Einstein
scythe-armed crow-stalker of the Grim Flock
Einstein — The Encounter
scythe-armed crow-stalker of the Grim Flock · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Einstein
Among the Grim Flock the one named Einstein is no scholar but a counter of the dying, a stalker who learned that battles are won by patience. Folklore of the carrion-fields names the Flock as crows given the shape of men, who descend where steel has already done its work and finish what the sword began. Einstein leads the wing-tip of the warband, loping low through smoke to hamstring stragglers while its kin harry the front. It is said the bird-skull mask is its true face, and that the red coals behind the eye-sockets brighten as a victim weakens. Where the Flock circles, the wise abandon their fallen and run, for the scythe of Einstein reaps the slow long before it reaps the brave.
Run Einstein in Sixty Seconds
- Hunt the hurt then have Einstein open on whoever is already below max HP, using Carrion Scent to sniff out the weakest.
- Strike and slide then after a Crow Scythe hit, use Reaping Stride to move 10 ft. free of opportunity attacks.
- Stay with the Flock then keep an allied Grim Flock mini within 10 ft. so Flock Step grants both Disengage and Dash.
- Bleed them slow then remember the scythe adds necrotic on top of slashing; track the extra 1d8.
- Never solo then when bloodied, retreat toward the warband rather than dueling a single PC.
Einstein
Medium humanoid (corvid), neutral evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINECarrion Scent. Einstein has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell and on Wisdom (Perception) and Wisdom (Survival) checks to find or track a creature that is below its hit point maximum.
Reaping Stride. Einstein's long, dragging strikes carry it forward. Once on each of its turns, when it hits a creature with the Crow Scythe, it can move up to 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.
Actions
Multiattack. Einstein makes two attacks: one with its Crow Scythe and one with its Talons.
Crow Scythe. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (3d8 + 4) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) necrotic damage.
Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) slashing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Flock Step (Bonus Action). Einstein takes the Disengage or Dash action. If an allied member of the Grim Flock is within 10 feet, it instead gains both.
A crouched, beak-masked killer with glowing red eyes, dragging a long necrotic scythe and stalking the wounded on taloned feet.
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 Einstein as a flanking skirmisher of the Flock: it lopes wide, uses Flock Step to reach an isolated PC, then cuts and drags away with Reaping Stride. Never let it stand and trade alone; it darts in beside other Grim Flock minis and retreats the moment it is focused.
Open on the most wounded target Einstein can smell via Carrion Scent, hitting with the Crow Scythe to trigger Reaping Stride and reposition out of melee. Fight as one wing of the warband, chaining Flock Step beside allies for the doubled move. When bloodied, fall back to the rest of the Flock rather than fighting solo.
Deploy Einstein with the full Grim Flock as a coordinated pack: it peels off to finish low-HP PCs while the warband pins the front line. Use Reaping Stride and Flock Step every round to skirmish through the party, striking and gliding out of reach. It never holds ground solo, always orbiting back to its kin.
Put Einstein 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 Einstein?
Einstein is built at CR 6 (2,300 XP) in its native Tier 2 band, a Tier 2 elite skirmisher rather than a boss. Use the Tier 1 or Tier 3 columns to rescale AC, HP, to-hit, and save DC for lower or higher parties.
How does Einstein fight alongside the rest of the Grim Flock?
It works as the wing-tip of the warband: while the bulk of the Flock pins the front, Einstein peels off to chase down and finish wounded PCs, using Flock Step beside allies for extra mobility. It is not solo-capable and should always orbit back to its kin rather than standing and dueling.
What does the extra necrotic damage on the Crow Scythe represent?
The Crow Scythe is a carrion-blade that reaps the failing flesh of the dying, so each hit deals slashing plus an extra 1d8 necrotic. Einstein also resists necrotic itself, reflecting its nature as a crow-shaped harvester of the fallen.
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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