Hobgoblin 5e: Stats, Formations and the 2024 Hobgoblin Captain

A hobgoblin is a CR 1/2 Medium goblinoid soldier with AC 18, only 11 hit points, a longsword and longbow at +3, and Martial Advantage: once per turn it deals an extra 7 (2d6) damage to a creature that has one of the hobgoblin's allies next to it. Alone, a hobgoblin is a tin can with a sword. In a line of three or four, it hits like a creature twice its CR. The 2024 rules split it into a Hobgoblin Warrior (same CR, swaps Martial Advantage for Pack Tactics and hits much harder) and a Hobgoblin Captain (CR 3, whose aura gives nearby hobgoblins Advantage on attacks and saves), and both are Fey instead of Humanoid. This page covers the monster stat blocks, not a player character option.

Table of Contents

• •Hobgoblin Stat Block (2014)
• •The 2024 Hobgoblins: Warrior and Captain
• •How Hobgoblins Fight
• •How Many Hobgoblins for Your Party?
• •How Players Beat Hobgoblins
• •Hobgoblin Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Hobgoblin Stat Block (2014)

This is the hobgoblin from SRD 5.1. It is the only hobgoblin in the 2014 SRD.

The armor and the hit points tell opposite stories. Chain mail and a shield put it at AC 18, which a level 1 character with +5 to hit only beats on a 13 or higher (40%). But 11 hit points is one good hit from a greataxe or two from a shortsword. Fights against hobgoblins feel slow for a round or two and then collapse quickly.

Its attacks are ordinary: +3 longsword or longbow for 5 damage, with Strength 13 and Dexterity 12 behind them. Everything interesting is in Martial Advantage, which applies to any weapon attack, bows included, as long as one of the hobgoblin's allies is within 5 feet of the target and isn't incapacitated. The ally doesn't have to be a hobgoblin.

The 2024 Hobgoblins: Warrior and Captain

SRD 5.2.1 replaces the one hobgoblin with a rank-and-file soldier and an officer.

What changed from 2014:

The changes that matter at the table:

• •The Warrior hits harder on its own. Its longsword deals 12 (2d10 + 1) every hit, and its longbow deals 12 total (5 piercing plus 7 poison). A 2014 hobgoblin only reaches 12 when Martial Advantage applies. Same CR, same XP, roughly double the damage.
• •Support changes from damage to accuracy. Pack Tactics gives Advantage instead of bonus dice. Against AC 16, a +3 attack hits on a 13 or higher, 40% of the time. With Advantage that becomes 64%.
• •The Captain is a force multiplier. Its Aura of Authority is a 10-foot Emanation that moves with it. Every ally inside has Advantage on attack rolls and on saving throws, as long as the Captain isn't Incapacitated. Warriors in melee already get Advantage from Pack Tactics, so the aura's real gifts are Advantage on saves and Advantage for archers who stand near the Captain.
• •They are Fey now. Like the 2024 goblins, hobgoblins stop being valid targets for Hold Person and Charm Person and become valid targets for Protection from Evil and Good.
• •Poison damage. Both 2024 stat blocks add poison to their attacks. Characters with resistance to poison damage (a 2024 dwarf, or anyone under Protection from Poison) halve that part.

If your table uses the 2014 books, use the 2014 hobgoblin and write your own officer or borrow a veteran. If you mix rules, treat the 2024 Warrior as a harder hobgoblin, not a drop-in.

How Hobgoblins Fight

Hobgoblins are built around one condition: an ally next to the target. Every tactic follows from making that true as often as possible.

Expected damage per attack against AC 16:

The Captain's number assumes Greatsword hits on a 12 or higher (45%) improved to about 70% by its aura, which includes itself.

The shield wall. Put two or three hobgoblins in melee shoulder to shoulder, each adjacent to the same enemy. Every one of them satisfies the condition for the others. A level 1 fighter facing three 2014 hobgoblins takes about 14 damage a round; facing three 2024 Warriors, about 23.

Archers behind the line. Neither trait cares where the attacker is standing, only where its ally is. Once one hobgoblin engages a character in melee, every hobgoblin archer shooting that character gets Martial Advantage (2014) or Pack Tactics (2024). A unit of four, two in front and two with bows 60 feet back, gets that bonus on almost every attack with no extra rules.

Pin, don't chase. Hobgoblins are slow to kill but easy to kill once caught, so they shouldn't break formation to chase a rogue. Hold the line, shoot what's out of reach, and let the party come to the wall. Doorways and bridges are their natural ground.

Use the Captain's 10 feet. A Captain in the second rank, directly behind two Warriors, keeps them inside its aura while staying out of reach of most melee attacks. Archers within 10 feet of it shoot with Advantage at anyone, no ally needed. When a spellcaster targets the line with a saving throw, everyone in the aura rolls twice.

Retreat in order. Hobgoblins are lawful soldiers, not a mob. When the Captain falls or half the unit is down, the survivors fall back to a prepared position and regroup instead of scattering. That makes them good recurring enemies: the party beats a patrol and meets the survivors again behind a palisade.

How Many Hobgoblins for Your Party?

