Salbatuta
great-axe reaver who hews the Thorjacks' path
Salbatuta — The Encounter
great-axe reaver who hews the Thorjacks' path · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Salbatuta
Where the Thorjack wedge meets a packed enemy line, Salbatuta is the wedge's edge. The lowland grimoires name him the Reaver, the one whose broad storm-axe carves a lane the rest of the warband pours through. He works close to the shield-bearers, swinging wide so a single stroke bites two foes at once, then stepping into the gap he just opened. The thunder-charm bound into the haft hums when he winds up, a low warning the enemy learns to dread. He is no lone champion: his axe is most lethal where bodies are crowded together, which means he needs the warband to herd the foe into a press. Scatter the line and the Reaver swings at empty air; hold it firm and he opens it like a seam.
Run Salbatuta in Sixty Seconds
- Swing into the press then aim where two foes stand close so Reaping Arc clips a second target.
- Chain the kills then on a drop, use Storm-Reaver to slide 10 ft. into the next cluster free.
- Need a crowd then have the shield-bearers herd enemies together before he hews.
- Stay with the wedge then keep him beside allies; alone and unsupported he just gets kited.
Salbatuta
Medium humanoid (human), chaotic neutral
CR 5 · 1,800 XP · GUIDELINEReaping Arc. When Salbatuta hits a creature with his axe, he can deal 4 (1d8) slashing damage to a second creature within 5 ft. of the first.
Storm-Reaver. On his turn, if Salbatuta reduces a creature to 0 hit points with an axe attack, he can immediately move up to 10 ft. without provoking opportunity attacks.
Actions
Multiattack. Salbatuta makes two axe attacks.
Great War-Axe. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8+4) slashing damage plus 2 (1d4) thunder damage.
A hooded reaver rests a broad storm-axe across his shoulders, shield braced, scanning the press for the place to cut through.
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.
Position Salbatuta where two enemies stand close so Reaping Arc clips both. Let the shield-bearers crowd the foe, then have him hew into the press and use Storm-Reaver to slide into the next cluster on a kill. Keep him beside allies, not out front alone.
Open against the densest knot of enemies so every Multiattack hit splashes Reaping Arc. When he drops a foe, Storm-Reaver him 10 ft. deeper into the line for free. He thrives where the warband has herded foes together; cut off and alone he is just a slow axe.
Run him as the wedge's cutting edge: the shield-wall packs the enemy tight, then Salbatuta reaps lanes through them, chaining Storm-Reaver moves from kill to kill. He fights as part of the pack, never solo. His whole value is carving openings the rest of the Thorjacks exploit.
Put Salbatuta 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 Salbatuta?
Salbatuta is CR 5 (1,800 XP) at his native Tier 2, a cleaving line-breaker rather than a solo boss. Scale to AC 14 / +4 for Tier 1 or AC 18 / +9 for Tier 3.
How does Salbatuta fight alongside the rest of the Thorjacks?
He is the wedge's cutting edge. Once the shield-bearers herd enemies into a tight press, Salbatuta hews lanes through them, splashing Reaping Arc onto neighbors and chaining Storm-Reaver moves from kill to kill so the rest of the warband can flood the gap.
Does Salbatuta work as a lone bruiser?
No. Reaping Arc needs clustered foes and Storm-Reaver needs a steady supply of kills, both of which depend on the warband herding the enemy. Solo, his slow axe is easily kited.
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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