Ptah
Ptah — The Encounter
The Opener, Craftsman-God who spoke the world into being · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Ptah
Before the river, before the reed, there was the thought of Ptah and the word upon his tongue. The craftsmen who carved the great obelisks named him first among makers, for it is said he conceived all things in his heart and called them into being with his voice, and so every chisel-stroke is an echo of his creating word. He does not rage as the storm-gods rage; he labors. His was-staff, crowned with the ankh of life, is at once mason's rule and royal scepter, and where he sets its butt to the earth, stone remembers the shapes he wills into it. Petitioners bring him broken things, hoping the Opener will speak them whole again. Yet a god who can build can also unmake: those who deface the sacred works learn that the same word which raised the obelisk can fold their bones into its foundation.
Run Ptah in Sixty Seconds
- Hold the construct as your opener. First action each fight is Word of Making (bonus action) so a Large stone servant soaks attacks and the party must divide damage two ways.
- Sculpting Word is your cluster-punisher. Fire it the moment two or more heroes stand within 20 feet of each other; the restrain is worth more than the damage.
- Kill-priority for the DM: keep Ptah behind cover. He is squishy for his tier, so park the construct between him and the front line and snipe with reach.
- When bloodied, lean on Reshape. Spend the reaction on the single biggest incoming attack to deny a crit or a finisher; replace the construct if it fell.
- Three ways to run him: shaper (control with words, never melee), warden (plant him by the obelisk objective and dare them to approach), or support-caster bolted onto a flagship boss as the battlefield-locker.
Ptah
Medium celestial, lawful neutral
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEDivine Resistance. Ptah has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Word of Making. Signature. Ptah is a creator-god who shapes matter by speaking its true name. As a bonus action, he conjures a Large construct of living stone in an unoccupied space within 30 feet (AC 15, 22 HP, slam +6 for 9 [2d6+2] bludgeoning). It acts on his initiative and crumbles to dust if Ptah falls. He can have only one such construct at a time.
Actions
Multiattack. Ptah makes two attacks with his was-staff, or casts one spell and makes one staff attack.
Was-Staff. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) radiant damage.
Sculpting Word (Recharge 5-6). Ptah speaks a creating word at a point he can see within 60 ft. Each creature in a 20-foot radius must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 31 (7d8) force damage as stone erupts and binds them on a failed save, or half as much on a success. A creature that fails is also restrained until the end of its next turn.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Reshape. Reaction. When Ptah is hit by an attack, he reshapes the air around him into shielding stone, gaining +3 AC against that attack, potentially causing it to miss.
A serene artisan-god in a nemes headdress lifts an ankh-topped was-staff before a towering hieroglyph-graven obelisk, his cloak streaming as if the world itself bent to his shaping word.
Ptah, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINETireless Servant (signature). The Ptah needs no air, food, drink, or sleep, and is immune to poison and exhaustion. While within 30 feet of Ptah, it has advantage on saving throws.
Actions
Mason's Maul. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8+3) bludgeoning damage.
Reactions
Answer the Call. When an ally Ptah can see within 5 feet of the Ptah is hit by an attack, the Ptah steps in and takes the damage in their stead.
A faience funerary figurine quickened by Ptah's word, sworn to labor in his stead through this world and the next.
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 by conjuring the stone construct (Word of Making) so the party splits fire two ways, then poke from reach with the was-staff. Save Sculpting Word for the moment two or more PCs cluster. Kill-priority is the construct only if it pins your healer; otherwise focus Ptah. Pair him with a flagship boss as the line-shaper.
Lead with the construct, then Sculpting Word the instant the front line bunches up to restrain and soften them. Keep the construct between Ptah and the melee, using Reshape to turn the heaviest hit into a miss. He is the controller piece, not the centerpiece. Pair him with a bigger threat and let him lock down the room while it kills.
Construct first, Sculpting Word on the densest cluster, then alternate staff strikes and recharged words. Use Reshape on the alpha-striker's biggest attack each round. He fragile-controls, so screen him with the construct and any other adds. Pair him with a solo-capable flagship; Ptah is the wall, not the hammer.
Put Ptah 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 Ptah?
Natively CR 6 (Tier 2, level 5-10), a roughly 2,300 XP threat. The block scales cleanly: run him at CR 2 numbers for a Tier 1 party or CR 11 numbers for Tier 3 by swapping the AC, HP, to-hit, and save DC from the tier table. The traits and actions never change, only the numbers.
Can Ptah be a companion or ally?
Yes. As a creator-god he makes a natural patron or quest-giver rather than a frontline fighter. If you want a fielded ally, use his Shabti, Bound companion (AC 15, 74 HP) as a bodyguard that answers the call to take hits for the party, while Ptah lends words of making from behind the lines.
Is Ptah a good solo boss?
Not by himself. He has no legendary actions, so a full party will action-economy him quickly. He shines as an add-on controller, conjuring constructs and restraining clusters while a true centerpiece boss does the killing. Pair him with a flagship adversary for the intended encounter.
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 Ptah 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.
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