Marsel
hooded scythe-leaning footman of the Death Reapers
Marsel — The Encounter
hooded scythe-leaning footman of the Death Reapers · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Marsel
Marsel is the rank-and-file of the Death Reapers, the patient footman that forms the warband's standing line. Where gleaners dive and the hook fishes, Marsel simply waits, scythe planted, and cuts down whatever crosses into its reach. World-lore of the soul-harvest tells of the still reapers posted along the road of the dead, who let the traveller come to them rather than give chase. Within the Flock these are the many, the bodies that hold a corridor or seal a retreat while the elites do their choosing. Folk who have fled past such a line speak of hooded shapes that never seemed to move, and of the comrade beside them dropping without a sound when they strayed too near a blade.
Run Marsel in Sixty Seconds
- It holds the line so it won't chase: it waits and cuts what enters its reach.
- Reaper's Reach means its scythe hits at 10 ft. and it gets an opportunity attack when you step IN, not just out.
- Open from range or with a charge that goes past it, since walking up trades you a free hit.
- Undead Fortitude can keep it at 1 HP; finish with radiant or a crit.
Marsel
Medium undead, lawful evil
CR 5 · 1,800 XP · GUIDELINEReaper's Reach. Marsel's long-hafted scythe gives its melee attacks reach 10 ft., and it can make an opportunity attack against a creature that enters its reach, not only one that leaves it.
Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces Marsel to 0 HP, it makes a Con save (DC 5 + the damage taken) unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit; on a success it drops to 1 HP instead.
Actions
Multiattack. Marsel makes two scythe attacks.
Long Scythe. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8+3) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) necrotic damage.
A hooded reaper at rest on its long scythe, unmoving until something steps within the arc of the blade.
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.
Run Marsel as a standing guard. It holds a chokepoint and punishes anyone entering its 10-ft. reach with an opportunity attack. It does not chase; it makes you come to it.
Fight as the Flock's line: several Marsels hold a corridor while the elites work. Open by reaping anyone who steps into reach, then keep the line intact. These are the rank-and-file; run them as a wall, never as individual heroes.
Use a row of reapers to seal a retreat while the wing-pack harvests. They punish any crossing of their reach and refuse to break formation. This is a phalanx, never a solo.
Put Marsel 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 Marsel?
Native CR 5 (Tier 2). Use the tiers table to scale toward CR 2 or CR 11.
How does Marsel fight alongside the rest of the Death Reapers?
It is the warband's rank-and-file line. Marsels hold corridors and seal retreats with their long reach while the winged elites dive, hook, and choose. Field them in numbers as a wall.
Why does it get a free hit when I approach?
Reaper's Reach lets it strike with an opportunity attack as you enter its 10-ft. reach. Open with ranged attacks or close from an angle that doesn't cross the blade.
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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