Raiders

Monsters in this Category Include:

 * Bugbear
 * Dryads
 * Duegar
 * Displacer Beasts
 * Goblins
 * Kobolds

Modus Operandi
Raiders typically operate solo or in small groups and specialize in hit-and-run tactics. What sets these monsters apart is more their ability to run than to hit. Hitting hard is valuable, but if they can't run away then they're just going to die to the party's superior forces. To be good at running away, raiders need a combination of speed and damage reduction.

Speed can come from a high speed stat, or abilities like the Dryads' Tree Stride or the Eladrins' Fey Step. It is probably also combined with some other feature that enables them to dash and dodge or disengage on the same turn. Damage reduction could come from a high AC, from some special ability that makes it harder to hit them, or stealth and hiding abilities. A fairly high amount of hit points makes it a lot easier to get out alive, but it is not essential.

Designing Encounters for Raiders
In order to get the most out of your mobile raiders, you need to give them room to move. What's the point of having speed if you are stuck in a 10' x 10' dungeon room?

Terrain is extremely important to raiding and raiders will always choose to fight on favorable terrain. The terrain should help raiders to escape from the players in some way, usually by providing cover, bad visibility, and opportunities for shenanigans.

Cover helps raiders to reduce damage while they are booking it. For example, the foliage of a jungle will grant half and three-quarters cover, giving them a big AC bonus to help them avert damage and live to fight another day. Poor visibility can further impose disadvantage on attacks, so raiding in a misty swamp, under cover of darkness, or during a raging snow storm are all great ideas. Combine extensive cover with low visibility conditions and your raiders will be quite untouchable as they flee.

For an extreme challenge for your players, you might stage these attacks among ruins with lots of hidey holes for stealthy raiders to escape into, near waterways for amphibious creatures to dive to safety, or near chasms which only the spry raiders can jump across. Furthermore, clever raiders with time to prepare might set up traps and ambushes along escape routes to mess with pursuing PCs.

Role Playing Considerations
Raiders with animal-level intelligence are probably trying to separate a single target from a pack, take it down, and leave with their tasty corpse. They are more likely to give up when they meet with strong resistance, since they are probably attacking for sustenance and food isn't important if you die. Some evil aligned monsters with animal intelligence might attack purely out of the pleasure of tormenting humanoids and will be more persistent.

Raiders with higher intelligence might try to take out a high-value target. For example, in a wilderness hex crawl game, raiders might try to take out the party's NPC guide, their mounts, or their supply-laden pack animals. After the initial attack they keep their distance and watch as the party struggles onward, and as their resources dwindle they strike again. Intelligent raiders are the most likely to keep coming at the party, especially if ideologically or emotionally motivated. They might leave a calling sign behind, like a flag or symbol to let the players know who they are dealing with and to instill fear.

Keeping it Fun
These guerrilla tactics will become really annoying to your players. When first introducing this kind of encounter to you players, give them advanced warning that they are going to be facing that kind of combat so they can prepare in advance. For example, as the PCs get ready to head out into the misty jungle, make sure NPCs tell stories of vicious the goblin tribes and their legendary raids before the party encounters them.

Even if the players know what their getting into, go easy on them at first. If the goblins keep disappearing into the jungle and become untouchable, players will feel like they are being treated unfairly. It makes great drama to get under their skin, but give them a way out of this endless torment (sooner rather than later unless your group is perversely enjoying this).

Perhaps they come across an old trapper's hut in the wilds who can tell the party where the goblins' base camp is (maybe at a cost of that shiny +1 dagger, or as part of a side plot hook). The players will delight in "bringing the fight to them," turning the tables and conducting their own hit and run attacks.

Perhaps the players start building pit traps and fortifications. Let the monsters discover this the hard way and take it on the chin for a change. It can be awesome fun for players to prepare a trap, but only if it is at least partially successful. If the trap is bad, feel free to share information that their characters would probably know to help them enhance it. For example, if there is a PC with the Soldier background, you could pass her a note saying "Back when you were on fighting Displacer Beasts on the slopes of Mount Hotenow, Sarge ordered your platoon to cover the pit traps because the bastards have darkvision."

At higher levels, raiding monsters might run away through teleportation, dimensional travel, and phasing through walls. They might choose terrain choices like the PC's troubled dreams or a dark cloudy sky. The same principles of keeping it fun apply, so make sure the PCs can bring the fight to their pocket dimension hiding spot or fortify their minds to trap raiders in the dreamscape.