Goat 5e: Stats, the Charge and Mountain Hazards

A goat is a CR 0 Medium beast with AC 10, 4 hit points and a 40-foot speed. The 2014 goat hits harder than its CR suggests: its Charge adds 2 (1d4) damage to a ram after a 20-foot run and forces a DC 10 Strength save against being knocked prone, for about 6 damage on a charging hit. The 2024 goat (SRD 5.2.1) loses the knockdown and most of the damage, its ram dealing 1, or 2 (1d4) after a run, but gains a 30-foot climb speed and 60-foot darkvision. Which goat you use decides whether a herd on a narrow ledge is a hazard.

Table of Contents

• •Goat Stat Block (2014)
• •The Goat in the 2024 Rules
• •How Goats Fight: The Charge
• •Running a Goat Encounter
• •How Players Beat a Charging Goat
• •Goats for Druids and Casters
• •Goat Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Goat Stat Block (2014)

Two traits carry the 2014 goat. Charge needs at least 20 feet of straight movement toward the target before the ram hits. Sure-Footed gives it Advantage on Strength and Dexterity saves against being knocked prone, so the trick it uses on you rarely works on it.

The Goat in the 2024 Rules

The 2024 goat is a climbing animal, not a battering ram. It goes up cliff faces at 30 feet a round and sees in the dark, but a charging hit averages 2.5 damage instead of 6 and never knocks anyone down.

How Goats Fight: The Charge

A 2014 goat needs a straight 20-foot run, so it opens a fight from range and re-opens distance whenever it can.

Prone matters more than the damage. A Prone character spends half its movement to stand, and attackers within 5 feet have Advantage on it. One charging goat followed by a second goat ramming the prone target gets that Advantage.

Use the ground. Goats fight on slopes and ledges. The SRD doesn't make a prone creature slide or fall, so whether being knocked down on a 2-foot ledge means a fall is a DM ruling, not rules text. A fair version: on a narrow ledge, a creature knocked prone makes a DC 10 Dexterity save or goes over the edge. Announce it before the fight so the players can plan.

The 2024 goat should still charge every time it can, because the run doubles its damage, but it won't change a fight. Use its climb speed instead: it escapes up a rock face where nothing on the ground can follow.

Running a Goat Encounter

A goat is worth 10 XP. Four level 1 characters have a 2024 Low budget of 200 XP, so even twenty goats fit on paper. In practice, three or four 2014 goats on a mountain path are a fair, short complication, and six can knock half the party flat in a round. The 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide math agrees that a herd is easy: six goats are 60 XP, doubled to 120 for a group of 3 to 6, which is only Easy for four level 1 characters. Check it in our encounter calculator. The calculator doesn't count the cliff.

For a goat that's a real fight, the giant goat is CR 1/2, Large, with 19 hit points and a +5 ram. Its own charge and knockdown rules survived into 2024.

How Players Beat a Charging Goat

• •Take away the run. Charge needs 20 feet of straight movement. Stand in a narrow, twisting spot or close to obstacles, and the goat can't build up speed.
• •Hit it once. AC 10 and 4 hit points. Most weapon hits kill it.
• •Shove it off the ledge. Sure-Footed gives the 2014 goat Advantage on saving throws against being knocked prone. A 2014 shove is a contested check, not a save, so Sure-Footed doesn't apply, and on a ledge, shoving it 5 feet away is better than knocking it down anyway.
• •Stay calm and feed it. Animal Friendship works (Intelligence 2). Goats are domestic animals; a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check is enough to calm a herder's goats.

Goats for Druids and Casters

Wild Shape. CR 0 and no fly or swim speed, so it's a level 2 form in both editions. The 2014 goat's 6-damage charge is strong for a CR 0 form, though a wolf (CR 1/4, also legal at level 2) hits harder without needing a run-up. The 2024 goat is a climbing form that keeps up with a party at 40 feet and scales cliffs at 30.

Conjure Animals (2014). The spell can summon eight beasts of CR 1/4 or lower. Eight 2014 goats charging a line of enemies with AC 15 hit 45% of the time each, for about 22 damage a round, and knock roughly one in five attacks' targets prone if those targets have Strength +0 (45% hit, then 45% failed save). The 2024 spell summons a spectral pack instead of stat blocks, so this doesn't apply.

Familiar (2024). The 2024 Find Familiar allows any CR 0 Beast, so a Medium goat familiar is legal. It can't attack. Whether a Small character can ride a goat familiar is a DM ruling: the mounted combat rules require a willing creature one size larger with suitable anatomy, and a familiar obeys its caster, but the SRD doesn't address it.

Goat Encounter Ideas

The bridge. A shepherd's three goats graze near a rope bridge and charge anyone who crosses toward their pasture. On a 2014 table, a prone character on a rope bridge is a real problem.

The mountain guide. A 2024 druid guide takes goat form to scout a cliff route the party can't climb. Halfway up, she spots the ogre camp and has to get back down without being seen.

The sacrifice. Cultists keep a black goat for a ritual at the new moon. Stealing it ruins the ritual; the goat doesn't cooperate, and it charges.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the goat's Charge do in 5e?

In the 2014 rules, if the goat moves at least 20 feet straight toward a target and hits with its ram, it deals an extra 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage, and a creature must make a DC 10 Strength save or be knocked prone. The 2024 goat only deals 2 (1d4) instead of 1 after such a run, with no prone effect.

What CR is a goat?

CR 0, worth 10 XP, in both editions. The giant goat is CR 1/2 (100 XP).

Can goats climb in 5e?

The 2024 goat has a 30-foot climb speed. The 2014 goat has only a 40-foot walking speed.

Can a druid turn into a goat?

Yes, from druid level 2 in both editions.

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.