Joram
shield-and-blade line-holder of the gator warband
Joram — The Encounter
shield-and-blade line-holder of the gator warband · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Joram
Joram is the wall the Gator Tribe forms behind. Where the others rely on jaw and ambush, he relies on iron and footing, planting his shield so the shamans and reavers can work unmolested. He has held river-crossings alone long enough for the warband to circle and close, and the tribe trusts that a fight does not break until Joram does. He speaks of the hunt as a thing of order, not chaos: the strong hold, the swift strike, the patient drown. He keeps a single skull lacquered to his shield, an old enemy who tried to break his line and could not.
Run Joram in Sixty Seconds
- Kill priority then position Joram between the enemy and the warband's shamans and reavers.
- Open with a shield bash to trip a charger, then settle into the line with the broadsword.
- When an ally is hit use Guardian's Shove to bash the attacker; keep Shield Wall up by staying adjacent to kin.
- Run him as the warband's anchor, never a lone boss.
Joram
Medium humanoid (reptilian), lawful neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEHold Breath. Joram can hold his breath for 15 minutes.
Shield Wall. While Joram is within 5 feet of at least one ally, that ally has half cover against ranged attacks and gains a +1 bonus to AC.
Actions
Multiattack. Joram makes two attacks: one with his broadsword and one with his shield bash, or two broadsword attacks.
Broadsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) slashing damage.
Shield Bash. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6+4) bludgeoning damage, and a Medium or smaller target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength save or be knocked prone.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Guardian's Shove (Reaction). When a creature within 5 feet hits an ally Joram can see, he can make a shield bash attack against the attacker.
An armored gator behind a heavy round shield, broadsword steady, holding the line for the pack.
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 Joram as a lone anchor beside weaker kin. He plants his shield, soaks hits, and bashes chargers prone. Fights as a warband, never solo.
Plant Joram in front of the shamans and reavers. Shield Wall covers adjacent kin, Guardian's Shove punishes anyone who hits them, and his bash trips chargers. He holds the line, never solos.
Run him as the anchor of a full gator flight. He soaks the front and protects the casters while the swift gators swarm the flanks. He shields the warband, never fights alone.
Put Joram 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 Joram?
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 Joram fight alongside the rest of the Gator Tribe?
He is the anchor. Joram plants his shield in front of the shamans and reavers, covering them and punishing attackers so the rest of the pack can encircle. He is a rank-and-file defender, not a solo boss.
What does Shield Wall protect?
Allies adjacent to Joram gain half cover from ranged attacks and a small AC bonus, so keep the pack's casters tucked behind his shield.
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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