Apsu
Apsu — The Encounter
The Primordial Freshwater Abyss, Begetter of the First Gods · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Apsu
Before the heavens were named and the earth given form, there were only the mingling waters: bitter Tiamat and sweet Apsu, the freshwater abyss from whom all gods were begotten. So the old clay tablets sing. Apsu is the first father, the still deep beneath the world, and from his union the younger powers sprang into being. Yet the songs of the begotten gods clamored without end, and their tumult robbed the ancient one of his rest. In wrath Apsu resolved to unmake his own children and return all things to the silent waters. Thus the begetter became the destroyer, a primordial turned against creation itself. Those who summon him from the deep places find no kindly ancestor but a vast and patient hunger, scaled in jade and crowned in feathers, that remembers a time before time and longs to drown the noisy world back into the quiet from which it rose.
Run Apsu in Sixty Seconds
- Hold the cone Engulfing Surge (Recharge 5-6) is your nuke; never waste it on one target. Wait until two or more PCs cluster within the 30-foot cone, then blast for 45 cold, prone, and 15-foot push.
- Open by repositioning the field Use Primordial Tide on turn one to drag a straggler into reach, then Bite plus two Claws. The pull plus your reach makes escape painful.
- Kill-priority is the healer, then the controller Spend Drowning Grasp (2 legendary actions) to restrain whoever tries to lock you down before they land it.
- When bloodied (104 HP), go airborne Wing Surge prones the melee line and flies you free; bank your second Legendary Resistance for the one save that would otherwise end the fight.
- Three ways to run it Patient drowner (kite with swim speed and Tide), wrathful destroyer (full Multiattack every round), or god of the deep (legendary actions every turn as a true solo centerpiece).
Apsu
Huge dragon, neutral evil
CR 13 · 10,000 XP · GUIDELINEPrimordial Tide (signature). The abyssal waters of creation answer Apsu. Difficult terrain made of water within 30 feet does not cost it extra movement, and any creature that starts its turn within 15 feet of Apsu must succeed on a DC 16 Strength save or be pulled 10 feet toward it as the deep drags them down.
Amphibious. Apsu can breathe air and water.
Legendary Resistance (2/Day). If Apsu fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Actions
Multiattack. Apsu makes one Bite attack and two Claw attacks. It can replace the Bite with Engulfing Surge if available.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (2d12 + 7) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) acid damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d6 + 7) slashing damage.
Engulfing Surge (Recharge 5-6). Apsu unleashes the deluge of the first sea in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, taking 45 (10d8) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. A creature that fails is also knocked prone and pushed 15 feet away.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Tidal Recoil. When a creature Apsu can see within 10 feet hits it with a melee attack, Apsu can use its reaction to surge a wave outward, dealing 9 (2d8) cold damage to the attacker and pushing it 10 feet away.
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Claw. Apsu makes one Claw attack.
Drowning Grasp (Costs 2 Actions). Apsu coils a tide of black water around one creature it can see within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be restrained until the end of its next turn and take 11 (2d10) cold damage.
Wing Surge (Costs 2 Actions). Apsu beats its feathered wings. Each creature within 15 feet must succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw or take 9 (2d8) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. Apsu can then fly up to half its speed.
Coiled atop a pillar of churning malachite waters, this jade-scaled primordial rears on a serpentine body crowned with great feathered eagle-wings and a horned, fanged maw, the deep itself rising at its command.
Apsu, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINECounsel of the Abyss (signature). While within 30 feet of an ally, Apsu can use its reaction when that ally fails a saving throw to let them reroll, using the new result.
Actions
Brine Lash. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage plus 7 (2d6) cold damage.
Reactions
Veil of Mist. When a creature within 15 feet is hit by an attack, Apsu can shroud them in fog, granting half cover until the start of its next turn.
The minister and herald of the first father, a coiling water-spirit who whispers the counsel of the abyss and binds the deep to Apsu's will.
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 Engulfing Surge to scatter and prone the clustered party, then wade in with Bite on whoever stands. Kill-priority is the healer; use Tidal Recoil to punish the front-liner who closes. Drop the recharge cone the instant two or more PCs bunch within range.
Lead with the cone, then Drowning Grasp the squishiest caster to lock them down before they counter-CC you. When bloodied, fly with Wing Surge to break melee and reset the deluge. Pull stragglers in with Primordial Tide and finish them in the deep.
As a solo boss, spend legendary actions every round: Drowning Grasp to restrain the burst-damage threat, Wing Surge to reposition and prone the line. Open with Engulfing Surge, kill-priority the healer, and use Tidal Recoil to tax melee attackers. When bloodied, hold Legendary Resistance for the save-or-suck that would end you, then surge again.
Put Apsu 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 Apsu?
Apsu is built as a Tier 3 (levels 11-15) solo boss at CR 13, worth 10,000 XP. Because its kit carries multiple legendary actions plus a punishing reaction, its statline sits one band below raw CR 13 numbers so it plays up to challenge a full party on its own.
Can Apsu be a companion or ally?
As a primordial creator-turned-destroyer, Apsu is far too vast to follow a party, but its herald Mummu, Vizier of the Deep (AC 15, 124 HP) makes an excellent ally or summoned guardian, lending rerolls on saves and lashing foes with brine.
How do I use Apsu without a battlemap full of water?
You don't need terrain. Primordial Tide and Engulfing Surge bring the deep with him, the forced movement creates the watery battlefield wherever he fights, so even a dry dungeon becomes his domain the moment he arrives.
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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