Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes — The Encounter
The Consulting Detective, Augmented by Clockwork and Cold Reason · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Sherlock Holmes
They call him the Consulting Detective, though the constables of the fog-choked city whisper that no mere man reads a room so completely. Where others see a stranger, he sees the mud of three districts on a boot-heel, the tremor of a recent debt, the precise lie behind a steady gaze. A childhood injury cost him the use of his back and shoulders; a tinkerer's genius gave him a harness of clockwork arms, brass and gear-driven, that steady his aim and snare a fleeing culprit before the man knows he has bolted. His pistol is a marvel of precision, each round machined to fracture a joint rather than merely wound. He hunts not for coin but for the pure intolerable pleasure of the unsolved, and woe to the schemer who mistakes his courtesy for weakness, for he has already deduced the gallows that waits.
Run Sherlock Holmes in Sixty Seconds
- Hold his action until you can use Deductive Read — naming a target each turn is the whole engine; advantaged pistol shots also halve speed on a failed CON save.
- Open from cover or stealth: Hide via Cunning Action, then snipe the squishiest 'read' target to fracture a knee and lock down a kiter.
- Kill-priority is the healer or controller he's deduced; he chews ranged DPS into anyone he has advantage on.
- When bloodied, Disengage and reposition every turn — Uncanny Dodge plus Anticipate let him trade reactions to survive, so make the party burn actions chasing him.
- Three ways to run him: (1) ambush brain behind thug minions, (2) precision sniper in a lair full of traps, (3) the calm mastermind paired with a heavier boss who holds the front.
Sherlock Holmes
Medium humanoid (human), lawful neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEDeductive Read. Signature. At the start of each of its turns, Sherlock studies one creature it can see. Until the start of its next turn, it has advantage on attack rolls against that creature and on Insight, Investigation, and Perception checks involving it, and the creature can't gain advantage from being unseen or hidden against him.
Uncanny Dodge. When an attacker Sherlock can see hits him with an attack, he can use his reaction to halve the attack's damage against him.
Calculating Mind. Sherlock has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened, and can't be surprised while conscious.
Actions
Multiattack. Sherlock makes two attacks with his clockwork pistol, or one pistol attack and one Clockwork Arm Strike.
Clockwork Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 40/120 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d8+4) piercing damage. If Sherlock has advantage on the roll (such as from Deductive Read), the target must also succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or have its speed halved until the end of its next turn as the round shatters a knee or gear.
Clockwork Arm Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) bludgeoning damage, and if the target is Large or smaller it must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone or pushed 10 feet (Sherlock's choice) by the brass limb.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Cunning Action. Bonus Action. Sherlock takes the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.
Anticipate (Reaction). When a creature Sherlock can see makes an attack against an ally within 5 feet of him, he can use his reaction to impose disadvantage on that attack roll, having already foreseen the strike.
A gaunt figure in top hat and great-coat stands before a brass clock-shrine marked 221B BAKER ST, an etched revolver in one hand while two articulated clockwork arms unfold from his back like the legs of a thinking machine.
Sherlock Holmes, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEField Surgeon (signature). As an action, Watson tends a creature within 5 feet, restoring 11 (2d8+2) hit points and ending one disease or the poisoned condition on it.
Actions
Service Revolver. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 30/90 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d6+2) piercing damage.
Reactions
Watch Your Back. When an ally Watson can see within 30 feet is hit by an attack, he can use his reaction to shout a warning, reducing that attack's damage by 1d8.
The steadfast army doctor at the detective's shoulder — steady hands, a service revolver, and an unshakable nerve.
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 Hiding (Cunning Action), then snipe the toughest PC with an advantaged pistol shot to halve its speed and kite. Use the clockwork arm to shove anyone who closes, and Uncanny Dodge the first big hit. Run him as the brain of an ambush — pair him with thugs or Scotland Yard guards who soak the front line.
Each turn name a target with Deductive Read, then pour both pistol shots into it for advantaged speed-shattering hits; kill-priority is the party healer or controller he has 'read.' Disengage with Cunning Action when meleed and use Anticipate to ruin the foe's best swing on an ally. He is a precision skirmisher, not a wall — place him behind cover with a bigger bruiser or a clockwork construct to hold the line.
Treat him as the mastermind directing a steampunk lair: he Reads the deadliest PC, halves its speed, and lets minions and gear-traps converge while he picks off stragglers from elevation. Reaction economy is brutal — Uncanny Dodge plus Anticipate means he rarely takes a clean hit. Never run him alone at this tier; pair him with a larger threat (an automaton, a crime-lord boss) so the party can't simply focus him down.
Put Sherlock Holmes 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 Sherlock Holmes?
Natively CR 6 (Tier 2, ~levels 5-10): AC 16, 120 HP, +7 to hit, save DC 15. The sheet also scales to Tier 1 (~CR 2) and Tier 3 (~CR 11) using the same traits — only the numbers move.
Can Sherlock Holmes be a companion or ally?
Absolutely. As an NPC ally he's a force multiplier: Deductive Read hands the party advantage on a marked foe, his speed-shattering pistol locks down runners, and Anticipate protects a frontliner once per round. He pairs naturally with Dr. Watson for an investigative duo.
Is Sherlock a spellcaster?
No. Every edge is mundane genius and clockwork engineering — deduction, precision gunnery, and articulated brass arms. He has no spells, which makes him ideal for grounded, low-magic or steampunk campaigns.
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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