Argus
Argus — The Encounter
The All-Seeing Sentinel, horned watcher who never sleeps · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Argus
Old grimoires name him Argus the Sleepless, the watcher set upon the threshold of a damned house. In the elder tales a many-eyed guardian was slain and his hundred eyes scattered, yet here some fallen thing took that office for itself, growing eyes across its hide so that no hour of night might pass unseen. Bound to a castle of the undead, Argus prowls its corridors as a living alarm and a hungry one. It does not tire, does not blink in full, and does not forgive trespass. Those who study such spirits warn that he cannot be slipped past, only fought or fled — and that the moment all his eyes seem shut is the moment one of them is already upon you. Where Argus keeps his vigil, the master of that house sleeps undisturbed.
Run Argus in Sixty Seconds
- What it is: a sleepless many-eyed demon guardian — it can't be surprised, sees in the dark 120 ft., and the whole party near it loses surprise too. Don't plan to sneak past it.
- Open with: Gaze of Dread on the enemy caster or healer; a paralyzed target gets clawed at advantage and rarely survives the round.
- Kill-priority: it goes for casters and healers first; players should focus it down or break line of sight, since most of its threat is its eyes and gaze.
- Watch the reaction: Eyes Everywhere claws anyone who ends a move within 10 ft. — disengage or stay put, don't stroll past it.
- Three ways to run it: castle alarm-bell (one Argus warns the whole dungeon), paired guardian beside a vampire lord, or a 'never-sleeps' duel where the party must outlast a foe that can't be ambushed.
Argus
Large fiend (demon), chaotic evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEHundred Eyes. Argus's body is studded with watching eyes that never all close at once. Argus can't be surprised, has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks, and on Dexterity saving throws against effects it can see. While Argus is conscious, allies within 30 feet of it can't be surprised either.
Sleepless Watcher. Argus is immune to magic that would put it to sleep, and it has advantage on saving throws against being incapacitated or stunned.
Actions
Multiattack. Argus makes three Rending Claw attacks, or two Rending Claws and one use of Gaze of Dread (if available).
Rending Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 4 (1d8) necrotic damage as the wound festers.
Gaze of Dread (Recharge 5–6). Argus fixes its myriad eyes on one creature it can see within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be paralyzed with terror until the end of its next turn, and Argus has advantage on attack rolls against the target while it is paralyzed.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Eyes Everywhere. Reaction, when a creature Argus can see ends its move within 10 feet of it: Argus makes one Rending Claw attack against that creature.
A gaunt, horned demon of corded sinew and bone-spined hide, its skull-like face fanged and its body pocked with watching eyes. It paces the dark halls of the castle on clawed feet, missing nothing that creeps within its reach.
Argus, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEShared Sight (signature). While Argus is within 30 feet of you, you can't be surprised and you gain darkvision 60 feet if you don't already have it.
Actions
Raking Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage.
Reactions
Warding Glare. When an ally you can see within 30 feet is attacked, Argus fixes an enemy with its gaze, imposing disadvantage on that attack roll.
A lesser watcher bent to your service, it never sleeps so that you may.
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 Gaze of Dread on the front-line tank to lock it down, then claw the casters it can reach. If the party clusters, position so Eyes Everywhere can punish movers. Pair it with a vampire or harpies as the castle's first warning bell — it is an add-on, not the master of the house.
Open by Gazing the squishiest spellcaster (it has truesight and can't be surprised, so it acts first). Triple-claw whoever is in reach and let Eyes Everywhere tax anyone who repositions past it. Kill-priority is healers; keep it adjacent to two PCs so its reaction stays live. Best run as a guardian alongside a bigger threat or in its lair, not as the lone boss.
Lead with Gaze of Dread to paralyze the strongest melee, then full-claw to drop it fast while it can't react. Spread targets so Eyes Everywhere triggers every round of party movement. At this tier deploy it as the watch-captain of a vampire lord's hall, paired with minions — it is a lieutenant, never the headline.
Put Argus 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 Argus?
Argus is built at CR 6 (2,300 XP) in its native Tier 2 form — AC 16, 127 HP, +7 to hit, save DC 14. The record also gives Tier 1 and Tier 3 stat lines so you can drop it into a level 1-4 or level 11-15 game without changing how it plays.
Can Argus be a companion or ally?
Yes. Use the bundled 'Vigil, Bound' sidekick block — a lesser watcher with about 60% of Argus's durability that grants you and your allies unsurprisable shared sight and can spoil an attacker's aim with a warding glare. It fits a paladin, warlock, or ranger who has bound a guardian spirit.
Is Argus a solo boss?
No. Argus is an add-on guardian, not a centerpiece. It lacks the legendary action economy to stand alone against a full party, so run it as a watch-captain or alarm beside a bigger threat — such as the vampire lord of the castle it guards.
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
Played Argus at your table? Log in with your Obsidian Tavern account to leave a balance note, a war story, or a file issue — the sharpest reports get the block revised.
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