Raizen
drake-riding chain-flail warlord of the troll horde
Raizen — The Encounter
drake-riding chain-flail warlord of the troll horde · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Raizen
Among the War Trolls, Raizen is the one who learned to ride. He broke a marsh-drake to the saddle the way folklore says the first ogre-kings broke their hounds, and now he leads the warband from the back of the beast, chain hissing overhead like a hunting whip. Where the other trolls smash, Raizen orchestrates: he opens the line, the drake breaks it, and the rest of the horde pours through the gap. The grimoires of the border-keeps name him a captain of giants who cannot be killed by ordinary steel, for the troll-flesh closes faster than a blade can cut. Burn him, or burn nothing.
Run Raizen in Sixty Seconds
- Burn him then his regeneration stops next turn — without it he bleeds out fast.
- Open with the charge then Trample to drop a PC prone before melee even starts.
- Chain a healer then drag it 10 ft. away from the party every round.
- Use War-Cry early then the whole warband swings with advantage behind him.
- Kill the drake then he loses speed and Trample and fights as a lone brute.
Raizen
Large giant (troll), chaotic evil
CR 11 · 7,200 XP · GUIDELINERegeneration. Raizen regains 15 hit points at the start of its turn. If it takes acid or fire damage, this trait doesn't function at the start of its next turn. Raizen dies only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't regenerate.
Mounted Warlord. While mounted on its drake, Raizen and the mount move as one. The drake (use a giant lizard with 40 hp) acts on Raizen's initiative and obeys his commands. If the mount is felled, Raizen fights on foot at speed 30 ft.
Whirling Chain. Raizen's chain-flail menaces a wide arc. Creatures within 10 ft. that he chooses provoke no opportunity attacks against allies he commands to charge past them.
Actions
Multiattack. Raizen makes two attacks: one with his spiked flail and one with his chain sweep.
Spiked Flail. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (3d8+5) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Chain Sweep. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d6+5) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 16) as the chain wraps it.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Trample (Reaction). When mounted and Raizen moves at least 20 ft. toward a creature, he can force it to make a DC 16 Dexterity save, taking 13 (2d8+4) bludgeoning damage and falling prone on a failure.
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Lash. Raizen makes one chain sweep attack.
War-Cry (Costs 2 Actions). Raizen bellows; each War Troll ally within 30 ft. gains advantage on its next attack before the start of Raizen's next turn.
A scarred troll chieftain rides a hissing scaled drake, swinging a spiked flail on a rattling chain.
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.
Run Raizen on foot as a brute boss; the drake is just a war-hound here. He flails the front-line fighter and tries to knock them prone, then the warband swarms the downed PC.
Mounted now. Raizen charges to trample, grapples a key target with the chain, and drags it away from its healer. Keep the warband fighting around him as a pack, never alone.
Full warlord. Open with War-Cry, charge with Trample, then alternate flail and chain. Spend legendary Lashes to keep grappling fresh targets while the horde fights as a coordinated front. Remember acid/fire shuts off his regeneration.
Put Raizen 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 Raizen?
At his native Tier 3 he is CR 11 (7,200 XP). Scale him to CR 2 or CR 6 using the tier table for lower-level parties.
How does Raizen fight alongside the rest of the War Trolls?
He is the warband's mounted warlord. He shouts War-Cry to buff the other trolls, charges to break the enemy line, and grapples key targets so his footsloggers can pile on. The trolls fight as a horde around him, never scattered.
Is Raizen meant to be fought solo?
He can anchor a solo boss fight thanks to his legendary actions and mounted action economy, but he shines leading the full War Trolls warband as the centerpiece of a larger battle.
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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