows).
Their largest camp was in front of Arbiter's Grounds in the Gerudo Desert. This may just have
been where they were stationed at the time, however. Another large camp existed in the hidden
gulch, the near abandoned Sheikah village once known as Old Kakariko, until Link defeated them
and drove them out.