How do I create NPCs for my campaign?

I'm trying to just get a feel for the basics of setting up a campaign. I have watched the "crash course" videos on the official youtube and read some of the relevant wiki pages I could find but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to create NPCs. All the options and fields are a bit overwhelming. I just want to create a goblin. I would like to pull it from the 5e compendium. I want it to have a token that shows its hp and ac. I would be neat if its hp went down when players attacked it. I would like it to have attacks (macros?) that I can click. I would like to be able to just drop a bunch of them on the table top for a random encounter. I have tried dragging the name "Goblin" from the compendium tab to the tabletop after searching. I see a generic head and shoulders icon and the Goblin name is in the journal. Now what do I do? 

When you drag from the compendium, it creates a token on the battlemap, and a linked character sheet in the journal. But you need to add art to the token if you want it to look pretty. You do that by editing the character sheet the same way you do with a player character. The main advantage though is that the goblin's actual stats  should be setup so you can use it immediately. You might also want to edit the token for HP, etc (not sure if they will be setup automatically, i dont use the compendium in any of my games). It's all the same as setting up a PC, with the most time consuming part (entering all the creatures stats) done automatically for you. It is a good idea to set up your creatures ahead of a session, to save time. 

It is a good idea to set up your creatures ahead of a session, to save time.  Thanks for your reply. This is what I'm trying to do, but I'm confused about how the setup works. I also don't understand what it is that will happen during a session once I actually make the NPCs. If I make one goblin NPC and drag and drop it six times onto the tabletop, will that work? Looking for as specific instructions as possible that address as much as what I'm looking for as possible in my original post, if possible.

To have a token's hp go down automatically, you need to use the API, a feature at the Pro price point.

Chris B. said: It is a good idea to set up your creatures ahead of a session, to save time.  Thanks for your reply. This is what I'm trying to do, but I'm confused about how the setup works. I also don't understand what it is that will happen during a session once I actually make the NPCs. If I make one goblin NPC and drag and drop it six times onto the tabletop, will that work? Looking for as specific instructions as possible that address as much as what I'm looking for as possible in my original post, if possible. Yes, that will work. It needs to be set up properly for each goblin to have its own HP total. You can read here , or watch my video here .

Thanks. I did actually watch that video after posting my second message. It's... a lot more complicated than I thought it would be. But, I did manage to make a couple of NPCs that have their own hp. I even managed to make one of their attacks into a macro. I'm okay with adjusting HP manually since that's how we did it back in the paper days. I had one question about that video though. In it you mention a "monster manual". Is this a paid feature or something you can set up yourself. Thanks again.

The Monster Manual (for 5e D&D) is available for purchase in the Marketplace . You get a large number of creatures even without purchase through the Compendium, which is based on the SRD (System Reference Document, released by Wizards of the Coast), but they lack tokens, and are also limited to a subset of the monsters from the full manual. The Monster Manual can make your creatures "place and play". If you do plan on purchasing the Monster manual, be aware that the price drops by $20 on May 1 from $49.95 to $29.95.

Chris B. said: Thanks. I did actually watch that video after posting my second message. It's... a lot more complicated than I thought it would be.  You'll find after you've done it a few times its pretty straightforward, just clunky. It's a shame it takes so many steps, but the steps themselves are simple enough once you're familiar with them.