Varroth
Varroth — The Encounter
Maned brawler whose roar the storm itself obeys · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Varroth
Among the maned clans of Lyria they say the storm listens when Varroth roars, and the old hunters do not call it a boast. He was raised in a cradle-hall where discipline was beaten into the bone and the wild blood was answered with stillness, until the two met in a single perfect strike. He took no master's crest and swore to no banner; he travels the high passes alone, hands wrapped, settling quarrels older than the roads beneath him. Those who have fought him speak less of his claws than of his patience: he stands open, unhurried, and lets the brash come to him. Then the thunder rolls out of his fists, knees buckle, and the contest is over before the second exchange. He fights to teach, not to slay, and the lesson is always the same. The wild can be ruled, but only by one who has first ruled himself.
Run Varroth in Sixty Seconds
- Stance first Varroth is a melee striker with 40 ft. speed and no ranged threat, so screen him with allies and let him close on whoever the party wants protected.
- Open with Sweeping Kick aim it at the enemy healer or caster, knock them prone (DC 15 Str), then feed two unarmed strikes into the downed target.
- Roar on clusters spend Storm-Caller's Roar (DC 14 Con, 2d6 thunder + disadvantage) only when two or more foes are bunched within 5 ft. of your target.
- When bloodied use Patient Stance every round to halve a big hit and slide 10 ft. toward the next kill-priority target instead of trading blows in the open.
- Three ways to run him a wandering duelist who fights to teach (non-lethal, single foe), a clan enforcer with beastfolk skirmishers, or a boss's bruiser glued to the party's caster.
Varroth
Medium humanoid (beastfolk), lawful neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEUnarmored Defense. While Varroth wears no armor and wields no shield, his AC includes his Constitution modifier (already figured in).
Storm-Caller's Roar. Signature. Once per turn when Varroth hits a creature with an unarmed strike, he can choose to crack a peal of thunder. The target and each creature within 5 feet of it must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 7 (2d6) thunder damage and have disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn. Tremors of the gathering storm ripple from his fists when he wills it.
Flurrying Step. Varroth doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when he moves out of an enemy's reach, and his jumping distance is doubled.
Actions
Multiattack. Varroth makes three unarmed strikes, or two unarmed strikes and one Sweeping Kick.
Unarmed Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) bludgeoning damage.
Sweeping Kick. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Patient Stance (Reaction). When a creature Varroth can see hits him with a melee attack, he can halve the damage taken and immediately move up to 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.
A towering lion-maned brawler in a worn white gi and crimson belt, fists bound in cloth wraps, settling into a low fighting stance as thunder gathers behind his eyes.
Varroth, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINETandem Striker (signature). Once per turn, when an ally within 5 feet of Varroth hits a creature with a melee attack, Varroth can deal 4 (1d8) extra damage to that creature.
Actions
Claw Rake. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4+4) slashing damage.
Reactions
Cover the Flank. When an ally Varroth can see within 5 feet is hit by an attack, Varroth can swap places with that ally and take the damage instead.
A lithe lioness who fights at Varroth's shoulder, reading his stance and closing every gap he leaves open.
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 Sweeping Kick on the toughest-looking front-liner to knock it prone, then pile unarmed strikes on the downed target. Trigger Storm-Caller's Roar when two foes stand adjacent so the thunder splashes both. Pair him with a couple of beastfolk skirmishers; he is a brawler, not a one-creature gauntlet at this scale.
Open by closing 40 ft. with Flurrying Step and Sweeping Kick on the enemy healer or caster, knocking it prone to feed his other strikes. Save the Roar for a cluster, and use Patient Stance to bleed off a big hit and reposition toward the next kill-priority target. He works best alongside a heavier flagship threat or a pack of minions to lock the party down.
Drop him in as the bruiser beside a bigger boss or amid lair minions, not as the centerpiece. Lead with Sweeping Kick to floor a high-priority caster, Roar into the densest knot of PCs, and use Patient Stance every round to survive focus fire. Keep him glued to the squishiest target while the flagship dictates the fight.
Put Varroth 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 Varroth?
Varroth is built at CR 6 (2,300 XP) in his native tier, a fair fight for a party of four around levels 5-10. The stat record also gives drop-in Tier 1 (levels 1-4) and Tier 3 (levels 11-15) columns so you can field the same brawler at your table's level without rebuilding him.
Can Varroth be a companion or ally?
Yes. He fights to teach as often as to kill, so he reads naturally as a wandering mentor, a sworn protector, or a martial trainer the party earns the respect of. His own bound companion, Kessa, is a lioness skirmisher who covers his flanks and adds damage when allies strike beside her.
Is Varroth a solo boss?
No. He has no legendary actions and only a single defensive reaction, so a four-PC party will out-act him over a full fight. Run him as an add-on bruiser beside a heavier flagship threat, or backed by minions and lair effects, where his Roar and prone-knockdowns punish a clustered party.
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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