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Giant Badger 5e: Stats, Burrowing and Wild Shape
A giant badger is a CR 1/4 Medium beast with a 30-foot walking speed and a 10-foot burrow speed. The 2014 version has AC 10, 13 hit points and two attacks a turn (bite and claws, 10 damage if both hit). The 2024 version trades that Multiattack for a single 6-damage bite but gets sturdier: AC 13, 15 hit points, resistance to poison and 60-foot darkvision. For players, the question is usually Wild Shape: it's a legal form for a level 2 druid in both editions, and unlike the usual wolf or spider picks, it can dig.
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Giant Badger Stat Block (2014)
This is the giant badger from SRD 5.1, matching the 2014 Monster Manual.
Giant Badger
Medium beast, unaligned
Armor Class 10
Hit Points 13 (2d8+4)
Speed 30 ft., burrow 10 ft.
STR
13 (+1)
DEX
10 (+0)
CON
15 (+2)
INT
2 (−4)
WIS
12 (+1)
CHA
5 (−3)
Senses darkvision 30 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages —
Challenge 1/4 (XP 50; PB +2)
Traits
Keen Smell.The badger has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Actions
Multiattack.The badger makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws.
Bite.Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) piercing damage.
Claws.Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (2d4 + 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.
It's easy to hit (AC 10) and fragile (13 hit points), but its Multiattack is strong for CR 1/4. Bite (4 piercing) plus claws (6 slashing) at +3 is 10 damage on a good turn, more than a goblin's 5. Keen Smell gives it advantage on Perception checks that rely on smell, which matters for tracking prey through tunnels with only 30-foot darkvision.
The Giant Badger in the 2024 Rules
The 2024 giant badger (SRD 5.2.1) keeps its CR, size, speeds and Strength, and shifts from offense to defense.
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 Giant Badger
2024 Giant Badger
AC / HP
10 / 13
13 / 15
Constitution
15
17
Attacks
Multiattack: Bite 4 + Claws 6
Bite only, 6 (2d4 + 1)
Senses
Darkvision 30 ft., Keen Smell
Darkvision 60 ft., Perception +3
Resistances
None
Poison
Against AC 14, a +3 attack hits 50% of the time. That puts the 2014 badger at about 5 damage a round and the 2024 badger at about 3. The 2024 badger also lasts longer: a +5 attack hits it 65% of the time instead of 80%, and it has 2 more hit points.
How Giant Badgers Fight
A giant badger is an animal, so it fights like one. It defends its burrow, and a cornered badger fights until it's dead or the threat leaves.
•Ambush from below. A 10-foot burrow speed is slow, but it lets a badger come up through soft earth under a sleeping camp. Under the 2024 rules, a Burrow Speed moves through sand, earth, mud or ice, not solid rock.
•Go for the smallest target. In 2014, two attacks at +3 do best against low-AC targets: the wizard, the familiar, the pack mule.
•Fight in the den. The stat block doesn't say whether its digging leaves a tunnel behind, so that's your call. If it does, a party chasing it underground goes single file, and only the character in front can fight.
•Run when hurt. Wild animals leave when the fight turns. A badger at 5 hit points digs or retreats into its den.
Giant Badger as a Wild Shape
Both editions let a level 2 druid take a giant badger shape. It's a CR 1/4 Beast with no fly or swim speed, so it meets the 2014 limit (CR 1/4, no flying or swimming) and the 2024 one (CR 1/4, no Fly Speed).
•2014 Wild Shape: you use the badger's hit points (13), AC 10 and attacks. You become a 13-hit-point buffer in front of your real hit points and make two attacks a turn. The usual comparison is the wolf: AC 13 and 11 hit points, one bite at +4 for 7 damage that can knock a target prone. The wolf hits more reliably; the badger hits twice and can dig.
•2024 Wild Shape: you keep your own hit points and gain temporary hit points equal to your druid level, so the badger's 15 hit points don't matter. What you get is AC 13 (better than the 2024 wolf's 12), resistance to poison, 60-foot darkvision and a burrow speed. The 2024 badger is a defensive scouting form more than a damage form.
Burrowing is the reason to pick it. Digging under a wall, escaping a collapsed tunnel or slipping under a palisade at night is something no wolf, rat or spider form can do. At 10 feet per round it's slow, so use it outside combat.
Running a Giant Badger Encounter
A giant badger is 50 XP.
Party of 4 (2024 SRD budget)
Encounter
Level 1, Low (200)
4 giant badgers
Level 1, Moderate (300)
6 giant badgers, or 2 badgers alongside a 200-XP threat
Level 2, Low (400)
8 giant badgers (more as a hazard than a fight)
The 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (used by our encounter calculator) are harsher. Two giant badgers are an Easy fight for four level 1 characters. Three are Hard. Four reach the Deadly threshold (400 adjusted XP).
Giant badgers are best at levels 1 and 2, often as a non-hostile problem. Pair them with wolves or boars for a wilderness encounter, or use one as a druid NPC's companion.
How Players Beat a Giant Badger
•Don't fight it in its tunnel. Draw it out into the open where the whole party can reach it.
•Calm it instead. It's a Beast with Intelligence 2, so Animal Friendship and Speak with Animals both work. A badger that wants to be left alone usually will be, if you leave its den alone.
•Hit the 2014 badger with anything. AC 10 means even a +3 attack hits 70% of the time.
•Skip poison against the 2024 version. It resists poison damage.
Giant Badger Encounter Ideas
The dug-up graveyard. A village's graves are being disturbed every night. Everyone assumes ghouls. It's a giant badger that has moved under the churchyard, and it's digging because something under the old crypt is attracting it.
The farmer's war. A farmer wants the party to kill a giant badger eating his chickens. A druid in the woods wants the party to protect it. Speak with Animals reveals the badger was driven out of its own den by something bigger.
The tunnel shortcut. The party needs to get under a fortified wall. A druid who knows the giant badger form, or a tamed badger, can dig a crawlspace through the earth beneath the foundations, slowly, as the clock runs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What CR is a giant badger in 5e?
A giant badger is CR 1/4 (50 XP) in both the 2014 and 2024 rules.
Can a druid Wild Shape into a giant badger?
Yes, from druid level 2 in both editions. It's a CR 1/4 Beast with only walking and burrow speeds, so it meets the level 2 limits of either Wild Shape.
Can a giant badger burrow through rock?
No. It has a 10-foot burrow speed, which moves through sand, earth, mud or ice. The 2024 rules say a creature can't burrow through solid rock without a trait that allows it, and the giant badger has none.
What's the difference between the 2014 and 2024 giant badger?
The 2014 badger has AC 10, 13 hit points and a bite plus claws Multiattack. The 2024 badger has AC 13, 15 hit points, poison resistance and 60-foot darkvision, but only one bite attack a turn.
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.