Zaudon
Zaudon — The Encounter
The Iron-Crowned Tyrant, mace-king of the burning waste · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Zaudon
They name him the Iron-Crowned, though that was never the name his mother gave. Once a captain of light, he bartered his oath for dominion and was remade in cursed plate that has never since been removed; the metal grew into the flesh, and the flesh forgot mercy. Where he treads the ground splits and weeps fire, for the earth itself recoils from a sovereign who rules by terror alone. His mace, forged in a foundry of broken vows, smolders with a heat that warms only its bearer. Heroes have marched against him in their hundreds, and the burning waste before his throne is paved with their swords, each blade a monument to ambition undone. He does not pursue; he advances, slow and certain, and the bravest knees buckle as his crown sweeps its gaze across the field. To strike him is to invite his answering blow. He has waited an age. He can wait a little longer.
Run Zaudon in Sixty Seconds
- Fear first: Crown of Dread hits everyone within 20 ft. at the top of each of their turns (DC by tier). Frightened PCs can't approach and attack at disadvantage. Burn it before they adapt.
- Open with: Crown of Dread to lock the field, then Word of Command (legendary) on whoever can remove fear, then mace the squishiest target twice.
- Kill-priority: he goes for the lowest-AC backliner first; a prone target on a failed Strength save can't easily disengage from his 10-ft. reach.
- Crushing Counter: every melee hit on him invites a free mace swing back. Tell martials this before they full-attack into him.
- Three ways to run him: (1) lone capstone boss leaning on legendary actions and the reaction; (2) warlord behind a hobgoblin/troll line, fear amplifying their morale; (3) slow inevitable advance across a burning battlefield as the party races an objective.
Zaudon
Large fiend (devil), lawful evil
CR 11 · 7,200 XP · GUIDELINECrown of Dread. Each creature that starts its turn within 20 feet of Zaudon must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of him until the start of its next turn. On a success, the creature is immune to this trait for 24 hours. A frightened creature that ends its turn out of line of sight may repeat the save.
Magic Weapons. Zaudon's weapon attacks are magical. His mace is wreathed in molten fire that does not burn its master.
Tyrant's Resilience. If Zaudon takes 25 damage or more from a single source, that damage is reduced by 10 (he refuses to fall). He has advantage on saving throws against effects that would move or knock him prone.
Actions
Multiattack. Zaudon makes two Iron Mace attacks. He can replace one with Crushing Decree (recharge) if available.
Iron Mace. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) fire damage, and a target of size Large or smaller must succeed on a DC 17 Strength save or be knocked prone.
Crushing Decree (Recharge 5-6). Zaudon slams his mace down, splitting the earth. Each creature within 15 feet must make a DC 17 Dexterity save, taking 28 (8d6) fire damage and being knocked prone on a failure, or half damage on a success.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Crushing Counter (Reaction). When a creature Zaudon can see within 10 feet hits him with a melee attack, he makes one Iron Mace attack against that creature.
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Stride. Zaudon moves up to his speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Mace Sweep (Costs 2 Actions). Zaudon makes one Iron Mace attack against each creature within his reach.
Word of Command. Zaudon points at one creature he can see within 30 feet. That creature must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom save or be frightened until the end of its next turn.
A towering figure sheathed in spiked black-and-gold war-plate, crowned with a jagged horned helm, a great cloak streaming behind as he raises a fire-veined iron mace over a lava-cracked field littered with the shattered swords of slain heroes.
Zaudon, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEStandard of Dread (signature). While the Banner-Wraith is within 30 feet of its sworn lord, that lord and its allies have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Actions
Spectral Glaive. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage.
Reactions
Rally the Fallen. When an ally within 30 feet is reduced to 0 hit points, the Banner-Wraith can move up to its speed toward that ally and the ally instead drops to 1 hit point (recharges after a long rest).
An armored revenant clutching its lord's tattered standard, its hollow gaze daring the living to flee.
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 Crown of Dread to scatter the party, then close on the weakest-looking caster and swing twice. If two or more PCs cluster, save Crushing Decree for them. Pair him with a fearmonger's banner or a small mob; at this tier he is a campaign-ending villain glimpsed early, not a fair fight.
Stride into the soft backline, mace down the lowest-AC striker, and let Crushing Counter punish melee that rush him. Crushing Decree when they bunch. Run him alongside a banner-wraith or hobgoblin line so the party can't just dogpile the crown.
This is his arena. Open by fixing the party in place with Crown of Dread, then Word of Command the cleric so it can't end the fear. Spend legendary actions on Stride + Mace Sweep to stay in melee with everyone; Crushing Counter taxes every hit they land. Save Crushing Decree for a cluster, and let him bleed the party turn after turn as a true solo capstone boss.
Put Zaudon 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 Zaudon?
Native CR 11 (Tier 3, levels 11-15) as a solo capstone boss. Because his legendary actions and Crushing Counter reaction let him play up a CR or two, his sheet sits one band low on purpose. Scaled blocks for Tier 1 (~CR 2) and Tier 2 (~CR 6) are provided if you want him as a recurring villain glimpsed earlier.
Can Zaudon be a companion or ally?
Not really, and that is the point: he is a tyrant who rules by terror, written as an adversary. If your table wants a dark-lord patron arc, use the Banner-Wraith companion as the player-facing piece instead, and keep Zaudon as the looming threat behind it.
How do I keep the fear from stalling the whole fight?
Crown of Dread allows a save at the end of each turn out of line of sight, and a success grants 24-hour immunity, so position pillars or rubble for PCs to break sight. Give the party a way to remove the frightened condition (a paladin aura, calm emotions, heroism) and the fight stays dynamic instead of grinding.
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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