Sylvia Bernades
Sylvia Bernades — The Encounter
Young warding-mage who turns the wheel of sun and ward · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Sylvia Bernades
Born to a line sworn to hunt the night-walkers of the mountain keep, Sylvia Bernades took up the warding arts young, when the old guard fell to the castle's first siege. Where her kin carried whip and blade, she carries the Wheel: a turning sigil of sun and seal that no creature of the grave may cross unbruised. The folk of the valley name her the Warding Maiden, for she walks at the front of every column into cursed ground, the wheel spinning blue above her open hand to break the dread that the undead cast before them. She is not yet a master and knows it, leaning on the courage of those beside her as much as on her own light. But the dead have learned to fear the slim figure who plants her feet, raises her palm, and lets the wheel turn the night back into morning.
Run Sylvia Bernades in Sixty Seconds
- Wheel first Raise the Warding Wheel before anything else; it gives Sylvia and nearby allies necrotic resistance and immunity to fear, which is half her value next to undead.
- Open with control Lead turn 1 with spirit guardians or bless, not a damage spell; she is a force multiplier for the monsters around her.
- Kill-priority She is squishy and a buff engine, so the party will rush her; tuck her 30+ ft. back behind a brute and spend Turning Aegis to keep that brute alive.
- When bloodied Pivot to flame strike or Sacred Flame for burst, drop Spiritual Weapon on whoever is adjacent, and resummon the wheel as a bonus action if it lapsed.
- Three ways to run her As a sniper (Radiant Lance from range), as a healer's bane (focus enemy support), or as the anchor of a coven feeding bless and guardians to a bigger flagship boss.
Sylvia Bernades
Medium humanoid (human), lawful good
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEWarding Wheel. Sylvia conjures a spinning sigil of sun and ward. While the wheel is up, she and each ally within 10 ft. of her have resistance to necrotic damage and cannot be frightened. The wheel persists until she is incapacitated or moves more than 10 ft. from where she summoned it (she may resummon it as a bonus action).
Spellcasting. Sylvia is a 9th-level spellcaster (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks; Wisdom). She has the following cleric spells prepared: Cantrips: sacred flame, guidance, light. 1st: bless, guiding bolt, shield of faith. 2nd: hold person, spiritual weapon. 3rd: dispel magic, spirit guardians. 4th: guardian of faith. 5th: flame strike.
Actions
Multiattack. Sylvia makes two Radiant Lance attacks, or casts one spell and makes one Radiant Lance attack.
Radiant Lance. Ranged Spell Attack: +7 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (4d6+4) radiant damage, and the target sheds dim light in a 5-ft. radius until the end of its next turn (cannot benefit from invisibility).
Sacred Flame (Cantrip). One creature Sylvia can see within 60 ft. must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 13 (3d8) radiant damage. The target gains no benefit from cover for this save.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Spiritual Weapon (Bonus Action). As a bonus action, Sylvia conjures or moves a spectral mace up to 20 ft. and makes a melee spell attack: +7 to hit, Hit: 11 (2d8+2) force damage.
Turning Aegis (Reaction). When an ally Sylvia can see within 30 ft. is hit by an attack, she can impose disadvantage on that attack roll as the warding wheel flares between them.
A horned circlet crowns her brow as she turns a vast wheel of blue fire, one hand open to project the sigil and the other cradling its core. Robed and cloaked for the road, Sylvia stands her ground in a wide brace, sun-ward blazing against the dark of the castle.
Sylvia Bernades, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEMote of Dawn (signature). Sylvia Bernades is a hovering spirit-light. Each ally within 10 ft. of it gains +1 to saving throws against being frightened or charmed.
Actions
Searing Bolt. Ranged Spell Attack: +6 to hit, range 60 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6+3) radiant damage.
Reactions
Flare. When a creature within 10 ft. of Sylvia Bernades makes an attack roll, Sylvia Bernades can flash; the creature has disadvantage if it is undead.
A bound mote of captured dawn that drifts at Sylvia's shoulder, brightening when the dead draw near.
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.
Open with the Warding Wheel up, then lob Radiant Lance from max range while allies screen her. If enemies cluster, drop Sacred Flame on the densest knot. She is the kill-priority for the foe, so pair her with a frontline brute and keep her 30+ ft. back.
Open with spirit guardians or bless, keep the warding wheel up, and Multiattack Radiant Lance into the most isolated PC. Spiritual Weapon every turn as a free bonus jab; spend Turning Aegis to save a wounded ally. She is a support backbone, not a duelist, so run her behind a vampire or knight and let her buff and snipe.
Lead with flame strike on a cluster, keep the wheel up, and use guardian of faith to wall a chokepoint. Hold person the party's defender, then focus Radiant Lance on healers. At this tier pair her with a bigger threat and her lair-wards; she shines as the anchor of a coven, never solo.
Put Sylvia Bernades 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 Sylvia Bernades?
Her native build is CR 6 (2,300 XP) — a Tier 2 battle-cleric for parties level 5-10. Scaled stat lines for Tier 1 (level 1-4) and Tier 3 (level 11-15) are provided; the traits and actions stay identical, only AC, HP, to-hit, and save DC shift between bands.
Can Sylvia Bernades be a companion or ally?
Yes. As a lawful-good warding-mage she makes a natural ally NPC: a backline support who buffs, wards against fear, and snipes undead. Use her companion, Aurel the Bound Light, as a lighter follower spirit if you want her contribution without a full second stat block.
Is Sylvia a solo boss?
No — she has no legendary actions and dies fast under focus fire. She is an add-on caster built to amplify a flagship threat (a vampire, knight, or coven). Field her behind a frontline and let her bless, ward, and pick off enemy support.
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.
Technical Specifications
32mm, 75mm
STL, Pre-supported STL
Standard or ABS-like resin, 0.05mm layer height
Yes — ready to print, optimized supports included
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