Poseidon
Poseidon — The Encounter
Earth-Shaker of the Wine-Dark Sea, Tamer of Horses · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Poseidon
Of the old gods the sailors feared most, name first the brother who took the sea as his portion when the elder powers fell. He rides the wave as other lords ride horse, for the horse too was his gift and his curse to mortals — struck from rock by the same trident that shatters cliff and harbor wall. Fishermen pour wine upon the water before they cast off; whole cities have drowned for forgetting the offering. He is not cruel by nature, only vast and tideless in his moods, generous to those who honor the deep and merciless to the proud who name themselves its master. When the floor of the world trembles and the harbor draws back from the shore, the wise do not run inland — they kneel. For the wave that follows is his hand, and the horses that gallop within it carry no riders home.
Run Poseidon in Sixty Seconds
- Hold near water. Keep Poseidon within 60 ft. of any water for advantage and no-surprise. On dry ground he loses Recede mobility and a lot of his menace — fight him at the harbor, not the throne room.
- Open with control. Lead with Control Water or a Stamp to make the field difficult terrain, then Tidal Surge the tightest cluster to push them prone and off their marks before anyone acts.
- Kill-priority is reach and prone-punishers. He wants enemies knocked down and away; target PCs who shrug off prone (mounted, fly, or features that ignore difficult terrain) first — they break his whole tempo.
- When bloodied, go slippery. Spend legendary actions on Surge of Brine and use Recede every time a melee hits you, sliding through surf to reset spacing. Never end your turn boxed in on dry land.
- Three ways to run him: raging tempest (lead Tidal Surge + Ice Storm, hammer the cluster), patient tide (Control Water zoning, chip with trident, win on attrition), or wrathful god (charge in mounted on Skyros, Earth-Shaker every round to keep them prone).
Poseidon
Large celestial (deity), chaotic neutral
CR 13 · 10,000 XP · GUIDELINEEarth-Shaker. When Poseidon strikes the ground or sea with his trident as a bonus action, the area within 20 feet becomes difficult terrain until the start of his next turn, and each creature in it must succeed on a DC 17 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Lord of Waters. Poseidon can breathe air and water and ignores difficult terrain caused by water. While within 60 feet of a body of water, he has advantage on attack rolls and cannot be surprised.
Innate Spellcasting. Poseidon's spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 17). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: at will — gust of wind, create or destroy water; 3/day each — control water, ice storm; 1/day — insect plague (as a swarming surge of the deep).
Actions
Multiattack. Poseidon makes two Trident attacks. He can replace one attack with a use of Tidal Surge.
Trident. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (3d8 + 7) piercing damage plus 9 (2d8) cold damage.
Tidal Surge (Recharge 5-6). Poseidon hurls a crushing wall of water in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 17 Strength saving throw, taking 36 (8d8) bludgeoning damage and being pushed 20 feet and knocked prone on a failure, or half damage and no other effect on a success.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Recede (Reaction). When a creature Poseidon can see within 30 feet hits him with an attack, the sea answers: he is moved up to 15 feet through any water or surf without provoking opportunity attacks, and the triggering attacker takes 9 (2d8) cold damage.
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Trident Strike. Poseidon makes one Trident attack.
Surge of Brine (Costs 2 Actions). Poseidon uses Tidal Surge if it is available.
Earth-Shaker's Stamp. Poseidon slams his trident down. Each creature within 20 feet must succeed on a DC 17 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone, and the ground there becomes difficult terrain.
Half-risen from a thundering wave, his sea-stallions tearing free of the surf beside him, the Earth-Shaker levels his three-pronged trident with the wind whipping through hair and beard. Every muscle is a coiled tide about to break.
Poseidon, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINESurf-Born (signature). Poseidon ignores difficult terrain from water and can move across the surface of any liquid as if it were solid ground.
Actions
Trampling Charge. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) bludgeoning damage. If Poseidon moved at least 20 feet straight toward the target, the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Reactions
Crest the Wave. When an ally within 10 feet is targeted by a melee attack, Poseidon rears between them, granting that ally +2 AC against the triggering attack.
A foam-maned stallion of the deep, its hindquarters trailing into fin and surf, bound to gallop wherever the Earth-Shaker points his trident.
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 Tidal Surge to scatter the cluster, then wade in with the trident on whoever closes. Keep your back to water for advantage and to fuel Recede. He is a final-room threat here — do not throw him at a low party without an escape plan.
Stamp the ground turn one to make the field difficult terrain, then Tidal Surge the densest knot of PCs off the line. Kill-priority is anyone who can dispel his Control Water. Pair Skyros to flank the back-rank casters while he holds the front.
Open by flooding the room with Control Water, then Tidal Surge to push the party prone into difficult terrain. Spend legendary actions on Earth-Shaker's Stamp to deny ranged repositioning and on Trident Strikes against whoever stands back up first. When bloodied, lean on Surge of Brine and Recede to stay slippery — never let melee pin him against dry land.
Put Poseidon 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 Poseidon?
At his native Tier 3 he is CR 13 (10,000 XP) — a solo-capable boss with legendary actions, built to anchor an 11th-15th level finale. Scaled-down Tier 1 and Tier 2 stat lines are provided for lower-level campaigns; the traits and tactics are identical, only the numbers move.
Can Poseidon be a companion or ally?
He is built as an adversary boss, but a sea-blessed campaign could field him as a temporary divine ally against a greater threat. For a player-side option use his bound steed, Skyros the Hippocamp (AC 14, 130 HP), as a steadfast mount and bodyguard rather than the god himself.
Does he have to be fought in the ocean?
No, but he is far deadlier near water — Lord of Waters grants advantage and Recede mobility within 60 ft. of any body of it, and his Control Water can flood a room. Fight him on bone-dry ground to blunt nearly half his kit; let him reach the tide and he becomes a true terror.
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: Poseidon draws from ancient mythological traditions, bringing legendary power to your tabletop.
Encounter Design: Use Poseidon 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 Poseidon 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 Poseidon miniature available in?
Poseidon is available in 32mm (tabletop standard) and 75mm (display/collector scale). Both scale files are included with presupported and unsupported STL options.
Is the Poseidon 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 Poseidon in my D&D or tabletop RPG campaign?
Absolutely. Poseidon 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 Poseidon 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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