Gunnar Wolfsbane
Gunnar Wolfsbane — The Encounter
Horn-helmed spear-thane who hunts the wolf at world's end · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Gunnar Wolfsbane
They name him Wolfsbane in the longhouses of the frost-coast, for Gunnar swore upon his father's barrow that no wolf-thing would feed while he drew breath. When the bileblight crept down from the high passes and the shapeshifters of Loki's brood ran the moonlit fells, it was Gunnar who set the spear-wall at the ford and held it three nights. He is no king and claims no hall; he is a thane of the hunt, a borrowed sword for any chieftain whose flocks are thinned and whose children do not return. Skalds say the horns of his helm were cut from a beast he slew with that same boar-spear, and that he sharpens the point each dusk against a whetstone of grave-cold iron. He fights low and patient, letting the enemy break upon his brace before he answers, and he never runs from a thing that wears another's skin.
Run Gunnar Wolfsbane in Sixty Seconds
- Hold the line. Gunnar is a wall, not a chaser. Plant him in a doorway, ford, or corridor and never let him leave his 10 ft. spear-reach.
- Open with the brace. Don't move on turn one. Wait for the first enemy to enter reach and answer with Brace, then Multiattack whatever bled.
- Point him at the wolf. Wolfsbane Oath gives advantage and +2d6 against beasts, monstrosities, and shapechangers. If the table has one, that is his kill-priority every round.
- When bloodied, dig in. Below 60 HP he stops trading attacks for movement, Shield Bashes the most dangerous melee prone, and lets foes break on his Brace.
- Three ways to run him. Skirmish picket (one of three at a ford), elite bodyguard for a flagship boss, or solo rival hunter the party negotiates with over the same monster.
Gunnar Wolfsbane
Medium humanoid (human), neutral good
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEWolfsbane Oath. Gunnar has advantage on saving throws against being frightened, and on melee weapon attack rolls against beasts, monstrosities, and any creature with the shapechanger trait. The first time each turn he hits such a creature, the target takes an extra 7 (2d6) damage.
Spear Wall. While Gunnar wields his spear two-handed or with a shield, his reach is 10 ft. and creatures provoke an opportunity attack from him when they enter or leave that reach.
Actions
Multiattack. Gunnar makes two spear attacks. He can replace one attack with Shield Bash.
Boar Spear. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (1d10 + 4) piercing damage, or 13 (1d12 + 4) piercing damage if used two-handed.
Hurled Spear. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage.
Shield Bash. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Brace (Reaction). When a creature Gunnar can see moves within his spear's reach, he can make one Boar Spear attack against it.
A barrel-chested northman in a horned helm and gleaming scale cuirass, dropping into a low spear-stance behind a battered round shield. His braided red beard and white-knuckled grip mark a man who has waited his whole life for the wolf to come.
Gunnar Wolfsbane, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEPack Sense (signature). Gunnar Wolfsbane has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell and can track shapechangers even in their assumed forms.
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) piercing damage, and a Medium or smaller target must succeed on a DC 13 Strength save or be knocked prone.
Reactions
Hamstring. When an enemy within 5 ft. of Gunnar Wolfsbane tries to move away, Gunnar Wolfsbane makes a Bite attack against it; on a hit the target's speed is halved until the end of its next turn.
Gunnar Wolfsbane is the great grey hound Gunnar raised from the litter of a beast he spared. Loyal past death, it flanks while its master braces the line.
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 bracing the ford so a wolf or beast eats a spear before it reaches the party. If foes cluster, hold the 10 ft. reach and let Brace punish every advance. Kill-priority is anything beast or shapechanger; pair Gunnar with a heavier flagship as the front-line piece.
This is his home tier and his job is the anchor, not the boss. Open from a doorway or chokepoint and Brace; let melee come to you, then Multiattack the wounded. Wolfsbane Oath dumps bonus dice into beasts and skinchangers, so steer him onto them. Pair Gunnar with a bigger threat (a giant, a wolf-witch) and let him hold the line while it kills.
Run him as the elite veteran guarding a real centerpiece. Open with Brace on the first charger, then grind: Shield Bash a key martial prone, spear the caster. Kill-priority for the party is the boss behind him, so make Gunnar's reach and Brace cost them tempo. Always pair him with a bigger threat.
Put Gunnar Wolfsbane 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 Gunnar Wolfsbane?
Natively CR 6 (Tier 2, ~level 5-10): AC 17, 119 HP, +7 to hit, save DC 15. Scale him down to CR 2 for Tier 1 or up to ~CR 11 for Tier 3 using the tier table, keeping his traits identical.
Can Gunnar Wolfsbane be a companion or ally?
Yes. He is a mortal thane-for-hire, not a fiend or boss, so he slots cleanly as a hired front-liner, a rival hunter who joins the party against a shared wolf-threat, or a quest-giver who fights beside them at the ford.
Is Gunnar a solo boss?
No. He has no legendary actions and is built as an add-on anchor. Pair him with a bigger centerpiece, a frost giant, a wolf-witch, a Loki-spawned shapechanger, and let him hold the line while that threat does the killing.
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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