Coulson
caped sword-master whose guard turns every blow
Coulson — The Encounter
caped sword-master whose guard turns every blow · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Coulson
Coulson is the Methuselans' master of the long blade, the champion the line sends forward when an enemy needs to be answered with technique rather than weight. He fights from a perfect guard, the greatsword held crosswise, turning aside the first blow of every exchange before answering with one of his own. Within the warband he is the counter-puncher who breaks the enemy's best attacker on a wall of parries while the heavy kin hold the centre. The grandfathers say Coulson has not been touched in single combat in two hundred years, and that he is bored enough to hope this is the day someone tries.
Run Coulson in Sixty Seconds
- Front the enemy ace then send Coulson to break their best attacker with technique.
- Turn the first blow then Master's Guard raises AC against the first attack each round and counters on a miss.
- Parry the big hit then his reaction adds 3 AC to negate a dangerous strike.
- Hold the ground then Measured Stance keeps him from being shoved off his line.
Coulson
Medium humanoid (human), lawful neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEMaster's Guard (signature). Coulson adds +2 to his AC against the first attack made against him each round (included in his AC against that attack). When an attacker misses him this way, he may make one greatsword attack against that creature as a reaction.
Measured Stance. While wielding his greatsword two-handed, Coulson ignores difficult terrain and cannot be moved against his will by a creature of his size or smaller.
Actions
Multiattack. Coulson makes two greatsword attacks.
Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) slashing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Parry (reaction). When hit by a melee attack, Coulson adds 3 to his AC against that attack, possibly turning the hit into a miss.
A caped duelist who holds his greatsword level across his guard, daring the bravest foe to test it.
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.
Put Coulson in the path of the enemy's hardest hitter and let Master's Guard turn its first swing into a free counter. Parry to shrug off a dangerous blow. He breaks the enemy ace while the warband holds, never wandering off alone.
Stand against the foe's best attacker; Master's Guard raises AC against the first strike each round and counters on a miss, while Parry as a reaction saves him from the worst hits. Trade two greatsword swings a turn. Fight him beside the heavy Methuselan line as its counter-duelist.
Same defensive-duelist kit, scaled up. Coulson absorbs and counters the enemy champion's blows while the warband forms the wall behind him. He answers in single combat, but never fights truly alone.
Put Coulson 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 Coulson?
Coulson is CR 6 at his native Tier 2 (2,300 XP). Scale his AC, HP, to-hit and save DC to the Tier 1 or Tier 3 bands to fit your table.
How does Coulson fight alongside the rest of the Methuselans?
He is the counter-duelist. While the heavy champions hold the centre, Coulson steps out to absorb and punish the enemy's best attacker with guard and parry.
Is Coulson a solo boss?
No. He has no legendary actions; deploy him as a defensive duelist within a Methuselan warband rather than as a lone fight.
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.
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