Grellmar
Grellmar — The Encounter
Greybeard axeman of the frozen fells, last of his hearth-band · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Grellmar
They call him Grellmar Greybeard, the last hearth-warden of a war-band the high passes swallowed long ago. In the old reckoning of the North, a hearth-band was sworn flesh to flesh: when one fell, the rest avenged or died beside him, and Grellmar is the only oath-keeper left alive to carry that debt. He wandered down from the frost-fells with nothing but the axe his father's father swung against the frost-giants, its edge so cold-tempered it sings when it bites. Skalds say he no longer fights for gold or glory, only to die well and rejoin the band that waits for him in the long mead-hall beyond. Until that day he sells his axe to any cause stubborn enough to stand and not run, for a coward's company is the one wound his pride will not abide. Where he plants his boots, the line holds.
Run Grellmar in Sixty Seconds
- Frontline anchor, not a boss Grellmar is an add-on bruiser. Give him something to guard or a doorway to hold; he is built to make the party come to him.
- Open with the Hurl Lead the encounter with Frost-Hardened Hurl into the densest cluster, then close and start swinging twice a round.
- Mind the chain Cleaving Blows means a kill triggers a free swing — position him so a dropped minion or downed PC lets him cleave into the next body.
- When bloodied Hearth-Band Veteran keeps his footing and he ignores fear; he does not retreat. Lean into Iron Riposte and let melee attackers eat the counter.
- Three ways to run him Raid leader holding a choke with skirmishers behind him; a frost-giant's sworn man-at-arms; or a grim duelist who calls out one PC and refuses to break.
Grellmar
Medium humanoid (Northman), lawful neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEHearth-Band Veteran. Grellmar has advantage on saving throws against being frightened, and the first time each turn he is reduced to half his hit points or fewer he does not lose his footing. He has fought a hundred winters and a hundred battles, and fear is a stranger to him.
Cleaving Blows. (signature) Whenever Grellmar reduces a creature to 0 hit points with a melee attack, he can immediately make one additional Great Axe attack as part of the same action. He can trigger this no more than once per turn.
Actions
Multiattack. Grellmar makes two Great Axe attacks.
Great Axe. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (1d12+4) slashing damage, and if the target is Large or smaller it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be pushed 5 feet away.
Frost-Hardened Hurl (Recharge 5-6). Grellmar hurls his axe at a point he can see within 30 feet. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 18 (4d8) slashing damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. The axe returns to his hand at the end of his turn.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Iron Riposte (Reaction). When a creature within 5 feet of Grellmar misses him with a melee attack, he can make one Great Axe attack against that creature.
A broad, bald greybeard in fur-collared plate, planting a great two-handed axe against the snow with the calm of a man who has buried every friend he ever marched beside.
Grellmar, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEHold the Line (signature). While Grellmar is within 5 feet of you, you cannot be moved against your will and you have advantage on saving throws against being knocked prone or frightened.
Actions
Great Axe. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (1d12+4) slashing damage.
Reactions
Shieldless Guard. When an ally within 5 feet is hit by a melee attack, Grellmar can step in and make himself the target instead, taking the attack and its damage.
An old warrior who has outlived everyone worth dying for, he stands at your shoulder so that you will not have to learn the same lesson.
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 softest target and forcing the push on a hit to break a back-rank caster off cover. He is a heavy front-liner here, not a solo; pair him with a couple of wolves or raiders so the party cannot just dogpile him. Kill-priority for the party is to drop him before Cleaving Blows turns one kill into a chain.
Open with Frost-Hardened Hurl into the tightest cluster, then wade into melee and trade two Great Axe swings a turn. Watch for Iron Riposte punishing whoever whiffs in melee. Run him as the anchor of a raid line beside archers or a frost-themed caster; he holds the choke while they soften the party.
At this tier he is a champion-tier lieutenant, not a centerpiece: pair him with a bigger threat (a frost-giant jarl or a flagship boss) and let him bodyguard it while Cleaving Blows mows the front line. Open with the Hurl, then guard the boss; if the party splits to flank, Iron Riposte and the chain-cleave make focusing him expensive. Frame him as the boss's right hand, not a lone fight.
Put Grellmar 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 Grellmar?
Grellmar is built at CR 6 (2,300 XP), his native Tier 2 home for parties of levels 5-10. The Tier 1 and Tier 3 columns rescale his AC, HP, to-hit, and save DC so you can drop the same warrior into a level 1-4 or level 11-15 fight without rewriting his kit.
Can Grellmar be a companion or ally?
Yes. Use the companion block 'Grellmar, Sworn Axe' — a sturdy melee bodyguard who holds the line for an adjacent ally, can take a hit meant for a friend, and keeps that ally steady on their feet. He is a faithful frontline protector rather than a damage dealer.
Is Grellmar a solo boss?
No. He has no legendary actions and a single reaction, so a four-player party will simply out-act him. Run him as an add-on: anchor him beside minions, a lair, or a bigger flagship threat and let him hold the front while the real centerpiece does the work.
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 Grellmar 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.
Log in to comment