Hobgoblin 4
Hobgoblin 4 — The Encounter
Twin-Axe Warbrute of the Goblin Camps · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Hobgoblin 4
In the war-camps that fester along the old trade roads, the twin-axe brutes are the muscle of the goblin host. Unlike the skittering lesser goblins, a hobgoblin keeps discipline: it drills with its kin, fights in pairs, and learns to gut a man who has turned to face its shield-brother instead. This one has forsaken shield entirely, taking up a second axe to make a whirling reaper of itself. Such warbrutes are prized in the camps as line-breakers, sent first into the press to scatter formation and let the lighter raiders flood the gap. They favor narrow places where their flanking discipline turns every foe into a corpse caught between two blades. Folklore names them tireless and grudge-keeping, the sort that remembers a slight for years and carves it into the next traveler unlucky enough to share the offender's road. Where one whirls, more crouch in the dark, waiting on a war-horn's call.
Run Hobgoblin 4 in Sixty Seconds
- Open with Reckless Whirl on turn one for advantage, then charge into the densest cluster so Martial Advantage adds 2d6 every round.
- Flanking is the whole kit — it MUST be near an ally to deal full damage, so screen it with minions and keep one buddy glued to its target.
- Kill-priority is the propped-up PC: it dives the lightly-armored character standing next to a friend, where its bonus damage lands hardest.
- When bloodied, drop Reckless Whirl (that advantage cuts both ways) and fight tight, banking on Cleaving Riposte to make melee attackers bleed.
- Three ways to run it: line-breaker leading goblin raiders, paired bodyguard for a warchief, or a roadside ambush duo with its Camp-Mate.
Hobgoblin 4
Medium humanoid (goblinoid), lawful evil
CR 2 · 450 XP · GUIDELINEMartial Advantage. Once per turn, the hobgoblin can deal an extra 7 (2d6) damage to a creature it hits with a weapon attack if that creature is within 5 feet of an ally of the hobgoblin that isn't incapacitated.
Reckless Whirl. Signature. At the start of its turn, the hobgoblin can adopt a whirling stance with both axes. Until the start of its next turn, its attacks have advantage, but attacks against it also have advantage.
Actions
Multiattack. The hobgoblin makes two Battleaxe attacks.
Battleaxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8+3) slashing damage.
Hurled Axe. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) slashing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Cleaving Riposte. When a creature within 5 feet hits the hobgoblin with a melee attack, the hobgoblin can make one Battleaxe attack against it.
A broad-shouldered goblinoid set in a low fighting crouch, swinging twin single-bladed axes in opposite arcs, its tusked grin lit by camp-fire menace.
Hobgoblin 4, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEShield-Brother (signature). While within 5 feet of an ally, the Hobgoblin 4 and that ally each gain a +1 bonus to AC.
Actions
Spear. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) piercing damage.
Reactions
Covering Step. When an ally within 5 feet is hit by an attack, the Hobgoblin 4 can move up to half its speed toward that ally without provoking opportunity attacks.
A lean goblinoid drilled into the warbrute's flank, spear braced to keep the line whole while the axes do their work.
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 Whirl, then wade into the most clustered PCs so Martial Advantage triggers off any adjacent enemy or ally. Kill-priority: the squishiest target standing next to a friend. Pair it with goblin archers or a shaman so it always has a flanking buddy.
As a Tier 2 elite line-breaker, keep it in a knot of minions so flanking damage stacks every round. When bloodied it stops using Reckless Whirl and fights defensively, leaning on Cleaving Riposte to punish melee. Pair it with a bigger threat (an ogre or warchief) as the frontline grinder.
Run as a captain in a lair or warband, never alone. Spend Reckless Whirl early to break the front, hurl an axe at a fleeing caster, and let Cleaving Riposte tax melee strikers. Pair it with a flagship boss and its camp so the action economy stays against the party.
Put Hobgoblin 4 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 4?
Its home statline is CR 2 (450 XP) at Tier 1. Scaled-up Tier 2 and Tier 3 versions on the sheet hit roughly CR 6 and CR 11 numbers so it can stay a relevant frontline threat in higher-level fights.
Can Hobgoblin 4 be a companion or ally?
Yes. The bound Camp-Mate option turns it into a disciplined martial ally with Shield-Brother and Covering Step — a flanking partner rather than a boss. As written it is an add-on warbrute, not a solo centerpiece.
Why does it deal so much damage when next to an ally?
Martial Advantage is its core trick: 2d6 extra once per turn whenever its target stands within 5 feet of any of its allies. Never run it alone — give it a buddy and the flanking pressure does the work.
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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