Making A Mid-Level Boss Last


Advice


Thought exercise time:

You are given a very nasty Gargantuan monster with an extremely deadly Swallow Whole ability. It is hasted and gets two potent attacks per round. It has max hit points for its level. This is an encounter for a party of six 8th-11th-level PCs (the creature itself is about as powerful as you'd expect, considering it's fighting mostly solo). Assume the party is well-optimized and focused on DPR.

The creature is stunned for the entire first round. Your goal is to make this encounter last at least six rounds; the longer, the better. What tactics do you use to:

A) Avoid a ton of PC fatalities (though they are acceptable)
B) Keep the creature alive and dangerous as long as possible.

Ideas on statistical tweaks for this creature are acceptable, though tactical ideas are the focus. The creature can behave as stupid or intelligently as you like, but outright fleeing is not an option.

The goal here is to tackle the old problem of "rocket tag" that surfaces at higher levels. How do you extend a 6-on-1 combat in a fair, fun way? Giving everything effects like displacement and mage armor/shield isn't exactly the best answer.

Silver Crusade

1st things 1st, give it 1.5 max hp or 2x max hp.

I'll get back later on tactics.

Give it awesome blow, send the fighters flying.

Give it SR = 6+HD.

Focus on trip/grapple/awesome blow abilities. Possibly a grab attack.


Some ideas:

Have it focus on debilitating combat maneuvers like Trip that slow the enemy down. Drawback: AoOs could potentially make this a very bloody tactic.

Instead of stunning it, allow it to behave as if on Total Defense for the first round. Drawback: I have it on good authority that players hate Total Defense. Plus, this is kinda cheating on the exercise.

Give it Regeneration and a burrow speed. Have it enter "sleep mode" when it gets badly injured, fleeing underground to heal. Ooh, this could be cool for a recurring ghoul villain. But drawback: This would get hella annoying. The point is to make combats more epic. Drawing them out through the GMing equivalent of choppy editing seems to defeat the purpose.

Have it fly, dispel its enemies' flying spells, then stun everyone. Drawback: Your players might find out where you live.

Mooks. Drawback: Again, kiiinda cheating. The idea of an epic 6-on-1 should be achievable all on its own, but the rules don't really support it. The idea of this exercise is to force it to work.

Give it a shitton of HP and have it use cool stuff like Snatch to throw people around instead of killing them outright. Drawback: Giving it bonus HP is still kinda cheating, but I actually like this one.

Cheat like the dickens. Drawback: Kiiiinda cheating.

Liberty's Edge

Kobold Cleaver wrote:
Have it fly, dispel its enemies' flying spells, then stun everyone. Drawback: Your players might find out where you live.

Too soon.


Feral! *Nervous laughter* Uh, fancy seeing you here! Hope you aren't still mad about, you know, anything that might currently be happening elsewhere. And you know, I was just saying to rorek over here—
*Bolts*


Kobold Cleaver wrote:

Some ideas:

Have it fly, dispel its enemies' flying spells, then stun everyone. Drawback: Your players might find out where you live.

Now you're bragging? Maybe I SHOULD find out where you live. =p


Hey, I'm not bragging. I was responsible for nothing in that list except execution. And him having Dispel Magic, but that's a bonus spell, so it's barely even my fault!
Seriously, I wasn't trying to brag. More like just riffing on how horribly brutal the encounter is. This is one of the ideas on here that I don't think anyone should seriously use as a way to make big battles more "climactic".

rorek55 wrote:

1st things 1st, give it 1.5 max hp or 2x max hp.

I'll get back later on tactics.

Give it awesome blow, send the fighters flying.

Give it SR = 6+HD.

Focus on trip/grapple/awesome blow abilities. Possibly a grab attack.

The trouble with grappling is that it tends to keep the boss monster occupied with 1/6th of its enemies. That said, Snatch is awesome. Awesome Blow kicks equal amounts of ass.

Spell Resistance might be a good trick. No more than 6+, of course, since SR can really cheese off a caster. Not a great thing to do in an epic final battle.


Crazy as it is, an effective way of making a fight draw out is giving the baddies HP+1/2. Doesn't make the encounter deadlier outright, but is very effective at making the fights last a round or two longer.

Hero points can be used to make big baddies last long enough to recur (oh look, I'm going to act out of turn now).

If the creature is caster based (such as a dragon), Project Image is a woefully unappreciated spell that can cause the party to waste resources on a nonexistent combatant. Other illusion spells can fill the gap if needed (such as programmed image of the dragon sleeping on its horde while the real one dozes in a nearby chamber)

Misdirection or misrepresentation prior to the fight to prepare the party for the wrong fight. (See the case of the Albino Red Dragon).

Alternatively, if you want another way to make the fight epic, you can always use the same tactic that some of the more recent APs use.

Pathfinder Adventure Path bosses since Mummy's Mask:

Mythic. Just on the boss, never used anywhere else in the adventure. Throw the players out of whack, catch them off guard as the Big Bad goes again before their turn comes back around. Surge on a climatic roll, such as a vital save against a debilitating spell or landing the devastating crit. No matter how it's executed, it will shake things up.


a few other ideas:

- what is the terrain around the boss monster? Can you make it work for the monster's type/ecology? (a burrowing monster might create a maze of relatively small tunnels burrowed through the ground but may initially attack the party by erupting out of a nearby wall, attacking one party member and continuing his movement into the next wall (surprise round - but perhaps reward dwarves or others with an earth/stone association in that encounter?

