Vakaris
Vakaris — The Encounter
Horned warden of the bone-fields, blade lit with smoldering wrath · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Vakaris
In the old grimoires Vakaris is named among the wardens of the slain, a sworn-blade spirit bound to guard the threshold where battle-dead are tallied and judged. He was no tempter nor schemer but an executor of oaths, dispatched to the mortal world to collect souls promised in pacts of war and to punish those who broke them. The skull set into his collar is said to be the first vow he ever enforced, kept close so the bargain is never forgotten. His blade is forged of the same ember that burns at the heart of an oath broken, and where he treads the ground is left littered with the bones of the faithless. Conjurers who would summon him are warned that he answers only to a contract sealed in blood, that he keeps the letter of his word with merciless exactness, and that he never forgets a debt left unpaid. To meet him on the field is to learn that some promises are collected by fire.
Run Vakaris in Sixty Seconds
- Brand first. Spend the opening turn marking a key PC with Ember Vow or Searing Roar so every later swing has advantage and the target can't hide.
- Kill-priority. Vakaris fixates on the marked creature; that PC should break line of sight or be screened, because Wrathful Advance lets him chase and Brand-Reaper punishes any move away.
- When bloodied (60 HP / native). He stops maneuvering and stands his ground, dumping Searing Roar the instant it recharges to brand the whole cluster and trading hits.
- Three ways to run him. Disciplined oath-warden who calls out his target before striking; silent executioner who only brands and reaps; or pack-leader who herds fleeing PCs into waiting minions.
- Pairs with. Use him as the enforcer beside a caster boss or in a bone-field lair; he is an add-on bruiser, not a solo centerpiece.
Vakaris
Medium fiend (devil), lawful evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEMagic Weapons. Vakaris's weapon attacks are magical.
Ember Vow. Signature. The first time on each of its turns that Vakaris hits a creature with its greatsword, the target takes an extra 7 (2d6) fire damage and is marked with smoldering brands until the end of Vakaris's next turn. While a creature is marked, Vakaris has advantage on attack rolls against it, and the mark sheds dim light in a 5-foot radius so it cannot benefit from being hidden or invisible from Vakaris.
Actions
Multiattack. Vakaris makes two Hellbrand Greatsword attacks.
Hellbrand Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) fire damage.
Searing Roar (Recharge 5-6). Vakaris unleashes a cone of infernal heat in a 15-foot cone. Each creature there must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 28 (8d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. A creature that fails is also branded by Ember Vow until the end of Vakaris's next turn.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Wrathful Advance (Bonus Action). Vakaris moves up to its speed toward a hostile creature it can see, provoking no opportunity attacks from that creature.
Brand-Reaper (Reaction). When a creature marked by Ember Vow moves out of Vakaris's reach or stands up from prone, Vakaris makes one Hellbrand Greatsword attack against it.
A horn-crowned devil sheathed in blood-red plate, its gorget shaped into a screaming skull, hefting a jagged greatsword that glows like a forge as it stands astride a field of scoured bone.
Vakaris, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEOathkeeper's Mark (signature). Once per turn when the companion hits a creature, it brands the target: the next attack roll an ally makes against that target before the start of the companion's next turn has advantage.
Actions
Hellbrand Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) fire damage.
Reactions
Sworn Guard. When an ally within 5 feet is hit by an attack, the companion adds 2 to that ally's AC against the triggering attack, possibly causing it to miss.
Bound by a contract honored rather than broken, Vakaris keeps his oath to your blood instead of against it, burning down whatever threatens those he is sworn to.
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 Searing Roar to brand the front line, then close on the marked target so every swing lands with advantage. Kill-priority is whoever Vakaris brands first; protect that ally or break line of sight. At this tier pair him with a small pack of cultists so the brand chases fleeing PCs into their reach.
Open by branding a squishy caster, then use Wrathful Advance to stick to them and Brand-Reaper to punish any retreat or stand-up. Concentrate Multiattack on the marked target while Searing Roar resets the brand on the cluster. Pair him with a bigger flagship threat or lair hazards; he is a frontline enforcer, not the whole fight.
Lead with Searing Roar to brand the back rank, then bound in with Wrathful Advance and lock down a marked striker with Multiattack plus Brand-Reaper. Kill-priority stays on whoever he has branded. At this tier run him beside a larger boss or among minions as the bruiser that pins the party in place while the real threat does the killing.
Put Vakaris 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 Vakaris?
Vakaris is built as a CR 6 (2,300 XP) frontline fiend for a Tier 2 party of levels 5-10. Scaled tiers are provided for levels 1-4 (around CR 2) and levels 11-15 (around CR 11); the traits stay identical and only AC, HP, to-hit, and save DC change.
Can Vakaris be a companion or ally?
Yes. The companion block 'Vakaris, Bound' models him as an oath-sworn guardian at roughly 60 percent of the adversary's HP, with Oathkeeper's Mark to set up allies, a greatsword attack, and the Sworn Guard reaction to shield a nearby companion.
How do I keep Vakaris from being a single-target beatstick that one PC just kites?
Lean on his kit. Wrathful Advance lets him reposition as a bonus action without provoking the chased target, and Brand-Reaper hits any marked creature that flees or stands up, so kiting him costs an extra attack each round. Branding the back rank with Searing Roar also forces the party to clump or scatter.
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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