Vexthar
Vexthar — The Encounter
Horned Warlord of the Burning Pact, Staff-Bearer of Ash · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Vexthar
They name him Vexthar, the Horned Warlord, a captain of the burning pact whose word is law to the damned. The grimoires hold that he was once a mortal commander who bargained his soul to win a war already lost, and rose from the ash a devil bound by the very oath that destroyed him. He bears no crown but the skull of the first beast he slew, and carries an iron staff ringed in living flame, with which he seals contracts that no sword may cut. Those who swear to him fight without fear, for terror itself has been promised to their enemies; yet every vow exacts its toll, and the cairn of skulls beneath his boots grows with each campaign. It is written that he does not hate the mortals he burns. He merely keeps his bargains, and expects the same of all who kneel — to the letter, unto death.
Run Vexthar in Sixty Seconds
- Hold until the party bunches — then a single Hellfire Lash brands the front rank and turns half the room into a 10d6 firewall.
- Open with command or hold person on the party's healer or controller; his staff also denies healing on a hit, so locking the cleric early is worth a whole round.
- Kill-priority is healers and resurrection — Searing Staff stops hit-point regain, and the longer they live the more Pact-Bound Wrath snowballs.
- When bloodied, sacrifice your own minions near him: each one that drops feeds Vexthar 10 temp HP and an extra 2d8 fire on his next swing.
- Three ways to run him: a fearless warlord shoving frontline soldiers forward; a contract-keeper offering the party a deadly bargain mid-fight; or a cornered fanatic torching everything with fireball and wall of fire as the cairn of skulls grows.
Vexthar
Large fiend (devil), lawful evil
CR 9 · 5,000 XP · GUIDELINEMagic Resistance. Vexthar has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Pact-Bound Wrath. Signature. Vexthar's burning oath feeds on the suffering of the sworn. Whenever a creature within 30 feet of Vexthar drops to 0 hit points, Vexthar gains 10 temporary hit points and his next weapon or spell attack before the end of his next turn deals an extra 9 (2d8) fire damage.
Actions
Multiattack. Vexthar makes two Searing Staff attacks, or he makes one Searing Staff attack and casts a spell from his Innate Spellcasting.
Searing Staff. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) fire damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be unable to regain hit points until the end of its next turn.
Hellfire Lash (Recharge 5-6). Vexthar's staff erupts in a 30-foot cone of roaring flame. Each creature in that area must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, taking 35 (10d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. A creature that fails is also branded with Vexthar's mark until the end of his next turn, granting him advantage on attacks against it.
Innate Spellcasting. Vexthar's spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: at will — command, hold person; 1/day each — fireball, wall of fire.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Searing Retort (Reaction). When a creature Vexthar can see within 10 feet hits him with a melee attack, he can make one Searing Staff attack against that creature.
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Staff Strike. Vexthar makes one Searing Staff attack.
Cinder Step (Costs 1 Action). Vexthar moves up to his speed without provoking opportunity attacks. Each creature he moves within 5 feet of takes 5 (1d10) fire damage.
Word of the Pact (Costs 2 Actions). Vexthar casts command or hold person from his Innate Spellcasting, or whispers a binding oath: one creature he can see within 60 feet must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of him until the end of its next turn.
A towering red-skinned devil crowned with a beast's horned skull, draped in a tattered cloak and spiked black plate, leaning on an iron staff hung with chains and crowned with a ring of fire. He stands upon a cairn of skulls — the cost of oaths sworn and broken before him.
Vexthar, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINESworn Shield (signature). While within 10 feet of an ally, the Oathkeeper imposes disadvantage on the first attack made against that ally each round, intercepting the blow on its blackened shield.
Actions
Branded Glaive. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) fire damage.
Reactions
Pact Vengeance. When an ally within 10 feet drops to 0 hit points, the Oathkeeper can move up to half its speed and make one Branded Glaive attack with advantage.
A silent knight in scorched plate, sworn to the burning pact — it dies before it lets its master's contract be broken.
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 command ("flee") to scatter the party, then close on the nearest melee with the staff. If three or more foes cluster, save Hellfire Lash for the line. At this scale he is a finale warlord — give him two minion guards and a tight room so the party can't simply gang him.
Lead with fireball into the densest cluster, then advance and lock the party's healer with hold person. Kill-priority is whoever can restore hit points — his staff shuts that off on a failed save. Pair him with the Ashbound Oathkeeper and a knot of cultists; he is the warlord, not a lone duelist here.
Open by branding the front line with Hellfire Lash, then spend legendary actions on Word of the Pact to fear or hold the party's anchor. Bait melee — every blow risks Searing Retort. When bloodied, lean on Pact-Bound Wrath: drop minions on purpose to fuel the temp HP and bonus fire. Runs best in a lair full of sworn soldiers or paired with a bigger fiend to split the party's focus.
Put Vexthar 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 Vexthar?
His home statline is CR 9 (5,000 XP) at Tier 3 — because he carries a real action-economy kit (three legendary options plus the Searing Retort reaction), his sheet drops one band so a four-player party of levels 11-15 still gets a true solo boss fight. Tiers 1 and 2 rescale him as a level 1-4 (~CR 2) or level 5-10 (~CR 6) finale warlord.
Can Vexthar be a companion or ally?
Not directly — he is a sworn-to-no-one warlord of the burning pact and plays as an adversary. For a player-side option, use the Ashbound Oathkeeper companion block: a sworn knight (AC 16, 96 HP) that shields an ally, strikes with a branded glaive, and avenges fallen comrades with Pact Vengeance.
How do I keep Vexthar from dying in one round at higher levels?
Lean on Magic Resistance and his reaction. Bait melee fighters so Searing Retort punishes every hit, spend legendary actions on Word of the Pact to fear or hold the party's burst dealers, and use Cinder Step to break line of sight from casters. If he is bloodied, feed Pact-Bound Wrath by letting nearby minions fall to stack temp HP and bonus fire.
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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