Hobgoblins and Hobgoblin Warriors are 100 XP each; the Hobgoblin Captain is 700. Using the 2024 budget for four characters:

A Captain against a level 2 party fits the High budget but is brutal: 58 hit points and about 17 damage a turn means it can drop a level 2 wizard or rogue every turn while the party chips at AC 17. Save it for level 3 or later.

Under the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines, which our encounter calculator uses, four hobgoblins are 400 XP, doubled to 800 for a group of three to six. That is Deadly for four level 2 characters and Medium for four level 3 characters. At level 1, even three hobgoblins (600 adjusted) are well past the Deadly line of 400.

Two adjustments the XP math doesn't capture:

• •Terrain swings hobgoblins more than most monsters. In a 5-foot corridor, only one hobgoblin can reach the front-liner, and no ally stands next to the target. On an open field, four of them surround one character and every attack qualifies.
• •Mixed goblinoid forces are their natural state. Goblins as skirmishers, hobgoblins as the line, a bugbear as the brute and worgs on the flanks. Spend the budget across roles rather than on more hobgoblins.

How Players Beat Hobgoblins

Against AC 18, attack rolls are the slow way. Saves, positioning and the Captain are the fast way.

• •Break the adjacency. Martial Advantage and Pack Tactics both need an ally within 5 feet of the target. Fight in narrow spaces, step back so only one hobgoblin can follow, or use Thunderwave, which pushes every creature that fails its Constitution save 10 feet away and deals 2d8 (average 9) thunder damage to hobgoblins with 11 hit points.
• •Make them save. Hobgoblins have Wisdom +0 and Charisma −1, and Dexterity and Constitution of only +1. Burning Hands averages 10.5 damage, nearly a full hobgoblin, and needs no attack roll against that AC 18.
• •Use the Humanoid spells on 2014 hobgoblins. Hold Person and Charm Person work. Sleep, from the 2014 SRD, rolls 5d8 hit points' worth of slumber (average 22.5), enough to drop two 11-hit-point hobgoblins in one casting.
• •Don't count on them against 2024 hobgoblins. Fey can't be targeted by Hold Person or Charm Person. Protection from Evil and Good is the replacement: Fey have Disadvantage on attacks against the warded creature, which cancels Pack Tactics and the Captain's aura for attacks against that character.
• •Drop or disable the Captain first. Aura of Authority shuts off the moment the Captain is Incapacitated. Its own saves have Advantage from its aura, so spells that don't allow a save are the most reliable: Magic Missile always hits, and focusing three or four characters' attacks on its AC 17 for one round usually beats waiting for a save to fail.
• •Pull the line apart. Hobgoblins hold formation, so bait them. A character who backs off 15 feet forces the hobgoblins to choose between holding the line and keeping the target adjacent to an ally.

Hobgoblin Encounter Ideas

The checkpoint. A hobgoblin unit has built a timber gate across the only pass through the hills and checks every traveler for written passes. Two Warriors stand at the gate with shields locked, two archers watch from a raised walkway, and a Captain sits in the gatehouse. They are lawful: show them a pass, pay the posted toll or offer them a fair trade and they let the party through. Forged papers are a Deception check against a Captain who has seen the real thing.

The press-ganged warband. A tribe of goblins has been forced into service by a hobgoblin Captain and four Warriors. The goblins scout and skirmish ahead while the hobgoblins hold a line behind them. The goblins hate their masters. If the party kills the Captain in sight of them, the goblins scatter or, with a little Persuasion, turn on the Warriors.

The deserter's horn. A wounded hobgoblin Warrior, alone in a ditch, deserted after his Captain executed a squadmate for breaking ranks. He has the unit's signal horn and knows its calls: advance, hold, fall back. He'll teach them to the party in exchange for safe passage. Blown at the right moment, the fall-back call pulls the shield wall apart for one round. If your table needs help remembering which call does what, Loreify can record the session and keep that NPC and his horn calls in your campaign notes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a hobgoblin in 5e?

The 2014 hobgoblin is CR 1/2 (100 XP). In the 2024 rules, the Hobgoblin Warrior is CR 1/2 (100 XP) and the Hobgoblin Captain is CR 3 (700 XP).

How does Martial Advantage work?

Once per turn, a 2014 hobgoblin that hits a creature with a weapon attack deals an extra 7 (2d6) damage if that creature is within 5 feet of an ally of the hobgoblin that isn't incapacitated. It works with the longbow as well as the longsword. The 2024 Hobgoblin Warrior replaces it with Pack Tactics, which grants Advantage under the same condition.

What is the difference between a goblin and a hobgoblin?

Both are goblinoids, but they fight in opposite ways. Goblins are Small, sneaky and fragile, and rely on hiding and hit-and-run with Nimble Escape. Hobgoblins are Medium, heavily armored soldiers (AC 18) that stand in formation and deal their best damage when an ally is next to their target.

Are hobgoblins Fey in 5e?

In the 2024 rules, yes: the Hobgoblin Warrior and Hobgoblin Captain are Medium Fey (Goblinoid). The 2014 hobgoblin is a Medium Humanoid (goblinoid). Hold Person and Charm Person work on the 2014 version only.

What does the Hobgoblin Captain's Aura of Authority do?

While the Captain isn't Incapacitated, it and its allies within a 10-foot Emanation around it have Advantage on attack rolls and saving throws. Incapacitate or kill the Captain and the aura ends immediately.

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.