A goblin ambush map for level 1: layout, cover and scaling
The goblin ambush is the first fight most groups ever play, and the map decides whether it is memorable or a slog. You need a road 2 squares wide, undergrowth on both sides that gives three-quarters cover, a bend so the party cannot see the whole road, and somewhere for the goblins to run. Four Goblin Warriors against four level 1 characters is the classic size. Under the 2024 rules surprise no longer costs a turn, so the goblins get their edge from cover and Nimble Escape, not from a free round.
· 6 min read · TerrainTale
Why the road needs a bend
A straight road is a firing range. The party sees the goblins at 120 feet, the archer starts shooting, and the ambush becomes a slow approach under fire. A bend of 90 degrees about 6 squares from the party's starting position hides the second half of the road, which is where the goblins are. The party turns the corner, and everything is within 30 feet at once.
Put a fallen tree or a dead horse across the road just past the bend. It is the bait that stops the party in the kill zone, and it is half cover for anyone who ducks behind it, which matters more than it sounds. In the 2024 rules half cover is +2 to AC and Dexterity saving throws, and three-quarters cover is +5. Goblins in thick undergrowth have three-quarters cover; a fighter behind the log has half. That gap is the whole ambush.
Where the goblins hide
Two on each side of the road, 3 to 4 squares back from the verge, in squares you have marked as dense undergrowth. Under the 2024 Hide rules a creature needs three-quarters cover, total cover or heavy obscurement to take the Hide action, and it rolls a DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check. Success gives it the Invisible condition until it is found, attacks or makes noise. Undergrowth that counts as three-quarters cover therefore does two jobs: it lets the goblins hide in the first place, and it protects them once they start shooting.
Do not put all four on one side. Two flanks means the party cannot turn its back on the fight to charge one group, and it makes the rogue's choice of which bush to run at a real decision. Keep the two groups at least 6 squares apart so a single Burning Hands or Thunderwave cannot catch all four; at level 1 one area spell should be a good turn, not the end of the encounter.
A Goblin Warrior has 10 hit points, AC 15 and a shortbow with a range of 80 feet, and Nimble Escape lets it take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action. Play that. The goblin shoots, then hides again behind its bush, and the party has to spend a Search action or push into the undergrowth to find it.
- Two goblins per side of the road, 3 to 4 squares back, in three-quarters cover.
- The two groups at least 6 squares apart so one area spell cannot catch them all.
- A fallen tree across the road just past the bend as the bait and as half cover.
Surprise in 2024, and why it changed the ambush
In the 2014 rules a surprised creature lost its whole first turn, which meant a well-hidden goblin band could drop a level 1 wizard before the player had rolled a die. In the 2024 rules surprise is gentler: a creature that is surprised has disadvantage on its initiative roll and nothing else. Everyone acts in the first round.
That changes what an ambush is for. The goblins no longer get a free volley, so the ambush's value is positional. They start hidden with the Invisible condition, which gives them advantage on their first attack rolls, and they are in cover while the party is in the open on the road. Ask for a Wisdom (Perception) check against the goblins' Stealth results when the party reaches the log; anyone who fails is surprised. Anyone who succeeds gets to act on a normal initiative and can call a warning. That is enough of an edge for CR 1/4 creatures. If you want the old, harsher opening, run it as a table ruling and tell the players in advance.
Cover for the party as well
The ambush is only fun if the party can answer it. Give them things to hide behind too: the fallen tree, a roadside shrine, a wagon if there is one, a ditch. Half cover from a log against goblin shortbows is the difference between AC 16 and AC 18 on a cleric, and at +4 to hit that is a real number of arrows that miss.
Make the undergrowth difficult terrain so charging the archers costs double movement. A fighter with 30 feet of speed can cross 3 squares of undergrowth in a turn, which means a goblin 4 squares back is two turns away and gets to shoot twice. That is the tension the map should create: shoot back from cover, or go in and take the arrows. Both are correct, which is the sign of a good first fight.
The retreat route
Goblins that fight to the death are a mistake in two ways: they are boring, and they teach the players that nothing ever runs. Draw a game trail leading away from the road on one side, with a marked point 12 squares off where the goblins vanish into the trees. When two are down, the other two Disengage as a bonus action and run.
The trail is also the hook. If the party follows it, they find the goblin cave, which is the next session. If they do not, the goblins report back and the next ambush is bigger. Either way the map has done more than host a fight.
Scaling for 3 to 6 players
The 2024 encounter budget for a moderate fight is 75 XP per level 1 character, and a Goblin Warrior is worth 50 XP. Four goblins against four characters comes to 200 XP, which sits between the low and moderate bands: the right weight for a first session where nobody knows their sheet yet. Scale by adding or removing warriors before you add anything nastier.
For three players, three warriors. For five, five. For six, six warriors or four warriors and a Goblin Boss, which pushes the fight towards the high band and needs a party that has played before. If you want a cheaper way to add bodies, the 2024 Monster Manual's Goblin Minion is worth 25 XP with 7 hit points, so two minions replace one warrior and make the fight feel bigger without making it deadlier. Keep the map the same size whatever you do; more goblins should mean more bushes occupied, not a wider road.
- 3 players: 3 Goblin Warriors (150 XP).
- 4 players: 4 Goblin Warriors (200 XP).
- 5 players: 5 Goblin Warriors (250 XP).
- 6 players: 6 Goblin Warriors, or 4 plus a Goblin Boss for an experienced group.
Building it in ten minutes
You need a strip of road about 8 by 20 squares with the bend, undergrowth painted either side, the log, and the trail. On paper that is a pencil sketch with hatching for the bushes. In TerrainTale the tile brush paints the road and the undergrowth on the grid and the ruler counts the squares from the log to each bush, so the 4-square gap and the 6-square spread are measured rather than guessed. The Ambush on the Forest Road starter scene is already this shape if you would rather start from one that exists.