King Arthur
King Arthur — The Encounter
The Once and Future King, crowned upon his sword-throne · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is King Arthur
They say a sword set in stone named its master, and that the boy who drew it freed iron from rock as he would later free a land from ruin. Arthur of the Pendragon line was crowned by right and by blade, and the steel he bore was no common arms: Excalibur, gift of the lake's lady, whose edge cut shadow and whose scabbard staunched all bleeding. Round his throne he gathered the worthiest knights and seated them so that none sat above another, that loyalty might answer loyalty. His banners flew over a peace bought with battle against invaders and against the slow rot of treachery within his own hall. Bards swear he did not die but sleeps beneath hill or wave, and that when the realm's need is darkest the once and future king will wake, take up the sword again, and ride. Until then his empty throne waits, and the faithful keep the watch he kept.
Run King Arthur in Sixty Seconds
- Crown first. Excalibur makes Arthur and nearby allies resist necrotic and nigh-unkillable by single non-crit hits, so necrotic spam and chip damage are wasted on him.
- Open with Sovereign's Command. The DC 17 fear plus a free ally reaction swings the first round hard; lead with it the instant the party clusters.
- Kill-priority is the caster. Three radiant attacks at +9 erase a backliner; force him to spend turns on the frontline tank instead.
- When bloodied, spend Rallying Cry. He hands out temp HP and clears a condition for the whole retinue, so burst him past the threshold in one round if you can.
- Three ways to run him: a lone sleeping-king boss with legendary actions; a battlefield warlord amid knights; or a moral test where mercy, not damage, ends the fight.
King Arthur
Medium humanoid (human), lawful good
CR 11 · 7,200 XP · GUIDELINEExcalibur. Arthur wields a legendary greatsword that sheds a faint light. His weapon attacks are magical, and on a hit he deals an extra 9 (2d8) radiant damage (included below). While he holds Excalibur, Arthur and each ally within 15 feet of him have resistance to necrotic damage and cannot be reduced below 1 hit point by a single hit unless the attack is a critical hit.
Rightful King. Allies within 30 feet of Arthur have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened, and on the first turn of combat Arthur and his allies cannot be surprised.
Indomitable (2/Day). Arthur can reroll a saving throw that he fails. He must use the new roll.
Actions
Multiattack. Arthur makes three attacks with Excalibur.
Excalibur. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage plus 9 (2d8) radiant damage.
Sovereign's Command (Recharge 5-6). Arthur calls out a ringing decree. Each enemy within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of him until the end of its next turn. Each ally within 30 feet may immediately use its reaction to move up to half its speed or make one weapon attack.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Parry (Reaction). When a creature Arthur can see hits him with a melee attack, he adds 4 to his AC against that attack, potentially causing it to miss.
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Sword Strike. Arthur makes one Excalibur attack.
Knight's Step (Costs 1 Action). Arthur moves up to his speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Rallying Cry (Costs 2 Actions). Arthur and each ally within 30 feet gain 9 (2d8) temporary hit points and may immediately stand up or end one condition affecting them that a save can end.
Crowned and mailed, the king sits enthroned beneath two ragged battle-standards, Excalibur planted point-down between his hands like a cross of judgment. He rises only when the realm calls.
King Arthur, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEShieldwall (signature). While Bedivere is within 5 feet of an ally, that ally gains a +2 bonus to AC against the first attack made against it each round.
Actions
Knightly Blade. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage.
Reactions
Interpose. When an attack hits Arthur, Bedivere (within 5 feet) takes the damage instead.
The last loyal knight, who would carry the king from the field and return the sword to the waters when all was lost.
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 Sovereign's Command to scatter the front rank, then wade in with Multiattack on whoever looks squishiest. If clustered, save the recharge decree for the moment two or more PCs bunch up. At this scale run him as a named warlord leading a knot of guards, not a true boss.
Lead with Excalibur Multiattack on the party's healer or caster; the radiant rider punishes undead and frail backliners. Hold Parry for the rogue's big hit. Pair him with knights or Anglo-Saxon invaders so the action economy stays even against a mid-level party.
Run him solo or as the lair's centerpiece: open with Sovereign's Command to frighten the line and free allies to move, then Multiattack the kill-priority target. Spend legendary actions on Sword Strike against whoever drops Excalibur's necrotic ward, and Rallying Cry when bloodied to refill temp HP and shrug a condition. Parry the biggest incoming blow each round.
Put King Arthur 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 King Arthur?
His home tier is CR 11 (7,200 XP), built for an 11th-15th level party. Because he carries a real boss kit (three legendary actions plus a Parry reaction), he is solo-capable and plays up a CR or two. Scaled-down CR ~2 and CR ~6 versions are provided for tier 1 and tier 2 tables.
Can King Arthur be a companion or ally?
Yes. As a lawful good rightful king he makes a powerful campaign ally or patron, granting allies fear immunity and necrotic resistance through Excalibur. The bundled companion Sir Bedivere is the easier statline to drop in as a loyal knight beside the party.
How do I make the fight more than a slugfest?
Lean on Rightful King and his lawful good nature: he fights to subdue or to test worth, not to slaughter. Build the encounter around proving loyalty, returning a stolen relic, or surviving until he judges the party honorable, so the climax can resolve in words as easily as blades.
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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