Cursedwraith
winged blood-lord and captain of the Dreadblood swarm
Cursedwraith — The Encounter
winged blood-lord and captain of the Dreadblood swarm · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Cursedwraith
Cursedwraith is the will behind the Dreadblood Maulers, the one reaver in the swarm that still thinks. The Lesser Key names such spirits the captains of the hungering dead, slain warlords who clawed back enough mind in undeath to command the rest. Where the others merely hunger, Cursedwraith plans: it hovers above the warband, marks the prey, and the reavers below tear into whatever it has wounded. It fights from reach, punishing any who strike its kin, and when the line wavers it drives a faltering reaver back into the fray with a single barked command. Kill Cursedwraith and the swarm does not flee, but it forgets how to win.
Run Cursedwraith in Sixty Seconds
- Wound, then command then Master of the Swarm hands nearby reavers advantage on your target.
- Punish the attackers then Punishing Reach jabs anyone who hits its kin in range.
- Spend legendaries then Rally the Dead and Wing Buffet on the party's turn.
- When PCs bunch then Reaping Sweep the cone for heavy slashing.
- Kill the captain then the swarm loses its coordination, not its menace.
Cursedwraith
Large undead, chaotic evil
CR 8 · 3,900 XP · GUIDELINEMaster of the Swarm. Dreadblood Maulers within 30 ft. of Cursedwraith have advantage on attack rolls against any creature Cursedwraith has damaged since its last turn.
Punishing Reach. Its trident-stave threatens within 10 ft. When a creature Cursedwraith can see hits one of its undead allies within 30 ft., Cursedwraith can use its reaction to make one trident-stave attack against that attacker if within reach.
Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces Cursedwraith to 0 hit points, it makes a Constitution save (DC 5 + the damage taken, radiant or a critical hit auto-fails). On a success, it drops to 1 hit point instead.
Actions
Multiattack. Cursedwraith makes two trident-stave attacks.
Trident-Stave. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6+6) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) necrotic damage.
Reaping Sweep (Recharge 5-6). Cursedwraith sweeps the stave in a 15-ft. cone. Each creature there makes a DC 15 Dexterity save, taking 21 (6d6) slashing damage on a failure, or half on a success.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Lord's Flight (Bonus Action). Cursedwraith flies up to half its fly speed without provoking opportunity attacks, staying within 30 ft. of its kin to keep Master of the Swarm active.
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Stave Strike. Cursedwraith makes one trident-stave attack.
Rally the Dead (Costs 2 Actions). One Dreadblood Mauler within 30 ft. that Cursedwraith can see moves up to its speed and makes one weapon attack as a reaction.
Wing Buffet (Costs 2 Actions). Cursedwraith beats its wings; each creature within 10 ft. makes a DC 15 Strength save or is pushed 10 ft. and knocked prone.
The winged blood-lord that commands the Dreadblood Maulers, trident-stave leveled, driving the swarm forward with cold cunning the lesser dead lack.
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 Cursedwraith from reach, marking a target so its reavers swarm with advantage. Use Reaping Sweep when PCs bunch up. It can anchor a small warband solo, but plays best surrounded by kin.
Open by wounding the front-liner so Master of the Swarm gives every nearby reaver advantage, then jab from 10 ft. Spend legendary actions on Rally the Dead to keep reavers attacking and Wing Buffet to scatter a clump. Reaping Sweep punishes grouped PCs; Lord's Flight keeps it in beacon range.
Three ways to run it: a true captain orchestrating a full reaver swarm with legendary actions, a reach-tyrant punishing anyone who touches its kin, or a solo blood-lord using Wing Buffet and Reaping Sweep to control space. As champion it can fight alone, but it is deadliest leading the warband.
Put Cursedwraith 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 Cursedwraith?
Cursedwraith is CR 8 at its native Tier 2 (AC 17, 142 HP) with legendary actions. Tier 1 (~CR 2) and Tier 3 (~CR 11) blocks let you scale it to your party.
How does Cursedwraith fight alongside the rest of the Dreadblood Maulers?
It is the warband's captain. Cursedwraith hovers among its kin, marks prey so reavers attack with advantage, punishes anyone who strikes its allies, and uses legendary actions to rally the dead and scatter clustered foes.
Is Cursedwraith a solo boss?
It is the faction's champion and can run solo on its legendary actions and reaction, but it is built to lead the swarm. Surround it with reavers and it fights far above its CR; isolate it and it is beatable.
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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