Gravewarden Kharthuz
Gravewarden Kharthuz — The Encounter
Oathbound corpse-sentinel of the gilded tomb · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Gravewarden Kharthuz
When a tomb-lord of old feared grave-robbers more than death itself, he had his most loyal champion slain and gilded at the threshold, so the man's oath would outlast his flesh. Kharthuz was such a champion. They bound his corpse in plate of beaten gold, set a horned death-mask over his face, and laid a single charge upon his cooling heart: let no hand profane the vault. Six centuries of looters have learned the cost. He does not pace, does not patrol, does not sleep. He stands at the threshold with his sepulcher halberd grounded, and when iron rings on the seal he answers with a knell that hollows the courage out of living men. Those who flee he lets flee. Those who press inward he carves down where they stand, and the wounds his blade leaves never wholly close, as though a measure of the grave goes with each cut. He cannot be reasoned with, only refused, by leaving the gold untouched.
Run Gravewarden Kharthuz in Sixty Seconds
- Hold, don't chase. Kharthuz is a threshold guardian. Plant it in the doorway/over the tomb and make the party come into its 10-ft. reach; it almost never advances.
- Open with the Shout. Lead with Tomb-Knell Shout on the tightest cluster (DC 14 Wis, 4d8 necrotic + frightened). After that, two halberd swings a round.
- The halberd is the threat. Each hit reduces the target's hit point maximum, so it grinds front-liners down a fight. Kill-priority for the warden itself is whoever touches its ward (Grave-Oath).
- Three ways to run it. Pure chokepoint wall (Warden's Bulwark + reach), tomb-anchor beside a necromancer/skeletons, or a guilt-trip puzzle where leaving the gold untouched lets the party pass unfought.
- When bloodied, remember Undead Fortitude (DC 5 + damage Con save unless radiant/crit) — it shrugs off the killing blow once, so save burst or radiant for the finish.
Gravewarden Kharthuz
Large undead, lawful evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEUndead Fortitude. If damage reduces the gravewarden to 0 hit points, it makes a Constitution saving throw (DC 5 + the damage taken) unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a success, it drops to 1 hit point instead.
Grave-Oath (signature). Kharthuz is sworn to a single tomb, shrine, or charge it must guard. While within 60 feet of that ward, it has advantage on saving throws and its weapon attacks deal an extra 5 (2d4) necrotic damage. If the ward is destroyed or removed, it loses this benefit and attacks the despoiler above all others.
Actions
Multiattack. The gravewarden makes two halberd attacks.
Sepulcher Halberd. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) slashing damage plus 5 (2d4) necrotic damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or have its hit point maximum reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken until it finishes a long rest.
Tomb-Knell Shout (Recharge 5-6). The gravewarden slams its halberd's haft and lets out a grave-deep knell. Each creature of its choice within 15 feet must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw, taking 18 (4d8) necrotic damage and being frightened until the end of its next turn on a failure, or half as much damage and not frightened on a success.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Warden's Bulwark. Reaction: When a creature the gravewarden can see attacks a target within 5 feet of it, the gravewarden imposes disadvantage on that attack roll, planting its haft to ward the blow.
A towering revenant sheathed in gilded grave-plate, its horned skull-helm fixed in an eternal snarl above a tattered funeral cloak. It grips a great gold-chased halberd, never once stepping from the threshold it is sworn to keep.
Gravewarden Kharthuz, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEThreshold-Keeper (signature). While within 30 feet of you or a place you have declared under your protection, Kharthuz cannot be frightened or moved against its will and has advantage on saving throws against being knocked prone.
Actions
Sepulcher Halberd. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8+3) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) necrotic damage.
Reactions
Interpose. Reaction: When an ally within 5 feet is hit by an attack, Kharthuz steps in and reduces the damage by 8 (2d4+3), taking that much itself instead.
Re-sworn to a living charge, the gilded warden plants itself between you and harm and will not yield the ground.
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 grounding its halberd in a doorway and using Tomb-Knell Shout to scatter the squishiest cluster. Make the party kill it through Undead Fortitude. Run it as a chokepoint guardian, not a chaser, and pair it with a weaker spellcaster so the Shout sets up the casts.
Hold the threshold; let melee fools come to its 10-ft. reach and grind their hit point maximums down with the halberd. Recharge Tomb-Knell Shout to fear-and-blast anyone who clumps, then use Warden's Bulwark to shield the ally it stands beside. Kill-priority is whoever despoils its ward (Grave-Oath). Best as the anchor of a tomb fight with skeletal minions, not alone.
Field it inside its lair beside a true necromancer or a clutch of grave-revenants so it never has to leave the threshold. Open with the Shout to fear the front line, then chew maximums down two hits a round; Warden's Bulwark keeps the caster behind it alive. Pair it with a bigger threat so the party can't simply walk past.
Put Gravewarden Kharthuz 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 Gravewarden Kharthuz?
Natively CR 6 (Tier 2, ~levels 5-10): AC 17, 133 HP, +7 to hit, save DC 14. Stat blocks for Tier 1 (~CR 2) and Tier 3 (~CR 11) are provided so you can drop it into any party level without rebuilding it.
Can Gravewarden Kharthuz be a companion or ally?
Yes. Re-sworn to a living charge, it serves as 'Kharthuz, Bound' (AC 16, 80 HP) — a bodyguard that plants itself between an ally and harm, interposing to soak hits and warding any place you declare under your protection.
Is Kharthuz a solo boss?
No. He's a brutal add-on and chokepoint anchor, not a centerpiece — he lacks legendary actions, so a four-player party will out-act him alone. Run him as the wall in front of a necromancer, undead minions, or a larger flagship threat.
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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