D&D 5E Mythological Figures: King Arthur (5E)

Today's entry in Mythological Figures is none other than Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table. I’ve been avoiding this character for some time for a simple reason—he is easily one of the most enduring popular mythological figures in human history.

What we do know is that there likely was some fellow named Arthur going about fighting Saxons in the late 400s and early 500s but there is a tremendous amount of folklore that’s come in his wake in the millennium and a half since then. Whether or not he made as big of an impact as some schools of thought claim (killing 960 men by his own in the Battle of Badon, for instance) is still a matter of academic debate.

Design Notes: For our purposes here I decided to gauge him against the other Knight of the Round Table but with a focus on the royalty aspect—what I consider to be the best known part what with him being a king and all—and that he’s the center of the Arthurian legend. With that in mind I opened the throttle up and put him near 20th level, with a nod towards fighter battlefield tactics (taken from Mike Mearls’ warlord class work) and a heavy shoulder into divine sovereignty of rule via paladin.

King Arthur
Medium humanoid (human), neutral good fighter (warmaster) 4/paladin (oath of royalty) 15

Armor Class 19 (scale mail, shield, defense fighting style)
Hit Points 142 (19d10+38)

Speed 30 ft.

STR​	DEX​	CON​	INT​	WIS​	CHA​
16 (+3)​	14 (+2)​	14 (+2)​	12 (+1)​	12 (+1)​	18 (+4)​

Saving Throws Str +13, Dex +6, Con +12, Int +5, Wis +5, Cha +8
Skills Athletics +9, History +7, Insight +7, Persuasion +10
Condition Immunities disease
Senses passive Perception 11
Languages Common (Anglo-Saxon), Cymric (Celtic-Welsh)
Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)

Background: Noble - Lordship. Due to his lordship King Arthur receives a measure of respect wherever he goes. He is treated as royalty (or as closely as possible) by most peasants and traders, and as an equal when meeting other authority figures (who make time in their schedule to see him if requested to do so).

Action Surge (1/short rest). On his turn, King Arthur can take an additional action on top of his regular action and a possible bonus action.

Aura of Courage. King Arthur and friendly creatures within 10 feet of him can’t be frightened while he is conscious.

Aura of Protection. Whenever King Arthur or a friendly creature within 10 feet of him must make a saving throw, the creature gains a +4 bonus to the saving throw as long as the King Arthur is conscious (included in his statistics).

Channel Divinity (1/short rest). King Arthur can channel his divinity through the two following features.

Royal Challenge. King Arthur calls out a provocation to creatures he selects that are able to see him and with 30 feet. A challenged creature makes a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or can’t choose to move further than 30 feet away from King Arthur until he dies, is incapacitated, or a creature is moved more than 30 feet away from him by another effect.
Warrior Rally. King Arthur can use a bonus action to call out a rallying cry to creatures he selects that are able to see him and within 30 feet. If a selected creature has no more than half of its hit points, it regains 1d6+4 hit points.​

Cleansing Touch (4/long rest). King Arthur can use his action to end one spell on himself or on one willing creature that he touches.

Divine Sense (5/long rest). As the paladin class feature.

Divine Smite. When King Arthur hits a creature with a melee weapon attack, he can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend.

Lay on Hands (75 points). As an action, King Arthur can touch a creature and restore a number of hit points to it, up to the maximum amount remaining in this pool. Alternatively, he can expend 5 hit points to cure the target of one disease or neutralize one poison affecting it.

Royal Fortitude. King Arthur has advantage on saving throws made to resist the paralyzed and stunned conditions.

Second Wind (1/short rest). On his turn, King Arthur can use a bonus action to regain 1d10+4 hit points.

Spellcasting. King Arthur is a 15th-level spellcaster that uses Charisma as his spellcasting ability (spell save DC 18; +10 to hit with spell attacks). He has the following spells prepared from the paladin’s spell list:

1st-level (4 slots): bless, command, compelled duel, detect evil and good, detect magic, divine favor, shield of faith
2nd-level (3 slots): aid, find steed, lesser restoration, warding bond, zone of truth
3rd-level (3 slots): aura of vitality, magic circle, remove curse, spirit guardians
4th-level (2 slots): banishment, death ward, guardian of faith
​

Tactical Focal Point. King Arthur selects a 10-foot square to be his tactical focal point as a bonus action or as part of the attack action, choosing one of the following benefits to apply to it. This lasts until he cannot take actions or uses this feature again. Each time King Arthur completes a long rest, he can swap one of these benefits for a different one.

