Shedu
Shedu — The Encounter
Winged lion-guardian of the threshold, watcher at the gate · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Shedu
The shedu is no beast but a sworn spirit of the gate, set in stone at palace doors and city walls so that no evil might cross unseen. Old scribes carved it with five legs, that it might stand firm when viewed head-on and stride forward when seen from the side, ever both sentinel and pursuer. It bears the body of a lion for strength, the wings of a great bird for swiftness, and the bearded, knowing face of a sage, for a guardian must judge as well as fight. By night it patrols the thresholds it is bound to, and the wicked feel its gaze before they see its shape. To the faithful traveler it is a stern blessing; to the thief, assassin, and unclean spirit it is the last wall that does not fall. Smoke it cannot be charmed, fear it cannot be made to feel, and it will spend its own flesh before it lets a ward in its care be struck down.
Run Shedu in Sixty Seconds
- What it is: a winged lion-guardian that bars the way; it fights to protect, not to win, so play it defensive and stubborn.
- Open with a flying Threshold Pounce on the back-line PC to knock them prone, then close and Multiattack.
- Kill-priority: it ignores the nearest PC and goes for whoever threatens the ward or ally it is sworn to; it is a wall, not a hunter.
- When bloodied: it stops advancing and plants itself beside its charge, spending Guardian's Interposition every round to eat blows meant for them.
- Three ways to run it: palace gate-sentinel solo guard, bodyguard glued to a flagship boss, or a temple lair-keeper leading lesser celestial minions.
Shedu
Large celestial, lawful good
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEWarden's Vigil. Signature. The shedu cannot be surprised while it is conscious, and it sees through illusions and magical darkness. Allies within 20 ft. of it have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened, for the guardian's presence steadies the will.
Threshold Pounce. If the shedu moves at least 20 ft. straight toward a creature and then hits it with a Claw on the same turn, the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Actions
Multiattack. The shedu makes one Bite attack and two Claw attacks.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) piercing damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6+5) slashing damage.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Guardian's Interposition. Reaction. When a creature the shedu can see within 5 ft. of it is hit by an attack, the shedu can interpose a wing, making itself the target instead and taking the damage in the ally's place.
A maned lion the size of a warhorse, crowned with great feathered wings raised mid-roar, planted on a crag of shattered stone. Every line of it is set to bar the way.
Shedu, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINESteadying Presence (signature). While you are within 10 ft. of the bound shedu, you have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
Actions
Rending Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) slashing damage.
Reactions
Shield the Sworn. Reaction. When you are hit by an attack while within 5 ft. of the bound shedu, it interposes a wing and takes the damage instead of you.
A guardian bound by oath rather than chain, it places itself between its charge and every blow.
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 flying in and using Threshold Pounce to knock the party's striker prone, then claw the prone target. Keep it near a controller or healer it can shield with Guardian's Interposition. Kill-priority is whatever threatens the thing it guards, not the nearest PC; pair it with a bigger threat it is sworn to protect.
Open with a flying Threshold Pounce on the squishiest PC to prone them, then full Multiattack. Park it within 5 ft. of the warded ally so Guardian's Interposition soaks burst damage onto the durable shedu. Run it as a bodyguard for a flagship boss or in a temple lair with lesser minions; it stalls melee while the real threat works.
Lead with Threshold Pounce to prone a key martial, then Multiattack and shield your patron with every reaction. It is an elite escort, not a solo: pair it with a stronger adversary or a lair full of minions so it tanks the front line while the bigger threat deals the real damage. Focus its protection on whoever the wicked are trying to reach.
Put Shedu 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 Shedu?
Its home stat block is CR 6 (2,300 XP), tuned for a party of levels 5-10. Scaled tables are provided for tiers 1-4 (around CR 2) and 11-15 (around CR 11); traits and actions stay identical, only the numbers move.
Can Shedu be a companion or ally?
Yes. A bound shedu makes an excellent guardian companion: AC 15, 76 HP, a Rending Claw, and a Shield the Sworn reaction that lets it take a hit meant for you. Its Steadying Presence also wards you against charm and fear while you stay close.
Is the shedu a fiend or an angel?
Neither in the infernal sense. It is a celestial guardian spirit drawn from Mesopotamian and Persian myth, a protective gate-warden, so it is statted as a Large celestial of lawful good alignment with resistance to radiant damage and immunity to charm and fear.
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 Shedu 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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