Kaelor
Kaelor — The Encounter
Hooded serpent-killer who strikes from coil and shadow · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Kaelor
The desert clans name him Kaelor, the Serpentblade, last of a brood-cult that drank viper blood until their legs knit into a single coil. He was no soldier but an executor of debts, sent in the hour before dawn to settle what coin could not. The hood hides a face gone reptilian, lidless eyes that read a heartbeat through closed doors. He does not duel; he waits in cistern and grain-pit, then rises from the floor in a single uncoiling lunge, the wavy blade weeping venom milked from his own fangs. Those who survive describe the constriction first, the crushing loop about the ribs, then the cold green edge. Caravan masters leave a bowl of milk and a copper coin at the well's edge, an old appeasement, for it is said Kaelor takes only the marked and harms no one who has paid the asking price. Whether that mercy is true, none who broke faith have lived to deny it.
Run Kaelor in Sixty Seconds
- Hold for ambush. Kaelor wants the surprise round. Start it hidden in a pit, cistern, or behind drapery and open with a venomed strike, not a fair fight.
- Kill-priority is the backline. It glides through narrow gaps and difficult ground at no cost to reach the caster or archer, then tail-constricts to pin them away from the party.
- When bloodied, become water. Use Shed and Slip (bonus action) every turn to Disengage or re-Hide, and let Coiling Riposte free-strike anyone who chases.
- Three ways to run it: (1) lone debt-collector assassin who flees once paid in blood; (2) lieutenant beside a serpent-cult priest; (3) a hit-squad of three Kaelors converging from different rooms.
- Venom is the clock. Lead with Venomed Edge each turn so the poisoned condition stacks pressure; remind players a successful DC 14 Con save clears it at end of turn.
Kaelor
Medium monstrosity (shapechanger), neutral evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINESerpent's Glide. Kaelor's coiled lower body lets it move through any space as narrow as 1 foot wide without squeezing. Difficult terrain made of loose ground, sand, or rubble costs it no extra movement.
Venomed Edge. Kaelor coats its serpentblade in distilled viper toxin. The first creature it hits each turn takes an extra 7 (2d6) poison damage and must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of its next turn.
Actions
Multiattack. Kaelor makes two Serpentblade attacks, or one Serpentblade attack and one Tail Constrict.
Serpentblade. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage.
Tail Constrict. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 15) if it is Medium or smaller. Until the grapple ends the target is restrained and Kaelor cannot constrict another target.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Shed and Slip (Bonus Action). Kaelor takes the Disengage or Hide action.
Coiling Riposte (Reaction). When a creature Kaelor can see ends its move within 5 feet of it, Kaelor makes one Serpentblade attack against that creature.
A hooded, green-scaled killer whose human torso tapers into a great coiling serpent's tail, gliding silent over sand on muscle instead of feet. It carries a single wavy serpentblade slick with viper venom and a stare that does not blink.
Kaelor, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEKeen Smell (signature). Kaelor has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell and can sense any creature that took poison damage within 60 feet.
Actions
Venom Spit. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 20 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) poison damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or have disadvantage on its next attack roll.
Reactions
Warding Hiss. When an ally within 10 feet is hit by an attack, Kaelor may impose disadvantage on that attack roll once per turn.
A fat banded asp that rides coiled at Kaelor's shoulder, spitting venom at any who close the distance and hissing warning the instant a hidden bow is drawn.
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 from hiding with a venomed Serpentblade for the surprise round, then Shed and Slip away as a bonus action. Kill-priority is the lone backline caster or archer; constrict them so the party must come to the killing floor. Pair Kaelor with a couple of common snakes or cultists as a starter ambush.
Open from cover, hit the squishiest target with Venomed Edge so it is poisoned, then constrict it with the tail to lock it out of the fight. When bloodied, lean on Shed and Slip every turn to dart between melee and re-stealth, and punish chasers with Coiling Riposte. Best run as the assassin lieutenant of a larger snake-cult encounter, not alone.
Use it as the strike-finger of a bigger threat, a serpent matron or venom priest, slipping through 1-foot gaps to reach the healer while the boss holds the front. Open by constricting and dragging the kill-target out of cover, then riposte anyone who follows. Pair it with minions and a lair full of pits and cisterns; do not run it solo at this tier.
Put Kaelor 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 Kaelor?
Kaelor's home tier is Tier 2 (levels 5-10) at CR 6, worth 2,300 XP: AC 16, 120 HP, +7 to hit, save DC 14. Scaled stat lines for Tiers 1 and 3 are provided so you can drop or raise him to fit your table.
Can Kaelor be a companion or ally?
Yes. As a neutral-evil executor he works as a hireling, reluctant guide, or rival-turned-ally bound by a paid debt. His Bound Spitting Asp, Silt, makes a fine standalone familiar-style companion if you only want the snake.
Is Kaelor a solo boss?
No. He is a strike-and-fade assassin without a true legendary action kit, so a four-player party will out-act him in a straight fight. Run him from ambush, paired with minions or a larger threat, and let his mobility and venom do the work.
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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