Al Buraq
Al Buraq — The Encounter
Lightning-swift winged steed that strides between the worlds · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Al Buraq
Know, O seeker, that Al Buraq is no common beast but a thing wrought of dawn-light and obedience, swifter than the eye that would name it. The grimoires of the Kingdom of Persia hold that it was sent to bear the righteous across the night, its stride covering in one bound all the ground a gaze can reach before the horizon hides it. Its wings are not for soaring alone but for stepping between the seen world and the unseen, so that walls and chasms are no road to it. Those it deems worthy it carries gentle as sleep; those it deems false it will not suffer to mount, and its hooves strike the impious with the heat of an opened heaven. Scholars warn that to bridle Al Buraq by force is folly, for it answers only to the pure of purpose. Where it passes, the dark recoils, and the faithful take heart that the way is open before them.
Run Al Buraq in Sixty Seconds
- Never let it sit still. Al Buraq lives on the move: charge in for the radiant Hooves of Heaven, attack, then fly 60-90 feet away the same round. If your players ignore this, it is too easy.
- Charge before you strike. Always move 30+ feet straight at the target first so Hooves of Heaven adds 2d8 radiant; a standing-still Al Buraq is wasting its whole identity.
- Searing Bray on the cluster. Hold the cone for when 2+ PCs bunch up; the blind is the real prize, set up your boss's big hit.
- When bloodied, peel off. Below half HP, use Ascendant Bound to climb high (attacks against it at disadvantage) and snipe with Bray rather than trade hooves.
- Three ways to run it: (1) lone celestial guardian guarding a holy site, (2) flying mount under Shahbanu for a boss duel, (3) a pack of two-three as angelic cavalry harrying the party.
Al Buraq
Large celestial, lawful good
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEStride Between Worlds. Al Buraq's stride is as long as its sight reaches. It does not provoke opportunity attacks when it moves, and difficult terrain costs it no extra movement. Once per turn it may pass through one creature's space without stopping, as if that creature were difficult terrain.
Hooves of Heaven. Whenever Al Buraq moves at least 30 feet straight toward a creature and hits it with a Hooves attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) radiant damage.
Sure-Mounted. A creature riding Al Buraq cannot be knocked prone or dismounted against its will while Al Buraq is conscious, and has half cover against attacks from below.
Actions
Multiattack. Al Buraq makes two Hooves attacks.
Hooves. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) radiant damage.
Searing Bray (Recharge 5-6). Al Buraq cries out in a chord of light in a 30-foot cone. Each creature there must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, taking 24 (7d6) radiant damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. A creature that fails is also blinded until the end of its next turn.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Ascendant Bound. As a bonus action, Al Buraq can take the Dash action; if it ends this movement at least 20 feet higher than it began, the next attack against it before its next turn is made with disadvantage.
A blue-grey winged steed rears upon a rocky outcrop, vast feathered pinions thrown wide, bearing a crowned warrior-rider who couches a gleaming spear toward the heavens.
Al Buraq, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEAnointed Lance (signature). While mounted on a willing celestial, Al Buraq's weapon attacks deal an extra 4 (1d8) radiant damage and ignore resistance to radiant damage.
Actions
Heaven-Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8+5) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) radiant damage.
Reactions
Guard the Mount. When Al Buraq is hit by an attack, Al Buraq can impose disadvantage on that attack roll, turning her shield to ward her steed.
A crowned warrior-queen who rides only what consents to bear her, her lance lit like a falling star.
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 charging straight in for the Hooves of Heaven bonus radiant, then bound away with Ascendant Bound so melee parties can't pin it. If foes cluster, line up Searing Bray; kill-priority is the enemy caster you want blinded. Pair it as the mobile harasser circling a grounded boss.
Open with a 30-foot charge into the hardest-to-reach target for the radiant rider, two Hooves, then fly up out of melee. When the party bunches, drop Searing Bray to blind the front line and soften them for your flagship boss. This is the add-on cavalry piece, not the centerpiece: pair it with a bigger threat and let it pick off stragglers.
Treat it as a strike-and-vanish mount: charge, two Hooves on the squishiest target, bound 90 feet away every turn so casters waste actions chasing. Recharge Searing Bray to blind clustered melee, then hand them to the boss. Kill-priority for the party is forcing it to land; keep it as a wingman to a heavier solo, never the headliner.
Put Al Buraq 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 Al Buraq?
Its home stat block is CR 6 (2,300 XP), a Tier 2 threat for levels 5-10. The sheet also scales down to a CR 2-ish version for Tier 1 and up to a CR 11-ish version for Tier 3 using the numbers in the tiers block; the traits and actions never change, only the math.
Can Al Buraq be a companion or ally?
Yes. It is a willing celestial mount that bears the worthy, so it makes an ideal flying steed for a paladin, cleric, or righteous NPC. Use the companion block for Shahbanu the Crowned Rider, or simply let a PC ride Al Buraq, remembering Sure-Mounted keeps the rider seated and its hooves only smite the impious.
How do I keep Al Buraq from feeling like a stationary punching bag?
Commit to its mobility: every turn it should charge for the radiant bonus, attack, and then fly out of reach with its 90-foot fly speed or Ascendant Bound. Used right, it forces the party to spend resources just to make it hold still, which is exactly the tense, hit-and-run fantasy of a lightning-swift heavenly steed.
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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