Ideas on how to make a boss monster encounter work with just the one monster?


Advice


So yeah I've heard it all before, The turn order is the ultimate killer of single monster boss encounters, I get that its better to have some minions floating about but I just can't get over the idea of wanting to make just one big monster work and not have it end too quickly. Part of me wishes I could just give the monster multiple turns on the turn order but I'm not too sure how balanced that would be, Not to mention I'm not even sure that would solve the problem so I wouldn't want to risk trying to pull something like that. Does anyone have any ideas on just how to make one big baddy in a boss fight work without any sort of minions? Thanks in advance for all the help.


Which monster?


Besides the obvious environmental settings and traps, here are some things to help survival:

Minor Cloak of Displacement,
Scarab of Protection,
Contingency,
Lichdom,
Cut/Smash From the Air,
Spontaneous Healing,
Preserve Organs 75%,
Mummification,
Resurgent transformation,
Nanite Resurgence


A few options. There's a mythic template that gives a second turn. Depending on the party's level I'd only recommend this one if the Damage of the boss isn't enough to drop a PC per turn. Unless the PCs have access to Heal or Breath of Life effects, then do whatever.

If the PCs have multiple high damage characters, I let the monster stay alive until each PC has done the boss's HP in damage.

Multi-Stage bosses is kind of an evolution of that last idea. Start with high AC or whatever, at after it runs out of HP, (behind the screen) switch to a monster with lower AC and higher damage and etc. Or have the creature emit more and more powerful elemental damage as its multiple health pools are depleted. You can score that CR wise as if there were multiple creatures, because there are, technically.

In terms of tactics, casters are good if you can cripple the PC's mobility. The more full attacks you deny the party, the longer your boss lives. Removing their flying, slowing, staggering, etc. Blocking line of sight and line of effect with clouds, walls, etc. This all depends on what the abilities of the PCs are before you can get any real good advice.

Though a trick I've used is that I always have all the necessary buffs running at the start of the fight. No boss should spend their first turn casting haste, energy resistance, and freedom of movement or etc.

Shadow Lodge

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Well the mythic rules have the "Agile" monster template which gives the creature dual initiative, which is exactly what you suggest (2 turns per round).

If you're set on not using minions, then I think environment is the way to go. Sometimes something as simple as standing in a doorway is good enough. Some random ideas:

A mad man in a theater. He swings across the room, hiding behind drapery, popping out on balconies, swaps out disguises, fakes the players out with prop monsters, using hit and run tactics and jury-rigged traps, trying to stay one step ahead of the heroes.

A giant gorilla in the jungle. It literally reshapes the environment throughout the fight, tearing down trees, flinging boulders, blocking off paths and creating new ones. It knocks pcs flying with awesome blow or picks them up and chucks them off cliffs or into a river, then gives chase, moving the fight from one area to another.

A kung-fu master who balances on top of some training jungle gym structure, catches and throws back arrows, hides behind cover to avoid spells, kicks melee guys off who try to climb up to him.

A wizard type character should never, imo, be a solo boss. The wizard is a mastermind type of villain, their whole schtick is having minions, whether through summoning, charming, animating, or whatever. Also the wizard must have a screen of minions or they just die pitifully.


There's the lair actions thing. The boss controls some element of the environment like traps (hidden trapdoors, alchemical apparatus, falling masonry, doors which slide shut and lock, guards arriving soon) and they or the 'lair' have actions to control these. It avoids having the boss TPK the party with their best attacks via two sets of actions a round, while mitigating one set of actions loses to a full parties'.


From a storytelling perspective, there are lots of single-monster encounters. That's what most monster movies are. Think about Godzilla and King Kong. Think about The Old Man and the Sea.

Liberty's Edge

You need something to balance action economy. Traps, environment, even just splitting the party can all work.

Another option is to use a higher CR monster than normal but whose damage is nerfed in some way. I wouldn't recommend doing this often but once off might be okay. (Its higher defenses can make for a frustrating encounter though.)


Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

There are a few ways to help single "boss" monsters more of a challenge than normal. Be careful not to overdo it, however; a stronger single enemy gives a smaller margin for error between a "tough fight" and a TPK.

1) Automatic effects such as auras, frightful presence, some gaze attacks, etc.

2) Multiple attacks, especially if they can be combined with movement.

3) Ranged attacks. One big weakness for a lot of "traditional" single monsters is that they are mostly melee brutes with no or almost no way to deal with PCs that stay at a distance with archery, blasting, etc.

4) Use of terrain and/or hit-and-run tactics.


Most monsters intended to be single creature encounters have built in methods to threaten an entire party. Usually you'll see a lot of natural attacks, a few abilities that can be used as a free action, Aura and AoE attacks. Study the monsters abilities and look at the terrain and make sure you start off in a position where the monster is making the most of its abilities.

With monsters that mostly rely on physical abilities figure out if it is worth it to stand still or keep moving between attacks. Try to use positioning to limit the number of attackers.

Also when it comes to bosses, have the boss prep a defense against the most common spells used by the party. Resist energy, shield spell, whatever seems appropriate. They are the boss of a dungeon, there should be some method for the boss to get some info on what the party is doing. Don't try to make the boss immune to everything, but spoil the day if your party has a one-trick pony.


Wayfinder + Clear Spindle
Bead of Newt Prevention


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perhaps the easiest way is just to multiply the hit points by the amount of party members. If a party member falls, subtract that portion from the monsters HP.

I've used this for years and it works pretty well in Pathfinder to prolong a boss fight without having to increase their actual threat level.

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