Leif Thunderstrider
Leif Thunderstrider — The Encounter
Twin-Axe Reaver Sworn to the Trickster's Blight · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Leif Thunderstrider
They name him Thunderstrider because the storm walks where he walks. Leif took the Trickster's coin in a winter of famine, and the blight that rides with that bargain crept into his marrow and his iron both; now his axes drink the sky and spit it back as lashing white fire. He fights as the old reavers did, two blades and no shield, trusting speed and fury to end a foe before it can answer. Those who have stood the wall against him speak of the sound first, a near-thunder gathering as he sets his feet, then the charge that throws grown men flat and the twin axes falling like rain. He guards no hall and serves no king. He runs ahead of the warband he is bound to, a herald of ruin, and where the lightning of his weapons stutters across a shield-line, the greater horror of his masters is never far behind.
Run Leif Thunderstrider in Sixty Seconds
- What he is A mortal Norse reaver, all melee speed and storm-charged axes. No spells, no shield, no flight. Numbers move by tier; traits stay identical.
- Open with Thunderstride (Recharge 5-6) straight into a cluster to deal thunder and knock prone, then Multiattack the easiest target you reach.
- Kill-priority Soft bodies he can prone first. Storm-Charged Axes arcs lightning to a second creature when targets are bunched, so he punishes clustered parties hardest.
- When bloodied Drop Reckless if you are outnumbered (it hands the party advantage). Use Reaving Step to peel off the moment an adjacent creature dies, keeping him mobile.
- Three ways to run him Lone duelist disruptor beside a boss; a 2-3 reaver pack flanking casters; or an elite herald that isolates the back line before the flagship lands.
Leif Thunderstrider
Medium humanoid (human), chaotic neutral
CR 2 · 450 XP · GUIDELINEReckless. At the start of its turn, Leif can gain advantage on all melee weapon attack rolls during that turn, but attack rolls against it have advantage until the start of its next turn.
Storm-Charged Axes. Signature. Leif's hand axes crackle with stolen thunder. Once per turn when he hits a creature with a hand axe, the target takes an extra 3 (1d6) lightning damage, and if the target is within 5 feet of another creature, that lightning arcs: a second creature within 5 feet of the target takes 3 (1d6) lightning damage.
Actions
Multiattack. Leif makes two Hand Axe attacks.
Hand Axe. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) slashing damage.
Thunderstride (Recharge 5-6). Leif surges forward in a roll of thunder, moving up to 20 feet in a straight line without provoking opportunity attacks. Each creature in his path must make a DC 13 Strength saving throw, taking 9 (2d8) thunder damage and being knocked prone on a failure, or half damage and not prone on a success.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Reaving Step. Reaction (when a creature within 5 feet of Leif drops to 0 hit points): Leif moves up to half his speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
A broad-shouldered Northman in studded leather and a rune-graven kilt, twin hand axes spinning in his fists and a rolling crackle of storm-light playing along their bits.
Leif Thunderstrider, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEThunder-Scent (signature). The hound has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell, and cannot be surprised while Leif is conscious within 60 feet.
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8+2) piercing damage, and a Medium or smaller target must succeed on a DC 12 Strength save or be knocked prone.
Reactions
Pack Lunge. When an ally within 5 feet of the hound hits a creature, the hound can use its reaction to bite that same creature.
A grey moor-hound that runs at Leif's heel, fur standing on end where the storm clings to it.
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 Thunderstriding into the densest cluster to scatter and prone the front line, then full-attack the squishiest body he reaches. Reckless every turn unless he is bloodied and outnumbered. Pair him with a bigger threat (a giant or a fiend boss) and let Leif be the disruptor who breaks formation before the heavy hitter lands.
Run two or three of him as a reaver pack flanking the party's casters. Lead with Thunderstride to knock prone, then converge axes so the lightning arcs chew clustered targets. Kill-priority is whichever PC he can drop prone and gang; he is the skirmish piece, not the centerpiece.
As an elite herald to a flagship boss, Leif harries the back line while the boss anchors the front. Thunderstride to isolate a healer, Reaving Step to chase as bodies fall, never standing still. He is the runner that drags the party out of position for the real threat.
Put Leif Thunderstrider 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 Leif Thunderstrider?
Natively CR 2 (Tier 1, levels 1-4): AC 14, 52 HP, +5 to hit, save DC 13. He is built as an add-on skirmisher, not a solo boss, so he carries no band-drop. Scale him up the tiers table to CR 6 or CR 11 for higher-level tables; traits stay the same, only the numbers climb.
Can Leif Thunderstrider be a companion or ally?
Yes. As an ally he is a fast front-line bruiser: he opens fights with Thunderstride to knock a group prone, then dual-wields for steady damage with arcing lightning when foes bunch up. His Storm-Hound makes a low-maintenance secondary, and Reckless lets a player dial his risk up or down each turn.
Why is Leif framed through Norse folklore rather than a specific pantheon?
He is grounded in public-domain Norse myth, the trickster god of the old sagas and the reaver tradition of twin-axe warriors. That keeps him SRD-safe as a Medium humanoid (human) with no proprietary cosmology, places, or ranks attached.
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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