Merlin
Merlin — The Encounter
The Hooded Enchanter of Britain, Staff-Bearer of the Old Tales · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Merlin
They name him counsellor to kings, but the hill-folk knew him long before any crown: the hooded one who walks between the oak-roots and the stars, half a son of the older powers, half a man who never wholly belongs to a single hour. He reads the turning of years as a scholar reads a page, and so his counsel arrives a heartbeat ahead of his enemies' swords. The raven on his arm is no mere familiar but a carrier of omens, croaking the shape of things to come. His staff is a length of storm-felled oak in which he has bound years of stored enchantment, and his grimoire holds workings older than the realm it serves. Cross him at your peril, for he forgets nothing, forgives slowly, and has already seen how your boldness ends. Yet to those who keep faith he is the truest of allies, spending his deep arts to shield a fragile peace and a kingdom not yet born.
Run Merlin in Sixty Seconds
- He is a glass cannon caster. AC 15 and 104 HP at native tier, so he dies fast in melee. Everything in his kit is about never letting melee reach him.
- Open with control, not damage. Lead with web, hold person, or fireball to break up the party before they spread out, then settle into cantrips and counterspell.
- Foresight every round. The instant the party's best roll lands, slap disadvantage on it. No action, no cost; just do it on their biggest attack or save each round.
- When bloodied, go invisible and fly. Greater invisibility plus fly turns him into a problem the melee can't solve. Reposition, keep blasting, force them to chase.
- Three ways to run him. Solo boss with legendary actions and the raven; the brains behind a knight bodyguard wall; or a one-fight ambush caster who webs the door and burns them down.
Merlin
Medium humanoid (human), neutral good
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINESpellcasting. Merlin is a 9th-level spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 14, +7 to hit with spell attacks). He has the following spells prepared from the wizard list: Cantrips: fire bolt, mage hand, minor illusion, prestidigitation. 1st (4 slots): detect magic, mage armor, magic missile, shield. 2nd (3 slots): hold person, misty step, web. 3rd (3 slots): counterspell, fireball, fly. 4th (3 slots): greater invisibility, polymorph. 5th (1 slot): hold monster.
Foresight of the Old Magic. Merlin glimpses moments before they arrive. Once per turn, when a creature he can see within 60 feet makes an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, Merlin can impose disadvantage on it (no action required). He cannot use this trait while incapacitated.
Actions
Multiattack. Merlin makes two attacks with his Gnarled Staff, or casts a cantrip and makes one Gnarled Staff attack.
Gnarled Staff. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) force damage as the old wood discharges stored magic.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Shield (Reaction). When hit by an attack or targeted by magic missile, Merlin casts shield, gaining +5 AC until the start of his next turn and taking no damage from magic missile.
Counterspell (Reaction). When a creature within 60 feet casts a spell, Merlin can attempt to interrupt it, expending a spell slot of 3rd level or higher.
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Cantrip. Merlin casts a cantrip.
Staff Strike (Costs 1 Action). Merlin makes one Gnarled Staff attack.
Whispered Word (Costs 2 Actions). Merlin points at one creature he can see within 60 feet. That creature must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of him until the end of its next turn.
A stooped greybeard in a hooded woolen cloak, a Celtic-knotted grimoire balanced on one forearm and a tall gnarled staff in the other hand, a black raven perched at his shoulder as if listening for the future.
Merlin, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEIll Tidings (signature). When the raven caws over a creature within 30 feet, the next attack roll against that creature before the start of the raven's next turn has advantage.
Actions
Beak. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage, and the target's eyes water (disadvantage on its next Perception check).
Reactions
Foretold Flight. When a creature ends its turn within 10 feet, the raven may fly up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks and warn its master, granting Merlin advantage on his next saving throw.
A jet-black raven that perches on Merlin's outstretched arm, head cocked as though hearing tomorrow before it arrives.
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 web or hold person to lock down the front line, then chip with fire bolt from cover. Keep shield in reserve for the first melee that reaches him. He is the lone caster threat here, so kill-priority is anyone who can close distance on him.
Open with fireball into a cluster, then counterspell their healer or controller. Use Foresight every round to wreck the enemy's best roll, and misty step away the moment a frontliner reaches him. As a solo boss his legendary Whispered Word frightens the bravest attacker; pair him with the Omen-Raven for advantage swings, or with knights as bodyguards if you want a longer fight.
Open with hold monster on the party's heaviest hitter, then greater invisibility on himself and fly above the melee. Spend legendary actions on Whispered Word and ranged cantrips so he never wastes a turn. Kill-priority for the party is their own counterspeller; until they break him, Merlin dictates the whole battle.
Put Merlin 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 Merlin?
Natively CR 6 (Tier 2, levels 5-10): AC 15, 104 HP, spell save DC 14, +6 to hit. He is solo-capable thanks to legendary actions, reaction counterspell, and his Foresight trait, so he plays up a step against a balanced party. Scale him to CR 2 for Tier 1 or CR 11 for Tier 3 using the tier block.
Can Merlin be a companion or ally?
Yes, and it is his most iconic role. As a king's counsellor he makes an outstanding ally NPC: he shields the party with counterspell and shield, controls fights with hold person and web, and his Foresight can be flipped to aid a friend instead of an enemy. Run him as a guide who hangs back, rarely throws the first punch, and always seems to know what comes next.
Is Merlin solo-capable, and how do I keep him alive?
Yes. Give him terrain and bodyguards so melee never reaches him cleanly. Bank shield and counterspell for emergencies, lead each round with Foresight to spoil the party's best roll, and the moment he is bloodied cast greater invisibility and fly to reset the fight on his terms. The Omen-Raven feeds him advantage and warnings to stretch the encounter.
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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