What is the number before an attack's damage roll?

Question

I am very new to dungeons and dragons and for our group of friends I was picked to be the DM, I read the rules and understood them for the most part but some attacks have me stump for example if a goblin hits it would do Hit: 5 (1d6+2) what has me confused is the number on the far left, the 5.

Answer 1

The 5 is an average damage of the attack. It's an option you can take instead of rolling. The idea being that it offers a little more specific to the game and more consistency with monsters. Or you can just roll the dice, in this case 1d6+2, and do the damage like a PC would.