Veteran NPC Stat Block 5e: Multiattack Math and the 2024 Warrior Veteran

This page covers the veteran NPC stat block (renamed Warrior Veteran in the 2024 rules), the creature for a sellsword, a retired sergeant or the one guard in the barracks who has seen real war. It's a CR 3 Medium Humanoid worth 700 XP, with AC 17 from splint armor and a three-attack Multiattack in 2014: two longsword swings plus a shortsword. The 2024 Warrior Veteran swaps to a greatsword, gains 7 hit points (65 instead of 58), fires its heavy crossbow twice a turn for 12 damage a bolt, and picks up a Parry reaction the 2014 veteran never had.

Table of Contents

• •Veteran Stat Block (2014)
• •The 2024 Warrior Veteran
• •How Veterans Fight
• •How Many Veterans for Your Party?
• •How Players Beat Veterans
• •Veteran Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Veteran Stat Block (2014)

The SRD 5.1 veteran is a straightforward melee soldier: good armor, average hit points and a three-weapon Multiattack.

The Multiattack rewards dual-wielding. "Two longsword attacks. If it has a shortsword drawn, it can also make a shortsword attack." The veteran gets three attacks with a longsword in one hand and a shortsword in the other, or two with the longsword held in both hands. The numbers settle which to use:

Run it with the shortsword drawn every time. Three attacks also means more chances to land a hit on a concentrating caster, and each hit forces a separate Concentration save.

No reaction, no tricks. The 2014 veteran has no Parry, no traits and no save proficiencies. Its only skills are Athletics +5 and Perception +2. It's a soldier, and only as clever as you play it.

The 2024 Warrior Veteran

SRD 5.2.1 renames it Warrior Veteran and rebuilds the kit around a greatsword and a crossbow.

What changes in play:

• •Melee damage stays the same. Two greatsword hits at 10 each is 20, the same as the 2014 three-weapon maximum. Against AC 16, both average about 10 a round. The 2024 version just doesn't need a second weapon drawn to get there.
• •Ranged damage quadruples. Two 12-damage bolts against AC 16 average about 9.6 a round, against 2.4 for the 2014 veteran. A 2024 squad on a wall is a real firing line.
• •Parry makes it tankier. Parry plus 7 extra hit points means the Warrior Veteran lasts noticeably longer under melee pressure.

How Veterans Fight

Veterans fight like people who have done this before. That means formation, focus fire and a plan to leave.

Hold a line. Two veterans shoulder to shoulder in a 10-foot corridor make a wall with AC 17. Nobody walks past without taking opportunity attacks, and with Parry (2024), the first melee hit each round against each of them has a chance to bounce.

Focus the caster. A veteran knows that the robed one is the problem. Three attacks (2014) or two crossbow bolts (2024) on the wizard each turn is far more effective than trading blows with the fighter. Each hit forces a Concentration save, and the 2014 veteran's three attacks mean up to three saves a turn.

Shoot, then close (2024). At 100 feet the Warrior Veteran fires twice. When the party advances into melee range, it draws the greatsword. The 2014 veteran should skip the crossbow unless it can't reach anyone.

Parry, worked out (2024). Parry adds 2 to AC 17 after a hit. Against a +7 attacker, AC 17 is hit on 10 to 20 (55%); Parry turns rolls of 10 and 11 into misses, dropping that one attack to 45%. Use it on the heaviest hitter it can see, since it only has one reaction per round.

Know when to quit. Most veterans fight for pay, and dead mercenaries don't get paid. When the employer falls or the veteran drops below half hit points, it offers to stop, and it'll take a better contract if the party offers one. A veteran that surrenders and later shows up at the party's door asking for work is a memorable NPC.

How Many Veterans for Your Party?

A veteran is worth 700 XP. The 2024 SRD XP budget for four characters:

The 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (used by our encounter calculator) are tougher on pairs: two veterans count as 2,100 XP after the ×1.5 multiplier, Deadly for four level 4 characters and Medium for four level 5 characters.

Veterans are good opponents from level 3 to level 6 and solid bodyguards after that. For a captain who runs a squad of them, pair them with a knight (better AC, Leadership in 2014). For a tougher, stranger veteran, the SRD has the half-red dragon veteran, which adds fire breath.

How Players Beat Veterans

• •Use spells, not swords. The veteran has no save proficiencies. Its Wisdom, Intelligence and Charisma saves are +0. Hold Person at DC 14 lands 65% of the time. Attacks against a Paralyzed veteran have Advantage, and any hit from within 5 feet is a critical hit.
• •Fear works. Unlike the knight, it has no Brave trait or Frightened immunity. A Frightened veteran can't move closer to the source of its fear, which breaks up a shield wall.
• •Area damage on the formation. Two veterans side by side in a corridor are a perfect target for Burning Hands, Shatter or Fireball. Their Dex save is +1 and their Con save (for Shatter) +2.
• •Outrange the 2014 veteran. It has one +3 crossbow shot a turn. Archers 60 feet away win that exchange easily.
• •Get cover against the 2024 squad. Two crossbow bolts per veteran per turn add up fast. Half cover (+2 AC) or three-quarters cover (+5 AC) cuts their hit chance; see our cover rules guide.
• •Buy them off. A good offer, a good Persuasion check or an employer who's already dead ends most veteran fights.

Veteran Encounter Ideas

The innkeeper. The innkeeper at the party's favorite tavern is a veteran who left a mercenary company twenty years ago. When her old captain arrives with four bandits to collect "back dues," she asks the party to stand with her. She fights well, but she wants the captain alive; he saved her life once.

The company that switches sides. A free company of four veterans is guarding a merchant caravan the party is ambushing (or defending). Midway through the fight, their captain shouts an offer: double pay and they walk. Whoever pays it gets four veterans on their side for the rest of the fight.

The training yard. A city watch is teaching recruits, and the drillmaster (a veteran) challenges the party's fighter to a public bout with blunted weapons in front of the recruits. Winning earns the watch's respect and access to the barracks; losing earns an invitation to drink with the drillmaster, who knows more about the city's crime than the watch captain.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a veteran in 5e?

The veteran is CR 3 and worth 700 XP. The 2024 version, the Warrior Veteran, is also CR 3 and 700 XP.

What is the 2024 version of the veteran?

The Warrior Veteran in SRD 5.2.1. It has AC 17, 65 hit points, two greatsword attacks (10 damage each) or two heavy crossbow attacks (12 each), and a Parry reaction.

How many attacks does a veteran get?

The 2014 veteran makes two longsword attacks and a third with a shortsword if it has one drawn, for up to 20 damage. The 2024 Warrior Veteran makes two attacks with its greatsword or heavy crossbow.

Does the veteran have Parry?

Only in 2024. The Warrior Veteran's Parry adds 2 to its AC against one melee attack roll that hits it, as long as it's holding a weapon. The 2014 veteran has no reaction.

What's the difference between a veteran and a knight?

Both are CR 3. The knight has AC 18 and support or radiant damage depending on edition, and is built as a sworn champion. The veteran has AC 17, more raw attacks in 2014 and more hit points in both editions (58 and 65 against the knight's 52). It's a professional soldier who fights for pay.

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.