D&D Race Guide: How to Play a Hobgoblin
Eager to fight, and obsessively driven to never show an ounce of weakness ever, Hobgoblins are great to have in an adventuring party.
Like many playable races that originated in the Monster Manual, Hobgoblins can get a bad rap. And honestly, maybe they deserve it. But this doesn’t mean that your next character shouldn’t be a Hobgoblin or that you wouldn’t have a great time with your new war enthusiast characters.
“War is the lifeblood of hobgoblins. Its glories are the dreams that inspire them. Its horrors don’t feature in their nightmares. Cowardice is more terrible to hobgoblins than dying, for they carry their living acts into the afterlife. A hero in death becomes a hero eternal.”
Hobgoblin Traits
Playable Hobgoblin characters are introduced for 5E in Volo‘s Guide to Monsters, and in many ways, they’re a lot like humans. They age and mature at roughly the same rate, and are also medium-sized creatures, coming in between five and six feet tall with a base walking speed of 30 feet. But they’re a little more battle ready and hearty.
Picking a Hobgoblin will give you a +2 to your Constitution score as well as a +1 to Intelligence, plus Darkvision for up to 60 feet. You’ll also get Common and Goblin as your languages. But unique to Hobgoblins are Martial Training and Saving Face. Martial Training gives your character automatic proficiency with two martial weapons of your choice as well as light armor. Saving Face helps your character never show weakness, ever. In practical terms, if you miss an attack roll or fail an ability check or saving throw, you can gain a bonus to the roll equal to the number of allies you can see within 30 feet. Do you want a character who’s desperate to show off in front of their friends? Well, have I got the player race for you.
Best Classes
Between having a penchant for war, and an increased Constitution, and Intelligence, Artificer wouldn’t be a terrible direction to go in for a Hobgoblin. Building fun new weapons or power suits for battle would be an ideal way for them to spend their time. Plus their adamant refusal to be seen as weak could give you a key bonus on an attack roll to ensure a hit in encounters.
Also, it may be weird to think of them as Wizards, but I think this one could really work. Martial Training would give them a little more survivability compared to the squishiness of your average wizard, and Intelligence is always good for a Wizard to have a little more of.
Variants
An alternate version of Hobgoblin showed up in Unearthed Arcana 77, but hasn’t made it to publication just yet. This version will raise one ability score of your choice by +2 and another by +1. But much more interestingly, gives Hobgoblins Fey Ancestry and all sorts of perks that come with that.
Advantage on saving throws, avoiding being charmed, and Help Actions as a Bonus Action are all part of the new territory. And Saving Face is still mostly intact, but now it’s billed as “Fortune From the Many.” Same idea, but with a little bit of a Fey twist.
Tips & Tricks
Hobgoblins are relatively straightforward, and while that may sound boring, it doesn’t ever have to be. They’re driven to fight and win. And in a D&D setting, that can be a boon. Play them on the frontlines as much as you can without finding yourself in death-save territory. And remember that failing in front of enemies, or worse, friends is absolutely never allowed to happen. Ever.
Have you ever played a Hobgoblin character? Has there been one in your party? Do you think you’d prefer the gobliny Volo version or the more Fey-inspired UA version? Let us know in the comments!
Happy adventuring!
