Galilei
gold-armored crow-knight and spell-blade of the Grim Flock
Galilei — The Encounter
gold-armored crow-knight and spell-blade of the Grim Flock · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Galilei
Among the Grim Flock, Galilei is named for the watcher who turned his gaze skyward and was punished for it. So too did this knight study what mortals are forbidden to study, until the brand of the carrion court fused gold to his feathers and a tongue of cold fire to his palm. He marshals the lesser crows the way a captain marshals spears, calling targets in the croaking cant and sealing each command with a stroke of his withering blade. The warband fights as a murmuration, one mind in a thousand bodies, and Galilei is the voice that gives the murmuration its will. Where he points, the flock descends; where his bolt withers, nothing rises again.
Run Galilei in Sixty Seconds
- Kill priority then drop Galilei AFTER its crows, because Murmuration makes the rest of the flock hit far harder.
- Open with Withering Bolt on a soft target to permanently shrink its hit-point maximum before melee even starts.
- Every turn spend the bonus action on Murmuration so one Grim Flock ally swings with advantage.
- On a hit trigger Spell-Blade once per turn for an extra 3d6 necrotic on a failed DC 14 Con save.
- When bloodied retreat behind two crows and keep calling targets; this knight is a captain, not a champion.
Galilei
Medium humanoid (corvine), lawful evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINESpell-Blade. Galilei can weave a spell into a strike. Once per turn when it hits a creature with its falchion, it may force that creature to make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, taking an extra 10 (3d6) necrotic damage on a failure, or half as much on a success.
Carrion Resolve. Galilei has advantage on saving throws against being frightened, and any ally of the Grim Flock that can see it has advantage on the same.
Actions
Multiattack. Galilei makes two falchion attacks, or one falchion attack and one use of Withering Bolt.
Falchion. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8+3) slashing damage.
Withering Bolt. Ranged Spell Attack: +6 to hit, range 60 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (3d8+1) necrotic damage, and the target's hit point maximum is reduced by that amount until it finishes a long rest.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Murmuration. As a bonus action, Galilei points its blade at one creature it can see within 60 feet; until the start of its next turn, the next attack roll made against that creature by a Grim Flock ally has advantage.
A hooded knight in gilded plate, its beaked mask hiding nothing but more shadow, one fist wreathed in violet deathlight while the other levels a black falchion.
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 Galilei as the warband's sergeant: it opens with Withering Bolt on a squishy spellcaster, then closes to guard the lesser crows. Spend Murmuration each round to feed advantage to whichever flock-mate is flanking the party's healer. If the crows around it die, it falls back rather than fighting on alone.
Open with Withering Bolt to clip a target's hit-point maximum, then wade in and trigger Spell-Blade on the first falchion hit. Bonus-action Murmuration each turn to set up the flock's next dive. When bloodied, pull back behind two crows, keep calling targets, and let the warband absorb the punishment for you.
Galilei anchors an entire flight, never a solo. Lead with Withering Bolt on the toughest front-liner to shrink its max HP, then alternate Multiattack and Spell-Blade while Murmuration hands a different crow advantage every round. Keep it screened by flock-mates; the moment it stands alone, run it as a fighting retreat rather than a duel.
Put Galilei 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 Galilei?
Galilei is built as a Tier 2 elite at CR 6 (2,300 XP): AC 16, 123 HP, +6 to hit, save DC 14. Scale it down to CR ~2 for Tier 1 or up to CR ~11 for Tier 3 using the numbers in the tiers table; the traits and actions stay identical.
How does Galilei fight alongside the rest of the Grim Flock?
Galilei is the warband's officer, not a lone boss. It hangs back among the lesser crows, uses Murmuration each turn to grant a flock-mate advantage, and stiffens their nerve with Carrion Resolve. Take out the surrounding crows first and Galilei loses most of its teeth, since its job is amplifying the murmuration rather than soloing the party.
Is Galilei solo_capable?
No. It has no legendary actions and only a single bonus-action buff, so a lone Galilei is an easy fight. It is designed to be run with its warband, where Murmuration and Spell-Blade make the whole flock dangerous. Always field it with at least a few Grim Flock crows.
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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