Cauchemar
goat-skulled raker of the Sons of Nightmare
Cauchemar — The Encounter
goat-skulled raker of the Sons of Nightmare · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Cauchemar
Cauchemar is the open wound of the Sons of Nightmare, the frenzied raker that the warband unleashes once a line begins to break. Its name is an old word for the night-fiend that rides the dreamer down, and its sculpt shows the same hunger: exposed ribs, a screaming goat skull, and hands made only for tearing. It has no cunning and needs none. The flock points it at the wounded and the cornered, then lets the rending do its work. Hedge-witches warn that where Cauchemar has fed, the dead do not rest quietly, for its claws leave a rot that the grave cannot close.
Run Cauchemar in Sixty Seconds
- Both claws hurt twice then Rending Frenzy adds 9 slashing now and 5 necrotic bleed next turn.
- Lunge knocks prone then a 20-ft. bonus dash plus DC 13 Str save sets up advantage for the pack.
- It hunts the wounded then keep bloodied allies behind cover or it will finish them.
- No fear, no sleep then those control spells slide off it.
- Low Int, pure aggression then bait its lunge and punish it once it overcommits.
Cauchemar
Medium fiend (nightmare), chaotic evil
CR 5 · 1,800 XP · GUIDELINERending Frenzy. When Cauchemar hits the same creature with both claws in one turn, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) slashing damage and bleeds, taking 5 (1d10) necrotic damage at the start of its next turn (signature).
Nightmare-Born. Cauchemar is immune to being frightened and to magic that would put it to sleep.
Actions
Multiattack. Cauchemar makes two Claw attacks.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+3) slashing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Lunge (Bonus Action). Cauchemar moves up to 20 feet straight toward a creature it can see; if it ends adjacent, that creature must succeed on a DC 13 Strength save or be knocked prone.
A hunched horror of bared ribs and overlong claws, it pours forward on goat-skull and gristle to open throats.
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.
Lunge at the nearest wounded target to knock it prone, then rake with both claws. Chase whoever the warband has already bloodied. Fight as part of the pack, never alone.
Lunge to knock a softened target prone, then land both claws to trigger Rending Frenzy and leave them bleeding. Let Hunllef hold the front while you tear into the back rank with the pack.
Pour onto the most wounded hero, lunge them prone, and stack Rending Frenzy bleeds each round. Be the warband's executioner on broken targets; do not duel fresh front-liners solo.
Put Cauchemar 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 Cauchemar?
Cauchemar is CR 5 (1,800 XP) at its native Tier 2, with Tier 1 and Tier 3 numbers provided for scaling.
How does Cauchemar fight alongside the rest of the Sons of Nightmare?
It is the warband's frenzied finisher: the flock fixes targets with brutes and flankers, then sets Cauchemar loose on the bloodied to rend and bleed them out.
Is Cauchemar a boss I can run solo?
No. It has no legendary kit and low cunning; it shines as a pack hunter chasing wounded prey beside its kin.
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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