GoblinCR 1/4 · Small Humanoid · Stat Block & Encounter Builder

Seven hit points, a bonus-action vanish, and absolutely no interest in a fair fight.

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Armour Class

Hit Points

Speed

30 ft.

Challenge

1/4 · 50 XP

Alignment

Neutral Evil

The card

Stat Block

Small Humanoid · Neutral Evil

Goblin

1/4

2d6 · 30 ft. · AC from leather armor, shield

Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 9

Languages: Common, Goblin

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
8 (-1)	14 (+2)	10 (+0)	10 (+0)	8 (-1)	8 (-1)

Traits

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

Actions

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

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

How to actually run it

Tactics

The stat block tells you what it can do. This tells you what to do with it.

1Nimble Escape is the whole monster. Shoot, hide as a bonus action, repeat — a goblin that stands still is being played wrong.

2They are a CR 1/4 with 7 hit points: any hit kills one. Bring numbers, not toughness.

3Use terrain. Goblins in the open are free XP; goblins in a rockfall with cover are a genuine level-1 threat.

4Eight goblins against four level-1 characters is Deadly on the maths — try it in the calculator below.

Pitch the fight

Encounter Difficulty

Encounter Builder

How bad is this fight?

Real DMG maths — XP thresholds by level, and the group multiplier that makes crowds so much worse than the raw total suggests.

Goblins4Party size4Party level3

They will win without spending much. Good for pacing between real fights.

Difficulty

Easy

400 adj. XP · ×2

deadly at 1,600

Build this Easy encounter

Pre-filled · you press Generate

What beats it

Counters

Spells that shut it down, and classes built to take it.

SpellsFaerie Fire · Sleep

ClassesWizard · Cleric

Counsel

Goblin, Answered

What is a goblin’s CR and XP?

A goblin is Challenge 1/4, worth 50 XP. A goblin boss is CR 1 (200 XP). Because encounter maths multiplies XP by the number of monsters, a pack of goblins is far deadlier than the raw total suggests.

How many goblins is a fair fight for level 1?

Four to five against four level-1 characters is a solid Medium-to-Hard fight. Eight tips into Deadly, because the ×2.5 group multiplier kicks in. Use the calculator on this page rather than adding XP by hand.

What makes goblins dangerous?

Nimble Escape. They Hide as a bonus action, so they attack from cover and vanish before you can answer. Played properly a goblin ambush is the single best low-level encounter in the game.

What is Nimble Escape?

A bonus action Disengage or Hide, every turn. It means goblins never get punished for retreating and can re-hide after every shot — which is why they should always be fought somewhere with cover.

Put It On The Table

Set your party, read the difficulty, and build the encounter around it. Your first is free.

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