If I loot a Hobgoblin's Longsword can I too do 2d10 damage with it? I am guessing not. However I would like to know why it does this much damage at CR 1/2 and why the monsters have different rules for a standard piece of equipment. I would also like to know why the Hobgoblin Warlord's (CR6!) longsword only does 2d8... They average the same (with bonuses) 12. The warlord does get 3 attacks but 3 normal Hobgoblins can dish out the same average damage per round (not accounting for accuracy) with an encounter budget of 150xp vs. 2300xp. I know they die a lot easier (though AC 18! go burning hands). Honestly the warlord should steal one of his warrior's swords and then go beat up their blacksmith for giving them an inferior weapon...
Sort of related. The Goblin Hexer's (neat mob) Hex stick (neat item). I do not have a problem with the anything about the attack. Does good damage for the CR and is quit flavorful. I think it is get out cool. Now the issue. Can I loot it? If not, why? I want one. I also want to know the mechanics behind the item. Does it mimic a spell or is just something that goblin hexers do that nothing else in the game does? I am genuinely curious about it. If I wanted to design a spell that did what the hex stick does (ranged 60 ft. or melee touch attack 2d8+spell modifier Psychic damage) what level would it be? If a magic item did exist that worked like that what rarity would it be?
To be honest I really dig the goblins. There Scimitars do what scimitars should do and they used the damage of the monster by tying the extra damage to the advantage mechanic. All this makes the Hobgoblins all the more mystifying to me. I have been playing since 1st edition so I have encountered some pretty odd things. Mostly just curious here.
Gear is listed in a monster's entry. The gear is normal items, and I believe the MM says that some monsters can just do more with normal pieces of equipment.
Monsters have proficiency with their equipment. If a monster has equipment that can be given away or retrieved, the items are listed in the Gear entry. The monster’s stat block might include special flourishes that happen when the monster uses an item, and the stat block might ignore Player’s Handbook rules for that item. When used by someone else, a retrievable item uses its Player’s Handbook rules, ignoring any special flourishes in the stat block.
[...] Equipment mentioned outside the Gear entry is considered to be supernatural or highly specialized, and it is unusable when the monster is defeated.
Equipping a Monster with Other Items
You may equip monsters with additional gear however you like, using the equipment chapter of the Player’s Handbook for inspiration. You decide how much of a monster’s equipment is recoverable after the creature is slain and whether any of that equipment is still usable. [...]
I think the hex stick could likely just be used as a wand if it's killed because it's name is HEXER, so it's probably just the goblin's magic being channeled through a wand.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM: He doesn't have much besides the skin on his bones.
Me: I'll take the skin on his bones, then.
Also, this is for Redwall nerds: Eeeeeuuuuulllllllaaaaaaaalllllllliiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also, do ordinary hobgoblins wear plate? Because if so, they'd be two-handing their swords and thus get the versatile extra damage. I do know that the warlords have a shield, so they wouldn't be two-handing.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM: He doesn't have much besides the skin on his bones.
Me: I'll take the skin on his bones, then.
Also, this is for Redwall nerds: Eeeeeuuuuulllllllaaaaaaaalllllllliiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!
The hobgoblin warrior stat block shows half plate and a shield for armor. But don't overthink this. If the stat block says they get an attack for 2d10+1 slashing damage with their longsword, don't worry about the fact that one hand is occupied with holding a shield.
EDIT: Honestly, when I run hobgoblins, I even let them make their longbow attacks without worrying about how long it takes to unequip the shield, and then give them the benefit of full AC from the stat block (which presumably includes their shield) on the follow-up turns even though they never took an action to re-equip it. It's one of those situations where I just treat monsters a little differently than PCs.
why the monsters have different rules for a standard piece of equipment.
An 11th level paladin deals 1d8 + STR slashing + 1d8 radiant with a one-handed longsword despite the longsword itself only dealing 1d8 damage when used by anyone else. The same can be said for many other player characters. And so it is with monsters, only monsters have their own special classes / class features unique to them which allow them to do things that the PCs cannot do.
why the monsters have different rules for a standard piece of equipment.
