Askia
leaping falchion-duelist of the rhino-brute Battle Borta
Askia — The Encounter
leaping falchion-duelist of the rhino-brute Battle Borta · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Askia
Askia is the showman of the Battle Borta, the brute who opens a battle with a leap nobody his size has any right to make. Where the others grind, Askia hunts the single foe whose fall will tip the fight, springing over the front rank to bring his gilded falchion down before the enemy has set their feet. The warband indulges his theatrics because they work: a captain knocked sprawling in the first exchange rarely recovers. He fights loose of the line, trusting Cetshwayo and Hossu to hold while he ranges for the decisive blow, and returns to the pack only to choose his next leap.
Run Askia in Sixty Seconds
- He's the leaper then open with Pouncing Step into Leaping Strike on a foe that hasn't acted.
- First strike has edge then spend Duelist's Eye advantage on the enemy leader.
- Leap knocks prone then drop a key target so the heavy brutes swarm it on the ground.
- Pounce, then peel then dart back toward Cetshwayo's line to set the next leap, not get mobbed.
Askia
Medium humanoid (rhinokin), chaotic neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINELeaping Strike. If Askia jumps at least 10 feet as part of his movement and hits with a Falchion attack on the same turn, the attack deals an extra 9 (2d8) slashing damage and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength save or be knocked prone.
Duelist's Eye. Askia has advantage on the first melee attack he makes each combat against a creature that has not yet acted.
Actions
Multiattack. Askia makes two Falchion attacks.
Falchion. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8+4) slashing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Pouncing Step (Bonus Action). Askia jumps up to 15 feet without provoking opportunity attacks; he can use this to set up Leaping Strike.
An agile rhino-brute mid-leap, a gleaming gold falchion raised for an overhead killing chop.
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.
Lead the fight with Pouncing Step into Leaping Strike against an enemy who hasn't acted, stacking Duelist's Eye advantage. Knock a key foe prone, then let the heavy brutes close on it.
Open by leaping over the front line at the enemy leader—Duelist's Eye plus Leaping Strike can drop and prone it in one exchange. Then Multiattack from advantage and peel back toward Cetshwayo's line to set up the next pounce rather than getting surrounded.
Use Askia as the warband's assassin-leaper, never solo. Spring at the enemy's key caster or commander to prone it for the pack, then dart back so Hossu and the brutes finish the foe he has put on the ground.
Put Askia 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 Askia?
Askia is CR 6 (2,300 XP) at his native Tier 2. Use the tier table to rescale AC, HP, to-hit, and DC for Tier 1 or Tier 3.
How does Askia fight alongside the rest of the Battle Borta?
He is the warband's leaping assassin—he springs over the line to prone and stagger the enemy leader, then peels back so Cetshwayo and Hossu hold while the brutes finish the foe he put down.
Can Askia work as a solo boss?
No. He is a mobile elite with no legendary kit, built to land one decisive opener and rejoin the pack. Always field him within the 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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