Hades
Hades — The Encounter
The Unseen One, throned king of the silent dead · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Hades
Of the Unseen One the old tongues speak softly, lest the speaking summon him. When the world was divided by lot among the three brothers of heaven, to him fell neither sky nor sea but the realm below, the silent country from which no soul returns unbidden. He is no torturer and no tyrant of flame; he is the keeper of accounts, the warden who lets none cheat the ledger of the dead. Upon his head rests the helm forged in the deep that swallows him from mortal sight, and in his fist the great bident with which he splits earth and shade alike. Where he treads, hope cools and memory greys. Yet he is just in his cold fashion: he keeps every bargain to the letter, claims only what is owed, and guards his realm with a three-throated hound that no living thing has passed unchallenged. To bargain with him is to wager one's own name, for the Unseen forgets nothing and forgives nothing twice.
Run Hades in Sixty Seconds
- He kills healing first. Bident Strike blocks all hit point recovery for a round. Every turn, hit whoever just healed or could heal next.
- Open from invisibility. Use Helm of Unseeing on round one for a free +4d6 strike and to dodge the alpha strike; the party loses a turn hunting for him.
- Stack the trap. Shades of the Underworld restrains a whole cone; then Multiattack and Toll of the Dead the restrained targets, who save at disadvantage if Lord of the Dead is active.
- When bloodied, go invisible and reposition. Spend Veil of Shadow to teleport behind the casters, then let Cerberus body-block the frontline while Lord of the Dead refills your hit points.
- Three ways to run him: a cruel-but-fair warden who offers a bargain mid-fight; a vanishing duelist who picks off the back line; or a static throne-boss who never moves, daring the party to come to him.
Hades
Large fiend (god of the dead), lawful neutral
CR 11 · 7,200 XP · GUIDELINEHelm of Unseeing. Hades can take the Hide action as a bonus action even while observed. When he does, he becomes invisible until the end of his next turn or until he attacks or casts a spell. The first attack he makes from invisibility deals an extra 14 (4d6) necrotic damage.
Lord of the Dead. When a creature within 30 feet of Hades is reduced to 0 hit points, Hades regains 10 hit points and one creature of his choice within 30 feet has disadvantage on its next saving throw before the end of his next turn.
Actions
Multiattack. Hades makes two Bident Strike attacks, or makes one Bident Strike and casts a spell.
Bident Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (3d8 + 5) piercing damage plus 13 (3d8) necrotic damage, and the target cannot regain hit points until the end of Hades's next turn.
Shades of the Underworld (Recharge 5-6). Hades calls grasping spirits in a 30-foot cone. Each creature there makes a DC 17 Constitution save, taking 35 (10d6) necrotic damage and being restrained until the end of its next turn on a failure, or half damage and not restrained on a success.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Stygian Recoil. Reaction: When a creature Hades can see within 60 feet hits him with an attack, he wraps it in deathly chill. The attacker makes a DC 17 Constitution save or takes 10 (3d6) cold damage and has its speed halved until the end of its next turn.
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Bident Sweep. Hades makes one Bident Strike attack.
Veil of Shadow. Hades teleports up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space he can see and may take the Hide action, triggering Helm of Unseeing.
Toll of the Dead (Costs 2 Actions). Hades targets one creature within 60 feet. It makes a DC 17 Wisdom save, taking 16 (3d10) necrotic damage on a failure (22 (4d10) if it is below half its hit points), or half as much on a success.
Crowned and winged, Hades sits enthroned upon a tangle of bone and black crystal, bident in hand, his many-headed hound coiled in the dark beside the gate he keeps.
Hades, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEThree-Throated Watch (signature). Hades cannot be surprised and has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks. While within 30 feet of Hades, it has advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed.
Actions
Three Bites. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., up to three targets. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) piercing damage each, and a struck creature makes a DC 14 Strength save or is knocked prone.
Reactions
Guard the Gate. Reaction: When a creature within 5 feet tries to move past Hades, it makes a melee attack against that creature; on a hit, the creature's movement ends.
A vast triple-headed hound of the threshold, hackles bristling, each maw snapping at a different intruder while skulls grind beneath its paws.
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 invisible with Helm of Unseeing, then a single empowered Bident Strike on the squishiest healer. Recharge Shades only when two or more are clustered. At this scale run him as a haunting mini-boss, not a god.
Lead with Shades of the Underworld to restrain the front line, then strike the trapped target. Kill-priority is anyone who heals: Bident Strike shuts off healing. Use Stygian Recoil to peel meleers off you.
Open invisible, drop Shades to restrain the cluster, then Multiattack the restrained healer. Spend legendary actions on Veil of Shadow to reposition and Toll of the Dead to finish bloodied targets. Lord of the Dead heals you off every ally and Cerberus kill, so let the hound die in front of you.
Put Hades 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 Hades?
Natively CR 11 (Tier 3, levels 11-15). Because he is solo-capable with legendary actions, his home sheet is built one band down so the legendary economy lets him play up as the centerpiece of an encounter. Scaled lines for Tier 1 (~CR 2) and Tier 2 (~CR 6) are provided.
Can Hades be a companion or ally?
Rarely, and only by bargain. Hades is a solo boss, not a sidekick, but a party that strikes a deal in his realm might earn his neutral aid against something that cheated death. His bound hound Cerberus is the natural ally piece if you want one of the pair at the table.
How do I keep the fight from being a slog?
Make Lord of the Dead matter: throw the party minions or sacrifice Cerberus so Hades heals and forces disadvantage, then turn the screws with Shades plus Multiattack. End the fight when he is bloodied and out of legendary actions rather than grinding the last hit points.
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.
The Legend
In Your Campaign
Source Mythology: Hades draws from ancient mythological traditions, bringing legendary power to your tabletop.
Encounter Design: Use Hades as a divine patron, a mythic boss encounter, or the centerpiece of a mythology-themed campaign arc. The model's dynamic pose creates immediate dramatic tension at the table.
Campaign Hooks: An ancient temple awakens. A prophecy names Hades as either savior or destroyer. A cult seeks to summon or bind this mythological power for mortal purposes.
Technical Specifications
32mm, 75mm
STL, Pre-supported STL
Standard or ABS-like resin, 0.05mm layer height
Yes — ready to print, optimized supports included
From the Same Collection
Frequently Asked Questions
What scale is the Hades miniature available in?
Hades is available in 32mm (tabletop standard) and 75mm (display/collector scale). Both scale files are included with presupported and unsupported STL options.
Is the Hades STL file presupported?
Yes. Every Clay Cyanide miniature includes presupported STL files optimized for resin printing at 0.05mm layer height, plus unsupported files for custom support placement.
Can I use Hades in my D&D or tabletop RPG campaign?
Absolutely. Hades is designed for tabletop gaming at 32mm scale, fitting standard grid-based combat systems. The dynamic pose and detailed sculpt create memorable encounters and character moments.
Played Hades 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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