An 11th level paladin deals 1d8 + STR slashing + 1d8 radiant with a one-handed longsword despite the longsword itself only dealing 1d8 damage when used by anyone else. The same can be said for many other player characters. And so it is with monsters, only monsters have their own special classes / class features unique to them which allow them to do things that the PCs cannot do.
To add to this, PC rules are generally written around a day of multiple encounters of varying nature (social, combat, etc.). Monster rules are generally written around a singular combat encounter.
A Dragonborn PC can use their breath weapon 2 to 6 times per day.
By contrast, dragons and creatures with similar abilities will use a recharge mechanic (often a 5-6 or 6 to recharge). If I built a monster the same way as a PC, an ancient green dragon would just toss out 22D6 poison breath cones for the first 6 rounds of combat. The recharge mechanic means that you don't get bombarded with an ability intended to be balanced against limited usages and also happens to add unpredictability in that you don't know if the dragon can hit you with halitosis after your action or not.
The same principals apply to other properties of the monster's profile. Perhaps the Hobgoblin is using a normal 1d8 longsword but has something similar to Strike of Giants that lets them hit harder than normal with the same weapon, but rather than duplicating that mechanic, they just changed the weapon dice. The Hobgoblins in 2025 went from being able to deal extra damage with their traits to gaining or giving advantage and having increased damage per attack.
Which brings us to another consideration, you (hopefully) have your PC for many sessions and have time to get to know your abilities and options. Monsters tend to just pop in for a combat and that's it. Abilities and options in the Traits are likely to be missed if they are not simple. An option to do an extra average 7 damage once per turn on top of an average 5 or 6 damage (12 to 13 damage average) might get missed. The upgraded Longsword profile means that they are dealing an average 12 damage on a hit. The trait now gives advantage so the attack is more likely to hit, but the damage is otherwise effectively the same as before.
I did find the text in the MM about equipment reverting, flourishes, and the supernatural nature of some monsters equipment. The advice someone gave about "not thinking about it to much" is particularly germain and useful as I do find the situation to be somewhat "forth wall" breaking. I am not sure if that is the right term but there is some cognitive dissonance for me. I wish there was a bit more transparency about how the monsters were created/work.
Equipment aside it really seems like a pair for Hobgoblins could wreck a party of 4 first level characters with a few bad rolls (from the PC's perspective).
Pretty much anything can wreck a party of 1st level characters if a few rolls go the wrong way- even with max value at level 1 that's the drawback to tying HP to the same kind of dice used for damage rolls. That said, on average a Hobgoblin is going to have about 50% odds at best to hit with an attack roll unless they can get Pack Tactics in play, so it's a matter of trying to avoid letting them mob someone or downing one of them first. Still, a pair might be a bit much for a 1st level encounter.
If I loot a Hobgoblin's Longsword can I too do 2d10 damage with it? I am guessing not. However I would like to know why it does this much damage at CR 1/2 and why the monsters have different rules for a standard piece of equipment. I would also like to know why the Hobgoblin Warlord's (CR6!) longsword only does 2d8... They average the same (with bonuses) 12. The warlord does get 3 attacks but 3 normal Hobgoblins can dish out the same average damage per round (not accounting for accuracy) with an encounter budget of 150xp vs. 2300xp. I know they die a lot easier (though AC 18! go burning hands). Honestly the warlord should steal one of his warrior's swords and then go beat up their blacksmith for giving them an inferior weapon...
Sort of related. The Goblin Hexer's (neat mob) Hex stick (neat item). I do not have a problem with the anything about the attack. Does good damage for the CR and is quit flavorful. I think it is get out cool. Now the issue. Can I loot it? If not, why? I want one. I also want to know the mechanics behind the item. Does it mimic a spell or is just something that goblin hexers do that nothing else in the game does? I am genuinely curious about it. If I wanted to design a spell that did what the hex stick does (ranged 60 ft. or melee touch attack 2d8+spell modifier Psychic damage) what level would it be? If a magic item did exist that worked like that what rarity would it be?
To be honest I really dig the goblins. There Scimitars do what scimitars should do and they used the damage of the monster by tying the extra damage to the advantage mechanic. All this makes the Hobgoblins all the more mystifying to me. I have been playing since 1st edition so I have encountered some pretty odd things. Mostly just curious here.
Gear is listed in a monster's entry. The gear is normal items, and I believe the MM says that some monsters can just do more with normal pieces of equipment.
