Darwin
red-eyed crow-archer and silent loosing-hand of the Grim Flock
Darwin — The Encounter
red-eyed crow-archer and silent loosing-hand of the Grim Flock · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Darwin
Among the Grim Flock, the crow-folk who ride the storm-winds as one murder of wings, Darwin is counted a loosing-hand: an archer set apart to take the first life of any fight. The Flock teaches that a battle is decided by the opening shaft, and so Darwin learns to read a stranger's stance before a single word is traded, then to put an arrow through the seam no armorer remembers. He keeps to the high air with his kin, stooping in pairs and threes so that no quarry is ever loosed upon by one bow alone. Where the Flock gathers on a gallows-tree or a broken tower, Darwin perches highest, watching the road, fletching by feel, waiting for the moment the column forgets to look up.
Run Darwin in Sixty Seconds
- Open from above then put Killing Glare into whoever hasn't acted yet for the advantage shot plus 2d8.
- Never land then use the 50 ft. fly speed and Flyby to shoot and slip away without provoking.
- Punish the careless then spend Loosing Stoop on any enemy that ends its turn in the open within 30 ft.
- Hunt in a murder then keep Darwin beside at least one more crow so the bows overlap and screen him.
- Aim for the seams then prioritize squishy casters and archers over armored front-liners.
Darwin
Medium humanoid (aarakocra), neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEFlyby. The crow-archer doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy's reach.
Killing Glare (signature). The first ranged attack the crow-archer makes against a creature that hasn't yet acted in combat is made with advantage, and on a hit deals an extra 9 (2d8) piercing damage as the arrow finds a seam in armor.
Keen Sight. The crow-archer has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Actions
Multiattack. The crow-archer makes two attacks with its longbow.
Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) piercing damage.
Talon Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) slashing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Loosing Stoop. When a creature the crow-archer can see ends its turn within 30 feet, the crow-archer can use its reaction to fly up to half its flying speed and make one longbow attack against that creature.
A crow-headed skirmisher who drops from the dark in a feathered cloak, looses two clean shafts, and is gone before the volley is answered. Its red eyes pick the throat, the eye-slit, the gap in the gorget.
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 Darwin as the murder's opening shot: open from the high air with Killing Glare on whoever hasn't moved yet, then peel away on Flyby so no melee answers him. Keep him paired with at least one more crow so the party never faces a lone bow.
Open with Killing Glare on the softest unactivated target, then Multiattack each round from 80+ feet, drifting on his 50 ft. fly speed to stay out of reach. Save Loosing Stoop for whoever steps clear of cover, and let the rest of the Flock screen him from chargers.
Fight as a flight, never solo: stack Darwin with two or three other Grim Flock archers and rotate Killing Glare across newcomers so each round one enemy eats the bonus shaft. Use Flyby and Loosing Stoop to punish anyone who breaks toward the casters; if pressed, the whole flight stoops and relocates together.
Put Darwin 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 Darwin?
Darwin is built as a CR 6 (Tier 2) ranged skirmisher, his native band. Stat him down to CR 2 for a Tier 1 table or up to CR 11 for Tier 3 using the tier rows; the traits and actions stay identical and only the numbers move.
How does Darwin fight alongside the rest of the Grim Flock?
Darwin is a loosing-hand, not a champion. He stays in the high air with the murder, takes the opening shot with Killing Glare, and stoops in pairs so the Flock's bows always overlap. He screens the meleed crows from range and never picks a fight as a lone bow.
Can Darwin be run as a solo boss?
No. He is rank-and-file with no legendary actions, so a lone Darwin is easily focused down. Always field him as part of a flight; the threat is the volume of overlapping arrows, not any single archer.
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.
Played Darwin at your table? Log in with your Obsidian Tavern account to leave a balance note, a war story, or a file issue — the sharpest reports get the block revised.
Log in to comment