Papatuanuku
Papatuanuku — The Encounter
The Earth Mother, whose body is the living land and tide · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Papatuanuku
Before the sky was lifted away there was only the close, breathing dark between Earth and Heaven, and in that dark lay Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother, holding her children to her body. When at last her sons forced the firmament from her embrace, she did not break; she settled into the world she had become, and the soil, the reef, and the freshwater spring are her flesh remembering. Those who walk gently upon her never feel her watching. Those who burn her forests, foul her waters, or spill blood upon her shore learn that the ground is not patient earth but a living mother roused to grief. Roots rise like fingers; the tide answers her sorrow. She kills only when she must, and even then her instinct is to cradle the dying rather than end them, for every creature is borne upon her and she counts none beyond her keeping.
Run Papatuanuku in Sixty Seconds
- She is a fortress, not a duelist — she wins by control and regeneration, so the clock is the real fight. Open with entangle or spike growth to choke approach lanes before anyone reaches her.
- Kill her heal first — Mother of Growing Things gives back 10 HP a turn while she touches earth or water. Any fire damage shuts it off for a round, so reward the party that brings a torch.
- Grapple the soft targets — Grasping Root has 15-foot reach; tie up the healer or caster, not the tank. A restrained mage is worth more than a few points of damage.
- When bloodied, she nurtures — pivot to Breath of Renewal and Cradle the Fallen; she would rather cradle a dying foe than kill it, which makes a dramatic 'she spares you' beat.
- Three ways to run her: grief-stricken guardian who only defends her shore; immovable terrain-boss in a coral arena; or a mercy fight the party can end without bloodshed if they retreat from her land.
Papatuanuku
Large celestial (titan), neutral good
CR 9 · 5,000 XP · GUIDELINEBody of the Living Land. Papatuanuku is rooted to the ground and any natural earth, stone, or water within 30 feet is difficult terrain for her enemies. While she stands on natural ground she has advantage on saving throws against being moved or knocked prone, and a creature that strikes her with a melee attack from within 5 feet takes 5 (1d10) piercing damage from grasping roots and coral.
Mother of Growing Things. At the start of each of her turns, Papatuanuku regains 10 hit points if she has at least 1 hit point and is in contact with natural earth or water. Fire damage she takes prevents this healing on her next turn.
Innate Spellcasting. Papatuanuku's spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 15). She can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: At will: druidcraft, entangle, spike growth. 3/day each: plant growth, sleep. 1/day each: insect plague, wall of thorns.
Actions
Multiattack. Papatuanuku makes two Grasping Root attacks.
Grasping Root. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) bludgeoning damage, and if the target is Large or smaller it is grappled (escape DC 15). Until the grapple ends the target is restrained and Papatuanuku cannot use that root on another target.
Tidal Surge (Recharge 5-6). Papatuanuku calls a swell of earth and brine in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw, taking 27 (6d8) bludgeoning damage and being knocked prone and pushed 15 feet on a failed save, or half as much damage and not moved on a success.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Cradle the Fallen. Reaction. When a creature she can see within 30 feet drops to 0 hit points, Papatuanuku may have nurturing roots lift it; the creature becomes stable and gains 7 (2d6) temporary hit points. She may use this on an enemy to spare it, ending its threat without killing it.
Legendary Actions (3/Round)
Root Strike. Papatuanuku makes one Grasping Root attack.
Shifting Earth (Costs 2 Actions). A 15-foot square of ground within 60 feet erupts. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage and fall prone. The square becomes difficult terrain until the start of her next turn.
Breath of Renewal (Costs 2 Actions). Papatuanuku exhales the warmth of the land. She and each ally within 30 feet ends one effect causing it to be charmed, frightened, or poisoned, and regains 9 (2d8) hit points.
A serene primordial woman rises from the seabed, her hair and limbs grown over with vine, root, and clustered coral, anemones blooming where her body meets the tide. She does not march to war; the war comes to her shore and the land itself answers.
Papatuanuku, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINELifted Sky (signature). Allies within 20 feet of Papatuanuku have advantage on saving throws against being knocked prone or moved against their will, for he holds the world open above them.
Actions
Branching Staff. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) bludgeoning damage.
Reactions
Root Shield. When an ally he can see within 15 feet is hit by an attack, Papatuanuku raises a lattice of living wood, granting that ally a +3 bonus to AC against that attack.
Her son, who tore the sky from her body and now stands sentinel over the world he opened, a guardian of growing things who fights only to keep his mother's children whole.
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 entangle to lock the field, then drag the front-liner with Grasping Root and never let go. Keep her on natural ground so her regeneration ticks; force the party to bring fire to stop the heal. Kill-priority for the DM: she wants to grapple the healer or mage, not the fighter.
Open by anchoring on natural earth, cast spike growth to wall off ranged threats, then Multiattack-grapple the two biggest melee bodies. Use Tidal Surge the moment three or more cluster, and spend legendary actions on Root Strike when the party tries to reposition. When bloodied, lean on Breath of Renewal and Cradle the Fallen so she outlasts them rather than out-damages them.
Treat her as a battlefield, not a bruiser: open insect plague over the party's backline, restrain the strikers, and reshape the ground each round with Shifting Earth. Kill-priority is the dedicated fire-dealer who shuts off her healing. Pair her with Tane and a wave of coral-grown adds so the party must split focus.
Put Papatuanuku 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 Papatuanuku?
Her home tier is CR 9 (XP 5,000), tuned for a party of levels 5-10. Because she has legendary actions and strong defensive reactions she plays up as a solo centerpiece; the table gives drop-in numbers for tier 1 (levels 1-4) and tier 3 (levels 11-15) if you need her bigger or smaller.
Can Papatuanuku be a companion or ally?
She is built as a solo boss, but her nurturing nature makes her a natural patron rather than a foe. If your party honors the land she may shelter them, healing the fallen with Cradle the Fallen and walling off pursuers; in that role run her as a benevolent guardian who acts only to protect, never to pursue. Her son Tane is provided as a lighter ally companion stat block.
How do I stop her regeneration?
Fire is the key. Any fire damage she takes prevents Mother of Growing Things from healing her on her next turn, and lifting her off natural earth or water with a spell like banishment or forced flight stops both her healing and her difficult-terrain trait entirely.
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
Played Papatuanuku at your table? Log in with your Obsidian Tavern account to leave a balance note, a war story, or a file issue — the sharpest reports get the block revised.
Log in to comment