Okay so my players have just found out the location of the medusa that has been going around and turning npcs, including a young dragon, to stone. they will only be level 3 when they get to her hideout and are able to fight her, but medusas are usually cr 6 i believe. The party is made up of a bard, fighter, druid, warlock and blood hunter; and the fight im planning is to have her first fight them with her blindfold on so she cant petrify them, then once theyve defeated that stage her skin will turn to stone and she starts actually trying to kill them using a mix of snake hair and statues that she conjures from the ground.
id like for it to be a challenge but not outright deadly or a tpk, how am i supposed to do this at only third level?
The "easy" option is to give the party an NPC who can keep them fighting when things go wrong.
The "better" option would be to have the medusa arrive weakened from a recent conflict, so that the effective CR is reduced.
The "best" option would be to give the monster an environmental vulnerability to discover and exploit. Maybe the medusa has a magic fountain that it can use to negate petrification for its own purposes, and/or, in classic fashion, a previous hero had brought a mirrored shield into the lair, but managed to get killed. The players can then attempt to use the shield as a mirror to reflect the curse. etc...
Whether the monster is CR appropriate or a deity, a plot device can level the playing field.
Otherwise, consider allowing the TPK to be a possibility, and plan for what happens afterward. Maybe if they all turn to stone, someone saves them, but a decade has passed and the world has changed in some meaningful way.
Looking at the Medusa, I think you can do some minor adjustments so it won't be too awful. A party that size at level 3 will likely kill her in two to three rounds if they go full offense. Because her HP and AC aren't incredibly high. You know your party's average damage better than me though, so you can always lower the medusa's HP too.
And if they know they are fighting a medusa, or just anything that can petrify with a glance, they will likely want to prepare. They might try to get mirrored surfaces, scout the area, and rest up. You can encourage that by letting them find what they are looking for as they get ready. It's always more fun for players to have a plan work. And to turn an enemy's attack against them is exciting.
The biggest concern is how quickly she will be able to take out PCs with the Gaze attack, and the snake hair poison. Anything that can one shot them is a problem. I think that's what I would adjust. Maybe make the snake hair poison only 1 or 2d6 damage. Reduce the saving throw DC for the Gaze to 11 or 12. And remove the instant petrification part if they fail by 5 or more. Just have the first failed save start turning them to stone. Maybe let them move at half speed, and have disadvantage on attacks, but not full incapacitation. Then if they fail the save again from her Gaze attack, have it fully turn them.
This will give the scary effect you want for them feeling like there is real danger of turning to stone, without the instant kill. You can describe the feeling of their bodies hardening, and give them the sense of urgency, but not just remove them all instantly.
Someone will probably still fail both rolls during the fight. So be prepared with some way to fix them. Even if it's just a high enough level NPC cleric they can take them to. Or Memnosyne's example of a magic fountain found nearby is good.
I hope it's great boss fight and you all have fun!
A party of 5 level 3 characters is probably capable of beating a medusa in a straight fight -- just cast fog cloud or darkness to remove its gaze as a factor and then whale on it. It won't be a terribly interesting fight, though.
The easiest and most plausible way to do this is to have them fight the Medusa only for until it gets to about half its hit points, then it starts summoning animated status to cover its escape. Most monsters don’t have a death wish. You could also make it extremely clear that this is a very dangerous encounter that may result in a party wipe if they’re not clever about it, and then have them go through a bunch of interactions and skill challenges designed to arm them for the upcoming conflict.
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Okay so my players have just found out the location of the medusa that has been going around and turning npcs, including a young dragon, to stone. they will only be level 3 when they get to her hideout and are able to fight her, but medusas are usually cr 6 i believe. The party is made up of a bard, fighter, druid, warlock and blood hunter; and the fight im planning is to have her first fight them with her blindfold on so she cant petrify them, then once theyve defeated that stage her skin will turn to stone and she starts actually trying to kill them using a mix of snake hair and statues that she conjures from the ground.
id like for it to be a challenge but not outright deadly or a tpk, how am i supposed to do this at only third level?
The "easy" option is to give the party an NPC who can keep them fighting when things go wrong.
The "better" option would be to have the medusa arrive weakened from a recent conflict, so that the effective CR is reduced.
The "best" option would be to give the monster an environmental vulnerability to discover and exploit. Maybe the medusa has a magic fountain that it can use to negate petrification for its own purposes, and/or, in classic fashion, a previous hero had brought a mirrored shield into the lair, but managed to get killed. The players can then attempt to use the shield as a mirror to reflect the curse. etc...
Whether the monster is CR appropriate or a deity, a plot device can level the playing field.
Otherwise, consider allowing the TPK to be a possibility, and plan for what happens afterward. Maybe if they all turn to stone, someone saves them, but a decade has passed and the world has changed in some meaningful way.
Looking at the Medusa, I think you can do some minor adjustments so it won't be too awful. A party that size at level 3 will likely kill her in two to three rounds if they go full offense. Because her HP and AC aren't incredibly high. You know your party's average damage better than me though, so you can always lower the medusa's HP too.
And if they know they are fighting a medusa, or just anything that can petrify with a glance, they will likely want to prepare. They might try to get mirrored surfaces, scout the area, and rest up. You can encourage that by letting them find what they are looking for as they get ready. It's always more fun for players to have a plan work. And to turn an enemy's attack against them is exciting.
The biggest concern is how quickly she will be able to take out PCs with the Gaze attack, and the snake hair poison. Anything that can one shot them is a problem. I think that's what I would adjust. Maybe make the snake hair poison only 1 or 2d6 damage. Reduce the saving throw DC for the Gaze to 11 or 12. And remove the instant petrification part if they fail by 5 or more. Just have the first failed save start turning them to stone. Maybe let them move at half speed, and have disadvantage on attacks, but not full incapacitation. Then if they fail the save again from her Gaze attack, have it fully turn them.
This will give the scary effect you want for them feeling like there is real danger of turning to stone, without the instant kill. You can describe the feeling of their bodies hardening, and give them the sense of urgency, but not just remove them all instantly.
Someone will probably still fail both rolls during the fight. So be prepared with some way to fix them. Even if it's just a high enough level NPC cleric they can take them to. Or Memnosyne's example of a magic fountain found nearby is good.
I hope it's great boss fight and you all have fun!
A party of 5 level 3 characters is probably capable of beating a medusa in a straight fight -- just cast fog cloud or darkness to remove its gaze as a factor and then whale on it. It won't be a terribly interesting fight, though.
The easiest and most plausible way to do this is to have them fight the Medusa only for until it gets to about half its hit points, then it starts summoning animated status to cover its escape. Most monsters don’t have a death wish. You could also make it extremely clear that this is a very dangerous encounter that may result in a party wipe if they’re not clever about it, and then have them go through a bunch of interactions and skill challenges designed to arm them for the upcoming conflict.