Tesla
plague-masked scythe-reaper riding the carrion crow of the Grim Flock
Tesla — The Encounter
plague-masked scythe-reaper riding the carrion crow of the Grim Flock · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Tesla
When fever emptied the cathedral-towns, the surviving plague-doctors did not flee; they made a pact with the Grim Flock, that endless murder of carrion crows said to carry souls to the next world. Tesla was the first to climb astride a crow grown vast on battlefield dead, its beak iron-bound and its feathers stitched with grave-crosses. Now it rides the cordons it once tended, harvesting the sick before the sickness can spread, gathering the fallen for the Flock to bear away. Villagers who glimpse the gold-eyed mask through the mist still bar their doors and burn juniper, praying the reaper passes by. It rarely does. The scythe takes what the plague began.
Run Tesla in Sixty Seconds
- Kill priority then strike the lowest-AC healer or caster first; the scythe's festering necrotic damage punishes squishy targets.
- Open with a charge then use the crow's 50-ft. move to crash into the back line and Multiattack the same victim.
- Mind the aura then anyone starting within 10 ft. rolls DC 14 CON or attacks at disadvantage all turn.
- When bloodied then wheel away on the mount and rely on Reaping Sweep to slash pursuers who close the gap.
- Never solo then keep crow flights screening Tesla so it always reaches a target and keeps the action economy lopsided.
Tesla
Large undead (mounted), neutral evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEBonded Mount. Tesla and its carrion crow act on the same initiative and move as one. While mounted, Tesla cannot be knocked prone by an effect that fails to also unseat the crow, and the crow takes the Dash, Disengage, or Dodge action on Tesla's command without using Tesla's action.
Pestilent Aura. The reeking miasma clinging to the plague-mask sickens the living. A creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of Tesla must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or have disadvantage on attack rolls until the start of its next turn.
Actions
Multiattack. Tesla makes two attacks with its harvest scythe, or one scythe attack and one Carrion Beak attack from its mount.
Harvest Scythe. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10+4) slashing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 7 (2d6) necrotic damage as the wound festers.
Carrion Beak (Mount). Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) piercing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Reaping Sweep (Reaction). When a creature Tesla can see ends its movement within 10 feet of it, Tesla can make one harvest scythe attack against that creature.
A plague-masked reaper rides a great armored carrion crow through the graveyard, scythe held high and lantern-eyes burning gold. Where its mount steps, the dead remember to stir.
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 Tesla as an outrider that harries a low-level party from the edges. It charges in on the crow, swings the scythe at the nearest healer, then uses the mount's speed to wheel away before retaliation. Treat it as one menacing skirmisher leading lesser Grim Flock crows, never alone.
Open by charging into the softest target and using Pestilent Aura to blunt the front line, then Multiattack the same victim to drop it. When bloodied, fall back on the crow's 50-ft. move and let Reaping Sweep punish anyone chasing. Fight as a flight of the Grim Flock, with crow swarms screening Tesla so it always reaches the back rank.
Field Tesla as the elite tip of a full Grim Flock warband, not a solo boss. It rides circuits around the party, scything one target per pass and leaning on Pestilent Aura to keep casters off-balance. Pair it with several crow flights so the action economy stays in the Flock's favor; if isolated, it disengages and rejoins the murder rather than trading blows alone.
Put Tesla 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 Tesla?
Tesla is built at CR 6 (2,300 XP) in its native Tier 2 form, sized for a party of 5th-10th level. The included Tier 1 and Tier 3 stat lines let you drop it to roughly CR 2 or push it to about CR 11 without changing how it plays.
How does Tesla fight alongside the rest of the Grim Flock?
Tesla is a mounted elite, not a lone champion. It rides at the head of crow flights that screen it and pin the party, using its speed to dive on the back rank while the lesser Flock soaks attacks. Run it as the spearpoint of a murder of crows, never as a solo boss.
What does the Pestilent Aura do in practice?
Any creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of Tesla must make a DC 14 Constitution save or attack at disadvantage until its next turn. It rewards staying mobile and punishes melee crowds that pile in on the reaper, so spread out or break line of sight before committing.
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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