Goblin 5
Goblin 5 — The Encounter
Two-Fisted Camp Raider of the Goblin Warren · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Goblin 5
Of the warren-born, the smallest are not the least dangerous. This one is a two-fisted thing, schooled not in any war-craft but in the brawling arithmetic of the camp: hit first, hit twice, and run before the big folk swing back. It carries a maul stolen from some broken smith and a cleaver ground thin on stone, and it has learned that a blow to the knee fells a giant as surely as a blow to the skull. Such raiders are the teeth of the warren, sent ahead of the horde to spill blood, sow panic, and vanish into bramble and dark. They fight in packs and laugh when they outnumber, yet a cornered one will trade its life dearly, swinging both arms in a whirl of iron. Burn the camp, scatter the pack, and a dozen such knives lose their courage at once; leave one standing, and by morning there are twenty.
Run Goblin 5 in Sixty Seconds
- Open reckless — turn one, trigger Reckless Onslaught and swing the maul at whoever stands between you and the casters; advantage makes the prone-knock land.
- Maul then move — drop a front-liner prone with the maul, cleave a second target, then Nimble Escape as a bonus action so melee retaliation hits empty air.
- Kill-priority is support — ignore the tank; the maul's prone rider and 30 ft. speed exist to reach the healer or wizard.
- When bloodied — stop trading, lean on Skitter Back and Nimble Escape to kite, and only re-engage if an ally pins your target in place.
- Three ways to run it — (1) skirmisher harrying the back line, (2) one knife in a swarming goblin pack with Pack Tactics, or (3) reckless berserker that throws itself at the squishiest body and dies swinging.
Goblin 5
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.
Reckless Onslaught. Signature. At the start of its turn, the goblin can choose to attack recklessly. Doing so gives it advantage on melee weapon attack rolls until the start of its next turn, but attack rolls against it also have advantage during that time. While reckless, the first creature it drops to 0 hit points lets the goblin make one weapon attack as part of the same action.
Actions
Multiattack. The goblin makes two melee attacks: one with its maul and one with its cleaver.
Maul. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 2) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 12 Strength save or be knocked prone.
Cleaver. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) slashing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Skitter Back (Reaction). When a creature the goblin can see ends its turn within 5 feet of it, the goblin can move up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks from that creature.
A wiry green-skinned raider stands braced on bare clawed feet, a heavy scrap-iron maul in one fist and a notched cleaver in the other, lips peeled back from yellow tusks in a snarl of pure spite.
Goblin 5, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEPack Tactics (signature). Goblin 5 has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of its allies is within 5 feet of the creature and isn't incapacitated.
Actions
Cleaver. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) slashing damage.
Reactions
Bodyguard's Shove. When an ally within 5 feet is hit by a melee attack, Goblin 5 can shove the attacker, forcing a DC 12 Strength save or be pushed 5 feet away.
A scrappier cousin who fights at your hip, snapping at any blade that swings toward its bound ally.
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 with Reckless Onslaught and dual-strike the softest target you can reach, using the maul's prone rider to lock down a back-line caster. If the party clusters, lead with the maul to drop one prone, then Nimble Escape away as a bonus action. Kill-priority is enemy support; pair it with a goblin pack or a hobgoblin captain so its hit-and-run stings instead of trades.
Run it as an elite warren champion: Reckless Onslaught up, maul the front-liner prone, then cleaver a second target. Use Skitter Back and Nimble Escape to peel toward squishy casters every round. Pair it with a bigger lair threat or a swarm of lesser goblins so it screens and harasses while the flagship lands the heavy blows.
A scarred warband leader, never alone: keep it amid minions and lair hazards so Skitter Back and Nimble Escape keep it untouchable. Open reckless, maul the heaviest defender prone, then cleave through to a softer mark. Kill-priority remains enemy support; pair it with a far larger threat, as on its own a 4-PC party out-acts it within two rounds.
Put Goblin 5 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 5?
Its home build is CR 2 (450 XP), a Tier 1 skirmisher for levels 1-4. Scaled stat lines are provided for Tier 2 (levels 5-10) and Tier 3 (levels 11-15) so it can ride alongside tougher threats without rewriting the kit.
Can Goblin 5 be a companion or ally?
Yes. Use the bound companion Snagtooth (AC 13, 27 HP) with Pack Tactics and a protective shove reaction, a scrappy hireling who fights at a hero's hip and punishes anyone who swings at its ward.
Is this goblin a solo boss?
No. It is an add-on raider with no legendary actions, built to swarm and harass. Pair it with a goblin pack, a hobgoblin captain, or any flagship boss; on its own a full party will out-act it in a round or two.
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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