Yaluk
Yaluk — The Encounter
Horned Herald on Wings of Gold, Coiled in Serpent's Tail · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Yaluk
The grimoires name Yaluk the Herald of the Gilded Choir, a celestial messenger sent to muster the faithful and rally broken ranks beneath its outspread wings. Where it alights, courage hardens like cooling bronze, for no fear can take root within the shadow of its horns. Scholars who copied the old bestiaries marked it neither angel of mercy nor angel of wrath, but an angel of order: it descends only when a host stands on the brink of rout, and its serpentine tail betrays an older, stranger heritage from the deep waters that birthed the first heralds. Its cry, the Clarion, is said to carry across whole valleys, scattering the wicked and steeling the brave in the same breath. Those who serve it well are lifted on its wings; those who break their oaths are gored upon its golden horns and cast down into the surf below the crag.
Run Yaluk in Sixty Seconds
- Open from the sky. Yaluk starts airborne (fly 60 ft.) and leads with Clarion Command — thunder damage, prone, and a free rally move for its allies. Don't waste it on one target; wait for a cluster.
- Kill-priority: the herald itself. Heraldic Presence makes every nearby minion immune to fear and charm. Drop Yaluk and the whole host becomes breakable again.
- Spend legendary actions every round. Talon Strike for a quick poke, or Surge of Gold (2 actions) to fly onto a backline caster and burst the area — this kit is why Yaluk plays up a CR.
- Beat of Wings guards its space. Any creature ending its move within 10 ft. eats a reaction Talon and gets shoved 5 ft. Melee characters should commit, not dance in and out.
- When bloodied, go vertical. Stay flying, trade Talon Strikes between turns, and recharge Clarion Command (5-6) — let it scatter the party a second time before it falls.
Yaluk
Large celestial, lawful neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEHeraldic Presence. Allied creatures within 20 feet of Yaluk can't be charmed or frightened, and have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
Magic Weapons. Yaluk's horn and talon attacks are magical.
Actions
Multiattack. Yaluk makes one Goring Horns attack and two Talon attacks.
Goring Horns. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 4) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet and knocked prone.
Talon. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) radiant damage.
Clarion Command (Recharge 5-6). Yaluk sounds a ringing celestial cry. Each enemy within 30 feet must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw, taking 18 (4d8) thunder damage and being knocked prone on a failure, or half as much damage on a success. Allies within 30 feet may immediately move up to their speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Beat of Wings. Reaction (1/turn): When a creature Yaluk can see ends its move within 10 feet of Yaluk, Yaluk beats its great wings and makes one Talon attack against that creature. On a hit, the target is also pushed 5 feet away.
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Talon Strike. Yaluk makes one Talon attack.
Surge of Gold (Costs 2 Actions). Yaluk flies up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks, then each creature within 10 feet of where it lands must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 9 (2d8) radiant damage.
A towering celestial herald crowned with grand sweeping horns of gold, vast feathered wings spread wide, its lower body tapering into a coiling serpent's tail braced upon a rocky crag.
Yaluk, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEChoir-Touched (signature). While within 20 feet of an ally, the Acolyte has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened, and can use its reaction to grant that ally advantage on a saving throw it can see.
Actions
Gilded Spear. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) radiant damage.
Reactions
Warding Feather. When an ally within 10 feet is hit by an attack, the Acolyte imposes disadvantage on that attack roll once per round.
A lesser winged servant of the Gilded Choir, spear raised and feathers aglow, ever at the herald's flank.
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 with Clarion Command to scatter a clustered party and rally minions, then wade in with Goring Horns to knock the toughest melee threat prone. Beat of Wings punishes anyone who closes; pair it with a flagship boss or a war-band of acolytes rather than running it alone here.
Open from the air; bait the party into a cluster, then Clarion Command for thunder and prone before diving in. Kill-priority is the enemy controller — use Surge of Gold to leap onto backline casters and Beat of Wings to wall off the melee. When bloodied, stay airborne and trade Talon Strikes between turns; its Heraldic Presence makes its minions fearless, so clear the herald to break the host.
Run it as a lair captain leading a celestial host, not solo — pair it with a bigger threat. Clarion Command opens every encounter; Surge of Gold relocates it onto squishy targets each round. Concentrate Beat of Wings reactions to lock down the front line while its minions advance.
Put Yaluk 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 Yaluk?
Yaluk's home tier is CR 6 (2,300 XP), tuned for a party of levels 5-10. Because it carries a real action-economy kit — two legendary options plus the Beat of Wings reaction — it is solo-capable and plays up a CR or two as a centerpiece. The included Tier 1 and Tier 3 sheets re-scale it for levels 1-4 and 11-15.
Can Yaluk be a companion or ally?
Yes. As a lawful celestial herald, Yaluk fits naturally as a patron-sent ally who rallies the party rather than fighting it. Its Heraldic Presence (allies near it can't be charmed or frightened) and Clarion Command (which lets allies move freely) make it a superb buff-and-reposition NPC. The Plumed Acolyte companion can stand in as a smaller bound ally for lower-level tables.
Is Yaluk a fiend or a celestial?
A celestial. Despite the grand horns, the render reads as a winged herald of order — feathered angelic wings, a radiant golden ward, and a serpentine lower body hinting at an older sea-born heritage. It is statted as a Large celestial (lawful neutral), with radiant damage on its talons and immunity to being charmed or frightened, not as a fiend.
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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