- what treasure are you planning for the encounter? Could any of that treasure interact with the monster some intriguing manner? (making the combat a bit tougher perhaps but also creating certain new challenges for the party (and perhaps giving a hint of what the treasure might eventually be - even a non-tool using enemy could use some types of magic items (or reflavor others to have similar effects - say a concoction of natural substances that result in what would otherwise be an alchemical or magical effect

- does the creature's passage or other actions in combat create any emergent challenges for the party? (a burrowing monster might leave rubble in his wake such that the tunnels he carves out default to difficult terrains. Or possibly a creature that swallows adventurers whole might excrete something "intriguing"

- back on the subject of terrain - though you say Gargantuan as the size is that actually the most challenging for the party? - consider than something gargantuan is likely in a space that can accommodate her - a mostly clear environment may seem to work in a large monster's favor but I think it actually woks best for the party as it gives them room to spread out, avoid being clustered together and for ranged attackers to attack at range while a likely slow moving creature tries to get in range of them

- how did you plan on hasting this creature? Giving a solo some even limited class levels can be pretty potent (though taking a creature up to a level where it can cast Haste might be a bit much) but is there some other way you can trigger this effect? (or is it just so that the creature gets a few more attacks?


How open are you to houseruling? I would make separate "parts" of the gargantuan boss each as separate creatures with their own HP and initiative. Each "part" should have plenty of debuffs, aside from the one with the deadly swallow whole. Maybe the claws can trip, the horns can awesome blow, the wings create wind-walls, and the tail shoots spines as readied ranged attacks to interrupt spellcasters. Maybe the creature has a bunch of fungal growth that counts as another "part" that casts cure deadly wounds / restoration as a supernatural ability every round as a standard action, which savvy players might target first.


Kobold Cleaver wrote:

Thought exercise time:

You are given a very nasty Gargantuan monster with an extremely deadly Swallow Whole ability. It is hasted and gets two potent attacks per round. It has max hit points for its level. This is an encounter for a party of six 8th-11th-level PCs (the creature itself is about as powerful as you'd expect, considering it's fighting mostly solo). Assume the party is well-optimized and focused on DPR.

The creature is stunned for the entire first round. Your goal is to make this encounter last at least six rounds; the longer, the better. What tactics do you use to:

A) Avoid a ton of PC fatalities (though they are acceptable)
B) Keep the creature alive and dangerous as long as possible.

Ideas on statistical tweaks for this creature are acceptable, though tactical ideas are the focus. The creature can behave as stupid or intelligently as you like, but outright fleeing is not an option.

The goal here is to tackle the old problem of "rocket tag" that surfaces at higher levels. How do you extend a 6-on-1 combat in a fair, fun way? Giving everything effects like displacement and mage armor/shield isn't exactly the best answer.

Give it DR and extra hit points well beyond max to make sure it survives the first round. Also give it high saves and chances to reroll so that it does not trade out one status affect for another one.

Also give it minions(to soak up some of those attacks). One creature vs that many people is not likely to go well unless you don't mind fudging dice.

Grand Lodge

I would consider making the terrain difficult or at least have obstructions in the way. That would get in the way of the martial types charging in right away. maybe a partial concealment/miss chance. that way ranged types and blasters might have a chance to miss

Dark Archive

I'd give it the simple mythic Invincible template. It gives it DR 10 Epic, 4 points of natural armor, Resist 15 to all elements, extra saves, extra hp, and the ability to try and block 1 attack per turn. It would raise the CR by 1, and should give the creature a fighting chance against a 6 to 1 action economy.

While Mythic can make a group of players rather crazy in terms of ability it gives you wonderful utility with bosses, and makes the one huge boss against an entire group an actual battle rather than the boss getting a single turn then exploding.


+1 on Awesome Blow. You can send the heroes sprawling!

DR.

I'm thinking of one of the Sand Worms from Dune, which I used for my campaign: DR, Awesome Blow, difficult terrain (so no charging it), Crush. Between enough HP and DR, that should help it last more than a round. It was, of course, vulnerable to water, which - when the players realized this - they used to drive it away.


A goz mask or fogcutter lenses and misty/smoky environment will go along way. You can also just add the ability to the creature.

Let it have combo heal/breath of life ability that operates as an immediate action that auto triggers when HP goes below 0 or conditions that would deny actions. (daze, stunned, staggered)

While fog would reduce the effectiveness gaze attacks are an auto thing.

An attack with a weapon the misses lets him sunder the weapon (hard skin)

The drake ability of speed surge is great for a boss. (swift move)

AoEs are better then full attacks for keeping the party alive.

Standard action whirlwind attack.

Maticore tail spines are great for ranged attacks.

poison skin that adds poison to natural attacks and poisons you if you hit with a natural weapon.

High DR with a plot related work around. (Must play a song on a stringed instrument with in 60 feet of it. Make a perform check, reduce DR by the check. Base DR of 40)

I would let ghost sound play the song as well and use CL+int/cha for the skill check.

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