Sarru-ša-izzu
Sarru-ša-izzu — The Encounter
Lion-Faced Storming Guardian of the Burning Gate · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Sarru-ša-izzu
In the gate-songs of the old river-cities they name him Sarru-ša-izzu, the King of Fire — a lion-faced guardian poured from the same furnaces that forged the bull-men and the scorpion-folk to ward the thresholds of heaven and the under-roads of the dead. He is not a hungering beast but a sworn warden: where a doorway must be held against demons or grave-robbers, the priests of the old shrines would raise his image, certain the fire beneath his hide would never let the watch grow cold. The hymns warn that he answers a roar with a roar and a blade with the weight of his shield, and that no fear-spell binds a creature already made of flame. Heroes such as the wild-man and the king of Uruk are said to have passed his kind only by honoring the gate's law — never by force.
Run Sarru-ša-izzu in Sixty Seconds
- It charges, it doesn't chase. Open by moving at least 20 ft. straight at the softest target — Roaring Charge adds 2d6 and a DC 14 prone, then full Multiattack on the downed foe.
- Kill-priority for the table: it is a bodyguard. The lion-man will burn its reactions to shield its boss, so players who ignore it will never reach the flagship.
- When bloodied, it stops charging and roots beside its boss, trading offense for Guardian's Bulwark every round to keep the centerpiece standing.
- Three ways to run it: (1) gate-warden glued to a bigger boss, (2) a roaming pair with a second lion-man flanking, (3) a lone door it must be beaten or honored to pass.
- Remember the fire: melee attackers eat 1d8 fire the first time they hit it each turn, it is immune to frightened, and resists fire — burn-it-down parties will be disappointed.
Sarru-ša-izzu
Medium monstrosity, lawful neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINERoaring Charge. On a turn it moves at least 20 feet straight toward a foe, the lion-man's first hit deals an extra 7 (2d6) damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength save or be knocked prone.
Sun-Tempered Hide. Signature. The fire that named Sarru-ša-izzu still smolders under its skin. The first time each turn it is hit by a melee attack, the attacker takes 4 (1d8) fire damage. The lion-man has advantage on saves against being grappled or restrained.
Actions
Multiattack. The lion-man makes two attacks: one with its burning flail and one with its shield bash, or two with its burning flail.
Burning Flail. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) fire damage.
Shield Bash. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4+4) bludgeoning damage, and if the target is Large or smaller it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength save or be pushed 10 feet and knocked prone.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Guardian's Bulwark. Reaction — when an ally the lion-man can see within 5 feet is hit by an attack, it interposes its great shield, granting the ally +3 AC against that attack.
A roaring lion-headed sentinel mid-charge, one taloned foot raised, flail whirling overhead and a huge round shield braced against the world. Scale-plated kilt and gilt greaves mark it as a temple-guardian, not a beast.
Sarru-ša-izzu, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINECinder Pounce (signature). When the whelp moves at least 15 feet toward a creature, its bite deals an extra 3 (1d6) fire damage on a hit.
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10+3) piercing damage.
Reactions
Snarling Cover. When the lion-man it guards is targeted by a ranged attack, the whelp leaps into the path and the attacker has disadvantage on that attack roll.
A half-grown fire-lion cub, mane glowing like banked coals, kept at the gate-warden's heel as both squire and alarm.
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 the nearest squishy caster to knock it prone, then flail it on the ground. If the party clusters, lead with Shield Bash to scatter them. Kill-priority: anyone who can stop its charges; pair it with a bigger gate-boss — it is the bodyguard piece, not the centerpiece.
Roaring Charge into the back line turn one, prone the controller, full Multiattack on the downed target. When bloodied it plants by its boss and spends reactions on Guardian's Bulwark to keep the flagship alive. Kill-priority for the party: drop it fast or it will body-block every ranged threat. Pair it with a larger guardian or summoner.
Use it as an elite door-warden flanking a true boss. Charge-prone a striker, then alternate flail and shield bash to keep one PC face-down each round. Sun-Tempered Hide punishes melee swarms; reserve reactions to shield the boss. Kill-priority: it never leaves the boss's side, so cut the boss's protection by cutting it.
Put Sarru-ša-izzu 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 Sarru-ša-izzu?
Its home tier is CR 6 (2,300 XP) for levels 5-10. Scale it down for a CR-2-feeling tier-1 fight or up toward CR 11 for tier-3 by swapping in the listed AC, HP, to-hit, and save DC; traits and actions stay the same across all three.
Can Sarru-ša-izzu be a companion or ally?
Yes — as a sworn gate-warden it makes an excellent guardian NPC or bodyguard for an allied temple or patron. Use its Guardian's Bulwark reaction to protect the player it is sworn to, and bring the Ember-Whelp companion as its squire and early-warning beast.
Is it a demon or a beast?
Neither — it is a monstrosity, a deliberately wrought lion-faced threshold guardian from old river-city myth, closer to the bull-man and scorpion-folk sentinels than to any hungering animal. It fights by law and oath, not appetite, which makes it a great honor-bound obstacle rather than a kill-on-sight monster.
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 Sarru-ša-izzu 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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