Arne
antler-helmed axe-leaper of the frost-bound dead host
Arne — The Encounter
antler-helmed axe-leaper of the frost-bound dead host · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Arne
Arne wore a stag's antlers into battle in life and was buried in them; the frost-host raised him still crowned, still hungering. He is the wildest of the White Runners, breaking from the disciplined flight to leap ahead and bury his axe in the first throat he reaches, then springing on while the kill is fresh. The other dead tolerate his frenzy because it splinters enemy lines for them, and they close the ring around the chaos he sows. Hunters who crossed the frost-host's path speak of antlers rising over the snow-drifts and an axe already in flight, and of how the antlered shape never seemed to stop moving until everything around it had.
Run Arne in Sixty Seconds
- Kill priority then loose Arne on a soft back-rank target who hasn't acted yet.
- Open with a thrown axe then leap in while Frenzied Onset grants advantage and bonus damage.
- On a kill then Blood Rush to the next victim and swing again.
- When bloodied then keep him hunting beside packmates for Pack Hunter, never breaking off solo.
Arne
Medium undead, chaotic evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEFrenzied Onset. On his first turn, Arne has advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn't acted yet, and his hits that turn deal an extra 7 (2d6) damage.
Pack Hunter. Arne has advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one of his allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.
Actions
Multiattack. Arne makes two Hand Axe attacks. He can replace one with a thrown Hand Axe.
Hand Axe. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Blood Rush (Bonus Action). When Arne reduces a creature to 0 hit points, he can move up to half his speed and make one Hand Axe attack.
Crowned in antlers and frost, this dead berserker hurls his axe, springs after it, and is already swinging when he lands.
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.
Throw an axe to open, then leap in and swing while Frenzied Onset is live. Let packmates close behind him for Pack Hunter advantage. He sows chaos for the warband, never duels alone.
Send Arne in first to exploit Frenzied Onset against foes who haven't acted. Chain Blood Rush off every kill to chew through a soft flank. When bloodied, keep hunting beside packmates rather than peeling off alone; his frenzy is a warband tool, not a solo act.
In a full warband, Arne is the line-splitter who carves into back ranks while the host pours through the breach. Use Blood Rush to roll from kill to kill, but keep him inside the flight; he is reckless, never a lone champion.
Put Arne 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 Arne?
Arne is CR 6 at his native Tier 2 (about 2,300 XP). Run him near CR 2 for Tier 1 or about CR 11 for Tier 3 using the tier table; his frenzy traits stay identical and only the numbers scale.
How does Arne fight alongside the rest of the White Runners?
He is the reckless tip of the flight, splintering enemy lines so the disciplined dead pour through. Frenzied Onset rewards striking first and Blood Rush lets him roll across soft ranks, but he needs packmates to capitalize on the chaos.
Is Arne a boss?
No. He is a berserker elite, not solo_capable. He is devastating as an opener inside a warband but has no staying power or control to threaten a party 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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