Herzog
feather-staff bog-shaman and chant-herald of the tribe
Herzog — The Encounter
feather-staff bog-shaman and chant-herald of the tribe · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Herzog
Herzog speaks for the swamp, or so the Gator Tribe believes, reading its will in the rise of the water and the patience of the herons. In a fight he stands behind the line of Joram and Lakan, calling the chant that knits wounds and binds the strong while spirit-lights circle his staff. The warband fights harder when his voice carries over the reeds, and falters when it stops, so the cunning of the tribe is to guard him as fiercely as he guards them. He is no warrior in the manner of Rebo, but the bog answers when he asks, and a sacred fire from his open palm has ended more hunts than any maul.
Run Herzog in Sixty Seconds
- Kill priority then keep Herzog behind the line and protected; he is the warband's engine.
- Open with spirit guardians on the enemy front or hold person on their toughest fighter.
- Every turn Rally the Pack: heal a wounded gator or reposition spiritual weapon.
- When threatened burn a closing attacker with sacred flame and fall back behind Joram.
- Run him as the warband's support, never a lone boss.
Herzog
Medium humanoid (reptilian), neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEHold Breath. Herzog can hold his breath for 15 minutes.
Bog-Chant (Spellcasting). Herzog is a 7th-level spellcaster (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit, Wisdom). He has the following cleric spells prepared: Cantrips - sacred flame, thaumaturgy, guidance; 1st (4 slots) - bless, healing word, guiding bolt; 2nd (3 slots) - spiritual weapon, hold person; 3rd (3 slots) - spirit guardians, mass healing word; 4th (1 slot) - guardian of faith.
Actions
Multiattack. Herzog makes two feathered staff attacks, or casts a spell and makes one staff attack.
Feathered Staff. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d4+2) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) radiant damage.
Sacred Flame (Cantrip). Ranged Spell Attack: the target must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity save or take 13 (3d8) radiant damage. The target gains no benefit from cover for this save.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Rally the Pack (Bonus Action). Herzog casts healing word or moves his spiritual weapon.
A robed gator-shaman who lifts a feathered staff and chants the bog's old judgements over the battle.
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.
Use Herzog as a lone support caster behind weaker kin. He blesses the pack, heals with healing word, and burns priority targets with sacred flame. Fights as a warband, never solo.
Stand behind Joram's shield. Open with spirit guardians or hold person on the enemy front, keep spiritual weapon prodding, and Rally the Pack with healing word. Guard him and he carries the warband; he never solos.
Run him as the chant-heart of a full gator flight. He locks priority foes with hold person, blankets the line with spirit guardians, and refills the swarm with mass healing word. He commands from cover, never alone.
Put Herzog 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 Herzog?
CR 6 (2,300 XP) at his native Tier 2. Scale to ~CR 2 for Tier 1 or ~CR 11 for Tier 3 using the tier table.
How does Herzog fight alongside the rest of the Gator Tribe?
He is the chant-heart. Herzog buffs and heals the pack from behind Joram's shield while binding the enemy with hold person and spirit guardians. He is a rank-and-file caster the warband guards, not a solo boss.
What spells matter most?
Lead with spirit guardians to grind the enemy line, hold person to remove their best fighter, and keep healing word and mass healing word topping up the swarm.
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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