Goblin 2
Goblin 2 — The Encounter
Snarling axe-raider of the warren camps · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Goblin 2
Mark well the camp-goblin, smallest of the war-folk and the most numerous. It dwells in stinking warrens dug beneath broken hills, ruled by the loudest and the cruelest, and it knows nothing of mercy save the giving of none. In open battle a single one is a coward's thing, quick to bolt down a burrow; but they do not fight singly. They swarm from the dark, axes lifted high, and the first stroke of an ambush falls before a traveler can so much as draw breath. The wise hunter learns their three habits: they strike first and hardest, they snatch and harry to keep a victim off-balance, and they melt away the instant the tide turns, only to fall upon you again from a flank. Burn the warren, scatter the loud one who leads them, and the rest will break. Spare even one, and it will fetch a dozen more by nightfall.
Run Goblin 2 in Sixty Seconds
- Ambush, never duel. This goblin lives or dies on the first round. Open from Stealth so Overhead Cleaver lands (crits on 19-20) on a target that hasn't acted yet.
- Kill-priority: the isolated and the squishy. Go for the lone scout or the unarmored caster. Snatching Claw strips their reaction so they can't Shield, counterspell, or punish your retreat.
- Hit, then vanish. Use the bonus-action Skitter (Nimble Escape) every turn — attack, then Disengage or Hide so opportunity attacks whiff and the party can't pin it down.
- When bloodied, it bolts. A wounded camp-goblin runs for a flank or a burrow and tries again next round; let it flee toward reinforcements rather than die in the open.
- Three ways to run it: a swarm of six as a Tier-1 encounter, a sneaky raid-captain leading minions, or — pair it with a goblin boss/ogre flagship and let it harry while the big threat hits.
Goblin 2
Small humanoid (goblinoid), neutral evil
CR 2 · 450 XP · GUIDELINENimble Escape. The goblin can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of its turns.
Overhead Cleaver. When the goblin makes its first axe attack on its turn against a creature that has not yet acted this combat, it brings the great axe down two-handed: the attack scores a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20. The camp raiders strike fastest and hardest in the opening seconds of an ambush, before prey can find its footing.
Actions
Multiattack. The goblin makes one Great Axe attack and one Snatching Claw attack.
Great Axe. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d12+2) slashing damage.
Snatching Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4+2) slashing damage, and if the target is Medium or smaller it cannot take reactions until the start of its next turn.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Skitter (Bonus Action). The goblin takes the Disengage or Hide action (see Nimble Escape).
A barefoot goblin warrior of the warren camps, leather-jerkined and snarling, hauling a crude broad-bladed axe overhead with both hands while its free claw stabs out to grab and harry.
Goblin 2, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEPack Skirmisher (signature). While within 10 ft. of an ally, Goblin 2 has advantage on attack rolls against any creature that an ally is also within 5 ft. of.
Actions
Hand Axe. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+2) slashing damage.
Reactions
Bolt for Cover. When a creature ends its turn within 5 ft. of Goblin 2, Goblin 2 may move up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
A wiry camp-runt that latched onto the party for scraps and shiny things, fighting dirty from the edges and vanishing the moment a blade swings its way.
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.
Open from hiding with Overhead Cleaver (crits on 19-20) on the squishiest unmoved PC, then Snatching Claw to lock down their reaction. If the party clusters, hit-and-run: attack, then Skitter as a bonus action so opportunity attacks can't land. Kill-priority is whoever is alone or low; pair a half-dozen of these with a goblin boss or ogre so the warren has real teeth.
Run it as a hardened raid-captain among lesser goblins. Open on the backline with the overhead cleaver, Snatching Claw to deny a caster's reaction, then bonus-action Hide to reset the ambush. Never let it stand and trade; it darts between cover. Pair it with a bigger threat and a screen of minions, not alone.
A monstrous warren-champion fielded inside a lair full of traps and goblin packs. Lead the ambush with the cleaver crit-window on an unmoved target, claw to pin reactions, Skitter through tunnels between strikes. It is a harrier, not a wall, so feed it minions and a flagship boss; do not run it solo against a high-level party.
Put Goblin 2 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 Goblin 2?
Its home tier is CR 2 (Tier 1, levels 1-4): AC 14, 44 HP, +4 to hit, save DC 12. It scales cleanly to CR 6 (Tier 2) and CR 11 (Tier 3) using the numbers in the tier table while keeping the same traits and actions.
Can Goblin 2 be a companion or ally?
Yes. Use the bound companion 'Snarl' — a wiry camp-runt with AC 13 and 26 HP who fights as a pack skirmisher, gaining advantage when flanking alongside an ally and bolting for cover when threatened. It is an add-on harrier, not a boss.
Is Goblin 2 a good solo boss?
No. It is a squishy ambusher built to fight in numbers, not a centerpiece — it has no legendary actions and a four-PC party will out-act it instantly. Field it as part of a goblin pack or as a skirmisher screen for a larger flagship threat like a goblin boss, ogre, or hill giant.
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
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