Goblin Warrior

Goblin Warrior

Small fey · CR 1/4 · 50 XP

15 AC · 10 HP

Roll the Goblin Warrior

Scimitar
Shortbow

Press a roll button. The dice land here.

The Goblin Warrior hides, then hits twice as hard

How to run it. A Goblin Warrior has 10 Hit Points, AC 15, and a scimitar or shortbow at +4 for 1d6 + 2. On its own that's weak. The part that makes it dangerous is Nimble Escape: as a Bonus Action it takes the Disengage or Hide action, and both its attacks deal an extra 1d4 when the attack roll has Advantage.

Why hiding matters. A goblin that hides successfully has the Invisible condition, and an Invisible creature attacks with Advantage. Against AC 15 we counted:

Goblin's attack Chance to hit Average damage per attack
Plain 50% 2.9
From hiding (Advantage, +1d4) 75% 6.6

A goblin that shoots from hiding does more than twice the damage of one standing in the open. (The odds table below adds the 1d4 to every attack, so it shows what the goblin does with Advantage every time.)

The choice that matters is how you move them. Shoot, hide behind cover, repeat. In melee, hit and Disengage so the fighter never gets an Opportunity Attack. Five goblins played this way feel like a real fight at level 1.

The common mistake is lining them up in the open. Then they're 10 Hit Points each, and 3d6 means about one in six has 7 or fewer.

Lore, SRD only. In SRD 5.2.1 goblins are Small fey, not humanoids. Spells and features that only affect Humanoids don't touch them.

The human angle. For many players, goblins are the first fight. Bandura found that succeeding at something difficult is the strongest source of belief in your own ability. Goblins that fight smart and still lose give a new player that success.

Source: Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191

Stat block

Type
Small fey, chaotic neutral
Armor Class
15
Hit Points
10 (3d6)
Speed
30 ft.
Challenge
1/4 (50 XP), proficiency +2
Senses
darkvision 60 ft., passive perception 9
Languages
Common, Goblin
STRDEXCONINTWISCHA
8
15
10
10
8
8

Goblin Warrior odds against your Armor Class

Chance to hit, then average damage per attack once misses and critical hits are counted.

AttackAC 12AC 14AC 15AC 16AC 18AC 20
Scimitar (+4)65%
5.5 dmg		55%
4.7 dmg		50%
4.3 dmg		45%
3.9 dmg		35%
3.1 dmg		25%
2.3 dmg
Shortbow (+4)65%
5.5 dmg		55%
4.7 dmg		50%
4.3 dmg		45%
3.9 dmg		35%
3.1 dmg		25%
2.3 dmg

Goblin Warrior hit points

The stat block uses the average, 10. Rolled, 3d6 lands anywhere from 3 to 18.

3: 0.46%4: 1.39%5: 2.78%6: 4.63%7: 6.94%8: 9.72%9: 11.57%10: 12.50%11: 12.50%12: 11.57%13: 9.72%14: 6.94%15: 4.63%16: 2.78%17: 1.39%18: 0.46%
3chance of each total for 3d618
Hit pointsChance
7 or more91%
11 or more50%
14 or more16%
17 or more2%

Actions

Scimitar. Melee Attack Roll: +4, reach 5 ft. Hit: 5 () Slashing damage, plus 2 () Slashing damage if the attack roll had Advantage.

Shortbow. Ranged Attack Roll: +4, range 80/320 ft. Hit: 5 () Piercing damage, plus 2 () Piercing damage if the attack roll had Advantage.

Bonus actions

Nimble Escape. The goblin takes the Disengage or Hide action.

Other CR 1/4 monsters

Animated Flying Sword Axe Beak Blink Dog Boar Constrictor Snake Draft Horse Dretch Elk Giant Badger Giant Bat Giant Centipede Giant Frog

This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The averages, odds and tables are ours.