Exequitor Vaelach
Exequitor Vaelach — The Encounter
Crowned headsman of the dead, enthroned upon harvested skulls · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Exequitor Vaelach
In the chronicles of the Mortisbane line he is named Vaelach the Exequitor, the crowned executioner who carried out the final sentences of a dynasty long since dust. They say he condemned thousands at his liege's word, and that when the kingdom fell he refused to surrender his office. Death did not unseat him; it merely changed his court. He gathered the skulls of those he had judged into a throne and seated himself upon it, declaring his magistracy eternal. From that grim seat he still passes sentence, marking the living as the condemned and calling the recent dead to stand as his procession. His staff bears stones that drink the light of the soul, and to be touched by it is to feel the warden's verdict drain warmth and life together. Petitioners who seek his ruined court find a judge who has never once acquitted, and whose gavel is the grave itself.
Run Exequitor Vaelach in Sixty Seconds
- Hold nothing back on the mark: at the start of every turn, condemn the deadliest PC. He crits them on a 19-20 and they roll death saves at disadvantage.
- Open with Sentence on the heavy hitter, then Multiattack staff-and-Grave-Bolt to shut off their healing and shave their hit point maximum at once.
- When bloodied, spend 2 legendary actions on Call the Procession for a wall of skeletons, then retreat onto the throne so Throne of Harvested Skulls heals 10 a turn.
- Kill-priority: dedicated healers and concentration casters - the staff blocks healing and Toll of the Bound taxes every spell they cast within 60 ft.
- Three ways to run him: grinding magistrate (Grave Bolt + max reduction at range), executioner (mark-and-crit in melee), or warlord (Decree of Stillness into a charge while skeletons hold the line).
Exequitor Vaelach
Medium undead, lawful evil
CR 10 · 5,900 XP · GUIDELINESentence of the Exequitor. Vaelach marks one creature he can see as condemned at the start of his turn (no action). His attacks score a critical hit against the condemned creature on a roll of 19 or 20, and the condemned creature has disadvantage on death saving throws. The mark lasts until the start of his next turn or until that creature drops to 0 hit points.
Throne of Harvested Skulls. While within 30 feet of his throne or another resting place of bound dead, Vaelach regains 10 hit points at the start of each of his turns if he has at least 1 hit point.
Actions
Multiattack. Vaelach makes two Reaping Staff attacks, or makes one Reaping Staff attack and casts a spell with a casting time of 1 action.
Reaping Staff. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage plus 13 (3d8) necrotic damage, and the target cannot regain hit points until the start of Vaelach's next turn.
Grave Bolt (Cantrip). Ranged Spell Attack: +9 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (5d8) necrotic damage. On a hit, the target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the damage taken until it finishes a long rest.
Decree of Stillness (Recharge 5-6). Vaelach pronounces judgment in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or take 35 (10d6) necrotic damage and be paralyzed until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, a creature takes half damage and is not paralyzed.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Toll of the Bound (Reaction). When a creature within 60 feet of Vaelach casts a spell or moves out of his reach, he answers in kind: that creature must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or take 11 (2d10) necrotic damage and have its speed halved until the end of its next turn.
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Reaping Strike. Vaelach makes one Reaping Staff attack.
Bolt of Judgment (Costs 1 Action). Vaelach casts Grave Bolt at a creature he can see.
Call the Procession (Costs 2 Actions). Vaelach raises the recent dead. He summons 2 skeletons or zombies in unoccupied spaces within 30 feet; they act on his initiative and obey his commands.
A gaunt crowned king sits enthroned upon a heap of harvested skulls, one fist clenched on the armrest and the other gripping a great gilded staff crowned with cyan death-stones. His golden grave-plate gleams, but the flesh beneath it is the pallid grey of a corpse that refuses to lie down.
Exequitor Vaelach, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEWarden's Mark (signature). At the start of each of its turns, the bound Exequitor marks one creature it can see as condemned. Its attacks score a critical hit against that creature on a 19 or 20 until the start of its next turn.
Actions
Reaping Staff. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) necrotic damage, and the target cannot regain hit points until the start of the warden's next turn.
Reactions
Toll of the Bound. When a creature within 30 feet casts a spell, it must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or have its speed halved until the end of its next turn.
A grim warden who has accepted a new oath, passing the same merciless verdicts on behalf of an ally rather than a forgotten crown.
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 marking the loudest PC as condemned, then close with the Reaping Staff so its crits land. If the party clusters, hold Decree of Stillness for two or more in the cone. Kill-priority: anyone who heals, since his staff already shuts off healing on the target he hits.
Mark the squishiest caster, then alternate Grave Bolt and staff to grind down their hit point maximum. Toll of the Bound punishes the wizard who tries to cast at range or kite away. Stay near a skull-pile or throne so the regen ticks; bait melee in, then drop Decree of Stillness.
Run him as a throne-bound boss: stay within 30 ft. of the skull-throne for the heal, mark the highest-damage PC each turn, and spend legendary actions on Bolt of Judgment between turns. Use Call the Procession early so skeletons body-block the melee while you snipe. Pair with a small undead retinue or place the fight in his court so the lair regen and adds make the action economy bite.
Put Exequitor Vaelach 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 Exequitor Vaelach?
His home tier is Tier 3 (levels 11-15), built at CR 10 (5,900 XP). Because he is solo-capable with three legendary action options, a punishing reaction, and lair-style regen, his sheet sits one band low so the action-economy kit lets him play up against a four-PC party. Drop him to AC 16 / 110 HP for Tier 2 or AC 14 / 52 HP for Tier 1; the traits and actions never change, only the numbers.
Can Exequitor Vaelach be a companion or ally?
Yes - as 'Vaelach, Bound,' a grim warden who passes the same merciless verdicts for an ally. His companion sheet runs about 60% of the adversary's hit points, keeps a scaled Warden's Mark, a Reaping Staff that blocks healing, and a Toll of the Bound reaction that slows enemy casters.
Does his necrotic damage permanently lower a target's hit points?
Grave Bolt reduces the target's hit point maximum by the damage dealt until it finishes a long rest, and the Reaping Staff prevents healing for a round - so it is recoverable, not permanent, but it stacks fast and makes him brutal against attrition. A Greater Restoration or a long rest clears the reduction.
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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