Finrodor
sword-and-shield guardian of the Visarian bloodline
Finrodor — The Encounter
sword-and-shield guardian of the Visarian bloodline · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Finrodor
Finrodor swore the old guardian's vow to the Visarian house and has never once broken it, which in a court this treacherous makes him almost unique. He stands beside the prized duelists, turning aside the blows meant for them and trading his own life one wound at a time. His cross-hilt longsword is ceremony; his bladed shield is the real work. Among the warband he is the partner every flashy noble wants at their shoulder, the reason their reckless dives so often go unpunished. The court calls his loyalty quaint. He calls it the only honest thing left in the bloodline, and guards it as fiercely as he guards them.
Run Finrodor in Sixty Seconds
- Kill priority then whoever is attacking the noble he guards, not whoever is closest.
- Open by positioning then stand within 5 ft of the ally you must protect.
- Hold your reaction then Guardian's Vow imposes disadvantage on attacks against that ally.
- Each turn then Shield Slam to knock the biggest threat prone.
Finrodor
Medium humanoid (elf), lawful evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEGuardian's Vow (signature). When an enemy within 5 feet attacks a creature other than Finrodor, he can use his reaction to impose disadvantage on that attack roll.
Bulwark. Finrodor has advantage on Strength saving throws and can't be knocked prone while he is conscious and wielding his shield.
Actions
Multiattack. Finrodor 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) if used with two hands.
Shield Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength save or be knocked prone.
He braces wide behind a bladed shield and a cross-hilt blade, the steadfast wall sworn to keep the court's favorites alive.
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.
Stand next to the noble the party is targeting and use Guardian's Vow to spoil hits. Shield Slam to knock a key attacker prone. Stay adjacent to an ally.
Glue yourself to a duelist or caster ally. Each round, Multiattack, Shield Slam to drop a threat prone, and hold your reaction for Guardian's Vow. Protect, never overextend.
Run him as the warband's bodyguard: he shadows Lauremirar or a flyer and taxes every attack on them. He is a protector elite, so keep him paired, never solo.
Put Finrodor 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 Finrodor?
He is built as CR 6 at his native Tier 2 (AC 18, 126 HP). Scale to Tier 1 or Tier 3 with the tier table.
How does Finrodor fight alongside the rest of the Visarian Nobles?
He is the warband's bodyguard, shadowing a prized duelist or the warlord and using Guardian's Vow to tax every attack aimed at them while he knocks threats prone.
Is Finrodor a boss?
No. He is a wingless protector elite (solo_capable=false), built to keep other nobles alive rather than to fight alone.
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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