The Emperor
The Emperor — The Encounter
Crowned Sovereign of the Fourth Arcanum, throne and scepter made one · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is The Emperor
The fourth card of the Major Arcana shows a sovereign enthroned upon bare stone, and so he is rendered here in armor and crown. The Emperor is order made flesh: the father of structure, the keeper of law, the hand that builds walls and the will that holds them. Where the Empress sows, the Emperor governs; where others waver, he decrees. Diviners who draw him upright read ambition tempered by discipline, authority that protects, and the stubborn permanence of stone. Reversed, he warns of tyranny, of rule clung to past its season, of a crown that has fused to the skull beneath it. In war he does not charge; he commands, and around him lesser soldiers fight with the certainty of men who believe they cannot lose. His scepter stills the rash, his orb humbles the proud to their knees, and his very presence burns the fear from the hearts of those who serve. To unseat him you must first break his court, for an emperor alone is only a tired man in heavy steel.
Run The Emperor in Sixty Seconds
- He commands, he does not duel. The Emperor is a warlord stat block. Run him behind a screen of allies; alone he is just a man in heavy steel and a 4-PC party will out-act him.
- Open with Imperial Decree. Hold his reaction and spend it to impose disadvantage on the party's scariest attack each round, or to hand an ally temp HP the instant they get hit.
- Orb of Dominion when they cluster. The second two or more PCs bunch up, knock them prone with the orb so your melee allies swarm the downed targets at advantage.
- Kill-priority is his court, then him. His threat is the buffs and the extra ally attacks from Rally the Court. Smart parties drop his guards first; let them, then he crumbles.
- Three ways to run him: the iron tyrant defending a throne room, the rallying general anchoring a war-band, or the upright protector-king who burns fear from his soldiers and humbles invaders to their knees.
The Emperor
Medium humanoid (human), lawful neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINESovereign Presence. The Emperor cannot be frightened, and allies within 30 feet of him have advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed. While he holds his orb of dominion, this radius extends to 60 feet.
Command of Stone. The Emperor's seat of power is unyielding. Whenever a creature he can see within 30 feet makes an attack against one of his allies, he can use his reaction to bark a command, imposing disadvantage on that attack roll (see Imperial Decree).
Actions
Multiattack. The Emperor makes two attacks with his scepter-mace.
Scepter-Mace. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be unable to take reactions until the start of its next turn.
Orb of Dominion (Recharge 5-6). The Emperor raises his orb and asserts his rule over a 20-foot radius he can see within 60 feet. Each enemy in the area must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw, taking 22 (5d8) radiant damage and being knelt (prone) on a failure, or half as much damage and not prone on a success.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Imperial Decree (Reaction). When a creature within 30 feet attacks one of the Emperor's allies, he commands them to falter, imposing disadvantage on the attack roll. Alternatively, when an ally he can see is hit by an attack, he may use this reaction to grant that ally 9 (2d8) temporary hit points.
Rally the Court (Bonus Action). The Emperor commands a chosen ally within 30 feet that can hear him to make one weapon attack as a reaction.
An iron-crowned ruler stands amid a shattered throne hall, scepter-mace lowered in judgment and an orb of empire cradled at his shoulder, every line of his plate engraved with the seals of an order older than the realm.
The Emperor, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEShield Wall (signature). While within 5 feet of the creature it is sworn to protect, the Crown Guard and that creature both gain a +2 bonus to AC.
Actions
Halberd. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (1d10+4 +1) slashing damage.
Reactions
Interpose. When the protected creature is hit by an attack while the Crown Guard is within 5 feet, the Guard may swap places and take the hit instead.
A silent, fully-plated sentinel who has sworn to die before the throne falls, and means it.
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 Imperial Decree to blunt the party's best opener, then trade scepter blows from behind his guards. If the party clusters, fire Orb of Dominion to knock them prone and let allies close. Pair him with two or three minions and protect him as the kill-priority warlord, not as a lone duelist.
Open by using Rally the Court to gain an extra ally attack before the party acts, then hold his reaction for Imperial Decree on the deadliest incoming blow. Drop Orb of Dominion the moment two or more PCs bunch up, knocking them prone for the melee line to exploit. Kill-priority is the Emperor only after his court thins, so field him with a flagship lair or a second elite to soak the action economy.
Run him as the commanding mind of a larger lair: he never fights alone and never charges, instead spending every reaction shielding elites and every Orb recharge to prone the front line. When bloodied he pulls his Crown Guard tight and leans on Sovereign Presence to keep his soldiers fearless. Pair him with a bigger threat or a wave of minions; he is the conductor, not the soloist.
Put The Emperor 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 The Emperor?
Natively CR 6 (Tier 2, ~levels 5-10): AC 17, 127 HP, +7 to hit, save DC 15. Scale him down to CR 2 for Tier 1 or up to roughly CR 11 for Tier 3 using the per-tier numbers, keeping his traits and actions identical.
Can The Emperor be a companion or ally?
Yes. As a non-solo warlord he is built to be paired, and a friendly Emperor makes an excellent quest patron or battlefield commander: his Imperial Decree shields allies, Rally the Court grants bonus attacks, and Sovereign Presence keeps the party immune to fear.
Is The Emperor a boss or an add-on?
An add-on. He carries no legendary actions and only a single reaction trait, so a four-player party will out-act him solo. Field him as the commanding centerpiece of a larger force, lair, or alongside a flagship threat, and let his buffs and minions do the heavy lifting.
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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