Harald
armored line-holder of the frost-bound dead host
Harald — The Encounter
armored line-holder of the frost-bound dead host · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Harald
Harald is the slow heart of the White Runners, the one rank that does not run. Encased in frost-welded plate, he holds the ground the faster dead surge from, an anchor of cold iron the living break against while the swift blades circle behind them. The dead are kin in their way, and Harald is the kin who takes the blow meant for another. Where the host's outrunners are a blur of pale steel, he is the still point they return to, never falling first, never falling alone. Folk who held a wall against the frost-host remember him last: an unhurried figure stepping into every gap, taking every wound, and simply not going down.
Run Harald in Sixty Seconds
- Kill priority then ignore Harald and strike the runners; he is a wall, not a threat clock.
- Open with positioning then keep fragile dead inside his 5-foot Cold Bulwark aura.
- Protect the pack then use Interpose to eat hits aimed at weaker allies.
- When bloodied then hold ground; Undying Guard refuses the first killing blow while allies stand close.
Harald
Medium undead, lawful evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINECold Bulwark. While Harald is not incapacitated, allies of his within 5 feet have resistance to slashing and piercing damage. The frost-armored dead shield one another.
Undying Guard. The first time Harald would drop to 0 hit points each combat, he instead drops to 1 hit point if at least one ally is within 5 feet of him.
Actions
Multiattack. Harald makes two Blade attacks.
Blade. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) piercing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Interpose (Reaction). When an ally within 5 feet of Harald is hit by an attack, he can make himself the target instead, taking the damage in their place.
Where the swift runners thin out, this plated dead man stands like a frozen pillar and refuses to move.
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.
Plant Harald at the front and keep the swift dead within 5 feet so Cold Bulwark shields them. He absorbs hits with Interpose while the runners flank. He holds, never chases.
Use Harald as the immovable anchor the flight rallies on. Keep packmates adjacent for the damage-resistance aura, soak attacks meant for fragile runners with Interpose, and rely on Undying Guard to refuse the killing blow. When bloodied, do not advance; let the host come back to him.
In a full warband, Harald is the keystone. Position him so the most fragile dead stay in his aura, and chain Interpose to keep them alive while they reap. He fights as the host's wall, never as a solo bruiser.
Put Harald 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 Harald?
Harald is CR 6 at his native Tier 2 (about 2,300 XP). Use the tier table for roughly CR 2 at Tier 1 or about CR 11 at Tier 3; his protective traits are identical across tiers, only the numbers move.
How does Harald fight alongside the rest of the White Runners?
He is the immovable anchor the swift dead orbit. Cold Bulwark and Interpose keep fragile runners alive while they flank, and Undying Guard makes him brutal to remove. Keep allies adjacent to get full value.
Is Harald a boss?
No. He is a defensive elite, not solo_capable. He is a force multiplier for a warband and is nearly useless alone, with no way to pressure a party by himself.
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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