Sylphirax
Sylphirax — The Encounter
Horned brute of the burning pits, axe of the damned · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Sylphirax
The grimoires name Sylphirax among the iron-thewed enforcers of the burning pits, a horned brute conjured not to scheme but to break. Where lesser spirits whisper, Sylphirax answers questions with the flat of an axe. It is said the smiths of the lower fires forged its barbed plate from the chains of broken oaths, and that each spike was driven through the soul of a debtor who could not pay. Summoners who bind it learn quickly that it despises hesitation: command it plainly, point it at the foe, and stand aside. It feels no fear and little pain, and the more it bleeds the harder it strikes, working itself into a slaughtering fury that ends only when nothing before it still stands. Banished, it does not flee so much as withdraw, promising in low Infernal to return for the one who failed to keep it fed.
Run Sylphirax in Sixty Seconds
- Open with Hurled Cleaver at the squishiest target you can see, then close and Multiattack — the first round it should already be in someone's face.
- Kill-priority is the back line. Use its 40 ft. speed and 10 ft. reach to shove past the tank; the prone-push on a hit lets it lock down a controller or healer.
- When bloodied (63 HP or fewer), Wrath-Fed Frenzy turns on: +2d6 per hit and free 10 ft. moves on kills — it gets scarier, so lean in, don't pull back.
- Three ways to run it: as a stand-and-grind anvil that holds a door with Retaliating Spikes; as a leaping flanker that dives the casters; or as the bonded muscle for a smarter spirit that hangs back and commands it.
Sylphirax
Large fiend (devil), lawful evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEMagic Resistance. Sylphirax has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Wrath-Fed Frenzy. Signature. While Sylphirax has half its hit points or fewer, it deals an extra 7 (2d6) damage with each of its weapon attacks, and the first time on each of its turns it reduces a creature to 0 hit points, it can immediately move up to 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.
Actions
Multiattack. Sylphirax makes two Spiked Battleaxe attacks.
Spiked Battleaxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d12 + 5) slashing damage, and if the target is a creature it must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be pushed 5 feet away and knocked prone.
Hurled Cleaver. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) fire damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Retaliating Spikes. Reaction — When a creature within 5 feet hits Sylphirax with a melee attack, Sylphirax deals 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage to that creature from its armor spikes.
A hulking red-skinned devil sheathed in spiked iron plate, one eye burning like a coal, swinging a serrated two-headed cleaver bigger than a man.
Sylphirax, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEHold the Line (signature). While you are within 10 feet of Sylphirax, Bound, you and the bound devil have advantage on saving throws against being frightened, and the first creature to enter its reach each turn takes 5 (1d4 + 3) slashing damage.
Actions
Spiked Battleaxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage.
Reactions
Bodyguard's Spite. When a creature within 5 feet of Sylphirax, Bound hits an ally, the devil deals 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage to that creature with its armor spikes.
A devil bound by pact rather than zeal, it plants itself between its summoner and the foe and dares the enemy to come closer.
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 hurling the cleaver at the softest target, then wade in and swing twice at whoever closed first. Knockdown lets it lock down a single PC while minions swarm. At low levels run it as a mini-boss with 2-3 cultist or hellhound adds, not alone.
Open against the nearest melee PC; the prone-push splits the front line. Kill-priority is the healer or controller — shove past the tank using its 40 ft. speed and Wrath-Fed Frenzy mobility once bloodied. Pair it with a spellcasting devil or a pack of lesser fiends so the party can't gang the brute.
Field it as the muscle in a larger infernal warband, never solo — a 4-PC party out-actions a single bruiser. Have it bull-rush to the back line and pin a caster while a bigger threat works the rest. When bloodied its frenzy makes it most dangerous; let it chase kills rather than retreat.
Put Sylphirax 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 Sylphirax?
Sylphirax is built as a CR 6 add-on bruiser (Tier 2, levels 5-10) with AC 16, 126 HP, +8 to hit and a DC 15 knockdown. The traits and actions stay identical at Tier 1 (~CR 2) and Tier 3 (~CR 11); only AC, HP, to-hit and DC shift to the band.
Can Sylphirax be a companion or ally?
Yes. Use the 'Sylphirax, Bound' companion block (AC 16, 76 HP) for a pact-bound devil that guards its summoner, plants itself on the front line with Hold the Line, and punishes attackers with Bodyguard's Spite. It is a frontline protector, not a striker.
Is Sylphirax meant to fight a party alone?
No. Sylphirax has no legendary actions and only a single retaliation reaction, so a full party will out-act it. Run it alongside a controlling spellcaster, a flagship fiend, or a pack of lesser devils so the brute has cover while it grinds down the front line.
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
Played Sylphirax at your table? Log in with your Obsidian Tavern account to leave a balance note, a war story, or a file issue — the sharpest reports get the block revised.
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