Pulse
Pulse — The Encounter
Masked enforcer who answers every defiance with thunder · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Pulse
They call him Pulse because you feel him before you see him, a low shudder in the floor plates a heartbeat before the door blows inward. He is the silencer the Forgebound Dominion sends when a holding has stopped answering, and he comes alone because he is built to need no one. Behind the sealed mask there may be a man, or only the memory of one; the conduits that ring his armor breathe a cold neon light, and the great cannon on his arm hums like a kettle about to scream. Pulse does not parley. He plants his boots, levels the muzzle, and lets a single thunderclap settle the question of who owns the room. Veterans of the border holdings teach one rule to the green: when the air goes still and a blue glow climbs the walls, do not stand in the open, and do not stand together.
Run Pulse in Sixty Seconds
- Hold Pulse at range and keep it from taking damage so Suppressing Fire keeps attacks-against-it at disadvantage and slows anyone closing in.
- Open with Concussion Blast on the tightest cluster of PCs, 4d10 thunder in a 10-ft sphere plus a prone save, then spend the rest of the round on Heavy Cannon.
- Kill-priority the healer or caster first; Pulse's job is to delete the back line before the party can answer its volume of fire.
- When bloodied it stops backpedaling and digs in, leaning on Brace against every incoming hit and Riot Strike to shove meleers off the wall it has chosen to hold.
- Three ways to run it lone heavy gunner for a low party, the anchor of a Dominion fireteam, or a lieutenant standing beside a bigger flagship boss.
Pulse
Medium humanoid (soldier), lawful neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINESealed Respirator. Pulse's filtered mask grants advantage on saving throws against being blinded or poisoned and against effects that require it to breathe. It cannot be put to sleep.
Suppressing Fire. While Pulse hasn't taken damage since its last turn, attack rolls against it have disadvantage and creatures within 20 feet that try to move toward Pulse spend 1 extra foot for every foot moved unless they first succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom save.
Actions
Multiattack. Pulse makes two attacks, only one of which can be a Concussion Blast.
Concussion Blast. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 80/240 ft., all targets in a 10-foot-radius sphere centered on a point it can see. Hit: 24 (4d10 + 2) thunder damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength save or be knocked prone. Pulse can fire this once, then it recharges on a roll of 5-6 at the start of its turn.
Heavy Cannon. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 60/180 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d8 + 2) piercing damage.
Riot Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength save or be pushed 10 feet.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Brace (Reaction). When Pulse is hit by an attack, it digs in and gains a +2 bonus to AC against that attack, potentially causing it to miss.
A broad-shouldered enforcer sealed in layered combat plate edged with glowing power-conduits, its faceless respirator mask staring out above a heavy slung scarf, an oversized concussion cannon braced across one fist.
Pulse, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINESpotter Link (signature). While within 30 feet of its bonded ally, Pulse can use its reaction to grant that ally advantage on the next ranged attack roll the ally makes before the start of Pulse's next turn.
Actions
Service Carbine. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 60/180 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (3d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Reactions
Cover Fire. When an enemy Pulse can see makes a melee attack against its bonded ally, Pulse imposes disadvantage on that attack roll.
A lighter-armored skirmisher in matching Dominion colors who calls the shots Pulse cannot see, painting targets through the smoke.
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 Concussion Blast on the most bunched-up pair to scatter and knock prone, then plink the closest with Heavy Cannon. Keep it at range so Suppressing Fire stays on; if PCs rush in, Riot Strike the weakest to shove them back into the open. A nasty solo bruiser for a low party.
Open with Concussion Blast the moment two or more PCs cluster, prone-locking them before they close. Kill-priority is the party healer or any caster; use Brace against the first big hit. Keep moving to a braced firing line so Suppressing Fire and disadvantage-to-hit stay live, and pair Pulse with skirmishers or a heavier flagship rather than fighting alone.
Run Pulse as the anchor gun of a fireteam or as a lieutenant beside a bigger threat, never solo at this level. Open Concussion Blast on the densest cluster, Brace the first nova, and focus the squishiest backliner. With minions screening it the action economy holds; on its own a tier-3 party will simply walk it down.
Put Pulse 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 Pulse?
Pulse is built at CR 6 (2,300 XP) in its native Tier 2 band, tuned for a party of levels 5-10. The stat block also gives Tier 1 (levels 1-4) and Tier 3 (levels 11-15) columns; the traits and actions never change, only AC, HP, to-hit, save DC, and damage shift between bands.
Can Pulse be a companion or ally?
Yes. Pulse reads naturally as a hired enforcer or reluctant escort. Drop its damage and recharge frequency and it makes a sturdy NPC bodyguard, or run the included companion Klaxon, Bound as a player-side spotter who feeds advantage and covers melee.
Is Pulse a solo boss?
No. Pulse is an add-on threat, not a centerpiece. It lacks legendary actions and the action economy to stand against a full party alone at its native tier, so pair it with minions, a fireteam, or a larger flagship boss to make the encounter sing.
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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