Koszmar
ram-horned winged herald of the Sons of Nightmare
Koszmar — The Encounter
ram-horned winged herald of the Sons of Nightmare · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Koszmar
Koszmar is the dread-voice of the Sons of Nightmare, the ram-horned herald that turns fear itself into a weapon for the flock. Slavic night-tales name the koszmar that perches on the chest and feeds on terror; this winged son does precisely that, hovering over a battle so that every fright the warband inflicts cuts twice as deep. It rarely closes to claw. Instead it circles, whispers ruin into one mind at a time, and lets the brutes below reap what its dread has sown. Where Koszmar's shadow falls, brave folk find their nerve thinning, and the Sons need only wait for the line to break on its own.
Run Koszmar in Sixty Seconds
- Pall of Dread aura then within 20 ft. saves vs. frightened are at disadvantage and frightened foes take 7 psychic.
- Whispered Dread (recharge 4-6) then 18 psychic and frightened on a failed DC 14 Wis at 30 ft.
- It stays airborne then Fly-By keeps it out of reach between strikes.
- It pairs with roars then any other fear effect the Sons land now bites harder under its aura.
- Drop it to lift the dread then killing Koszmar ends the aura and frees your frightened allies.
Koszmar
Medium fiend (nightmare), neutral evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEPall of Dread. While Koszmar is conscious, hostile creatures within 20 feet have disadvantage on saving throws against being frightened, and the first time each turn one of them starts its turn frightened it takes 7 (2d6) psychic damage (signature).
Nightmare-Born. Koszmar is immune to being frightened and to magic that would put it to sleep.
Actions
Multiattack. Koszmar makes one Talon attack and uses Whispered Dread if available.
Talon. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8+3) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage.
Whispered Dread (Recharge 4-6). One creature within 30 feet must make a DC 14 Wisdom save. On a failure it takes 18 (4d8) psychic damage and is frightened of Koszmar until the end of its next turn; on a success, half damage and not frightened.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Fly-By (Bonus Action). Koszmar flies up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Wings half-furled and arms crossed, it hangs above the field and lets its dread do the work its talons need not.
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.
Hover at range and whisper dread on the party's anchor to frighten them, then let the brutes punish it. Stay airborne and amplify every scare the flock lands. Support the warband, never brawl alone.
Keep Pall of Dread over the melee so Incubo's roar and your whispers stack into psychic bleed. Whispered Dread the cleric each recharge, Fly-By to stay clear, and only talon stragglers. Be the flock's fear-engine.
Anchor the aura over the densest knot of heroes, frighten the key target every round, and let frightened foes bleed psychic damage while the Sons grind below. Direct the warband's terror; never land to duel solo.
Put Koszmar 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 Koszmar?
Koszmar is CR 6 (2,300 XP) at its native Tier 2, with Tier 1 and Tier 3 statlines for scaling.
How does Koszmar fight alongside the rest of the Sons of Nightmare?
It is the flock's fear-engine, hovering over the fight so its aura magnifies every frighten effect the warband lands while it whispers psychic dread into key targets from range.
Is Koszmar a boss I can run solo?
No. It has no legendary kit and weak melee; it is aerial fear-support that depends on brutes like Incubo and Hunllef to cash in the terror it spreads.
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.
Played Koszmar at your table? Log in with your Obsidian Tavern account to leave a balance note, a war story, or a file issue — the sharpest reports get the block revised.
Log in to comment