Do I have the duo for you! Shocker Lizards, well, shock anything in their vicinity. Shamblers are immune to electricity and get quickened and temporary hit points when they're hit by it. The lizards are level 2 and the shambler level 6, so you either need to buff one or weaken the other for them to be in the same range, or have a shambler have several lizards as pets.
Other than that, the lizardfolk ancestry has the Breath Control feat. While standard lizardfolk NPCs don't have this, it's easy to slap it on them. Combine them with anything that has an airborne debuff (Toxic Cloud or Stinking Cloud spells, or xulgath or hezrou monsters, or just an airborne hazard/trap) and you're in for a good time.
Not sure if with the remaster spells still require vocal components, but that makes it extra nasty for spellcasters.
Clerics with Share Life (Shield Other), so that it's difficult to focus fire on either, plus they can Heal so it's likely they'll both survive until the end. Combine this with Fast Healing/Regeneration creatures, i.e. Onidoshi (Ogre Magi), as in I had a pair of twin Ogre Magi High Priests with this in 3.X, but it'd be even simpler to build in PF2 since you only want select spells.
Another thing you can do with Onidoshi twins is to pretend there's only one, with them swapping who's invisible (perhaps while the other Regenerates) and maybe they pretend they can teleport. Though yeah, blood might give the ruse away, it only needs to work short while so one pull the frontline away from the fragiles so their buddy can sneak in.
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Amphisbaena w/ Medusa, but yeah a 3 level difference so that needs balancing for a double-boss role, but I like the imagery of her wearing the snake like a boa.
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Shapeshifters with each other, so party thinks there's one type of creature hiding as another, but there are two (or more) different types, maybe even swapping places perhaps so they use silver on the one who hates cold iron and vice versa. Many creatures can become animals (and fight with their own stats) if that suits the adventure.
To continue with the lightning theme, the Charnel Creation (old Flesh Golem) also has a "power-up" when hit by electricity.
Seems like electricity damage is quite bad. Are there examples of creatures who react positively to other element types?
That reminds me of a combo I built with a Dark Naga & Flesh Golem where the golem holds the doorway while the naga fires lightning bolts through it. And if the naga hastes itself, it can move in line of sight, cast, and move out of line of sight each round.
Similar could be done with an electric breath weapon, storm-themed Sorcerer, or of course the Shambler could work as the blocker. Heck, somebody to the side w/ Electric Arc who can only see the front PC could also work (perhaps a Druid w/ Heal for the Shambler and some Lightning Bolts too).
Similarly one could cast a Wall of Fire (or two) down a corridor blocked by a Fire Giant whose Flaming Stroke also likes corridors.
Corridors can be rough, and I'd say use sparingly, but maybe have it depend on how defense-minded one's monsters are or if PCs triggered/allowed an alarm. And similar effects can be had with doorways anyway. I had one PFS player (playing above their level so perhaps wise more than paranoid) who hung back like 100' in an extremely long corridor because of fear of line effects.
I love the idea of the fire giant w/ fire wall caster defending a corridor at the start of a dungeon, being basically unapproachable by a lower-level party. But by maneuvering around the dungeon, the players can get behind them and fight them in a more favorable open area.
Yeah, that's one where preparation (or stealth) would make a big difference. Heightened Resist Elements, some cold spells, maybe an effect to get a flanker through or break a wall, all would be strong tactics a party might not have available on first contact. So the party gets rewarded when it returns.
And I like the image of players who respect the threat of a Fire Giant saying to themselves that it'll be a fierce battle then having a Wall of Fire pop up. "Run away, run away!"
Oh, there are some good ideas here, but I don’t think you are looking for just boss encounters, correct? I’m trying to think up some encounters that aren’t necessarily end of the chapter or section duo combinations. Instead you can have memorable encounters that embody something more, such as an elaborate kobold trap that leverages a specific type of hazard with a particular creature. Hmm. I’ll have to think about this a bit more.
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Oh, there are some good ideas here, but I don’t think you are looking for just boss encounters, correct? I’m trying to think up some encounters that aren’t necessarily end of the chapter or section duo combinations. Instead you can have memorable encounters that embody something more, such as an elaborate kobold trap that leverages a specific type of hazard with a particular creature. Hmm. I’ll have to think about this a bit more.
I think the OP does indicate they want just boss encounters, or at least "two equally strong buddies with synergy". I don't think having one of the buddies be a trap or hazard qualifies (as interesting as that is).
I think the OP does indicate they want just boss encounters, or at least "two equally strong buddies with synergy". I don't think having one of the buddies be a trap or hazard qualifies (as interesting as that is).
I know that, and was ‘dotting’ the conversation with a comment for future reference to the thread. As I said, there’s some good ideas here.
However, a ‘boss encounter’ at low levels will be a mid-chapter event at later levels. Can’t they both be dynamic? It’s unfortunate that most people don’t see a complex hazard as an equal complement to a creature encounter. Synergy between two creatures is good, but it doesn’t really push the limits of what we can do with 2e’s more tightly balanced encounter design.
Is a good boss encounter only two creatures that synergize? If so, I’ll keep that in mind after thinking further.
Everything you say is true and agreed upon by the majority of GMs (I'd think), but the OP didn't ask for general boss advice, rather for favorite duos. A lot could be gained by covering the broadest varieties of dynamic boss fights, but this thread only addresses one subset.
If you want to start another thread regarding all types of bosses, especially unusual combinations within active settings, you'll likely find a lot of the posters here participating there too.