Ishmael
winged crescent-staff herald of the serpent-brood
Ishmael — The Encounter
winged crescent-staff herald of the serpent-brood · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Ishmael
Ishmael is the herald of the Seeds of the Serpent, the brood born of the cursed line who took the old wyrm's scales. Of all the brothers he alone kept wings, and the grimoires whisper he flies ahead of the warband to mark the prey before the others reach it. His crescent staff is both blade and banner; when it falls and a foe falls with it, the brood below answers his cry and rushes the gap. He does not hold a line - he opens one. Wise hunters fear his shadow more than his blade, for where it passes the serpent-warriors are never far behind.
Run Ishmael in Sixty Seconds
- Fly 40 + Flyby then he hit-and-runs with no opportunity attacks - ready ranged fire or he stays out of reach.
- Herald's Cry then a kill by him lets every nearby Seed reaction-move - protect your downed allies fast.
- Diving Slash then on a recharge he rakes everyone in a line - don't bunch up under his flight path.
- Tail Coil then he trips you as a bonus action to set up the ground brood - watch for the knockdown.
- He is rank-and-file then he choreographs the warband; cut him down to slow the whole advance.
Ishmael
Medium humanoid (serpentfolk), neutral evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEFlyby. Ishmael doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when he flies out of an enemy's reach.
Herald's Cry. When Ishmael reduces a creature to 0 hit points, each Seed of the Serpent within 30 feet can use its reaction to move up to half its speed toward an enemy.
Actions
Multiattack. Ishmael makes two Crescent Staff attacks.
Crescent Staff. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) poison damage.
Diving Slash (Recharge 5-6). Ishmael flies up to his speed and makes one Crescent Staff attack against each creature he moves past, each target taking 13 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage on a hit.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Tail Coil (Bonus Action). Ishmael lashes with his serpent tail at a creature within 5 feet: DC 14 Strength save or be knocked prone.
A winged serpent-man banks low on feathered arms, crescent-bladed staff trailing, long tail whipping behind. He cries out and the brood surges to follow.
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 the fly speed and Flyby to dart in, slash, and leave without reprisal. Open the kill so Herald's Cry pulls the brood forward; he is the brood's eyes, not its anchor.
Soften a target with Diving Slash, then trip it with Tail Coil so the ground-bound Seeds finish it. Stay airborne and let Herald's Cry choreograph the warband's advance. Never trade hits toe-to-toe.
Fly herald for the whole brood: Diving Slash to pick off stragglers, Herald's Cry to chain-pull the warband onto a downed hero. He is an aerial skirmisher in a flight of Seeds, never a solo threat.
Put Ishmael 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 Ishmael?
Natively CR 6 (Tier 2, 2,300 XP). Use the tier table to scale him to CR 2 or CR 11 for your party.
How does Ishmael fight alongside the rest of the Seeds of the Serpent?
He is the brood's flying herald, marking and softening prey, then crying out so the warband surges into the gap he opens. He skirmishes from the air while the ground Seeds do the holding and finishing.
Should Ishmael ever lead a fight alone?
No. He is an aerial skirmisher whose Herald's Cry only matters with a warband at his back. Run him in a flight of Seeds, not solo.
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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