Semargl
Semargl — The Encounter
Winged Flame of the Slavs, Guardian of the World-Seed · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Semargl
Hear the rite of the Winged Flame. When the first seed was laid in the black earth, the Old Ones set a sentinel between the field and the dark, and that sentinel was Semargl. It wears the shape of a great beast with the wings of an eagle and the haunches of a hound of lions, and above its brow turns a wheel of fire that never gutters, even in flood or famine. By day it flies the boundary of the world-tree's roots; by night it stands at the seed-mound, and no blight, no thieving wolf, no wandering shade may cross while its pyre burns. Farmers leave it the first sheaf and the first ember of the hearth. It speaks no tongue of men, only in omens of flame: a spark that leaps east means rain, a guttering means grief. To wound the ground it guards is to wake it, and a roused Semargl burns like the sun come low.
Run Semargl in Sixty Seconds
- Hold the bright light. Solar Pyre makes melee on Semargl cost 1d10 fire every turn and ignites the area; force the party to fight inside its burn or back off the objective.
- Open with Ember Cry. Lead with the 20-ft. cone on the tightest cluster, then Multiattack the kill-priority target. Recharge it on a 5-6 and look for the next clump.
- Kill-priority is the controller. Talons knock prone, then Searing Bite; lock down whoever locks down Semargl. It is immune to frightened, so fear tricks don't work.
- When bloodied, guard the ward. Spend Warding Flame on every hit against its ward and Pinion Surge out of melee; it fights to protect, not to chase.
- Three ways to run it: field sentinel parked on the objective, mobile sky-striker flying cone-and-go, or a boss's bodyguard glued within 30 ft. of its master.
Semargl
Large celestial, neutral good
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINESolar Pyre. Signature. The crown of fire above Semargl sheds bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for another 20 feet. Any creature that starts its turn within 5 feet of Semargl, or that touches it, takes 5 (1d10) fire damage. Plants and crops within the bright light do not wither and are immune to fire.
Sentinel of the Seed. Semargl has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks and cannot be surprised while it can see. It guards one chosen creature, object, or sacred place; while within 30 feet of its ward it has advantage on saving throws.
Actions
Multiattack. Semargl makes two attacks: one with its Searing Bite and one with its Talons.
Searing Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) fire damage.
Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Ember Cry (Recharge 5-6). Semargl looses a sunburst from its crown. Each creature in a 20-foot cone must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 24 (7d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. Flammable objects that aren't worn or carried ignite.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Pinion Surge. Bonus Action. Semargl beats its great wings and flies up to half its flying speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Warding Flame. Reaction, when its ward (a creature it guards) is hit by an attack within 30 feet: Semargl wreathes the ward in fire, reducing the damage by 7 (2d6) and dealing 7 (2d6) fire damage to the attacker if within 30 feet.
A towering guardian of feathered eagle wings and beast-thewed limbs, crowned with a living wheel of solar fire and ringed at its feet by a coiling serpent-tail, sculpted mid-stride as it descends to defend the sacred ground.
Semargl, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINESpark-Trail (signature). Semargl leaves a 5-foot line of cinders in each space it leaves on its turn. The cinders are difficult terrain and deal 3 (1d6) fire damage to any creature that enters them, lasting until the start of Semargl's next turn.
Actions
Burning Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) fire damage.
Reactions
Loyal Interpose. When an ally within 5 feet is hit by an attack, Semargl moves into the path and takes the damage instead, then the attacker takes 4 (1d8) fire damage.
A lean smoldering hound born of Semargl's own pyre, set loose to herd threats away from the seed-mound.
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 flying in and dropping Ember Cry on the tightest cluster, then bite the squishiest caster. Use Solar Pyre to punish anyone who closes in. Pair it with a flagship boss as the guardian piece that defends the objective or the boss's flank.
This is the guardian add-on, not the centerpiece. Open with Ember Cry on the cluster, then Multiattack the kill-priority target (healer/controller) and use Talons to knock them prone. Burn Warding Flame to keep its ward alive; pair it beside a bigger threat that draws the party in.
Open with Ember Cry, then full Multiattack on whoever threatens its ward most. Use Pinion Surge to reposition and protect the ward each round. It still plays as a defender beside a stronger boss, not as a solo; keep it within 30 ft. of what it guards.
Put Semargl 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 Semargl?
Native CR 6 (2,300 XP) at Tier 2, built for level 5-10 parties. Drop it to ~CR 2 (Tier 1) or push it to ~CR 11 (Tier 3) using the per-tier numbers; traits and actions stay identical, only AC, HP, to-hit, save DC, and damage shift.
Can Semargl be a companion or ally?
Yes. As a guardian celestial it makes a natural sworn protector for a worthy hero, sacred grove, or relic. Use the Iskra, the Ember-Hound companion block for a smaller bonded ally, or run Semargl itself as a temporary defender that fights to shield its ward.
Is Semargl a boss or an add-on?
An add-on. Semargl is the guardian piece beside a bigger flagship threat, not a solo centerpiece (no legendary actions). Pair it with a stronger boss and let it defend the objective, the boss's flank, or a chosen ward.
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 Semargl 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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