• Area Clear. When an ally inside King Arthur’s focal point hits a creature with an attack, the ally can move that creature 5 feet.
• Cover the Flank. As many as three target creatures of King Arthur’s choice can use a reaction to move up to their speed when an enemy that he can see enters his focal point, so long as that movement does not end in the focal point. If a target creature is ending their movement adjacent to the enemy that triggered this feature, they do not have to use their reaction.
• Run Away! When an ally inside of King Arthur’s focal point is forced to make a Dexterity saving throw, they moves up to their speed by using their reaction and are no longer subjected to the triggering effect if their movement takes them outside of the area or range.

Tactical Mastery (3/long rest). King Arthur uses part of his Attack action or a bonus action to take mastery of the battlefield, granting it to himself and allies within his focal point by expending uses of this feature. A creature that is granted a use of King Arthur’s Tactical Mastery can either regain 2d10 hit points when it is granted (any hit points greater than its maximum are temporary hit points) or use it to deal an extra 2d10 damage with an attack.

ACTIONS

Extra Attack. King Arthur attacks twice whenever he takes the Attack action on his turn.

Enchanted Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d8+6) magical slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) radiant damage.

Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage.

REACTIONS

Loyalty to the Crown. King Arthur can use his reaction to take the damage from an attack that would otherwise damage a creature within 5 feet of him. He is unable to reduce or prevent the damage he takes from this attack.

Excalibur
GMs that want King Arthur's sword (the legendary Excalibur) to be more powerful can give him a holy avenger instead, changing his statistics as follows.

1) Increase King Arthur's challenge rating to 14 (11,500 XP).
2) Add this feature:​

Holy Avenger. While King Arthur is wielding his sword, he and all creatures friendly to him and within a 10-foot radius have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.​

3) Remove the Enchanted Longsword attack and replace it with this attack:​

Holy Avenger. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (1d8+8) magical slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) radiant damage. If the target is a fiend or undead, it takes 11 (2d10) radiant damage.​

 

[Mike Myler]

Thank for another great entry. This is similar the version I made except I went with the paladin / bard split from the 1e deities and demigods.

Also, I would recommend giving some stats for excalibur. I made my version (of excalibur) a bit OP to get his total CR to 17.

I would certainly design Excalibur and have a good proportion of Arthur's combat ability coming from that enchanted sword. This opens up more room for the skills needed to be an effective king. (I approve of the high CHR.)

The format doesn't support "roleplaying notes" but in the movie Excalibur, Arthur defuses more quarrels than he settles by defeating one side. When facing foreign invaders (proto-Vikings?) he leaves a few to flee home and tell scary stories - demoralizing the next wave - rather than annihilating the foe. He turns fiercely independent Urience (sp?) into an ally / subordinate by a display of courage and leadership rather than trying to pound him into the mud.

Bond: the Land. "When you prosper, the Land prospers with you. When you bleed, the people suffer." (This is a feature of Excalibur.)

Gracias Dave. Let's say I did take a whack at designing Excalibur--what do you figure are must-haves for it? I've seen a few of the movies and aside from being great for cutting/stabbing, I remember it maybe bringing a combat or two to a quick close because it made a big sound and occasionally being extra shiny. Maybe something about Merlin knowing its location at all times?

 

[Eltab]

designing Excalibur--what do you figure are must-haves for it?

Maybe use a Holy Avenger as a model.
- Top-end mechanical plusses.
- Greatsword, or whatever allows both one-handed and two-handed wielding. (AFB, sorry.)
- This sword is unique in the world (at least, nobody's ever found a Sword of Mystical Union with the Land for any other nation / region).
- Everybody within a certain radius who sees this sword knows its unique identity and significance.
- Auto-success on Death Saves (but only 1 HP from the sword) to the True King only - he need not possess or wield it at the time.
- Some sort of 'critical hit' rule that allows you to slice through armor. Maybe based on the Troll 'limbs' sidebar.
- Blade color is metallic-green like plant life - emerald?
- Piercing(stone)
- If you are not the True King, you cannot wield this blade - what does it do to those who try? - but Gueneviere was able to bring it when she fled Arthur's righteous wrath, so anybody could carry it.
I realize a lot of this is background story rather than mechanical. Excalibur is legendary for its association with kingship, not because it makes you into a combat monster.

