Goblin

Small humanoid (goblinoid), neutral evil

Armor Class
15
leather armor, shield
Hit Points
7
2d6
Speed
30 ft.
  • STR -1
  • DEX +2
  • CON 0
  • INT 0
  • WIS -1
  • CHA -1
Skills
Stealth +6
Senses
darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 9
Languages
Common, Goblin
Challenge 1/4 50 XP · Proficiency +2

Traits

Nimble Escape

The goblin can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of its turns.

Actions

Scimitar

Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) slashing damage.

Shortbow

Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.

How to run it

Nimble Escape is the whole creature. A goblin that stabs and then Disengages as a bonus action cannot be pinned down by a fighter, and one that Hides as a bonus action forces the party to spend actions finding it again. Run them as skirmishers who never stand still: strike, withdraw behind cover, shoot from the dark, repeat.

They have 7 hit points, so they die to almost anything that connects. That is the point. A goblin fight is not about their survival, it is about how much of the party's action economy they waste before they drop.

Building the encounter

A pair is a speed bump for a level 1 party. Six to eight is a real fight, and the number where Nimble Escape starts to hurt, because the party cannot chase all of them.

They need terrain to be interesting. In an empty room they are just weak. Give them a warren of tunnels, a rope bridge, crates to duck behind, or elevation for the shortbows, and the same six goblins become genuinely difficult. If you only change one thing about a goblin encounter, change the map.

What to pair it with

A goblin boss or hobgoblin gives them a reason to hold formation instead of scattering, which changes the fight completely. Worgs turn them into fast raiders that hit and disappear before the party can respond.

A single ogre with a dozen goblins is a classic for a reason: the goblins keep the party busy while the ogre swings, and the party has to choose which problem to solve first.

Reskins

The stat block is a nimble, cowardly, weak-but-numerous humanoid. That covers a great deal. Sewer-dwelling ratfolk, feral children of a cursed village, small fey with knives, or the scavenger crews that pick over a battlefield after the real army leaves.

Swap the darkvision for an odd sense and you have something that is not a goblin at all but plays exactly like one.

Commonly played wrong

Nimble Escape is a bonus action, so the goblin still gets its full action to attack. A goblin can attack and Disengage in the same turn, every turn. Many DMs run it as though disengaging costs the attack.

It also means goblins take opportunity attacks almost never. If your players are counting on their reach weapons to punish retreating goblins, they will be disappointed, and that is correct.

Compared to others at this CR

At CR 1/4 the goblin sits alongside the skeleton and the zombie. The skeleton hits about as hard and has twice the effective durability. The zombie has three times the hit points and will not stay down.

The goblin is the most dangerous of the three in the hands of a DM who uses the terrain, and the least dangerous in an open room. Very few CR 1/4 creatures vary that much based on the map.

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