Dahram
horned axe-and-aegis warden, wingless wall of the host
Dahram — The Encounter
horned axe-and-aegis warden, wingless wall of the host · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Dahram
Dahram is the warden of the Cult of Metatron, the wingless wall that keeps the host's ground while the heralds rule the air. The cult sends it to shield the standard-bearer and the invoker, raising its great aegis over them so no blow lands true. Its broad axe is not for chasing but for breaking any who batter at the line it anchors, and a slam of the shield throws the bold flat for the flock to fall upon. The faithful trust Dahram to stand when others fly, the fixed point around which the winged host wheels. Drawn out from the formation it guards, the warden's strength is wasted swinging at empty air.
Run Dahram in Sixty Seconds
- Kill-priority low to mid; it is hard to drop and mostly defends others, so ignore it unless it walls off your real target.
- Open with Aegis Slam on the first PC to reach the cult's casters, knocking them prone.
- When bloodied stay planted on the support it guards; its job is to hold, not to survive a duel.
- Three ways to run it bodyguard for the standard-bearer, chokepoint wall, or a slam-and-pin sentinel feeding prone targets to the flock.
Dahram
Medium celestial, lawful neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEWarding Aegis. While Dahram wields its aegis, allied cultists within 5 feet gain a +2 bonus to AC. Dahram cannot be flanked.
Sentinel Stance. Dahram has advantage on saving throws against being moved, knocked prone, or grappled.
Actions
Multiattack. Dahram makes two Verdict Axe attacks.
Verdict Axe. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (1d12 + 4) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) radiant damage.
Aegis Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet and knocked prone.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Guarding Step. When an allied cultist within 5 feet is hit by an attack, Dahram can move up to 5 feet to interpose its aegis, granting that ally resistance to the triggering damage.
A horned, helmed warden bracing a great ornate axe in one hand and an enormous gilded aegis in the other, planted to hold the ground it stands on.
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.
Plant in front of the cult's casters and intercept whoever reaches them. Aegis Slam a charger flat for the flock. Hold ground with the warband; do not pursue.
Body-block the standard-bearer and invoker, keeping them under Warding Aegis. Aegis Slam the first PC to close, knocking it prone, then chop with the Verdict Axe. Use Guarding Step to soak hits for key allies. It is a guardian, not a chaser; never solo.
Anchor the cult's vulnerable support and refuse to be pulled off them. Slam and pin anyone who breaks through for the heralds to swarm. Always the warband's wall, never a lone duelist.
Put Dahram 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 Dahram?
Native Challenge Rating 6 (2,300 XP) at Tier 2. Tier 1 (~CR 2) and Tier 3 (~CR 11) lines are provided to scale to your table.
How does Dahram fight alongside the rest of the Cult of Metatron?
It is the host's wall. It shields the winged standard-bearer and invoker with its aegis, slams attackers prone, and holds the ground while the fliers maneuver. It is a defensive elite, not a solo boss.
Why doesn't Dahram fly like the others?
It is the cult's earthbound warden by design, the fixed anchor for the airborne host. It is an SRD celestial reflavored as a shield-and-axe guardian, built around protecting allies rather than mobility.
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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