Juswa
horn-helmed storm-rider who leads the Thorjacks' charge
Juswa — The Encounter
horn-helmed storm-rider who leads the Thorjacks' charge · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Juswa
The Thorjacks ride out of the high fjord-passes where the old storm-songs still echo, and Juswa rides at their head. Marked by the antlered helm of a war-priest of the thunder, he is less a tyrant than a herald: where his banner lifts, the warband forms its wedge and the line holds. The grimoires of the lowland chroniclers name him the Storm-Rider, the one who sounds the charge so the hammer-bearers and shield-men know the moment to close. He does not fight alone if he can help it, for a rider without his warband is only a man on a horse, and the Thorjacks know it. Slay the horse and you slow the wedge; slay Juswa and you silence the song.
Run Juswa in Sixty Seconds
- Open with the charge then Mounted Charge a back-liner to knock it prone and start the wedge.
- Stay banner-close then keep him within 30 ft. of other Thorjacks so they shrug off fear.
- Spend the reaction then use Rally the instant an ally drops to give a death save with advantage.
- Never solo then if cut off from the warband, retreat to reform rather than duel.
Juswa
Medium humanoid (human), lawful neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEMounted Charge. If Juswa moves at least 20 ft. straight toward a target while mounted and then hits it with a melee attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) thunder damage and must succeed on a DC 15 Strength save or be knocked prone.
Storm-Warden's Banner. Allied Thorjacks within 30 ft. of Juswa have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Actions
Multiattack. Juswa makes two longsword attacks.
Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) slashing damage, or 9 (1d10+4) slashing damage if used in two hands.
Hooves (mount). Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) bludgeoning damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Rally (Reaction). When an ally Juswa can see within 30 ft. drops to 0 hit points, that ally may make a death save with advantage.
A horn-helmed warrior rears his pale steed atop shattered stone, sword sheathed and free hand raised to signal the charge.
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.
Juswa opens with a mounted charge to knock a front-liner prone, then wheels to keep his shield-men between him and the archers. Run him as the warband's signal: he stays near other Thorjacks so his banner steadies them, never charging off alone.
Open with Mounted Charge into the squishiest target to set up prone, then trample with hooves and Multiattack. Use Rally to keep hammer-bearers like Pachorva and Kemeroo on their feet. Keep him inside 30 ft. of the warband so the wedge holds; if isolated, fall back to allies.
Lead the full wedge: charge to break the line, then orbit the warband signalling targets. Run him as a flight-leader, never a lone hero. Spend Rally on whichever Thorjack just dropped and trample anything that breaks past the shield-wall.
Put Juswa 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 Juswa?
Juswa is CR 6 (2,300 XP) at his native Tier 2, a mounted elite leader rather than a solo boss. Scale him to AC 14 / +4 for Tier 1 parties or AC 19 / +9 for Tier 3.
How does Juswa fight alongside the rest of the Thorjacks?
He is the warband's signal and spearhead: he charges to break a line and knock targets prone, then keeps his banner within 30 ft. so the hammer- and shield-bearers fight without fear. Run him beside the warband, never charging off to duel alone.
Is Juswa meant to fight on foot?
He can, but the sculpt is mounted and his Mounted Charge needs the steed to shine. On foot, drop his speed to 30 ft. and his charge bonus only triggers with a 20-ft. straight run-up.
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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