Zephyrion
Zephyrion — The Encounter
The Emberborn blade that ends fights before they begin · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Zephyrion
The Emberborn brood-clans whisper of one they never name aloud: the broken-fanged crest that marks Zephyrion, vanguard of the Alpha Draconis line. Where lesser drakes burn villages to announce themselves, he is loosed only when a quarry is too dangerous to meet in open battle and too valuable to leave breathing. They say he can hold a coiled stillness for hours, slow as cooling iron, then close a fight in the span of a single blink. His blade, Ashfang, is a thing of jagged blackened metal said to have been quenched in a dying volcano's heart; it bites through plate and pride alike, and the wounds it leaves never stop smoldering. Those few who have survived his passing report no warning, no roar, no insult flung across the field. There is only the smell of cinders, a whisper of scales over stone, and then the silence where a sentry used to stand. He ends fights before they begin.
Run Zephyrion in Sixty Seconds
- Open hidden. Start Zephyrion concealed and lead with a Coiled Predator strike for the extra 4d6 and the whisper-silence on their caster.
- Kill-priority: back line. He ignores the tank and goes straight for healers and concentration casters; his climb and 40 ft. speed get him there turn one.
- When bloodied, have him Hide as a bonus action and reposition through smoke, then re-open from stealth next turn instead of trading blows in the open.
- Three ways to run him: (1) lone duelist who silences and isolates one PC, (2) flanking blade paired with a brute that holds the line, (3) ambush from a smoke-filled lair where Ember Spit blinds the whole front rank.
- Punish movement. Anyone who ends their move next to him eats a free Blink-Strike, so make the party think before they crowd him.
Zephyrion
Medium dragon, lawful evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINECoiled Predator. Zephyrion can take the Hide action as a bonus action. If he is hidden when he hits a target with Ashfang, the attack deals an extra 14 (4d6) damage and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be unable to call out or speak above a whisper until the end of its next turn.
Smoldering Step. Difficult terrain composed of ash, smoke, or fire does not cost Zephyrion extra movement. He has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made in dim light, smoke, or shadow.
Actions
Multiattack. Zephyrion makes two attacks with Ashfang.
Ashfang. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8+4) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) fire damage. On a critical hit, the target also takes 9 (2d8) fire damage as the jagged blade lodges and smolders.
Ember Spit (Recharge 5-6). Zephyrion exhales a 15-foot cone of glowing embers. Each creature in the area must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. A creature that fails is blinded until the end of its next turn, giving Zephyrion an opening to strike or vanish.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Blink-Strike (Reaction). When a creature Zephyrion can see ends its movement within 5 feet of him, he can make one Ashfang attack against it.
A low-slung, ember-scaled drake-kin coiled over a jagged blackened blade, cloaked in scorched red and silent as smoke. He does not roar or challenge; he simply appears at your shoulder with Ashfang already moving.
Zephyrion, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINESmoldering Edge (signature). While you wield Zephyrion, the first melee attack you make on each of your turns deals an extra 1d8 fire damage, and creatures struck cannot regain hit points until the start of your next turn.
Actions
Ashfang Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) fire damage.
Reactions
Cinder Guard. When a creature within 5 feet hits you with a melee attack, you can wreathe Zephyrion in flame, dealing 5 (1d10) fire damage to that attacker.
Quenched in a dying volcano, the jagged blade hungers as much as the hand that holds it. It will not let a wound close while it still burns.
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 hiding for the Coiled Predator bonus damage, then split off the squishiest spellcaster. If clustered, lead with Ember Spit to blind before he closes. Pair him with a tougher front-line drake; alone he folds fast against a full party.
Open Hidden so the first Ashfang lands the +14 sneak damage and silences the target's caster. Kill-priority is healers and concentration casters; use Blink-Strike to punish anyone who tries to disengage past him. Run him as a flanking add-on to a brute or a lair full of minions, never as the lone threat.
Hide, strike the back line, then vanish with Smoldering Step through smoke and shadow each round. If clustered, Ember Spit blinds the front rank so he can slip past to the casters. Pair him with a bigger flagship threat plus minions so the party cannot focus him down.
Put Zephyrion 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 Zephyrion?
Zephyrion is built at CR 6 (2,300 XP) in his native Tier 2 band, a deadly skirmish-tier elite for parties of levels 5-10. Tier 1 (CR ~2) and Tier 3 (CR ~11) stat blocks are provided so you can drop him into a level 1-4 or 11-15 game with the same tricks and only the numbers shifted.
Can Zephyrion be a companion or ally?
Zephyrion himself is an assassin built to oppose the party, but his blade Ashfang is offered as a bound companion weapon: it deals bonus fire damage, prevents struck foes from healing, and burns attackers who close on the wielder. A defected or hired Zephyrion makes a chilling ally for an intrigue or stealth campaign.
Is Zephyrion a good solo boss?
No. He is a flanking, single-target assassin with no legendary actions, so a full party will out-act him quickly. Run him as an add-on to a tougher flagship threat or alongside minions in a smoke-filled lair where he can hide, strike, and vanish each round.
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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