Mosskel
claw-shielded flank raider of the fungal warband
Mosskel — The Encounter
claw-shielded flank raider of the fungal warband · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Mosskel
The Mosskel is the warband's flanker, a fast bark-bodied raider that hides behind a grown chitin claw and waits for the heavy caps to fix a target. The moment a foe is pinned by a Mycelion's hammers, the Mosskel sidesteps in and opens its flank with a curved cleaver. Its shield is no mere guard; a missed swing is answered with a shove that spills the careless. Grove-lore paints it as the patient cousin of the host, never the first to strike and never the one a foe expects, always coming from the side already turned away. It is built to exploit, not to lead, and dies fast if it forgets it.
Run Mosskel in Sixty Seconds
- Wait for the pin then strike the flank the heavy caps have fixed.
- Stack allies then trigger Flanker for an extra die every hit.
- Punish misses then Shield Shove careless attackers off balance.
- Never lead then keep it beside a friend so it always flanks.
Mosskel
Medium plant, neutral
CR 2 · 450 XP · GUIDELINEClaw Guard. The Mosskel's chitin claw-shield grants it a +1 bonus to AC (included) and advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects it can see.
Flanker. The Mosskel deals an extra 3 (1d6) slashing damage to a target it has hit if at least one of the Mosskel's allies is within 5 feet of that target.
Actions
Multiattack. The Mosskel makes two Cleaver attacks.
Cleaver. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8+2) slashing damage.
Spore Flick. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 20 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) poison damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Shield Shove. Reaction, when a creature misses the Mosskel with a melee attack. The Mosskel may shove that creature 5 feet with its claw-shield.
A lean, scuttling skirmisher fronted by a great crab-claw shield and ringed in a red feathered ruff, it slips around the line to gut whatever the heavy caps have pinned.
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.
Hang back until an ally engages a target, then slide in for the Flanker bonus and two Cleaver hits. Use Shield Shove to spill anyone who whiffs at you, and Spore Flick when no flank is open.
Work the flanks of the pack: let Mycelions pin, then knife exposed sides. Pair with another Mosskel so both always benefit from Flanker, peeling off support and casters.
Run as the flanking wing of the warband. Always fight beside an ally for the bonus damage and never overextend alone; the Mosskel is a finisher, not a frontline.
Put Mosskel 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 Mosskel?
Mosskel is CR 2 (450 XP) at native Tier 1. Scale to AC 16 / ~120 HP at Tier 2 or AC 18 / ~190 HP at Tier 3; traits are identical and only the numbers shift.
How does Mosskel fight alongside the rest of the Shroomkin?
It flanks. While Mycelions pin enemies, the Mosskel slips to an exposed side and cuts deep, gaining bonus damage from being beside an ally. It is the warband's opportunist.
Is Mosskel a solo threat?
No. Its whole kit relies on allies being adjacent to its target. Run it in pairs or alongside heavier caps, never alone.
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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