Hobgoblin Lancer 1
Hobgoblin Lancer 1 — The Encounter
Reach-fighter of the legion, glaive set to gut the charge · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Hobgoblin Lancer 1
Where the berserkers are the legion's fist, the lancers are its hedge of thorns. Drilled to fight from the second rank, a hobgoblin lancer reaches past the shield-bearers ahead to gut whatever presses the line, then braces its glaive for the next thing foolish enough to charge. Their armor is scaled in the draconic fashion of their cohort, a fashion borrowed from the old wyrm-pacts their legion once swore. A lancer alone is merely a competent soldier; a lancer in formation is a problem, because two of them turn a ten-foot corridor into a killing ground no one crosses on the first try. Captured lancers are prized as drill-masters, for they understand spacing the way other soldiers understand only the swing.
Run Hobgoblin Lancer 1 in Sixty Seconds
- Don't move. If the lancer stands still it braces; the first PC into its 10 ft. reach takes 2d6 piercing (DC 13 for half).
- Reach is the whole point. It hits from 10 ft. and uses Pole Sweep on anyone who tries to disengage.
- Kill-priority. It jabs past the front line at casters and archers who step into range.
- When bloodied. It gives ground one step at a time, Pole Sweeping each foe that follows.
- Three ways to run it: a paired corridor-lock, a second-rank anchor behind shields, or a lair controller beside a bigger boss.
Hobgoblin Lancer 1
Medium humanoid (goblinoid), lawful evil
CR 2 · 450 XP · GUIDELINEMartial Advantage. Once per turn, the lancer deals an extra 7 (2d6) damage to a creature it hits with a weapon attack if that creature is within 5 ft. of an ally of the lancer that isn't incapacitated.
Set for the Charge. Signature. If the lancer didn't move this turn, the reach of its glaive counts as a braced point: the first creature to enter its reach takes 7 (2d6) piercing damage (DC 13 Dexterity save for half) the first time it does so on a turn.
Actions
Multiattack. The lancer makes two Glaive attacks.
Glaive. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10+2) slashing damage.
Javelin. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Pole Sweep (Reaction). When a creature within 10 ft. moves out of the lancer's reach, the lancer makes one Glaive attack against it.
A wiry hobgoblin in segmented draconic plate, levelling a long bladed glaive so its reach keeps every foe at a polearm's length.
Hobgoblin Lancer 1, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEFront Rank (signature). While the shieldmate stands directly between the lancer and an enemy, the lancer cannot be targeted by opportunity attacks from that enemy.
Actions
Spear. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8+2) piercing damage.
Reactions
Cover the Pole. When the lancer is hit by a melee attack, the shieldmate raises its shield, reducing the damage by 1d6.
A stolid front-rank legionary whose only job is to keep blades off the lancer's haft.
Guideline numbers — formula-tuned and read from the miniature's design, not yet table-proven. Tell us how it ran in the comments.
How It Fights — by Tier
Same creature, scaled threat. The traits never change; only the numbers move.
Hold ground and Set for the Charge so the first PC to close eats the braced 2d6. Then reach past the front line with Martial Advantage. Pair two lancers to seal a corridor; pair with a shieldmate so nobody reaches the haft.
Anchor the second rank behind heavier troops. Use Pole Sweep to punish anyone backing away from the front. Focus reach attacks on casters who step up; pair it with archers and a captain for layered threat.
As an elite add-on, it turns the boss's lair into a forest of bracing points. Wall off escape with Set for the Charge and Pole Sweep while a flagship threat presses. Do not field it alone here; it is a controller, not a finisher.
Put Hobgoblin Lancer 1 on the table
Download the presupported STL and run the fight tonight — the model, and the encounter that comes with it.
Get the STL on MyMiniFactory →Clay Cyanide Companion Rules v1
How a bound creature acts
- A companion acts on its owner's initiative, immediately after the owner.
- It uses the Companion block above — roughly ×0.6 HP and damage, no recharge abilities, and at most one reaction trait.
- It moves freely; it takes its Action only while its owner is conscious.
- At 0 HP a companion is broken, not dead — restored on a long rest unless your table rules otherwise.
Original Clay Cyanide material © Clay Cyanide LLC — explicitly not the non-SRD official sidekick rules.
Questions, Asked at the Table
What CR is Hobgoblin Lancer 1?
Its native build is CR 2 (Tier 1): AC 14, 45 HP, +4 to hit, reach 10 ft. Use the Tier 2 (CR ~6) and Tier 3 (CR ~11) lines for tougher parties.
Can Hobgoblin Lancer 1 be a companion or ally?
Yes. Lancers make excellent disciplined guards and drill-masters; use the Shieldmate, Bound profile, or run the full lancer as a recruited reach-fighter.
How does Set for the Charge interact with movement?
It only works if the lancer didn't move on its turn. Standing braced is the trade-off for that punishing first-entry hit.
Tell Us How It Ran
This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 ("SRD 5.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
Clay Cyanide Miniatures is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC. This content is compatible with the fifth edition of the world's most popular fantasy roleplaying game. Companion rules, lore, names, and original mechanics © Clay Cyanide LLC.
Technical Specifications
32mm, 75mm
STL, Pre-supported STL
Standard or ABS-like resin, 0.05mm layer height
Yes — ready to print, optimized supports included
Played Hobgoblin Lancer 1 at your table? Log in with your Obsidian Tavern account to leave a balance note, a war story, or a file issue — the sharpest reports get the block revised.
Log in to comment