In the near future I'll be running a campaign based on old school Final Fantasy and so far it's been surprisingly simple: horses into chocobos, gnomes into moogles, etc.
Then I started thinking about those awesome bossfights with Kefka, Sephiroth, et all and figured I should have at least a couple multi stage fights. Any ideas? The only thing that I can think of is a lich the pcs batter into a demilich, then maybe a phylactery with a cl? Anyway, I plan on the party going from lvl 2-10, take a break, then 12-20.
Thanks!
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I once TPK'd a party with a 2-stage boss fight. The good news is that the players remember the fight VERY WELL.
I had a Hospitaler/Warrior of the Holy Light level 8 with a bunch of little fighter-mooks. After one-hitting all the mooks (stupid Synthesis Summoners...) the only one left was the buffer Pally who got hit. Hard. Her body then morphed into a Trumpet Archon. Now, I might have been new to GMing at the time, but both encounters were CR 14, and the Cleric had wasted her big spells on half the mooks, and the party monk was team-killed for joining the Paladin's side instead of the rest of the party's side(Evil campaign and whatnot). That means that half of the party was down, and they were fighting something of major power. The Archon didn't one hit them, but they didn't have the fighting power to take it on and were down a few people. I resurrected them with the main NPC coming in to take the loot and stuff, saying that "It'll be worth it." That was a fun encounter.
TL;DR, Paladin-Archon. Late game, or weaken it for earlier usage.
Good show. My savage dming id always cheers at a dead synthesis summoner lol.
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A vengeful undead molting from the husk of the corpse of the fallen boss is always a good second stage. Not unlike your Demi Lich, but a ghost, or banshee? Alternative ply you could have a villainous alchemist, or priest of lamashtu drink "the final elixer" and cause a hulk like abomination to mutate / burst from them. Same idea, but the aliens approach, a gestating (mind controlling) bug creature rips from its host after you slay the host. That one is great if you want you Gillian to be some on unexpected like the loveable local priest, who until his mind was taken over was a nice guy. I guess the final idea I have is the second phase arriving by result of magic, so a wizard with his dying breath cracks his staff renting a hole in space and time letting something terrible in.
There's a multi-stage boss fight in the adventure "Festival of Dreams" (adventure #9 in the War of the Burning Sky adventure path).
Good ideas all. Thanks!
Polymorph seams to also work.
Fight a human warrior with fiery red hair, he goes down on one knee after taking a good beating... as the party thinks he's about to surrender he starts to laugh, "Fools! You have no idea what you are dealing with! Behold my true shape!" He starts to grow, a tail emerges, wings bursts forth from his arched back, horns jut from his head as his hair falls off and suddenly before their eyes stands a huge red dragon!
His mouth opens and 'reflex save!' fire spews forth from his throat...
If you do this, you are required by law to use one of the following phrases:
- "This isn't even my final form!"
- "No one who has seen me in this form has lived to tell about it!!!"
- "I have only begun to fight!"
- "Now you'll face my true power!"
How about "Make my monster grow!" Can't believe I never considered greater polymorph.
I think the classic multi-stage boss fight is dragons.
They make a couple passes with breath weapons, then they come down and melee for a while, rinse, repeat.