The Goblin Warrior's AC Problem Is Yours
The D&D 5e Goblin Warrior has Armor Class 15 and 10 hit points. Those numbers point in opposite directions. The hit points say it dies in one solid turn. The AC says landing that turn is not guaranteed, especially at levels 1 through 3 when attack bonuses are thin and a miss is a wasted round while the goblin acts again.
The AC is Dexterity, not plate. That same Dexterity feeds a Stealth of +6 and its Nimble Escape feature, which lets it Disengage or Hide as a bonus action every turn. So it strikes, breaks contact, and vanishes, then reappears with advantage from an unseen position. Parties that treat it as a damage sponge keep whiffing at a thing that refuses to hold still. The problem was never its hit points. It was its mobility and its line of sight.
Take those away and AC 15 stops mattering. A goblin that cannot move cannot Disengage its way out of reach, and a goblin you can see cannot Hide.
At the table: Cast Entangle (restrained goblins have speed 0 and grant advantage on attacks, and you no longer care whether you beat AC 15).
Related
- The Comic Relief That Bites: Seeding Ancient Dragon Encounters
- The Seed Is a Trap You Set for Yourself
- Spells Are Verbs, Not Damage Rolls
Daily field notes, weekly Issues. Follow @ItsAlrdyWritten or subscribe via RSS.