 

[dave2008]

Gracias Dave. Let's say I did take a whack at designing Excalibur--what do you figure are must-haves for it? I've seen a few of the movies and aside from being great for cutting/stabbing, I remember it maybe bringing a combat or two to a quick close because it made a big sound and occasionally being extra shiny. Maybe something about Merlin knowing its location at all times?

Well my version is a bit OP for typical 5e (it works for my goals), but I started with the 1e version (from deities and demigods) and did a pretty straight forward update. Also, note that the scabbard was a potent magic item as well. Here is what I came up with :

---

Excalibur.
Weapon (longsword) legendary (requires attunement by a lawful good fighter or paladin)

You have a +5 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon.

When you attack an object with this magic sword and hit, maximize your weapon damage dice against the target. If you are a paladin, you also maximize your divine smite damage dice, if you use them.

When you attack an object with this weapon and roll a 20 on the attack roll, that target takes an extra 4d6 slashing damage. Then roll another d20. If you roll a 20, you lop of one of the target’s limbs, with the effect of such a loss determined by the GM. If the creature has no limb to sever, you lop off a portion of its body instead.

In addition, you can speak the sword’s command word to cause the blade to shed bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet. Speaking the command word again or sheathing the sword puts out the light.

You gain resistance to nonmagical piercing and slashing damage. You must be wearing the scabbard of Excalibur to gain this trait.

---

This is basically a sword of sharpness with additional to hit and damage bonus and maximizing smite damage. Maybe to potent for a typical 5e game, but I think it should be more than just a sword of sharpness.

EDIT. To do a full write up their should be some restrictions, maybe it is only a sword of sharpness if the wielder is not the "True King," etc., and some other lore notes like you and others have noted.

 

[akr71]

I had a book of Arthurian stories as a kid that my dad handed down to me. Not a picture book, but a collection of stories. One of the things I remember from that was that Excalibur's scabbard was magical too. While wearing it, he could not be cut (resistance to slashing and piercing damage). I don't recall this from any other story though. Edit: Wikipedia talks about this, so at least I didn't make it up

Whether you are a fan of the sword-in-the-stone version or the Lady-of-the-Lake version of how he comes by Excalibur, there is no mention of the scabbard. So, perhaps a gift from Merlin?

As @Eltab suggested, I would use the Holy Avenger as a model. We're talking artifact level power here, but it doesn't need to be a full H.A. The bond to the land is important.

 

[dave2008]

I had a book of Arthurian stories as a kid that my dad handed down to me. Not a picture book, but a collection of stories. One of the things I remember from that was that Excalibur's scabbard was magical too. While wearing it, he could not be cut (resistance to slashing and piercing damage). I don't recall this from any other story though. Edit: Wikipedia talks about this, so at least I didn't make it up

Whether you are a fan of the sword-in-the-stone version or the Lady-of-the-Lake version of how he comes by Excalibur, there is no mention of the scabbard. So, perhaps a gift from Merlin?

As @Eltab suggested, I would use the Holy Avenger as a model. We're talking artifact level power here, but it doesn't need to be a full H.A. The bond to the land is important.

it is in the original 1e version of Arthur as well, second paragraph below:
View attachment 97930

 

[akr71]

Ah-hah! My original Deities & Demigods is the only AD&D book I still own, I should have remembered that.

 

[SirGrotius]

Love this. A lot of detail and makes sense throughout. Since Arthur is shrouded in so much mystery and legend, I don't think there can be one definitive stat block, and that's part of the idea. This version seems to click and is simple for us busy DMs.

 

[Kobold Boots]

Awesome write up. Only missing the scabbard which is rather important to the lore.

 

[Mike Myler]

Well my version is a bit OP for typical 5e (it works for my goals), but I started with the 1e version (from deities and demigods) and did a pretty straight forward update. Also, note that the scabbard was a potent magic item as well. Here is what I came up with :

---

Excalibur.
Weapon (longsword) legendary (requires attunement by a lawful good fighter or paladin)

You have a +5 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon.

When you attack an object with this magic sword and hit, maximize your weapon damage dice against the target. If you are a paladin, you also maximize your divine smite damage dice, if you use them.

