So, I have a group that is about to finish their module and fight their big bad (The Tattered Man). One problem, the one provided in the module is not scary, it’s just another throw down. Furthermore, it does not really work with how they have been interacting with the Tattered Man thus far (He has been stalking them through the halls and scaring the piss out of them). Should I
A) Make it a chase deal through the fog outside
B) Make it a running battle through the Asylum having the Tattered Man feeding and hunting the survivors as he plays hit and run with the PCs
C) Just keep the standing fight and just change up the Tattered Man so that the fight is more interesting that way.
I'm welcome to other ideas those are just the three I think of.
B&C
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My answer depends on how hard you want to push the PCs and how many changes to his abilities you are willing to make. A suggestion of mine is to isolate each PC and act as if they are encountering him alone, when in reality they are all battling him in the same room, they are just subsumed into a nightmare hallucination where they believe they are all alone. Give them saves to disbelieve, possibly with a bonus if they call out to each other (Make the other PCs sound really far away though).
There are some heavy implications for this in terms of how combat progresses, such as a PC cleric failing the save not being able to see who to heal. But still, what is scarier than facing such a terrifying foe, seemingly by yourself with no one to aid you and on the monster's own turf? Not much.
If he’s been scaring the piss out of them, then don’t have him fight the PCs. Hell, don’t even give him stats. If any of the PCs try to fight them, have him do something that turns the party on itself: possess the schmuck that charges on him, summon a truly nasty monster to chase the players, or simply OHK an attacking player.
That or you could send them into a death trap a la Saw: the party enters, but circumstances force them to turn on each other. Perhaps the room is flooding with poison and there’s only one antidote. Or maybe someone’s loved one is on the line and whoever dies, their significant other dies with them. At the end, only one might be left standing... and then the tattered man comes and greets the player a job well done. He passes the mantle of “The Tattered Man” onto the survivor and disappears around a corner, never to be seen again. Then another group of adventurers arrive...
Is this for the end of the campaign? So it would be cool if everyone lived, but just as cool if it was a dramatic TPK or lone survivor situation?
Adding the Advanced Template, some warrior or fighter levels, and easy to use static bonus feats like Ability Focus, Iron Will, Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus, etc., might be fun and easy to add to. I honestly have no idea what the Tattered Man is, so take my advice with a bag of salt.
Increasing the Action Economy of the BBEG is always fun for the GM. Combat Reflexes, Quicken Spell and Quicken Spell-Like Ability, Dual Initiative, minions, lair actions and legendary actions cribbed from 5E, an extra standard action per round, auras or gazes and other passive attacks or hazards, etc.
I've played that module and I agree, that encounter was an anticlimax.
If I were GM I would go with option A.
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Um, okay should there be some spoiler tags here?!!
I hopped over to 'General Discussion' to see if I could throw in my two cents on something generic and, you guys are talking about Strange Aeons, right?!
I just started playing in the AP and it sounds like something I'm going to run into in a couple sessions! We've played two sessions and two or three things here jumped out as things we've encountered. I don't appreciate the spoilers, and knowing who the BBEG in this part of the AP is a pretty significant spoiler!
Please use Spoiler Tags.
I'll also Flag the OP so it gets put in the Forum discussing the Adventure Path.
The chase thing seems good as long as they DO run from it. I think that possibly having some mcguffin in the sanctuary or having the sanctuary reduce his power or something would be a neat way to go.
You may go here for a set of articles on how he's designing bosses and whatnot. I think if you want a fight and want it to be more "epic", having a boss that transforms (essentially multiple singleton opponents who, to the players, are the same guy; but the game mechanics basically just treat each one as it's own encounter.)
EDIT: I actually meant this series, but the other one is a good read.
