Wereboar 5e: Charge, Knock Down, Refuse to Die

A wereboar is a CR 4 lycanthrope built to run at one target, knock it flat and keep swinging. The 2014 wereboar has AC 10 or 11, 78 hit points, a Charge that adds 2d6 damage and can knock a target prone, and Relentless, which keeps it on its feet at 1 hit point once per rest. It is immune to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks not made with silvered weapons. The 2024 wereboar has AC 15, 97 hit points and six javelins, loses both Relentless and the immunity, and knocks targets prone with no save at all.

Table of Contents

• •Wereboar Stat Block (2014)
• •The Wereboar in the 2024 Rules
• •How Wereboars Fight
• •How Many Wereboars for Your Party?
• •How Players Beat Wereboars
• •Wereboar Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Wereboar Stat Block (2014)

This is the SRD 5.1 wereboar, shown in its hybrid, boar and human forms.

The wereboar stays Medium in every form; its Shapechanger trait changes only its AC. Shifting costs its action.

Charge works in boar or hybrid form: if the wereboar moves at least 15 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with its tusks on the same turn, the target takes an extra 7 (2d6) slashing damage and must make a DC 13 Strength save or be knocked prone.

Relentless recharges after a short or long rest. When the wereboar takes 14 damage or less that would drop it to 0, it drops to 1 hit point instead. In practice the blow that finishes it has to deal 15 or more damage, or the party needs one extra hit.

Unlike the werebear, the wereboar's curse sits inside its Multiattack. Every hybrid turn can include one tusks attack, and every tusks hit on a Humanoid forces a DC 12 Constitution save against wereboar lycanthropy.

The Wereboar in the 2024 Rules

The 2024 wereboar (SRD 5.2.1) keeps CR 4 (1,100 XP) and the same ability scores, and gets a new kit.

The knockdown no longer allows a save. If the 2024 wereboar runs 20 feet straight at a Medium or smaller creature and hits with Tusk, that creature is Prone. A Large ally, like a horse or a summoned bear, can't be knocked down.

Relentless is gone. 97 hit points with no trick is easier to plan around than 78 with one.

It's a Monstrosity now. Hold Person and Charm Person work on the 2014 wereboar and can't target the 2024 one.

How Wereboars Fight

The wereboar's whole plan is the same in both editions: run straight at someone, knock them down, then hit them again while they're on the ground. Melee attacks against a prone creature have Advantage.

The charge turn, against AC 16 (+5 hits on 11 or higher, 50%):

The math behind the 2024 charge row: Tusk hits half the time for 17, and the target is Prone. Gore then has Advantage (75% to hit) after a knockdown or 50% without one, for an overall 62.5%. The target fails the DC 12 save on 9 or lower, 45% of the time, so the curse lands about 28% of the time.

Order matters. Always attack with the tusks first. A prone target makes the second attack easier, and in 2014 the Strength save (DC 13) is the only thing between the party's fighter and the floor.

Make room to run. Charge needs 15 feet (2014) or 20 feet (2024) of straight movement. A wereboar that starts its turn next to its target has to back off first, which provokes an opportunity attack. Put wereboars where they start far away: across a clearing, at the end of a corridor, on the other side of a road.

Which attacks count as the charge? (2024) Tusk says the wereboar must have moved 20+ feet straight toward that target "immediately before the hit," so one run sets up one target. The text doesn't say whether a second Tusk against the same target in the same Multiattack also counts. DM ruling, not rules text: only the first Tusk after the run gets the extra 2d6. In 2014 the question doesn't come up, because Multiattack allows only one tusks attack.

2024: soften them up from range. The human or hybrid form throws two javelins a turn at 30/120 feet. Six javelins is three turns of throwing. Shape-Shift is a Bonus Action, so a human-form wereboar can shift and charge on the same turn.

2014: use Relentless as a surprise. Let the party think the wereboar is done. It drops to 1 hit point, the fighter turns away, and it charges the wizard.

How Many Wereboars for Your Party?

A wereboar is worth 1,100 XP. For four characters:

Boars are CR 1/4 (50 XP) and giant boars CR 2 (450 XP) in both editions. The 2014 labels come from the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide thresholds and group multiplier, as used by our encounter difficulty calculator. A wereboar with two ordinary boars barely changes the 2024 math, but the 2014 multiplier for three creatures pushes it to Deadly at level 4. Boars have their own charge with a knockdown, so three chargers can put three characters on the ground in one round.

In 2014, Relentless is what separates the wereboar from the werewolf and wererat: neither of them has a trait that keeps it standing at 0.

How Players Beat Wereboars

• •Crowd it. A wereboar with an enemy in its face can't get a run-up without provoking an opportunity attack. The fighter's job is to stay adjacent.
• •Break the line. Difficult terrain, a table knocked over, a wall of shields, a corner: anything that stops 15 or 20 feet of straight movement turns off the charge.
• •Bring a big hit for the end (2014). Relentless only saves it from 14 damage or less. Save a smite, a sneak attack or a high-level spell for the moment it's low, or plan on hitting it twice.
• •2014: spells, silver, or magic. Its immunity covers bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks not made with silvered weapons. Magic Missile and Guiding Bolt both work.
• •Target Charisma, Dexterity, Intelligence or Wisdom. Its saves are −1, +0, +0 and +0, with no proficiencies. Against a 2014 wereboar, Hold Person is a strong pick.
• •Force it back to human. Moonbeam reverts a shapechanger that fails its save. In human form it has no tusks, so no curse and no charge.

Wereboar Encounter Ideas

The toll ditch. Three wereboars run a "toll" on a forest road. In human form they stand in the drainage ditch and throw javelins (2024) at anyone who won't pay. When the party charges, they shift and charge back across the 30-foot-wide road, which gives every one of them a straight run.

The causeway. A 5-foot-wide stone causeway crosses a marsh. A wereboar waits at the far end. Every charge is a straight line, every knockdown leaves a character prone at the edge, and stepping off means wading. The party has to cross under fire or find another way around.

The butcher's apprentices (2024). A butcher has been biting his apprentices to build a gang. Two are cursed and don't know it. When a brawl breaks out at the harvest fair and one of them drops to 0 hit points, he gets up as a wereboar under the GM's control. Loreify can record the session so you know which apprentice the party already met.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a wereboar in 5e?

A wereboar is CR 4 (1,100 XP) in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. The 2014 version has 78 hit points and AC 10 or 11. The 2024 version has 97 hit points and AC 15.

How does the wereboar's Relentless work?

Once per short or long rest, when the 2014 wereboar takes 14 damage or less that would reduce it to 0 hit points, it drops to 1 hit point instead. A hit of 15 or more ignores it. The 2024 wereboar doesn't have Relentless.

Is a wereboar immune to nonmagical attacks?

The 2014 wereboar is immune to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks not made with silvered weapons, so silvered or magic weapons and spells are needed. The 2024 wereboar has no damage immunities.

How do you get wereboar lycanthropy?

In 2014, a Humanoid hit by the wereboar's tusks makes a DC 12 Constitution save or is cursed. In 2024 the curse comes from its Gore attack, also DC 12; a cursed creature that drops to 0 hit points becomes a wereboar under the GM's control with 10 hit points.

What alignment is a wereboar?

Both SRD stat blocks list the wereboar as neutral evil.

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.