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Boar 5e: Stats, Relentless and the 2024 Bloodied Boar
A boar is a CR 1/4 Medium Beast with AC 11, 40 feet of speed and a tusk attack at +3 that deals 4 damage, plus 3 more and a possible knockdown when it charges 20 feet in a straight line. What makes it stubborn depends on the edition. The 2014 boar (11 HP) has Relentless: once per rest, a hit of 7 damage or less that would drop it leaves it at 1 hit point instead. The 2024 boar (13 HP) loses Relentless and gains Bloodied Fury, Advantage on attacks once it's at half hit points or below. It's also one of the forms a level 2 druid can take with Wild Shape.
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Boar Stat Block (2014)
Boar
Medium beast, unaligned
Armor Class 11 (natural armor)
Hit Points 11 (2d8+2)
Speed 40 ft.
STR
13 (+1)
DEX
11 (+0)
CON
12 (+1)
INT
2 (−4)
WIS
9 (−1)
CHA
5 (−3)
Senses passive Perception 9
Languages —
Challenge 1/4 (XP 50; PB +2)
Traits
Charge.If the boar moves at least 20 ft. straight toward a target and then hits it with a tusk attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 3 (1d6) slashing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 11 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Relentless (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest).If the boar takes 7 damage or less that would reduce it to 0 hit points, it is reduced to 1 hit point instead.
Actions
Tusk.Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) slashing damage.
Stat block from the SRD 5.1 (2014 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
Charge: 20 feet straight toward a target and a Tusk hit adds 3 (1d6) slashing, and a creature must pass a DC 11 Strength save or fall prone. Relentless recharges after a short or long rest, so in practice it works once per fight.
The Boar in the 2024 Rules
Boar
Medium Beast, Unaligned
Armor Class 11
Initiative +0 (10)
Hit Points 13 (2d8 + 4)
Speed 40 ft.
STR
13 (+1)save +1
DEX
11 (+0)save +0
CON
14 (+2)save +2
INT
2 (−4)save −4
WIS
9 (−1)save −1
CHA
5 (−3)save −3
Senses Passive Perception 9
Languages None
Challenge 1/4 (XP 50; PB +2)
Traits
Bloodied Fury.While Bloodied, the boar has Advantage on attack rolls.
Actions
Gore.Melee Attack Roll: +3, reach 5 ft. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) Piercing damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature and the boar moved 20+ feet straight toward it immediately before the hit, the target takes an extra 3 (1d6) Piercing damage and has the Prone condition.
Stat block from the SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
2014
2024
HP
11 (2d8 + 2)
13 (2d8 + 4)
Attack
Tusk, 4 slashing
Gore, 4 piercing
Charge bonus
+3 slashing, DC 11 Strength save or prone
+3 piercing and Prone, no save, Medium or smaller targets only
Survival trait
Relentless (stay at 1 HP, once per rest)
Bloodied Fury (Advantage on attacks while Bloodied)
The design flipped. The 2014 boar refuses to die. The 2024 boar gets more dangerous as it gets hurt.
How Boars Fight
When Relentless matters. It only triggers on a hit of 7 or less, and a full-health 2014 boar has 11 hit points, so no single hit of 7 or less can drop it from full. It saves the boar only after it's already been wounded to 7 or fewer. A fighter with a greataxe (1d12 + 3, average 9.5) usually takes it from 11 to about 2, and the next hit kills it outright unless the d12 shows 4 or less (a total of 7 or less, which Relentless absorbs). A rogue's shortsword (1d6 + 2) or a cantrip in the 5-to-7 range needs a third hit. Big hits ignore the trait.
Bloodied Fury in numbers. The 2024 boar is Bloodied at 6 hit points or fewer. Against AC 16, +3 hits on a 13 or higher, 40% of the time. With Advantage that becomes 64%. A wounded boar that charges deals about 4.5 expected damage instead of 2.8, and it knocks a Medium or smaller target prone on every hit.
Charge once, then gore. A boar with 40 feet of speed should open with a charge. After that it's in melee and has no reason to back off: no Disengage, no reach. Two boars work better than one, because the second can attack a character the first knocked prone, with Advantage.
Retreat? No. A boar defending its territory doesn't flee. Play it as a wild animal that keeps coming until it's dead or the party leaves.
Wild Shape: Playing a Boar
The boar is CR 1/4 with no fly or swim speed, so a druid can take its form from level 2 in both editions.
•2014: you use the boar's 11 hit points, and Relentless keeps you in boar form against a 7-or-less hit that would drop you.
•2024: you keep your own hit points and gain temporary hit points equal to your druid level. Bloodied Fury checks whether you are Bloodied, so a druid at half hit points who shifts into a boar attacks with Advantage. The charge knocks Medium or smaller targets prone with no save.
Compare it with the wolf, the other classic CR 1/4 form. The wolf bites harder (+4, with no charge needed to knock a target down) and has Pack Tactics. The boar's edge is staying power: Relentless in 2014, Advantage while hurt in 2024.
How Many Boars for a Level 1 Party?
A boar is 50 XP. Under the 2024 rules, four boars are a Low encounter for four level 1 characters (200 XP), and six are Moderate (300 XP). Under the 2014 guidelines (our encounter calculator uses them), three boars are 150 XP ×2 = 300, exactly the Hard threshold for four level 1 characters.
From level 3 on, a sounder of four to six boars led by a giant boar is a better fight than more regular boars.
How Players Beat Boars
•Hit hard. Relentless only stops damage of 7 or less. Bloodied Fury starts at 6 HP or lower, so a boar taken from full to dead in one round never gets to use it.
•Make it fail the charge. Difficult terrain, a fence, or a front-liner standing where there's no 20-foot straight path all deny the bonus damage and knockdown.
•Big creatures ignore the 2024 knockdown. It only works on Medium or smaller targets, so a Large character or mount stays standing.
Boar Encounter Ideas
The harvest raid. A village's root cellars are being dug open at night. Three boars come out of the woods at dusk and charge anyone carrying a torch. The real problem is why they left the forest: something bigger moved in.
The lord's hunt. A young noble wants to kill a boar herself and hires the party to keep her alive without stealing the kill. The boar isn't cooperating, and neither is the noble.
The druid's guardian. A druid's grove is patrolled by a boar that's actually the druid in Wild Shape. Drop the boar and it turns back into a very angry druid, who in 2014 still has all of her own hit points.
Frequently Asked Questions
What CR is a boar in 5e?
A boar is CR 1/4 (50 XP) in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. The 2014 boar has 11 hit points and the 2024 boar has 13, both with AC 11.
How does Relentless work on a boar?
In the 2014 rules, if the boar takes 7 damage or less that would reduce it to 0 hit points, it drops to 1 hit point instead. It recharges after a short or long rest. The 2024 boar doesn't have Relentless.
What is Bloodied Fury?
The 2024 boar has Advantage on attack rolls while Bloodied, meaning while it has half its hit points or fewer (6 or fewer of its 13).
Can a druid Wild Shape into a boar?
Yes. It's CR 1/4 with no flying or swimming speed, so it's available from druid level 2 in both the 2014 and 2024 rules.
Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Loreify is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.