Worg 5e: Stats, Goblin Riders and the 2024 Bite

A worg is a CR 1/2 Large wolf-like predator with AC 13, 26 hit points, a 50-foot speed and one attack: a +5 bite. In the 2014 rules that bite deals 10 damage and knocks the target prone on a failed DC 13 Strength save. In the 2024 rules it deals 7 damage and gives the next attack against the target Advantage, and the worg's creature type changes from Monstrosity to Fey. Worgs speak Goblin, and goblins and hobgoblins raise them as mounts.

Table of Contents

• •Worg Stat Block (2014)
• •The Worg in the 2024 Rules
• •How Worgs Fight
• •Worgs as Goblin Mounts
• •How Many Worgs for a Level 1-3 Party?
• •How Players Beat Worgs
• •Worg Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Worg Stat Block (2014)

The worg from SRD 5.1:

The SRD describes worgs as cunning, malevolent hunters that goblins and hobgoblins raise as mounts, and adds a detail worth building scenes around: a worg turns on its rider if it feels mistreated or underfed. It speaks Goblin and its own language, Worg.

Two lines carry the stat block. Speed 50 feet means no party on foot outruns it. Keen Hearing and Smell gives Advantage on Perception checks that use hearing or smell, which works out to an effective passive Perception of 19 for those senses. A party sneaking past a worg camp downwind is rolling against that number.

The Worg in the 2024 Rules

SRD 5.2.1 keeps the worg's size, AC, hit points, speed, CR and 100 XP, and changes what the bite does.

The 2024 worg is a support piece. Its own hit is weaker, but the Advantage it sets up works for anyone: a goblin rider, a second worg, or a hobgoblin with a spear. The Advantage doesn't depend on a saving throw either, so a fighter with a strong Strength save can't shrug it off the way they could shrug off the 2014 trip.

The Fey type also changes which spells work. Protection from Evil and Good covers Fey in both editions, so it gives Disadvantage to a 2024 worg's bites against the warded creature and does nothing against a 2014 worg.

How Worgs Fight

Worgs hunt in groups and pick the weakest-looking target. With 50 feet of movement they can circle past the front line and reach the wizard in one turn, so play them that way.

The 2014 trip. A worg bite hits AC 16 on an 11 or higher (50%). On a hit, the target makes a DC 13 Strength save:

A prone character gives Advantage to every melee attack against it, and standing up costs half its speed. Three 2014 worgs on one wizard play out like this: the first bite probably lands the wizard on the ground, and the next two bite with Advantage against its AC 12 (about 90% to hit). Each bite averages 10, so the wizard can take 20 to 30 damage in a round. Send the pack at whoever has the worst Strength save.

The 2024 setup. A 2024 worg's bite marks the target. The next attack against it before the worg's next turn has Advantage. Order matters: put the worg early in initiative and its allies after it. Two worgs alternate, so the second bites with Advantage and sets up the next ally.

Hit and fade. Neither version has Disengage, but at 50 feet a worg can bite, take an opportunity attack, and still be out of reach of anyone with 30-foot speed. When a worg drops below about 10 hit points, have it run. Worgs are bullies, not fanatics.

Worgs as Goblin Mounts

The goblin on worgback is the classic pairing. Here is how the mounted combat rules handle it.

• •Size works. A mount must be a willing creature at least one size larger than its rider. A Large worg can carry a Small goblin or a Medium hobgoblin.
• •Run the worg as an independent mount. A controlled mount can only Dash, Disengage or Dodge, which throws away the bite. An independent mount keeps its own place in initiative and acts as it wishes. The 2014 rules state that intelligent creatures act independently, and a worg that speaks two languages qualifies.
• •The rider gets the worg's speed. A goblin with a shortbow on a 50-foot mount shoots, uses Nimble Escape to Disengage, and leaves. Melee characters never catch it.
• •2024 synergy. Put the worg before its rider in initiative. The worg bites, the target is marked, and a 2024 Goblin Warrior or Boss on its back attacks with Advantage, which adds its extra 1d4 damage. Only the next attack gets Advantage, so a Goblin Boss rider gets it on the first of its two attacks.
• •Falling off. If the mount is moved against its will, or the rider is knocked prone, the rider makes a DC 10 Dexterity save or falls off and lands prone. In 2024 the same save applies when the mount is knocked prone. In 2014, if the mount is knocked prone, the rider can use their reaction to dismount and land on their feet; otherwise they fall prone.
• •Opportunity attacks (2014). If the mount provokes one, the attacker chooses whether to hit the mount or the rider. The 2024 SRD's mounted combat rules don't repeat this.

