Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla — The Encounter
The Wizard of the West, master of the living lightning · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Nikola Tesla
They call him the Wizard of the West, though he names himself merely an engineer of unseen forces. Where lesser minds saw only sparks, Nikola Tesla heard a language in the storm and learned to answer it. His coils hum in the dark of his workshop, drawing arcs that dance to his will like trained serpents of light, and those who corner him find the very air turned against them. He covets neither gold nor crown; his hunger is for the next idea, the next current bottled and bent to purpose. Yet cross his work, threaten the innocent he shelters, and the gentle scholar becomes a tempest in human shape. Bullets of metal swerve, blades grow too hot to hold, and the floor itself buzzes underfoot. Many have tried to seize his designs by force. They learned, as the lightning teaches, that some powers are not so easily grounded.
Run Nikola Tesla in Sixty Seconds
- Hold or open? Open with Chain Lightning the first round a cluster forms — especially metal-armored PCs, who roll it at disadvantage.
- Charged Field punishes melee: anyone who hits him within 5 ft. eats 1d10 lightning, and it scales up near his coil. Force the party to come to him at a cost.
- Kill-priority is the Resonant Coil — destroy it to drop his save DC and field damage, but beware the 4d6 Overload burst when it pops.
- When bloodied, lean on Magnetic Repulsion to keep bruisers off him and reposition toward water or metal to maximize his arcs.
- Three ways to run him: a defensive shut-in tethered to his coil; a kiting artillery mage flinging Arc Lash and retreating; or the clever lieutenant feeding lightning to a bigger boss.
Nikola Tesla
Medium humanoid (human), neutral good
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINECharged Field. Tesla is wreathed in arcing current. A creature that touches him or hits him with a melee attack while within 5 feet takes 5 (1d10) lightning damage. While he stands within 10 feet of his coil, his spell save DC and the lightning damage of this trait both increase by 2.
Grounded Genius. Tesla has advantage on saving throws against effects that would daze, stun, or paralyze him, and he ignores difficult terrain made of metal, water, or wreckage.
Actions
Multiattack. Tesla makes two Arc Lash attacks, or uses Chain Lightning if available and makes one Arc Lash attack.
Arc Lash. Ranged Spell Attack: +7 to hit, range 60 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (4d6+4) lightning damage, and the target can't take reactions until the start of its next turn.
Chain Lightning (Recharge 5-6). A bolt leaps to a target Tesla can see within 60 ft., then arcs to up to three other creatures within 30 ft. of the first. Each target makes a DC 15 Dexterity save, taking 22 (5d8) lightning damage on a failure, or half on a success. Creatures wearing metal armor or wielding metal weapons have disadvantage on this save.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Magnetic Repulsion (Reaction). When a creature Tesla can see within 30 ft. hits him, he pushes that creature 15 feet straight away. If it is shoved into a wall or another creature, it takes 7 (2d6) lightning damage.
A wild-haired inventor braces in a wide stance, one gauntleted hand thrown skyward as ribbons of blue-white lightning coil from the resonating sphere of his great coil and crawl over his insulated coat.
Nikola Tesla, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEAmplifier (signature). While a creature is within 15 feet of the Coil, that creature's lightning damage rolls increase by 2, and creatures other than its allies that start their turn within 5 feet of the Coil take 3 (1d6) lightning damage.
Actions
Static Discharge. Ranged Spell Attack: +6 to hit, range 40 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (3d6) lightning damage.
Reactions
Overload. When the Coil is reduced to 0 hit points, it bursts. Each creature within 10 feet makes a DC 14 Dexterity save, taking 14 (4d6) lightning damage on a failure, or half on a success.
A brass tower crowned by a humming sphere, drinking power from the storm and spitting it back as obedient arcs.
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 at range with Arc Lash to deny a key enemy its reaction, then back toward the coil for the Charged Field bonus. If foes cluster in metal armor, hold Chain Lightning for the moment they bunch — it punishes plate hard. Pair him with a sturdy frontliner; he wants distance, not a melee.
Lead with Chain Lightning into the most clustered, metal-clad knot of attackers, then Multiattack the squishiest spellcaster to lock out their reactions. Stay within 10 ft. of the Resonant Coil so Charged Field and DC both climb. Use Magnetic Repulsion to fling the first melee bruiser back into a wall.
Run him as the brains beside a bigger threat — a construct, a war-engine, or a melee captain — while he zaps from behind the line. Open Chain Lightning on the densest cluster, then peel kill-priority targets with Arc Lash lockout. Keep him tethered to the Coil and lair hazards; he is a force multiplier, not a lone boss.
Put Nikola Tesla 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 Nikola Tesla?
His home stat block is CR 6 (2,300 XP), tuned for a party of 5th-10th level. Scaled sheets are provided for Tier 1 (levels 1-4) and Tier 3 (levels 11-15), with identical traits and only the numbers shifting between bands.
Can Nikola Tesla be a companion or ally?
Yes. He makes a superb non-combat patron or a backline support ally — his Arc Lash strips enemy reactions and his Resonant Coil amplifies any party member's lightning effects. Run him as a quest-giving inventor who lends his coil rather than fighting on the front line.
Is Tesla solo_capable as a boss?
No. He has no legendary actions and only a single reaction, so a four-player party will out-act him over a round. Pair him with a flagship threat, minions, or a hazard-rich lair where his Charged Field and coil turn the terrain against intruders.
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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