D&D 5e players confused by “unrealistic” reason goblins are stronger than humans
Wizards of the CoastSome D&D 5e players have discovered the strange reason why goblins are considered more threatening than human guards in the rules, despite the size and gear difference between them.
Dungeons & Dragons 5e uses the Challenge Rating system. All monsters have a Challenge Rating, which determines the threat they’ll pose to the average party of 4-6 adventurers. The system is wonky at times, but it’s a decent baseline for planning encounters when creating homebrew adventures.
According to the Monster Manual, guards are considered Challenge Rating 1/8 creatures. This means eight of them should make for an average encounter with a group of 4 to 6 level 1 characters.
Meanwhile, goblins are Challenge Rating 1/4 creatures, which means four of them are a challenge to the same party. This is despite the goblins having lower hit points and Armor Class than guards while only possessing marginally stronger attacks.
D&D 5e’s goblins are stronger than humans thanks to action economy
A user on the DnD Reddit has created a thread asking why goblins are considered so much stronger than guards, considering the disparity between their stats and gear. While many users argued that goblins are fiercer than “rent a cop” guards, there’s a more concrete reason.
“Nimble Escape and Stealth, presumably,” one player explained, “Remember CR is about the game, so well run goblins, hiding and scampering away every turn, will be trickier than just guards.”
One player broke it down with math. “11hp 16 ac 1d6+1 with a +3 to hit vs 7hp 15 ac with 1d6+2 with a +4 to hit. Just with those stats alone a goblin has better offense while a guard has better defense.”
“However, the moment you add nimble escape in, they can functionally add 4 to their AC, due to being able to consistently get behind cover or get hidden. Special features drive CR a lot more heavily than many assume.”
Another player summed things up thusly. “Action economy. Nimble escape is a b—h.”
What goblins lack in durability, they make up for with their ability to use Hide as a Bonus Action, giving them Advantage on attacks and forcing Disadvantage on enemy attacks.
By comparison, the guards must spend their Action to use the same tactic, which means they can’t attack.
Therefore, a goblin can use the action economy to gain a huge advantage in combat despite being weaker or similar on every other front. This makes them much fiercer monsters than regular human guards.