From the 2024 MM (emphasis mine):
I think the hex stick could likely just be used as a wand if it's killed because it's name is HEXER, so it's probably just the goblin's magic being channeled through a wand.
DM: He doesn't have much besides the skin on his bones.
Me: I'll take the skin on his bones, then.
Also, this is for Redwall nerds: Eeeeeuuuuulllllllaaaaaaaalllllllliiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also, do ordinary hobgoblins wear plate? Because if so, they'd be two-handing their swords and thus get the versatile extra damage. I do know that the warlords have a shield, so they wouldn't be two-handing.
DM: He doesn't have much besides the skin on his bones.
Me: I'll take the skin on his bones, then.
Also, this is for Redwall nerds: Eeeeeuuuuulllllllaaaaaaaalllllllliiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!
The hobgoblin warrior stat block shows half plate and a shield for armor. But don't overthink this. If the stat block says they get an attack for 2d10+1 slashing damage with their longsword, don't worry about the fact that one hand is occupied with holding a shield.
EDIT: Honestly, when I run hobgoblins, I even let them make their longbow attacks without worrying about how long it takes to unequip the shield, and then give them the benefit of full AC from the stat block (which presumably includes their shield) on the follow-up turns even though they never took an action to re-equip it. It's one of those situations where I just treat monsters a little differently than PCs.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
An 11th level paladin deals 1d8 + STR slashing + 1d8 radiant with a one-handed longsword despite the longsword itself only dealing 1d8 damage when used by anyone else. The same can be said for many other player characters. And so it is with monsters, only monsters have their own special classes / class features unique to them which allow them to do things that the PCs cannot do.
To add to this, PC rules are generally written around a day of multiple encounters of varying nature (social, combat, etc.). Monster rules are generally written around a singular combat encounter.
A Dragonborn PC can use their breath weapon 2 to 6 times per day.
By contrast, dragons and creatures with similar abilities will use a recharge mechanic (often a 5-6 or 6 to recharge). If I built a monster the same way as a PC, an ancient green dragon would just toss out 22D6 poison breath cones for the first 6 rounds of combat. The recharge mechanic means that you don't get bombarded with an ability intended to be balanced against limited usages and also happens to add unpredictability in that you don't know if the dragon can hit you with halitosis after your action or not.
The same principals apply to other properties of the monster's profile. Perhaps the Hobgoblin is using a normal 1d8 longsword but has something similar to Strike of Giants that lets them hit harder than normal with the same weapon, but rather than duplicating that mechanic, they just changed the weapon dice. The Hobgoblins in 2025 went from being able to deal extra damage with their traits to gaining or giving advantage and having increased damage per attack.
Which brings us to another consideration, you (hopefully) have your PC for many sessions and have time to get to know your abilities and options. Monsters tend to just pop in for a combat and that's it. Abilities and options in the Traits are likely to be missed if they are not simple. An option to do an extra average 7 damage once per turn on top of an average 5 or 6 damage (12 to 13 damage average) might get missed. The upgraded Longsword profile means that they are dealing an average 12 damage on a hit. The trait now gives advantage so the attack is more likely to hit, but the damage is otherwise effectively the same as before.
How to add Tooltips.
Thanks for the replies.
I did find the text in the MM about equipment reverting, flourishes, and the supernatural nature of some monsters equipment. The advice someone gave about "not thinking about it to much" is particularly germain and useful as I do find the situation to be somewhat "forth wall" breaking. I am not sure if that is the right term but there is some cognitive dissonance for me. I wish there was a bit more transparency about how the monsters were created/work.
Equipment aside it really seems like a pair for Hobgoblins could wreck a party of 4 first level characters with a few bad rolls (from the PC's perspective).
Pretty much anything can wreck a party of 1st level characters if a few rolls go the wrong way- even with max value at level 1 that's the drawback to tying HP to the same kind of dice used for damage rolls. That said, on average a Hobgoblin is going to have about 50% odds at best to hit with an attack roll unless they can get Pack Tactics in play, so it's a matter of trying to avoid letting them mob someone or downing one of them first. Still, a pair might be a bit much for a 1st level encounter.
If you want monsters to work the same ways characters do, you'd have to go have to playing 3.5.