AC 16 (leather brigandine, medium shield)
HP 19 (3d8 + 6; bloodied 9)
Speed 30 ft.
Proficiency +2; Maneuver DC 11
Skills Perception +2, Survival +2
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Common, Goblin
Formation Movement. If the hobgoblin begins its turn within 5 feet of an ally that is not incapacitated , its movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks .
ACTIONS
Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d8 + 1) slashing damage, or 10 (2d8 + 1) slashing damage if within 5 feet of an ally that is not incapacitated .
Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d8 + 1) piercing damage.
Combat
Hobgoblins try to move and attack in formation, staying within 5 feet of an ally. The first hobgoblin to approach an enemy often readies an action to attack when it’s joined by an ally. Hobgoblins look for advantages that can be found from cover , darkness , flanking, or terrain . Hobgoblins retreat only when ordered to or when all superiors are killed and they are reduced to half their original number. Even when retreating, one hobgoblin sometimes remains behind to hold off an enemy while the others withdraw.
Names
Attalauth, Belisur, Drutalos, Glargoth, Kotlon, Quellus, Skariis, Urux, Zellord, Ziuth
Legends and Lore
With a History or Nature check, characters can learn the following:
DC 10 Hobgoblins are formidable humanoids with fangs and pointed ears. Their culture is overtly expansionist: over the centuries, numerous hobgoblin empires have threatened to conquer the world.
DC 15 Every member of hobgoblin society belongs to a legion, a dynastic clan that doubles as a military unit. Hobgoblins are fanatically loyal to their legion, with few exceptions.
DC 20 Hobgoblin warlords are brilliant tacticians and often direct wolves, elephants, or even trained dinosaurs to fight alongside their troops in battle.
The history of hobgoblins is that of the rise and fall of empires. Time and again, hobgoblin armies have ridden forth to subjugate weaker civilizations beyond their borders. Only the collective opposition of rival nations (efforts usually led by elves) has prevented hobgoblins from conquering the world. The ruins of great hobgoblin empires now litter the landscape, with each new generation struggling to reclaim the glory of its predecessors.
Physically, hobgoblins resemble tall, brawny humanoids with pointed ears and fanged teeth. Hobgoblin noses are often more brightly colored than their other features. Hobgoblins with brilliant red or blue noses typically hold positions of authority in hobgoblin society.
Excellence in Everything. Hobgoblins consider excellence the highest virtue. They prize hard-earned experience as much as innate talent, selecting leaders from those who have proven themselves most fit to rule. Because their culture is militaristic, hobgoblins value martial prowess, although aptitude in the arcane arts, religious devotion, or mastery of a trade are also respected to some degree. Even hobgoblins who pursue poetry or music might be admired, but only if their works celebrate the accomplishments of the culture as a whole.
Legion Above All. Hobgoblins divide their society into ancestral clans known as legions. Although superficially similar to military regiments, hobgoblin legions inspire even greater loyalty from their members. A hobgoblin family might identify with the same legion for a dozen generations or more. Those who betray or fail their legion are either humiliated and exiled or publicly tortured and killed.
Monster Tamers. Hobgoblins believe that discipline sharpens passion into unwavering purpose. Nowhere is this conviction more evident than in the hobgoblin tradition of taming wild beasts. Hobgoblin beast-masters raise wolves , messenger birds, and even more exotic creatures, like mammoths or dinosaurs, to support their legions on the battlefield. Hobgoblins armies also incorporate bugbears and goblins into their ranks. These “lesser” goblinoids are often treated as only slightly cleverer than beasts. Nevertheless, a hobgoblin warlord can mold a mob of squabbling goblinoids into a cohesive fighting force.
Lone Behavior
1 Scouting
2 Looking for lost companions
3 Exiled from fellows
4 Carrying a message
Group Behavior
1 Patrolling: if it spies trespassers, will send messengers to a larger group
2 Returning from a successful raid
3 Setting out on a raid
4 The leader is eager for glory in battle or a one-on-one duel
5 Burning an outpost or farm
6 Hunting for wild beasts to subdue and train; may have already captured an owlbear or cave bear
7 Fleeing from a lost battle; eager to join forces against a common foe
8 Have been hired as mercenaries to guard the border of a human noble’s land
9 Guarding an outpost or escorting a caravan
10 Setting out to join a larger army
1 Boot tracks
2 Distant orders yelled in Goblin
3 A recent campsite or camp, very neat
4 A distant glint of metal or firelight
5 A warhorn
6 Ground trampled by many boots
7 Pillaged and burned village or caravan
8 Goblin sentries
Hobgoblins have boots on the ground everywhere but favor warmer climes.
CR 0–2 1 or 2 hobgoblins ; hobgoblin with 1 or 2 goblins
Treasure 65 gp, 150 sp, lute
CR 3–4 3 or 4 hobgoblins ; 3 hobgoblins with bugbear , death dog , or raven ; hobgoblin captain
Treasure 150 gp, detailed local map (75 gp), bundle of hobgoblin epic poetry (25 gp), potion of healing , 5 1 arrows
CR 5–10 hobgoblin captain with 1d6 + 1 hobgoblins ; 1d4 + 2 hobgoblins riding worgs or giant bats ; 1d4 + 2 hobgoblins with ballista, cave bear , or ogre
Treasure 600 gp, 900 sp, cart containing 300 gp of trade goods, potion of hill giant strength , boots of striding and springing
CR 11–16 hobgoblin warlord with 2 hobgoblin captains , all riding worgs ; hobgoblin warlord with 1d6 + 4 hobgoblins and catapult, hill giant , mage, or troll
Treasure 500 gp, griffon egg, 2 greatsword (named Discipline; its wielder and their allies within 30 feet are immune to fear )
CR 17–22 hobgoblin warlord with 2 hobgoblin captains , 1d8 + 4 hobgoblins , and one of the following: airship, 1d4 + 1 bugbears , diplodocus , 1d10 + 10 goblins , mammoth , 2 ogres , trebuchet, or tyrannosaurus rex
Treasure locked chest containing 10,000 gp, incomplete treatise on military tactics (200 gp), 1 full plate (spiked; at the beginning of the wearer’s turn, anyone grappling or grappled by the wearer takes 1d4 piercing damage)
Humanoids include a number of different intelligent, language-using bipeds of Small or Medium size. Humans and elves are humanoids, and so are orcs and goblins. Humanoids may employ magic but are not fundamentally magical—a characteristic that distinguishes them from bipedal, language-using fey, fiends, and other monsters. Humanoids have no inherent alignment, meaning that no humanoid ancestry is naturally good or evil, lawful or chaotic.