How Many Worgs for a Level 1-3 Party?

A worg is 100 XP. Using the 2024 XP budget per character (SRD 5.2.1), for four characters:

Under the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (used by our encounter calculator), two worgs carrying two goblins are 300 XP, doubled to 600 for a group of four creatures. That is exactly the Hard threshold for four level 2 characters, and Medium for level 3.

Three or four worgs is the sweet spot for levels 1 and 2. A goblin rider adds damage, but each one is another body that can be targeted, so a mounted warband is a good way to spend a High budget without one creature doing all the work.

How Players Beat Worgs

• •Kill the rider or kill the mount, not both halves. A goblin has 7 hit points (10 for a 2024 Warrior). Dropping it makes the worg a lone 26-HP animal that might leave. Dropping the worg puts the goblin on foot, and probably prone: in 2014 it falls prone unless it spends its reaction to land on its feet, and in 2024 it needs a DC 10 Dexterity save.
• •Push the worg. Thunderwave pushes a worg 10 feet on a failed Constitution save (worg Con +1). Being moved against its will forces the rider to make a DC 10 Dexterity save or fall off.
• •Stand in a line. Worgs flank by speed. A corridor, doorway or wagon circle takes away the circling and makes them come at the front line one at a time.
• •Strength saves matter in 2014. Characters with a weak Strength save should stay behind someone with a strong one, or keep an action ready to stand back up.
• •They aren't beasts. Speak with Animals and Animal Friendship only work on Beasts. A character who speaks Goblin can talk to a worg directly, which is often better.

Worg Encounter Ideas

The starved pack. A goblin chief has been cutting the worgs' rations to feed his own warriors. When the party arrives, the lead worg addresses them in Goblin: bring us the chief's horse herd and we will not be there tomorrow. Accepting turns the goblin camp's cavalry into an absent problem. Refusing means fighting a hungry pack that has nothing to lose.

The mail road. Three worg riders hit a courier route at dusk, always at the same ford where the road narrows between willows. They target the last wagon, grab what they can and scatter in three directions at 50 feet a round. The party has to decide which trail to follow and accept that two of the three will get away.

Downwind. The party must slip past a worg kennel to reach a hobgoblin fort. The worgs can't see far in the fog, but in 2014 their hearing and smell give them an effective passive Perception of 19 for anything they can smell or hear. Wind direction becomes the puzzle: approach from the wrong side and the kennel wakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a worg in 5e?

A worg is CR 1/2 and worth 100 XP in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. It has AC 13, 26 hit points and a 50-foot walking speed.

Is a worg a Fey or a Monstrosity?

In the 2014 rules (SRD 5.1) the worg is a Large Monstrosity. In the 2024 rules (SRD 5.2.1) it is a Large Fey. That changes how spells like Protection from Evil and Good work, which covers Fey but not Monstrosities.

Can a goblin ride a worg?

Yes. A mount must be willing and at least one size larger than its rider, so a Large worg can carry a Small goblin or a Medium hobgoblin. Run the worg as an independent mount so it keeps its bite instead of being limited to Dash, Disengage and Dodge.

What's the difference between a worg and a dire wolf?

Both are Large, have 50-foot speed and bite at +5. The dire wolf is a CR 1 Beast with AC 14, 37 hit points (22 in 2024) and Pack Tactics. The worg is a CR 1/2 Monstrosity (Fey in 2024) with 26 hit points, AC 13, no Pack Tactics, and it speaks Goblin, so it can be bargained with.

Do worgs knock you prone?

Only the 2014 worg. Its bite forces a DC 13 Strength save, and a creature that fails falls prone. The 2024 worg's bite instead gives the next attack roll against the target Advantage.

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.