Daks
low-stance bladesman who screens the Thorjacks' flank
Daks — The Encounter
low-stance bladesman who screens the Thorjacks' flank · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Daks
Where the Thorjack wedge turns a corner, the line is weakest, and Daks is the blade that guards the bend. The lowland chroniclers describe him as the screen, the patient swordsman who plants himself at the flank of the formation and cuts down anything that tries to slip around it. His storm-tempered longsword is held two-handed in a low guard, a stance built for the swift counter rather than the charge. The thunder in the steel answers loudest when he strikes a foe already pressed by one of his kin, so he fights tucked against the line, never out ahead of it. Pull him away and the flank opens; keep him there and the warband's edge becomes a wall that bites back.
Run Daks in Sixty Seconds
- Hold the flank then plant Daks at the bend of the line and stay put for Guarded Stance advantage.
- Cover your ally then use Covering Sweep on any enemy in reach that attacks a nearby Thorjack.
- Strike the pinned then aim hits at foes already engaged with a kinsman to trigger Storm-Cut's thunder.
- Screen, don't chase then keep him tucked against the warband; his thunder needs allies adjacent.
Daks
Medium humanoid (human), lawful neutral
CR 5 · 1,800 XP · GUIDELINEGuarded Stance. While Daks is within 5 ft. of an enemy and has not moved this turn, attacks of opportunity he makes are rolled with advantage.
Storm-Cut. Once per turn, when Daks hits a creature that is within 5 ft. of one of his Thorjack allies, the target takes an extra 7 (2d6) thunder damage.
Actions
Multiattack. Daks makes two longsword attacks.
Storm-Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d10+3) slashing damage plus 2 (1d4) thunder damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Covering Sweep (Reaction). When an enemy within 5 ft. of Daks targets one of his allies with a melee attack, Daks can make one longsword attack against that enemy.
A hooded warrior sinks into a wide low stance, storm-blade held two-handed across his body, watching the gap where the line bends.
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.
Plant Daks at the flank of the line and have him hold position for Guarded Stance. Use Covering Sweep to slash anyone attacking a nearby ally, and aim his strikes at foes already engaged with a Thorjack to trigger Storm-Cut. He screens the bend, never chasing out alone.
Open by standing the flank and letting enemies commit, then Covering Sweep blows aimed at allies and Storm-Cut any foe pressed between him and a kinsman. Stay still for advantage on opportunity attacks. He is the line's screen, fighting tucked against the warband rather than ahead of it.
Run him as the flank-guard of the wedge: he holds the bend, punishing anyone who attacks an ally or tries to round the line, and burning extra thunder into foes the warband already pins. He fights as part of the pack, never solo. Pull him off the flank and the formation's edge collapses.
Put Daks 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 Daks?
Daks is CR 5 (1,800 XP) at his native Tier 2, a flank-screening bladesman rather than a solo boss. Use AC 14 / +4 for Tier 1 or AC 19 / +9 for Tier 3.
How does Daks fight alongside the rest of the Thorjacks?
He guards the bend of the wedge where the line is weakest, cutting down anyone who tries to round the flank and covering allies with Covering Sweep. His Storm-Cut thunder triggers on foes already pressed by a kinsman, so he fights tucked against the warband.
Can Daks operate as a lone flanker?
Not really. Both Storm-Cut and Covering Sweep depend on allies being adjacent, and his low guard is built to screen a line, not to chase. Alone, he loses most of his bite.
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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