Gorgonex
winged twin-axe reaver that strikes from the air
Gorgonex — The Encounter
winged twin-axe reaver that strikes from the air · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Gorgonex
Gorgonex is the swarm's flying anvil, one of the heavier winged reavers the Dreadblood Maulers loose to smash a target the grounded line cannot reach. The Lesser Key speaks of the slain reforged for slaughter, given wings only so they can fall harder, axes only so the fall lands cleaving. Gorgonex climbs, marks the strongest defender, and drops with all its weight behind two great blades. It is no thinker; the warband simply points it at the obstacle and lets gravity and hatred do the rest, while lighter kin mop up whatever the impact leaves standing.
Run Gorgonex in Sixty Seconds
- Climb then dive then Diving Cleave adds heavy slashing on the drop.
- Kill-priority is the toughest then drop both greataxes on the front-liner.
- When bloodied then Take Flight and dive again, don't grind on foot.
- It's a flight, not solo then let lighter reavers clean up the impact.
Gorgonex
Large undead, chaotic evil
CR 7 · 2,900 XP · GUIDELINEDiving Cleave. If Gorgonex flies at least 20 ft. straight toward a creature before making an axe attack, that attack deals an extra 9 (2d8) slashing damage on a hit.
Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces Gorgonex 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. Gorgonex makes two greataxe attacks.
Heavy Greataxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10+5) slashing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Take Flight (Bonus Action). Gorgonex flies up to half its fly speed without provoking opportunity attacks, setting up its next diving cleave.
A broad winged reaver that drops out of the dark with both axes leading, splitting a target before it can lift a shield.
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.
Have Gorgonex climb and dive on the party's tank for the bonus cleave damage, then trade blows. Use Take Flight to reset and dive again. Keep it tied to the swarm rather than solo.
Open with a 20-ft. dive onto the most armored PC so Diving Cleave adds a big chunk, then swing twice. When bloodied, lift off with Take Flight and dive again rather than grind on the ground. Hits as part of the winged pack, never alone.
Three ways to run it: a dive-bomber resetting each round, an anvil that pins the front-liner while reavers swarm, or a pair that alternate dives. Fight as a flight, never the boss.
Put Gorgonex 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 Gorgonex?
Gorgonex is CR 7 at its native Tier 2 (AC 16, 133 HP). Tier 1 (~CR 2) and Tier 3 (~CR 11) blocks are provided to scale it.
How does Gorgonex fight alongside the rest of the Dreadblood Maulers?
It is the warband's flying anvil, not a leader. Gorgonex dives on targets the grounded line can't reach and smashes them open, then lighter reavers swarm the survivors. Run it as part of the winged pack.
How do players blunt its dive?
Diving Cleave needs 20 ft. of straight flight first, so fighting in tight cover, low ceilings, or readying attacks against its approach denies the bonus damage and forces it to trade on the ground.
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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