When you attack an object with this weapon and roll a 20 on the attack roll, that target takes an extra 4d6 slashing damage. Then roll another d20. If you roll a 20, you lop of one of the target’s limbs, with the effect of such a loss determined by the GM. If the creature has no limb to sever, you lop off a portion of its body instead.

In addition, you can speak the sword’s command word to cause the blade to shed bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet. Speaking the command word again or sheathing the sword puts out the light.

You gain resistance to nonmagical piercing and slashing damage. You must be wearing the scabbard of Excalibur to gain this trait.

---

This is basically a sword of sharpness with additional to hit and damage bonus and maximizing smite damage. Maybe to potent for a typical 5e game, but I think it should be more than just a sword of sharpness.

EDIT. To do a full write up their should be some restrictions, maybe it is only a sword of sharpness if the wielder is not the "True King," etc., and some other lore notes like you and others have noted.

Maybe use a Holy Avenger as a model.
- Top-end mechanical plusses.
- Greatsword, or whatever allows both one-handed and two-handed wielding. (AFB, sorry.)
- This sword is unique in the world (at least, nobody's ever found a Sword of Mystical Union with the Land for any other nation / region).
- Everybody within a certain radius who sees this sword knows its unique identity and significance.
- Auto-success on Death Saves (but only 1 HP from the sword) to the True King only - he need not possess or wield it at the time.
- Some sort of 'critical hit' rule that allows you to slice through armor. Maybe based on the Troll 'limbs' sidebar.
- Blade color is metallic-green like plant life - emerald?
- Piercing(stone)
- If you are not the True King, you cannot wield this blade - what does it do to those who try? - but Gueneviere was able to bring it when she fled Arthur's righteous wrath, so anybody could carry it.
I realize a lot of this is background story rather than mechanical. Excalibur is legendary for its association with kingship, not because it makes you into a combat monster.

I had a book of Arthurian stories as a kid that my dad handed down to me. Not a picture book, but a collection of stories. One of the things I remember from that was that Excalibur's scabbard was magical too. While wearing it, he could not be cut (resistance to slashing and piercing damage). I don't recall this from any other story though. Edit: Wikipedia talks about this, so at least I didn't make it up

Whether you are a fan of the sword-in-the-stone version or the Lady-of-the-Lake version of how he comes by Excalibur, there is no mention of the scabbard. So, perhaps a gift from Merlin?

As @Eltab suggested, I would use the Holy Avenger as a model. We're talking artifact level power here, but it doesn't need to be a full H.A. The bond to the land is important.

it is in the original 1e version of Arthur as well, second paragraph below:
View attachment 97930

This is going over much better than I expected! Here's what I'm going to do

1) Since the goal of Mythological Figures is to keep things as cannon as possible I've added a bit at the end of the original post about making King Arthur's sword a holy avenger.
2) Try building an Excalibur from these notes (and the scabbard too) with a similar bit of text for modifying his statblock.
3) Point folks to the exemplar class (charismatic hero types with an archetype all about having magic items made with folks like King Arthur in mind, both the silly and more serious versions).​

Excalibur
Weapon (longsword), legendary (requires attunement)
This legendary weapon is said to gift powerful magic to its wielder and that only the rightful ruler of the land is suitable to carry it into battle. While attuned to it, Excalibur grants the following benefits. If you are the rightful wielder of Excalibur, it instantly attunes to you and does not take up an attunement slot.

• You gain a +4 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon.
• When you attack an object with this magic sword and hit, maximize your weapon damage dice against the target.
• When you attack a creature with this weapon and roll a 20 on the attack roll, that target takes an extra 4d6 slashing damage. Then roll another d20. If you roll a 20, you lop off one of the target’s limbs, with the effect of such loss determined by the GM. If the creature has no limb to sever, you lop off a portion of its body instead.
• You can speak the sword’s command word to cause the blade to shed bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet. Speaking the command word again or sheathing the sword puts out the light.
• When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
• You have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) and Charisma (Persuasion) checks made against anyone but creatures you consider to be your close allies and companions.

Excalibur’s Sheathe
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement)
While wearing this longsword sheathe, you have resistance to piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.


