Marduk
Marduk — The Encounter
Storm-King of Babylon, Slayer of the Chaos-Sea · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Marduk
In the elder tablets of Babylon it is written that when the salt-sea Tiamat birthed monsters to drown the young gods, none would face her save Marduk, last and mightiest of the storm-born. The assembly named him king and gave him the winds for weapons: the four winds, the seven winds, the evil wind, the hurricane. He took up the bow and the net and the war-axe Imhullu, and went out to meet the chaos-mother across the void. He cast the net to ensnare her, drove the storm into her open jaws so she could not close them, and clove her in two with a single stroke, raising heaven from one half and earth from the other. Of her blood he fashioned mankind to bear the labor of the gods. The fifty names spoken in his honor are the fifty powers of creation, and to utter even one in his presence is to invite the tempest that ordered the world.
Run Marduk in Sixty Seconds
- He is a solo boss. Run Marduk alone or with only the Ugallu hound; his legendary actions and reactions are tuned to carry a whole encounter against an 11th-15th level party.
- Open with Tempest Bolt. The 60-foot line wants the party clustered, so fire it turn one before they spread, then recharge it whenever it comes back.
- Kill-priority: casters. Multiattack and every Storm-Axe Strike should hunt the squishiest spellcaster; Net of the Four Winds locks down anyone trying to retreat out of his 10-foot reach.
- When bloodied, scatter them. Spend two legendary actions on Word of the Tempest to push clustered enemies off objectives, then Stride to reposition between the front line and the casters.
- Three ways to run him: as a mythic finale boss alone; flanked by the Ugallu hound and two storm-cultists as a set-piece; or down a band (tiers above) as the climax of a lower-level campaign.
Marduk
Large celestial (titan), lawful neutral
CR 12 · 8,400 XP · GUIDELINEFifty Names of Power. Marduk has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. When he succeeds on such a save, he may speak one of his fifty names as a reaction; the creature that forced the save takes 11 (2d10) thunder damage as the syllable detonates in the air.
Storm-Sovereign. Marduk's weapon attacks are magical. When he hits with a weapon attack, the attack deals an extra 7 (2d6) lightning damage (included below).
Actions
Multiattack. Marduk makes two attacks with Imhullu, his storm-axe.
Imhullu (Storm-Axe). Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (2d12 + 7) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) lightning damage. On a critical hit, the target must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone and pushed 15 feet.
Tempest Bolt (Recharge 5-6). Marduk hurls the chained winds in a line 60 feet long and 5 feet wide. Each creature in the line makes a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, taking 36 (8d8) lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. Creatures that fail are deafened until the end of their next turn.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Net of the Four Winds. Reaction (1/turn): When a creature Marduk can see within 30 feet moves, he flings an unseen net of wind at it. The target must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or have its speed reduced to 0 until the start of its next turn.
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Stride. Marduk moves up to his speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Storm-Axe Strike. Marduk makes one attack with Imhullu.
Word of the Tempest (Costs 2 Actions). Marduk speaks a name of command. Each enemy within 20 feet must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or take 14 (4d6) thunder damage and be pushed 10 feet away from him.
A broad, horned warrior cast in spiked god-plate, a sun-disc blazing at his chest and a serrated storm-axe slung across one shoulder. He stands braced on a shattered crag as though the earth itself yields beneath the weight of a king.
Marduk, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEPack of the Tempest (signature). Marduk has advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one of Marduk's allies is within 5 feet of the creature and isn't incapacitated.
Actions
Rending Maw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (3d6 + 5) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Reactions
Thunderous Bay. When a creature within 10 feet hits Marduk, it must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be deafened until the end of its next turn.
A lion-headed storm-beast bound to the god's heel, baying with the voice of distant thunder as it harries those who flee his judgment.
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.
Drop everything by a band so a low party can survive the storm-king as a finale. Open with Tempest Bolt to soften a clustered front line, then wade in with Imhullu and pick the squishiest caster first. Hold Net of the Four Winds for whoever tries to kite him.
A scaled-down boss for a mid party. Lead with Tempest Bolt into the densest knot, then Multiattack the highest-damage PC. Use legendary Storm-Axe Strikes on whoever's casting, and Word of the Tempest the moment three or more enemies bunch up.
His home tier and a true solo centerpiece. Open with Tempest Bolt down the line, Multiattack the kill-priority caster, then spend legendary actions to Stride free and Storm-Axe Strike anyone who flees. When bloodied, lean on Word of the Tempest to scatter clusters and Net to pin the party's mobility piece.
Put Marduk 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 Marduk?
Marduk is built as a CR 12 solo boss at his native Tier 3 (levels 11-15). Because he has legendary actions and strong reactions, his sheet plays up a band and is meant to anchor an encounter alone. Drop him to the Tier 2 or Tier 1 lines in the tiers table for mid or low parties.
Can Marduk be a companion or ally?
As a creation-god titan he is far too potent to follow a party, but he can be a temporary patron: have him grant a single Tempest Bolt or his blessing of the fifty names as a one-scene boon. For a recurring ally piece, use the Ugallu, Storm-Hound companion block instead.
Why is Marduk a celestial and not a fiend?
In Babylonian myth Marduk is the ordering, world-building storm-king who slays the chaos-sea and raises heaven and earth, so he is statted as a Large celestial (titan), lawful neutral. His lightning, thunder, and the chained-winds weapon Imhullu all come straight from the public-domain creation tablets.
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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