Pazuzu
Pazuzu — The Encounter
King of the Wind Demons, who rides the plague-fouled gale · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Pazuzu
Pazuzu is named in the oldest fevered tablets as king of the wind demons, master of the burning south wind that carries locust, drought, and pestilence into the dwellings of men. Where his pinions beat, granaries rot and children sicken; the serpents that coil beneath him are said to be the plagues themselves, given scale and fang and loosed at his whim. Yet the grimoires record a crueler bargain: that this same demon who brings the sickening gale may also be entreated to drive it away, and so amulets bearing his snarling visage were hung above cradles to turn his own malice aside. He answers neither prayer out of mercy. He delights only in the leverage of fear, in being the door through which plague enters and the door through which it might, for a price, be made to leave. To bind Pazuzu is to bind the wind, and the wind keeps no oath it did not first intend to break.
Run Pazuzu in Sixty Seconds
- Stay airborne. Pazuzu's whole game is fly 80 ft. plus Wind Lord's Flight and Ride the Wind. He should almost never be standing on the ground where melee can pin him.
- The aura is the threat. Plague Wind stops healing within 15 ft. and Spread the Plague extends it. Kill the healer's options before you kill the healer.
- Open with Pestilent Blast. Lead with the recharge cone on the tightest cluster for 31 poison and a pile of prone bodies, then Multiattack.
- When bloodied: go full hit-and-run. Cone, legendary-fly out of reach, repeat. Bait the party into spreading out so they can't focus fire.
- Three ways to run him: (1) lone tyrant boss using legendary actions; (2) air-superiority controller above the plague set's ground adds; (3) ticking-clock fight where the no-healing aura forces the party to rush him down.
Pazuzu
Large fiend (demon), chaotic evil
CR 11 · 7,200 XP · GUIDELINEPlague Wind (signature). Pazuzu is wreathed in a foul, disease-bearing gale. At the start of each of Pazuzu's turns, each creature within 15 feet of him must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or take 7 (2d6) poison damage and be unable to regain hit points until the start of its next turn. Creatures that are immune to the poisoned condition automatically succeed.
Wind Lord's Flight. Pazuzu doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when he flies out of an enemy's reach, and ranged weapon attacks against him while he is flying have disadvantage.
Magic Resistance. Pazuzu has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Actions
Multiattack. Pazuzu makes two attacks: one with his Plague Staff and one with his Talons.
Plague Staff. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (3d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) poison damage.
Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d6 + 5) slashing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or contract a wasting fever (disadvantage on Strength- and Constitution-based checks until it finishes a long rest).
Pestilent Blast (Recharge 5-6). Pazuzu unleashes a screaming, sickness-laden wind in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw, taking 31 (7d8) poison damage and being knocked prone on a failed save, or half as much damage and not knocked prone on a success.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Buffeting Gale (Reaction). When a creature Pazuzu can see ends a ranged attack against him, Pazuzu can summon a gust that gives that attack disadvantage if it has not already resolved, or grants himself half cover until the start of his next turn.
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Legendary Actions. Pazuzu can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. Pazuzu regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
Talon Swipe. Pazuzu makes one Talons attack.
Ride the Wind. Pazuzu flies up to half his flying speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Spread the Plague (Costs 2 Actions). Pazuzu exhales a thin miasma. Each creature within 10 feet of him must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or take 10 (3d6) poison damage and be unable to regain hit points until the end of Pazuzu's next turn.
A gaunt winged horror crowned with great sweeping pinions and curved horns, draped in tattered cloth and clutching a tall plague-staff, while a roiling knot of serpents festers at the base of his perch.
Pazuzu, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEPlague-Warden (signature). Allies within 10 feet of Pazuzu have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned and against effects that prevent the regaining of hit points.
Actions
Burning Lash. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) fire damage.
Reactions
Ward the Bound. When an ally Pazuzu can see within 30 feet takes poison damage, Pazuzu can reduce that damage by 1d10 + 4.
A loyal lesser plague-spirit chained to Pazuzu's service, Pazuzu turns aside the very sickness his master spreads, shielding the demon king's chosen from the rot.
Guideline numbers — formula-tuned and read from the miniature's design, not yet table-proven. Tell us how it ran in the comments.
How It Fights — by Tier
Same creature, scaled threat. The traits never change; only the numbers move.
Open from the air with Pestilent Blast on the tightest cluster, then drop onto the squishiest spellcaster with Talons. Kite low-level melee with flight and Wind Lord's Flight so they waste turns chasing. Against a party this fresh, throttle the Plague Wind aura down or it will TPK a level-2 group fast.
Lead with Pestilent Blast, then Multiattack the front-liner blocking your casters. Use Ride the Wind to peel off and re-engage healers, since Plague Wind already shuts off their healing. Pair him with the plague set's adds (Cult Executioner, Plague Crawlers) so the party can't simply gang the boss.
Open airborne with Pestilent Blast, then Multiattack and spend legendary actions on Talon Swipe plus Spread the Plague to keep the no-healing zone alive. Kill-priority is the party healer first; Plague Wind plus Spread the Plague locks down resurrection-tempo. When bloodied, stay aloft and rain cone breaths while legendary-flying out of melee reach.
Put Pazuzu on the table
Download the presupported STL and run the fight tonight — the model, and the encounter that comes with it.
Get the STL on MyMiniFactory →Clay Cyanide Companion Rules v1
How a bound creature acts
- A companion acts on its owner's initiative, immediately after the owner.
- It uses the Companion block above — roughly ×0.6 HP and damage, no recharge abilities, and at most one reaction trait.
- It moves freely; it takes its Action only while its owner is conscious.
- At 0 HP a companion is broken, not dead — restored on a long rest unless your table rules otherwise.
Original Clay Cyanide material © Clay Cyanide LLC — explicitly not the non-SRD official sidekick rules.
Questions, Asked at the Table
What CR is Pazuzu?
Native CR 11 (7,200 XP), a Tier 3 solo boss with legendary actions. Scaled stat blocks are provided for Tier 1 (levels 1-4) and Tier 2 (levels 5-10) so he can headline lower-level games as well.
Can Pazuzu be a companion or ally?
Not really — he is a chaotic evil demon king who keeps no oath he didn't intend to break, so he works as a boss or a treacherous patron rather than a loyal ally. If you need an allied plague-spirit at his side, use the bound companion Resheph instead.
How do I keep the no-healing aura from feeling unfair?
Telegraph it: describe the sickening wind so players know to spread out beyond 15 feet. At Tier 1 dial the Plague Wind damage down, and remember creatures immune to the poisoned condition auto-succeed, giving parties a clear counter to lean on.
Tell Us How It Ran
This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 ("SRD 5.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
Clay Cyanide Miniatures is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC. This content is compatible with the fifth edition of the world's most popular fantasy roleplaying game. Companion rules, lore, names, and original mechanics © Clay Cyanide LLC.
Technical Specifications
32mm, 75mm
STL, Pre-supported STL
Standard or ABS-like resin, 0.05mm layer height
Yes — ready to print, optimized supports included
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