Goblin 3
Goblin 3 — The Encounter
Crossbow skulker of the warren camps · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Goblin 3
In the smoke-thick camps that ring the high passes, the bow-skulkers are the ones the caravans never see until the first wagon-ox drops. Too small to hold a line, the warren breeds them for patience instead: a goblin will lie flat in bracken for half a day, cranking and uncranking its great steel crossbow, waiting for a throat to fill the notch. Folk lore names them "the staking kind," for the favoured trick is not the kill but the cripple, a heavy bolt punched through cloak or calf to pin a fleeing victim while the pack closes. They fight in loose threes, each covering the others' retreat, melting into the rocks the instant a blade comes near and reappearing a stone's throw off. A captured one will weep, beg, and lie in three tongues at once, and the moment its hands are free it goes for the eyes. Trust nothing it says; trust only that another bolt is already half-cranked behind the nearest stone.
Run Goblin 3 in Sixty Seconds
- Hold high ground and cover. This goblin lives at range with the Heavy Crossbow (range 100/400) and only loses if it is forced into melee.
- Open by Pinning the front line. First shot goes into the toughest melee PC, dropping their speed so the party crawls into the kill zone.
- Every turn: fire, then Nimble Escape. Bonus-action Hide or Disengage means it shoots and vanishes before chargers reach it.
- When bloodied, stop trading shots, Disengage to deeper cover, and Pin the fastest pursuer to buy a clean retreat to the pack.
- Three ways to run it: a lone sniper harassing a road; a covering shooter in a pack of three that cover each other's retreat; or an elite marksman guarding a bigger boss's lair.
Goblin 3
Small humanoid (goblinoid), neutral evil
CR 1 · 200 XP · GUIDELINENimble Escape. The goblin can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of its turns.
Pinning Bolt. When the goblin hits a creature with a crossbow attack on its turn, that creature's speed is reduced by 10 ft. until the start of the goblin's next turn. A creature reduced to 0 ft. of speed this way cannot take reactions until the goblin's next turn. This represents the heavy bolt staking cloak, shield, or limb to the ground.
Actions
Multiattack. The goblin makes two Heavy Crossbow attacks, or one Heavy Crossbow attack and then takes the Hide action.
Heavy Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 100/400 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10+3) piercing damage.
Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+3) slashing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Scramble (Bonus Action). The goblin takes the Disengage or Hide action (see Nimble Escape).
A bare-footed goblin crouches behind a heavy crossbow nearly as long as it is tall, a notched bolt drawn and a bristling quiver slung at its shoulder. Plated leather guards its flank where it cannot run.
Goblin 3, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINESpotter's Mark (signature). As a bonus action, Goblin 3 designates a creature it can see within 60 ft. Until the start of its next turn, the first ranged attack an ally makes against that target has advantage.
Actions
Hand Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) piercing damage.
Reactions
Cut the Cord. When an enemy within 30 ft. moves, Goblin 3 fires a tangling bolt; that creature must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity save or have its speed halved until the end of its turn.
A wiry goblin runner who shadows the marksman, calling targets and snipping ropes, bridles, and bowstrings while the big crossbow does the killing.
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 cover at 80+ ft. and Pin the heaviest melee PC so the front line crawls forward. Each turn fire then Nimble Escape to a fresh hiding spot, never letting a charger close. Kill-priority is anyone trying to flank; pair a pack of three with a hobgoblin or ogre brute that holds the gap they keep open.
Run it as an elite warren-marksman behind a wall of expendable goblins. Pin the party's mobile striker, then hide-fire so reach attacks whiff into empty rock. It is an add-on, not a centerpiece, pair it with a larger lair threat that punishes anyone who breaks for the shooter.
A legendary camp-warden sniper that opens by Pinning the party caster and never moving without Nimble Escape. Use it with minions and a lair full of cover, never alone, as a single blade-reach will still bring it down. Frame it as the eyes of a far bigger boss it serves, kept fed with targets to mark.
Put Goblin 3 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 3?
Its home tier is CR 1 (200 XP), a Tier 1 ranged skirmisher built for parties of levels 1-4. The stat block also gives scaled Tier 2 (levels 5-10) and Tier 3 (levels 11-15) numbers so you can drop the same goblin marksman into a higher-level fight without rebuilding it.
Can Goblin 3 be a companion or ally?
Yes. The companion sidebar provides Snare-Hand, Bound, a goblin spotter who marks targets for advantage and tangles fleeing enemies, ideal as a ranged-support ally or a captured prisoner pressed into service rather than a fightable adversary.
Is Goblin 3 a solo boss?
No. It is an add-on skirmisher with no legendary actions, designed to fight alongside minions or a larger threat. Even at Tier 3 it should be paired with a lair and a real centerpiece boss, a four-PC party will out-act a lone goblin in a single round.
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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