Links to other hobgoblins:

Hobgoblins
Hobgoblin Captain
Hobgoblin Devastator
Hobgoblin Warlord
Hobgoblin Iron Shadow

thanks

Everyone dismisses these without a second thought as weak and boring creatures, without realizing that their armor class is higher than many players and most monsters.

Quote from RangerRedleaf >>

Everyone dismisses these without a second thought as weak and boring creatures, without realizing that their armor class is higher than many players and most monsters.

 If the DM wants to make them strong they can be whatever fighter level he wants. They are a (Race) after all.

that's where their strength could come in

In some settings, hobgoblins are called “high goblins”, and I think that’s a good description of how they generally see themselves.

Thanks

Does anyone else find this statblock underwhelming? They are a people who are always either at war or preparing for war but they worse than a standard soilder.

I agree Place,

Maybe these are the Guuuderbaad (did I spell that right?) not the insects in a long  "mine", or the ones who live somewhere between the front porch where the stone giants fight and above the lake where you might find a riddle-golem. 

Or  maybe they are the UURRUUK-High without guidance, Maybe the idea was that one critical longbow hit from someone with a 16 dex kills them.

Quote from place_holderog >>

Does anyone else find this statblock underwhelming? They are a people who are always either at war or preparing for war but they worse than a standard soilder.

I guess it depends on what you are measuring them against.

Personally, I always regarded them as a straightforwards upgrade of the common town guard.  They have nearly identical attributes, but the Hobgoblin uses Martial instead of Simple Weapons, and Heavy instead of Medium armor. Add their signature Martial Advantage attribute on top of that, and you get something roughly equivalent to a Level 1 Fighter.

On the other hand, something like a knight or veteran will completely blow them out of the water.

Quote from place_holderog >>

Does anyone else find this statblock underwhelming? They are a people who are always either at war or preparing for war but they worse than a standard soilder.

 this is actually a bit better than the generic soldier with the pseduo sneak attack giving them a ton of extra damage

Does martial advantage involve his allies doing anything, or just being nearby? Would it function in a duel if a ally was behind?

Why does the Hobgoblin in the Monster Manual Have Chain Shirt, Shield, Dex +1 which gives AC16, but it says AC18.

And DnD Beyond says Chain Mail, Shield, AC18

and this makes the ordinary 2HD Hobgoblin have a better AC than the 6HD Hobgoblin Captain.

They are a huge problem with their extra 2d6 damage and AC18, and our DM has not given us any hints as to why it is doing an extra 2d6 damage.

Quote from TharanMVarel >>

Why does the Hobgoblin in the Monster Manual Have Chain Shirt, Shield, Dex +1 which gives AC16, but it says AC18.

And DnD Beyond says Chain Mail, Shield, AC18

and this makes the ordinary 2HD Hobgoblin have a better AC than the 6HD Hobgoblin Captain.

 

 

Beyond 20

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure if this helps, but the listed Armor Class can be a little misleading.  A Hobgoblin only has AC 18 while using its shield; if it’s using its bow, or wielding its sword two-handed, it only has a AC of 16.

Before the shield, the hobgoblin Captain has better armor then the normal Hobgoblin (AC 17 Halfplate vs AC 16 Chainmail).

 I don’t know why your Monster Manual gives them Medium instead of heavy armor, perhaps it was a misprint.

LOL

Quote from place_holderog >>

Does anyone else find this statblock underwhelming? They are a people who are always either at war or preparing for war but they worse than a standard soilder.

I do find it underwhelming, but not for the same reason. This statblock represents your rank and file mook hobgoblin, so they can't be too amazing. What I personally find underwhelming is the use of bows alongside shields, javelins would be way smarter. If they are marching to war they can conscript goblins as archers.

Personally I view these guys as lower rank, less experienced soldiers or fists (VGTM Hobgoblin ranks). The higher rank soldiers should have a different statblock. 

To make a statblock that bridges the gap, I would bump up str and con to +2, maybe give them multiattack, and give them 4, maybe 5 hit die. Oh, and switch out that resource costly longsword for a battleaxe or warpick. Same for the lower ranks. If every soldier in the legion needs full mail, they can hardly afford to pass swords out to everyone.

Quote from TheRoleplayer98 >>

 

Quote from place_holderog >>

Does anyone else find this statblock underwhelming? They are a people who are always either at war or preparing for war but they worse than a standard soilder.

 

I do find it underwhelming, but not for the same reason. This statblock represents your rank and file mook hobgoblin, so they can't be too amazing. What I personally find underwhelming is the use of bows alongside shields, javelins would be way smarter. If they are marching to war they can conscript goblins as archers.

Personally I view these guys as lower rank, less experienced soldiers or fists (VGTM Hobgoblin ranks). The higher rank soldiers should have a different statblock. 

To make a statblock that bridges the gap, I would bump up str and con to +2, maybe give them multiattack, and give them 4, maybe 5 hit die. Oh, and switch out that resource costly longsword for a battleaxe or warpick. Same for the lower ranks. If every soldier in the legion needs full mail, they can hardly afford to pass swords out to everyone.

 Interesting thoughts.

Personally I found the unusually refined weapons fitting, because I always saw hobgoblin gear as heirlooms, fitting in with the “generational army” theme of their tribes.

But, a less cohesive mercenary band or younger tribe probably wouldn’t have the same setup.

They are not very charismatic.

Quote from place_holderog >>

Does anyone else find this statblock underwhelming? They are a people who are always either at war or preparing for war but they worse than a standard soilder.

 Actually, you kind of need to compare this statblock to the statblock of other humanoids of the same (or higher) CR. For comparison, very few other "average" humanoids have a CR higher than 1/2. (Duergar, bugbears, Yuan-Ti Purebloods, Thri-Kreen, Quaggoths, and Lava Children are the only examples I know of.)

Orcs, which are described as being feared by many races, are the same CR, but incredibly numerous. Gnolls are described as dangerous for the same reason. Bugbears have a higher CR, but they are less numerous, and so are feared individually. However, a city guard might have less to fear from a few bugbears than from an orc horde nine times larger.

Hobgoblins have the same CR as an orc. If they were to be "feared," they would need to be as numerous as orcs- or use tactics that make up for smaller numbers. Based on what I know about war (which isn't much), better tactics make up for smaller numbers if they are good enough.

You can kind of see this in PC battles. Large numbers of low-CR humanoids like orcs or hobgoblins can overpower PCs as much as a high-CR creature. I mean, two hobgoblins are, according to encounter difficulty generation rules, more dangerous than a single bugbear. If there were enough hobgoblins and the DM was brilliant enough (to simulate the hobgoblins' brilliance in warfare), hobgoblins could theoretically TPK an entire party of even high levels, without over a thousand needing to be used.

However, I can see what you mean. It is kind of stupid for them to use longbows instead of javelins.

It's also worth noting that the average hobgoblin is more powerful than the average first-level character, and therefore more powerful than most people. (One CR 1/4 is equal to one first-level character, and one CR 1/2 is equal to one 2nd-level or 3rd-level character, according to Xanathar's Guide to Everything.)