Krampus
Krampus — The Encounter
Horned Companion of Saint Nicholas, the Whipping Fiend of Midwinter · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Krampus
Where Saint Nicholas rewards the good, his shadow comes for the rest. Krampus is the cloven-hooved companion of the gift-giver, a horned spirit of the long Alpine night summoned to scour the cold valleys for cruel and faithless children. He carries birch switches to scourge the merely wicked and a great wicker basket upon his back for those past saving, whom he drags down into the dark to be drowned, devoured, or worse. His coming is heralded by the rattle of chains he wears as a sign of his binding by the Church, and by the dread that grips any soul who has done ill and knows it. He walks freely only in midwinter, and the faithful drive him off with bells, fire, and the saint's own name. Offer him a treat and a confession and he may pass you by; meet him with a guilty heart and he will know it at once, and the basket will yawn open.
Run Krampus in Sixty Seconds
- Aura first On his initiative, every PC within 15 ft. rolls a DC save or is frightened (disadvantage on attacks, can't move closer) - open with this to break up clusters before anyone acts.
- Drag and stuff Birch Lash pulls a target 10 ft. toward him; Claws grapple; Cram Away (Recharge 5-6) shoves a grappled creature into the basket. Once recharged, target the lowest-HP PC to delete them from the round.
- Kill-priority Whoever can break a grapple, end fear, or free a basketed ally - down them and his control kit snowballs unanswered.
- When bloodied He turns mean: grapple-and-Cram the most dangerous body present, then lash anyone who comes to the rescue and Chain Snare them out of reach.
- Three ways to run him (1) Hit-and-snatch terror who grabs one PC and flees the lair; (2) rooftop brawler who pins the party on a snowy chimney; (3) the chained enforcer of a bigger Yuletide fiend - he holds them while it kills.
Krampus
Large fiend (devil), lawful evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEAura of Dread. Each creature of Krampus's choice that starts its turn within 15 feet of him must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the start of its next turn. A creature that succeeds is immune to this aura for 24 hours.
The Wicker Basket. Krampus carries a great wicker creel on his back. A grappled creature can be stuffed inside it (see Cram Away). A creature crammed inside is blinded, restrained, and has total cover from outside, but can attempt to escape (DC 15 Strength or Dexterity check) at the end of each of its turns. The basket holds up to two Medium creatures.
Actions
Multiattack. Krampus makes two attacks: one with his Birch Lash and one with his Claws.
Birch Lash. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d10 + 4) slashing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be pulled up to 10 feet toward Krampus.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, it is grappled (escape DC 15).
Cram Away (Recharge 5-6). Krampus shoves a creature he has grappled into the Wicker Basket. The target must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw, taking 18 (4d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage and being stuffed inside the basket on a failure, or half as much damage and not stuffed on a success.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Chain Snare (Reaction). When a creature Krampus can see ends its movement within 15 feet of him, he hurls a rusted chain at it. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be restrained until the end of its next turn.
A towering goat-horned fiend bound in matted fur and rusted chains, dragging a wicker creel up a snow-bricked rooftop, the bones of the wicked clattering at his cloven hooves.
Krampus, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEWarding Bells (signature). While the tomten is conscious, allies within 10 feet have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Actions
Birch Switch. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) bludgeoning damage.
Reactions
Clamor. When an ally within 10 feet is hit by an attack, the tomten rings its bells; the attacker must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom save or have disadvantage on its next attack before the start of the tomten's next turn.
A grim little hearth-spirit shackled to the fiend's service, ringing iron bells to mark the wicked and to ward the worthy.
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 Aura of Dread to scatter the squishy backliners, then Birch Lash the nearest target and drag it close. Kill-priority is whoever can break grapples or dispel fear; chain them down with the reaction. Pair with a swarm of imps or evil elves so the party can't gang the fiend alone.
Open by lashing the most isolated PC into reach, Claw to grapple, then save Cram Away for the lowest-HP target to remove them from the fight entirely. Use Chain Snare on anyone trying to rush past to the basket victim. Frame him as the warden of a midwinter lair full of sacks and bound captives; pair with a bigger Yuletide horror, not as a lone boss.
Lead with Aura of Dread, then Cram Away on the strongest melee threat to neutralize the front line before it can pile on. Kill-priority is any caster who can free a basketed ally; Chain Snare locks down the rescuer. Run him as the muscle of a larger winter fiend or alongside a lair of minions, never solo against a high-tier party that will out-act him.
Put Krampus 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 Krampus?
Krampus is built as a Challenge Rating 6 adversary (2,300 XP) at his native Tier 2, a strong fight for a party of four 5th-to-10th-level characters. The stat record also gives Tier 1 (levels 1-4) and Tier 3 (levels 11-15) versions with the same traits and rescaled numbers.
Can Krampus be a companion or ally?
Krampus himself is a hostile fiend, not a player companion. The record includes a bound companion - the Bell-Rattle Tomten - a lesser hearth-spirit who can fight at a party's side or be freed from the fiend's service, warding allies against fear and ringing the wicked.
Is Krampus solo-capable as a boss?
No. He lacks legendary actions and a true action-economy kit, so a full party will out-act him. Run him with minions or as the enforcer of a larger Yuletide threat rather than as a standalone boss.
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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