Borlog
Borlog — The Encounter
Fallen Spirit of Smoke and Flame, Wreathed in the Whip of Fire · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Borlog
Reckon it among the spirits of fire that fell in the first betrayal of the world, when proud servants of the deep places turned from their making and were swallowed by smoke. The old grimoires name such a one a Borlog: a demon of shadow and flame, neither slain nor truly living, that festered in the roots of mountains until the hammering of greedy delvers woke it. It comes cloaked in its own burning, so that the air about it kindles and the brave grow faint to look upon it. Its whip is a length of fire with many cruel thongs that drags the bold into its embrace; its blade is forged of the same flame that clothes it. Where it walks, stone runs molten and rivers boil to vapor. Songs warn that to rouse such a thing is to wake a doom long sleeping, and that no single sword has ever been enough to lay it down.
Run Borlog in Sixty Seconds
- It is on fire, always. The 10-foot aura ticks 2d6 fire at the START of its turn and anyone meleeing it eats 2d6 more — track this before you forget; it is most of the damage.
- The whip is the threat, not the blade. 30-foot reach, grapple, and a 25-foot pull. Open by yanking the lowest-AC PC into the aura and the rest of the party has to come to you.
- Kill-priority: whoever can extinguish or restrain it. Frighten that PC with Roar of the Pit, whip-pull the healer, and never let a melee fighter stand still.
- When bloodied, fly. Use Wreathing Wings as a reaction to beat your wings, reposition for free, and rake the line with aura damage on the way.
- Three ways to run it: a lair set piece (collapsing molten cavern), the heavy in a fire-cult warband, or — at Tier 3 — a true solo boss whose Death Throes blast the killer at 0 HP.
Borlog
Large fiend (demon), chaotic evil
CR 13 · 10,000 XP · GUIDELINEShroud of Smoke and Fire. The fallen one is wrapped in living flame. At the start of each of its turns, each creature within 10 feet of it takes 7 (2d6) fire damage. A creature that touches it or hits it with a melee attack within 5 feet takes 7 (2d6) fire damage. Its weapons deal an extra 7 (2d6) fire damage (included below). Light or moderate wind disperses the smoke 10 feet away, granting it half cover; a creature within the smoke is also lightly obscured to it unless it has fire-sight.
Sunder Resistance. If the fallen one fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. Once it does so it cannot again until it finishes a short or long rest. Magic Resistance: it also has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Death Throes. When the fallen one drops to 0 hit points, it erupts. Each creature within 20 feet must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. Flammable objects that aren't worn or carried ignite.
Actions
Multiattack. The fallen one makes two attacks: one with its Flame Blade and one with its Fire Whip. It can replace the whip attack with Hurl Flame.
Flame Blade. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) fire damage.
Fire Whip. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 30 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage plus 7 (2d6) fire damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 16) and pulled up to 25 feet toward the fallen one.
Hurl Flame. Ranged Spell Attack: +8 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (6d6) fire damage, and the target ignites, taking 7 (2d6) fire damage at the start of its next turn unless someone uses an action to douse the flames.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Wreathing Wings (Reaction). When a creature the fallen one can see ends its turn within 30 feet, the fallen one beats its burning wings and may move up to its flying speed without provoking opportunity attacks; each creature it passes within 5 feet of takes 7 (2d6) fire damage (DC 16 Dexterity save for half).
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Legendary Actions. The fallen one can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. It regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Lash (1 action). The fallen one makes one Fire Whip attack.
Searing Step (1 action). The fallen one moves up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks. Each creature it ends its movement adjacent to takes 7 (2d6) fire damage.
Roar of the Pit (2 actions). The fallen one looses a thunderous roar. Each creature within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of it until the end of its next turn.
A towering horror of charred sinew and molten scale, this fallen fire-spirit looms on cloven hooves, twin horns wreathed in smoke, vast tattered wings spread against the dark. In one claw it whirls a many-thonged whip of living flame; the other lifts a blade of fire toward the night.
Borlog, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINECinder Tracker (signature). The ash-hound has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell and can sense any creature within 60 feet that is on fire or has been burned in the last minute, even through smoke or stone.
Actions
Smoldering Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) fire damage.
Reactions
Embergrowl. When an ally within 10 feet is hit by a melee attack, the ash-hound snarls and the attacker takes 4 (1d8) fire damage.
A lean hound of living coals that pads in the giant's smoke, sniffing out the burned and the hidden so nothing escapes the flame.
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 Hurl Flame to soften the front line, then lash the whip to drag the lowest-AC PC out of formation and stab it with the blade. If the party clusters, lead with the smoke shroud aura and walk through them. Pair it with a flagship boss or a fire-cult lair; at this tier it is a brutal mid-fight set piece, not a party-killer.
Stay airborne and Hurl Flame at casters, dropping in only to whip-pull the healer into melee range. Kill-priority is whoever can put out fires or restrain it. When bloodied it leans on Wreathing Wings to reposition for free aura damage. Best run with a horde of minions or as the heavy in a larger warband.
A genuine centerpiece: open with Roar of the Pit to frighten the line, whip the squishiest PC into the aura, then Multiattack. Spend legendary actions on Lash and Searing Step to keep someone always burning and never let melee settle in. Kill-priority for the party is the whip-grappler; remember Death Throes punishes anyone standing close at the kill, so it can solo a four-PC party or anchor a lair.
Put Borlog 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 Borlog?
Native CR 13 (Tier 3, levels 11-15) as a solo centerpiece boss, with a real legendary-action kit and a punishing reaction. Scaled-down builds are provided for Tier 1 (~CR 2 feel) and Tier 2 (~CR 6 feel) so it can drop in as a heavy add-on at lower levels — same traits, smaller numbers.
Can Borlog be a companion or ally?
Not as a player character — it is a centerpiece adversary and far too powerful to tame. If you want a flame-themed ally at the table, use the bound Ash-Hound companion provided above, a coal-bodied tracking hound that sniffs out the burned and punishes attackers with ember damage.
How do I keep the smoke aura from bogging down combat?
Roll the aura damage once at the start of the creature's turn for everyone within 10 feet, and pre-roll the 2d6 retaliation so you can apply it instantly when a melee attack lands. Mark burning creatures with a token so the start-of-turn 2d6 from Hurl Flame and ignition effects never gets forgotten.
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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