Good "boss" design


Advice


So my players are about to meet the most powerful figure in a dystopian city-state overrun by demon-zombies.

what are some general tips and things to keep in mind when designing it? and what are some cool ideas for the boss itself?


General idea. Beware the action economy when designing a boss. Boss should rarely fight on their own. Have cannon fodder to balance the action economy in every boss encounter. This can also give you the ability to have the boss flee and be a recurring nemesis.

Overrun by demon-zombies, lots of possibilities to work with. Big bad could be a fallen angel looking for revenge against their former comrades. Could be a demon prince who started something that he can no longer control. Or a mad king who made a Faustian bargain in order to cling to power.

Try adapting the hero (not the villain) from the last movie that you watched as the bad boss. Can generate some interesting ideas.


1) decide if you're going to "cheat/bend the rules/use new rules" to keep this bad guy alive

IF
yes) figure out how you want to keep him alive.

No) be ready for him to die in 1 round and be an uneventful fight. Be sure to bring lots of supporting enemies so it's not just the party Vs 1 higher leveled guy. and be ready for him to die in 1 round and be an uneventful fight.

this of course assumes a decent system master for the players and using sound fighting plans.


Dot.


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Some more random boss thoughts (been burned way too often with bosses that took hours of careful design only to be petrified and killed immediately by resourceful players and lucky rolls):

Bosses are prepared. It should be very difficult to catch them completely wrong-footed.They don't fight fair. They aim to win the fight before it starts.

Bosses have the big picture. They should have an information network at their disposal to warn them of potential threats. They know more.

Bosses have resources. They have both time and treasure to stack the odds in their favour.

Bosses consider worst case scenarios. They have bug-out plans, emergency contingencies, insurance policies etc.

Bosses rarely fight to the death. You don't become the boss from being slow on the uptake. If they see the odds tilt against them, they don't go down with the ship just to make a point. They retreat and regroup.

Bosses remember. Had a run in with a boss or an important crony? The boss remembers. They get even. They punish with ruthlessness and thoroughness. Making a boss angry should be a very big deal.

Bosses have others take risks. That boss fight you were planning, the boss figures that having the party destroyed by one of his many minions is much better than getting his hands dirty.

Bosses are infuriating to players (and that's a good thing). The party is nothing to them. An annoyance to be crushed. They love taunting heroes with past victories. In order for this to happen, the boss has to have opportunities to communicate (or have players hear of the boss communications through an intermediary).

Bosses are memorable. The boss is not just a stronger version of a minion. They are unique. They are the equal to the hero and then some. The boss is over-the-top. More evil, more crafty, more cunning, more vicious than what the players expect. A boss fight entails all sorts of surprises. Players should have plenty of "oh boy, I sure wish we had known that before!" moments when dealing with a boss.

In general, we DMs often create bosses that really are better lieutenants than bosses. At least that is what I'm guilty of doing.


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"Boss" design kind of presupposes he is just there to be killed.
If that is Not the intent, or you don't want to make it easy:
Is there a particular reason the party can even directly get at him?
Has he used his resources intelligently?
How much does he know about the party? If it isn't a lot, why not?
Has he worn down the party's resources? If not, why not?
Has he spread misinformation about the party? Or more dangerously, has he engineered the party getting false information to base their strategies on?


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The Basics:

Terrain that favors the enemies.

At least two different kinds of minions specializing in different kinds of combat.

A way for the boss to escape if things aren't going their way.

Additional options that work well:

A maguffan object trying to be reached by both sides.

An event on a countdown timer.

A hazard or tool that needs to be neutralized via disable device, sunder or dispel magic.

An object that needs to be moved from one part of the battlefield to another.

A person who needs to be rescued (bonus points if they are enchanted or controlled so they are a threat as well).

An event that significantly changes the area of engagement during the fight.

Conditions that limit sight, movement or tactical options (fog, knee high water, low ceilings, tight corridors, etc)

Unique lieutenants.

Minions in reserve who arrive mid-fight.

Things that do not work:

"One Big Monster" encounter design.

Bosses with low saving throw bonuses. Any weakness will be exploited. One save failed is usually doom.

High HP or AC as a primary defense.

Extremely powerful items. (The PCs will eventually have it. Best not to let enemies have them unless there is a huge drawback with no workaround. If there's any way to exploit a drawback, PCs will find it.)


the 'boss' should be everyone in the darn room.

while you can focus on a singular boss as a centerpiece for that room, you need to arrange everything to support it. such as minions to push off melee, a cleric to cure debuffs/heal(because everyone will try to kill or cripple the boss first, so have a healer there as a primary target first so the boss has time to show off), various of things that debuff the party do the boss can use his big thing(melee, save or suck abilities, etc.). a single enemy is rarely ever good enough to be a satisfactory boss by himself, let the rest of the room be his pedestal.

otherwise, make the room/guards into a virtual living fortress so the party has to move past walls of meat while dodging arrows and fireballs in the back. of course, of the boss is any kind of schemer. he will have an escape route while the party is has to process the minions.

also, if you want to reuse the boss... presume that he will get killed and have some spares for the story to move forward. because the party will eventually find a way to end him prematurely.

Scarab Sages

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For boss encounters, one or more mythic monster templates.

I favor Agile and Invincible.


Have a whole party of bosses.

If you really want to reuse a singular boss, use a Lich that has a multi-part horcrux phylactery.


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A series of useful links, particularly the "9 ways to make PF combat difficult" is good.

Single bosses CAN work, but you should be careful to build them more defensively(so they don't instakill your characters and are not killed instantly) and grant them extra actions - the agile mythic template + the feat Hero's fortune are a good start.

What level is your party when they meet the boss?

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