Hossu
hooked-glaive line-holder of the rhino-brute Battle Borta
Hossu — The Encounter
hooked-glaive line-holder of the rhino-brute Battle Borta · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Hossu
Hossu is the steadiest of the Battle Borta, the brute who turns a brawling mob of rhinokin into something like a fighting line. His hooked glaive reaches past the front rank to drag stragglers in or trip a charge before it lands, and so long as a fellow brute stands at his shoulder he holds his ground like a planted post. The warband relies on him to set the shape of the fight: Hossu pins the enemy in place, and Tutu, Samori, and Mansa do the killing. Mwanga trusts him to hold the flank that must not break, and in a hundred contracts that flank never has.
Run Hossu in Sixty Seconds
- He's the line-holder then keep a brute at Hossu's shoulder for the Phalanx Footing AC bonus.
- The hook controls then drag or trip key foes into the reach of Tutu and Samori.
- Punish movers then hold Hooking Stop for the first enemy that tries to rush past the line.
- Pin, don't chase then let Hossu freeze the front while the heavy brutes do the killing.
Hossu
Medium humanoid (rhinokin), lawful neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEHooked Reach. On a hit with his glaive, Hossu can choose to pull a Large or smaller target up to 10 feet toward him, or knock it prone if it is already within 5 feet (target's choice, no save).
Phalanx Footing. While at least one Battle Borta ally is within 5 feet of him, Hossu gains a +1 bonus to AC (included below) and ignores difficult terrain.
Actions
Multiattack. Hossu makes two Glaive attacks.
Glaive. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) slashing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Hooking Stop (Reaction). When a creature Hossu can see moves within 10 feet of him, he can make one Glaive attack against it; on a hit he may instead use Hooked Reach to drag or trip it.
A disciplined rhino-brute leveling a long crescent-hooked glaive across the front of the line.
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.
Set Hossu at the front with a brute at his shoulder and use Hooking Stop to trip or drag chargers before they reach the pack. Pull priority foes into the reach of Tutu and Samori.
Anchor the line beside another brute for the Phalanx Footing bonus, then use Hooked Reach to yank enemies out of formation and into the warband's killing reach. Hold Hooking Stop for the first foe that tries to rush past him.
Run Hossu as the warband's line-holder, never solo. Keep a brute at his side, hook the enemy champion into the pack, and use his reach and reaction to freeze the front so Mwanga's brutes can grind it down.
Put Hossu 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 Hossu?
Hossu 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 Hossu fight alongside the rest of the Battle Borta?
He is the warband's anchor and crowd-control—his hooked glaive drags and trips foes into the pack's reach, and Phalanx Footing rewards keeping a brute at his side so the line never breaks.
Can Hossu solo a party?
No. He is a support elite whose AC bonus and battlefield control depend on fighting beside other brutes. 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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