Thug NPC Stat Block 5e: Pack Tactics, Toughs and the Tough Boss

The Thug is the 5e NPC stat block for hired muscle: debt collectors, gang enforcers, a crime lord's door staff. It's CR 1/2 (100 XP) with AC 11 from leather armor, 32 hit points, two mace attacks a turn, and Pack Tactics, which gives it Advantage on any attack against a target that one of its allies is standing next to. Thugs work in pairs, and a pair is much more dangerous than two singles. The 2024 rules rename it the Tough (same CR and hit points, but only one attack a turn) and add a CR 4 Tough Boss to lead the crew.

Table of Contents

• •Thug Stat Block (2014)
• •The 2024 Tough and Tough Boss
• •How Thugs Fight
• •How Many Thugs for a Level 2 to 5 Party?
• •How Players Beat Thugs
• •Thug Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Thug Stat Block (2014)

Two numbers carry this block. Multiattack with two maces doubles its damage compared to most CR 1/2 humanoids, and 32 hit points means it takes three or four hits from a level 2 party to drop. AC 11 means those hits come easily. A thug trades damage, and with Pack Tactics it usually wins the trade.

The heavy crossbow is the weak link: +2 to hit (Dexterity 11 gives no bonus) for 5 damage. It's there so a thug on a rooftop can still do something, not as its main attack.

The 2024 Tough and Tough Boss

The 2024 SRD has no thug. Its closest replacement is the Tough, and a Tough Boss runs the crew.

The big change is easy to miss: the 2024 Tough lost Multiattack. It has the same CR and hit points as the thug but deals about half the damage. A crew of 2024 Toughs is a lot of hit points to chew through without much threat behind them. That's why the Tough Boss exists. It's the damage of the crew: two warhammer hits of 12 each with Pack Tactics, and every hit can push a Large or smaller target 10 feet straight away.

If you run 2014 thugs at a 2024 table, they're a harder CR 1/2 than the book's math assumes. If you run 2024 Toughs, put a Boss or a bandit captain with them.

How Thugs Fight

Pack Tactics turns a pair into a gang. A thug has Advantage on an attack roll if an ally that isn't incapacitated is within 5 feet of the target. The ally doesn't need to attack. Against a level 2 fighter with AC 16:

Three 2014 thugs around one character put out about 23 damage a round. That will drop most level 2 characters in a single round.

Pick a target and surround it. Thugs aren't subtle. Two step up to the same character, then the third does too. They target whoever is easiest to reach and hasn't got a friend next to them: the rogue who scouted ahead, the cleric who stopped to heal.

Ranged Pack Tactics. Pack Tactics works on any attack roll, so a thug with a heavy crossbow gets Advantage against a target its ally is already fighting in melee. That makes the crossbow worth using against a character who is pinned down by another thug.

The Boss pushes people where it wants them. The Tough Boss's warhammer pushes 10 feet straight away. Use it to knock a character off a dock or a balcony, into a fire, or away from the wizard they were guarding. The push is "up to 10 feet," so a Boss that wants a second hit can push 0 on the first and the full 10 on the second.

Enforcers, not fanatics. Thugs work for money. Intimidation +2 (2014) says they'd rather scare than fight. Have them threaten first, back off when the employer's pay isn't worth dying for, and sell out the boss for coin or freedom. A thug at 10 hit points with two dead friends tends to drop the mace.

How Many Thugs for a Level 2 to 5 Party?

Using the 2024 XP budget (SRD 5.2.1) for four characters:

The 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (which our encounter calculator uses) give four thugs 400 × 2 = 800 effective XP, exactly the Deadly threshold for four level 2 characters. With 2014 thugs that's accurate: four thugs ganging up in pairs can drop two characters in a round. With 2024 Toughs, the same four hit far less often (one mace each), and by the 2024 budget 400 XP is a Low encounter for that party.

How Players Beat Thugs

• •Break the pairs. Pack Tactics needs an ally within 5 feet of the target. Fight from a doorway or corridor where only one thug can reach you, or push them apart with Thunderwave (10 feet on a failed Constitution save).
• •Incapacitate the partner. An incapacitated ally doesn't count for Pack Tactics. Hold Person on one thug turns off its partner's Advantage too.
• •Target mental saves. Thugs and Toughs have +0 Wisdom, Intelligence and Charisma, and they're Humanoids in both editions. Command, Charm Person and Suggestion are excellent. The Tough Boss has +5 Strength and Constitution saves, so avoid those against it.
• •Shoot them. AC 11 or 12 and weak crossbows. A party with ranged attacks and a defensible position wins easily.
• •Negotiate. Thugs are paid by someone else. Out-bribing the employer or proving the job is a setup ends the fight with no blood.

Thug Encounter Ideas

The collection call. Two thugs show up at the party's favorite tavern to collect protection money from the owner. They're polite until refused. A third thug waits outside with a heavy crossbow, watching the door. If the party wins, the gang sends a Tough Boss and four Toughs next week.

The warehouse floor. Six thugs guard smuggled goods on a dock warehouse with stacked crates, a loading crane and a trapdoor to the water. The Tough Boss's push and a 10-foot drop into the harbor make positioning matter more than damage.

The turncoat. A thug captured in the first fight offers to sell out his boss. The information is real, and so is the ambush he warns about. What he doesn't mention is that the boss is his brother.

Recurring gangs make for recurring villains. Loreify can record your sessions and keep track of which thugs the party let go and who they work for.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a thug in 5e?

The thug is CR 1/2 (100 XP), with AC 11, 32 hit points and two mace attacks per turn.

What replaced the thug in the 2024 rules?

The Tough. It has the same CR, hit points and Pack Tactics, AC 12, and one mace attack instead of two. The 2024 SRD also adds a CR 4 Tough Boss with AC 16, 82 hit points and two warhammer attacks that push.

How does Pack Tactics work?

The creature has Advantage on an attack roll against a target if at least one of its allies is within 5 feet of the target and that ally isn't incapacitated. It works for ranged attacks too.

What's the difference between a thug and a bandit?

A bandit is CR 1/8 with 11 hit points and a single scimitar or crossbow attack. A thug is CR 1/2 with 32 hit points, two mace attacks and Pack Tactics. Bandits ambush on roads. Thugs enforce in towns.

Is the thug stat block a player class?

No. It's an NPC stat block for criminals and hired muscle. For a named enforcer with a face and a reason to work for the boss, try the NPC generator.

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.