Herras
Herras — The Encounter
Horned rider on a pale steed of the ossuary fields · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Herras
Among the marquis-spirits catalogued in the old grimoires, Herras is named a captain of ruined cavalry, a fallen rider who answers the summoner already mounted and already armored. The horned beast beneath him was never a true horse; it is a bound thing, a steed of the ossuary fields shod in dead men's bone, its mane the colorless flame that burns where battles have ended. Where Herras rides, he rides over the slain, and the swords planted in the earth behind him mark men who broke before they could flee. The old texts caution that he will not charge a coward, for terror has already done his work; he reserves the lance for those still standing. Bound by the proper seals he will marshal a summoner's enemies into open ground and ride them down, but he despises the foot-bound and the timid, and an unwarded conjurer may find the lance turned inward.
Run Herras in Sixty Seconds
- Mounted means mobile. Speed is 60 ft. and it can't be tripped or knocked prone while it rides. Use the whole map; never let it get pinned in melee.
- Open with the charge. Move 20+ ft. straight in, hit, and the target is prone for the party to pile on. Aim it at the back-line caster, not the front-line tank.
- Kill-priority is the brave. Dread Presence frightens the timid; Herras ignores frightened foes and rides down whoever is still standing and dangerous.
- When bloodied, recharge and fire Marrow-Drinking Charge through a cluster of two or more PCs to heal back up, then wheel out of reach.
- Three ways to run it: (1) cavalry skirmisher hitting and fading, (2) terror anchor parked mid-field forcing Wisdom saves, (3) flank commander paired with a bigger boss and foot minions.
Herras
Large fiend (devil), lawful evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINECavalry of the Ossuary. While mounted on its bound steed, Herras's speed becomes 60 ft. and it cannot be knocked prone. If it moves at least 20 ft. straight toward a creature before a melee attack and hits, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) bludgeoning damage and must succeed on a DC 14 Strength save or be knocked prone.
Dread Presence. Each creature that starts its turn within 20 ft. of Herras and can see it must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom save or be frightened until the start of its next turn. On a success, the creature is immune to this trait for 24 hours.
Actions
Multiattack. Herras makes two attacks with its hooked lance.
Hooked Lance. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 4) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage.
Marrow-Drinking Charge (Recharge 5-6). Herras's steed surges forward up to its speed in a straight line without provoking opportunity attacks. Each creature in the path must make a DC 14 Dexterity save, taking 22 (4d10) necrotic damage and being knocked prone on a failure, or half damage on a success. Herras regains hit points equal to half the total damage dealt.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Trample (Reaction). When a creature it can see ends its turn within 5 ft. of Herras's mount, Herras can have the steed strike with its hooves: +7 to hit, one target, Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage.
A horned, crimson-faced rider in soot-black plate sits a pale spectral steed crowned with twin horns and a mane of cold white fire, picking its way over a field of planted swords and broken skulls.
Herras, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEFearless Charger (signature). The steed is immune to the frightened condition and cannot be knocked prone. When its rider moves it at least 20 ft. toward a foe, its hooves deal an extra 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage on a hit.
Actions
Horned Hooves. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage.
Reactions
Wheel Away. When an enemy within 5 ft. hits the steed, it may move up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks, carrying its rider.
A bone-shod steed of the ossuary fields with a mane of cold white fire, bound to carry whoever holds its true name into battle.
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 charging the squishiest target in a straight line for the prone-and-pile-on. Keep Dread Presence pressure on the back row, then peel off to trample anyone who closes. At this tier run it as the mounted lieutenant of a small raiding band, never alone.
Open with a 60-ft. charge into the clustered casters to knock one prone, then Multiattack the lance. Save Marrow-Drinking Charge for a line of two or more PCs to heal back up. Kill-priority: it hunts whoever is still standing and confident, ignoring the frightened. Pair it with a bigger horned commander or a pack of foot devils so it can run wide flanks.
Use it as the cavalry wing of a larger battle, not the centerpiece. Open with Marrow-Drinking Charge through the line, then carve the healer with the lance and trample anyone who clings to the mount. With minions or in a lair full of planted blades it controls the field, but keep a heavier solo threat anchoring the fight.
Put Herras 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 Herras?
Herras is built at CR 6 (2,300 XP) in its native Tier 2 form, a strong add-on threat for a party of levels 5-10. Tier 1 (levels 1-4) and Tier 3 (levels 11-15) stat blocks are provided; only the numbers change, the traits and actions stay identical.
Can Herras be a companion or ally?
Yes. Use the Pale Steed, Bound companion block for a fearless mount that any rider can claim, or run Herras himself as a bound infernal cavalryman in service to a summoner who holds his seal, with the caveat from the lore that an unwarded conjurer risks the lance turned inward.
Is Herras a solo boss?
No. Herras has no legendary actions and a single defensive reaction, so a four-PC party will out-act him over a round. Run him as an add-on cavalry threat paired with a larger commander, foot minions, or a battlefield lair of planted blades and bone.
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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