Bramblethorn
red-eyed skull-staff fae who blasts a ruinous line of force
Bramblethorn — The Encounter
red-eyed skull-staff fae who blasts a ruinous line of force · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Bramblethorn
Bramblethorn is the long arm of the Ahlir Faiser, the forest fae who pin trespassers in place and let one of their own do the breaking. Its skull-tipped staff channels raw force in a line so straight the masked one need only choose a lane and hold it. The rest of the flight herds prey into that lane; Bramblethorn does the rest, its red eye unblinking down the length of the staff. Those who survive a grove speak of a single shape standing perfectly still while the air itself screamed past it. It is the flight's artillery, never its general, and it does its worst from cover with the warband shielding its flanks.
Run Bramblethorn in Sixty Seconds
- Brace and stay then hold position so Braced Stance gives +2 to hit and steadier concentration.
- Hunt the lone target then Force-Lance an isolated foe for the lined-up bonus damage.
- Wait for the row then loose Rending Line when the flight has herded enemies into a line.
- When bloodied then move behind allies even at the cost of the brace bonus.
Bramblethorn
Medium fey, neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEChanneling Staff (signature). Bramblethorn levels its skull-tipped staff like a lance. Once per turn, when it hits a creature with Force-Lance, it deals an extra 5 (2d4) force damage if that target is the only creature within 5 ft. of it (a lined-up shot).
Braced Stance. While Bramblethorn did not move on its last turn, it has advantage on Constitution saving throws to maintain concentration and +2 to its spell attack rolls.
Actions
Multiattack. Bramblethorn casts Force-Lance twice.
Force-Lance. Ranged Spell Attack: +6 to hit (or +8 while braced), range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d10+3) force damage.
Rending Line (Recharge 5-6). Bramblethorn fires a beam in a 60-foot line, 5 ft. wide. Each creature there must make a DC 14 Dexterity save, taking 21 (6d6) force damage on a failure, or half as much on a success.
A masked fae artillerist who sets its stance and pours channeled force down a single deadly lane.
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.
Park Bramblethorn in cover and let it brace for the bonus to hit, then snipe isolated targets with Force-Lance. Save Rending Line for when foes line up. It is glass artillery; keep allies between it and melee.
Hold position to keep Braced Stance active, then loose Force-Lance at the most isolated, high-value target for the lined-up bonus. Unleash Rending Line whenever the flight has herded enemies into a row. When bloodied, accept a moved turn to retreat behind allies; Bramblethorn is artillery for the warband, never a solo duelist.
Same gun-line loop at deadlier numbers: brace, lance, rend. Pair with herders like Galeleaf and zoners like Thornshadow so targets keep lining up. It is a damage elite, not a boss.
Put Bramblethorn 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 Bramblethorn?
Bramblethorn is CR 6 at its native Tier 2 (about 105 HP, +6 to hit and +8 braced, DC 14). Scale with the tier table to CR 2 or CR 11.
How does Bramblethorn fight alongside the rest of the Ahlir Faiser?
It is the flight's artillery. The warband pins and herds enemies into a lane, and Bramblethorn pours channeled force down it with Force-Lance and Rending Line.
Is Bramblethorn solo-capable?
No. It is fragile artillery with no legendary actions; it needs allies to screen it and to set up its lanes. Always run it inside an Ahlir Faiser warband.
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.
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