Phantasmagora
Phantasmagora — The Encounter
Crimson Terror Born of Waking Nightmares · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Phantasmagora
Phantasmagora is the shape that dread takes when it is given claws. The grimoires name it among the wandering terrors of the lower realms, a fiend birthed not from flame but from the unguarded sleep of mortals, congealing out of every fevered vision until it could walk waking into the world. It hunts where fear already festers, and feeds upon it, for to a creature of nightmare a frightened soul is both prey and provender. Those who survive an encounter describe the same horror twice over: first the crimson bulk descending on leathered wings, then the slower dread that its mere nearness presses into the chest, stealing breath and courage alike. Its hooked gauntlets do not merely cut; they unmake, dissolving the slain into a thin red mist that the demon inhales like incense. Banished, it does not die so much as recede, sinking back into the dreaming dark to wait for the next sleeper bold enough to imagine it again.
Run Phantasmagora in Sixty Seconds
- Aura first. The moment combat starts, anything within 10 feet must make a DC 14 Wis save or be frightened until its next turn. Position the demon in the cluster on turn one.
- Punish the frightened. Frightened targets take an extra 2d6 psychic on every hit, so always swing at whoever failed the save before swinging at anyone else.
- Kill-priority is casters and healers. Once they are shaken (disadvantage on their rolls) and adjacent, full-attack them down; Carve Retort lets you free-strike whoever attacks you back.
- When bloodied (63 HP), stop trading blows in the open, fly up with Terror Lunge, then dive on the most isolated frightened PC to finish them before they recover.
- Three ways to run it: aerial terror (kite with fly 60 and pick off shaken stragglers); brawler (wade in, Wing Buffet to knock prone, Carve Retort to bleed melee); or pack-leader (anchor it amid minions so its aura keeps the party frightened all fight).
Phantasmagora
Large fiend (demon), chaotic evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEAura of Dread. Each creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of the Phantasmagora must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of it until the start of that creature's next turn. On a success, the creature is immune to this aura for 24 hours.
Nightmare Made Flesh. The Phantasmagora deals an extra 7 (2d6) psychic damage to any creature it hits that is currently frightened. A creature that drops to 0 hit points from this damage dissolves into a screaming red mist.
Actions
Multiattack. The Phantasmagora makes two Razor Gauntlet attacks. It can replace one with a Wing Buffet if it is flying or has a foe adjacent.
Razor Gauntlet. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage plus 3 (1d6) fire damage.
Wing Buffet. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet away and knocked prone.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Terror Lunge (Bonus Action). The Phantasmagora flies up to half its speed toward a creature it can see without provoking opportunity attacks. If it ends within 5 feet of a frightened creature, that creature takes 3 (1d6) psychic damage.
Carve Retort (Reaction). When a creature within 10 feet makes an attack against the Phantasmagora, it can make one Razor Gauntlet attack against that creature.
A towering crimson demon, slab-muscled and crowned with curling horns, its bat wings flaring as black infernal plates cover its limbs and its gauntlets end in cruel hooked talons.
Phantasmagora, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEFeed on Fear (signature). While within 10 feet of a frightened creature, the Phantasmagora has advantage on attack rolls and its speed increases by 10 feet.
Actions
Hooked Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage.
Reactions
Shared Terror. When an ally within 30 feet frightens a creature, the Phantasmagora can move up to 15 feet toward that creature.
A lesser splinter of the nightmare, half the size and twice as quick, scuttling toward whatever already trembles.
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 by flying in and letting Aura of Dread frighten a clumped party, then attack whoever failed the save to trigger Nightmare Made Flesh. Kill-priority is the party's healer or caster once they are shaken. Far too lethal alone at this tier; run it as a one-monster set piece for a level 4 party or trim its damage.
Open by diving into the densest knot of PCs so Aura of Dread catches several, then full-attack the closest frightened target for the bonus psychic. Use Carve Retort to punish the first melee striker and Terror Lunge to chase fleeing prey. Pair it with a bigger threat or a pack of minions that pin foes in the aura; it is a flanking bruiser, not the headliner.
Open from the air, frighten the front line, then carve through whoever is shaken. Lean on Carve Retort against high-level melee and keep Terror Lunge to harry casters. At this tier it works best with minions or as a lieutenant beside a larger boss; pair it with a flagship adversary rather than fielding it as the sole encounter.
Put Phantasmagora 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 Phantasmagora?
Its home tier is CR 6 (2,300 XP), a Tier 2 add-on bruiser for parties of levels 5-10. The stat block also scales down to roughly CR 2 for Tier 1 and up to roughly CR 11 for Tier 3 using the alternate numbers in the tier table.
Can Phantasmagora be a companion or ally?
The full demon is built as an adversary, but the Dreadling, Bound companion block gives you a leashed lesser nightmare (AC 14, 76 HP) that feeds on fear, lunges toward frightened foes, and makes a fine summoned ally or bound familiar for a warlock-style patron.
Is Phantasmagora a solo boss?
No. It lacks legendary actions, so a four-person party will out-act it. Run it as a flanking bruiser or lieutenant beside a larger flagship adversary, or back it with minions that keep enemies inside its Aura of Dread.
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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