Customized King Arthur
Giving King Arthur this powerful equipment changes his statistics as follows.
1) Increase King Arthur's challenge rating to 15 (13,000 XP).
2) Add resistance to piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.
3) Add the following features:

Kingly Grace. King Arthur has advantage on Wisdom (Insight) and Charisma (Persuasion) checks made against any creature except for those he considers to be his close ally or companion.
Relentless (1/long rest). When King Arthur is reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, he can drop to 1 hit point instead.
Siegebreaker. King Arthur deals maximum damage with weapon attacks made against objects.
​

3) Remove the Enchanted Longsword attack and replace it with this attack:

Excalibur. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (1d8+9) magical slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) radiant damage. When King Arthur rolls a 20 on the attack roll, that target takes an extra 14 (4d6) slashing damage. He then rolls another d20. If King Arthur rolls a 20, he lops off one of the target’s limbs, with the effect of such loss determined by the GM. If the creature has no limb to sever, he lops off a portion of its body instead.​

Mini-Design Notes: I would be hard pressed as a player not to immediately scheme on stealing this sword/killing King Arthur as soon as I figured out it has a bonus 66% higher than the normal game cap. Even at +4 I’d be like “ooooooooooooooh hey guys” but it wouldn’t be sufficient to really motivate straying errantly into very un-adventuring party like activities. To that end, it’d be a little whack to include this and not allow for PCs to wield it--unless you want to make them the king of the land, which is a fairly narrow field for GMs to make use out of. It also seemed good to include something for his diplomacy but remembered a caveat because he’s always getting shafted by his buddies (looking at you, Lancelot).

 

[dave2008]

This is going over much better than I expected! Here's what I'm going to do

1) Since the goal of Mythological Figures is to keep things as cannon as possible I've added a bit at the end of the original post about making King Arthur's sword a holy avenger.
2) Try building an Excalibur from these notes (and the scabbard too) with a similar bit of text for modifying his statblock.
3) Point folks to the exemplar class (charismatic hero types with an archetype all about having magic items made with folks like King Arthur in mind, both the silly and more serious versions).​

Excalibur
Weapon (longsword), legendary (requires attunement)
This legendary weapon is said to gift powerful magic to its wielder and that only the rightful ruler of the land is suitable to carry it into battle. While attuned to it, Excalibur grants the following benefits. If you are the rightful wielder of Excalibur, it instantly attunes to you and does not take up an attunement slot.

• You gain a +4 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon.
• When you attack an object with this magic sword and hit, maximize your weapon damage dice against the target.
• When you attack a creature with this weapon and roll a 20 on the attack roll, that target takes an extra 4d6 slashing damage. Then roll another d20. If you roll a 20, you lop off one of the target’s limbs, with the effect of such loss determined by the GM. If the creature has no limb to sever, you lop off a portion of its body instead.
• You can speak the sword’s command word to cause the blade to shed bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet. Speaking the command word again or sheathing the sword puts out the light.
• When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
• You have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) and Charisma (Persuasion) checks made against anyone but creatures you consider to be your close allies and companions.

Excalibur’s Sheathe
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement)
While wearing this longsword sheathe, you have resistance to piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.


Customized King Arthur
Giving King Arthur this powerful equipment changes his statistics as follows.
1) Increase King Arthur's challenge rating to 15 (13,000 XP).
2) Add resistance to piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.
3) Add the following features:

Kingly Grace. King Arthur has advantage on Wisdom (Insight) and Charisma (Persuasion) checks made against any creature except for those he considers to be his close ally or companion.
Relentless (1/long rest). When King Arthur is reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, he can drop to 1 hit point instead.
​

3) Remove the Enchanted Longsword attack and replace it with this attack:

Excalibur. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (1d8+9) magical slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) radiant damage. When King Arthur rolls a 20 on the attack roll, that target takes an extra 14 (4d6) slashing damage. He then rolls another d20. If King Arthur rolls a 20, he lops off one of the target’s limbs, with the effect of such loss determined by the GM. If the creature has no limb to sever, he lops off a portion of its body instead.​

I like this a lot - good work!

One nitpick, Excalibur maximizes damage, so shouldn't it be 17 (1d8+9) slashing damage or 19 (1d10+9) slashing damage when wielded two-handed. Or does object specifically exclude creatures? I thought the term "object" included creatures, but the term "creatures" excluded objects. Perhaps I have that wrong though.