So my party of 4 to 5 level 6 characters are about to take on a leader of a street gang focused on illusions magic, elusiveness, spycraft and just all around trickery. I would hate for a "boss fight" with these themes to end up in a simple slugfest so I was trying to think of some kinda "puzzle" mechanic to the fight.
I had the idea of his office having a failsafe that he triggers that causes the "arena" to change as the fight goes on. Something like as soon as the fight starts they're "transported" 20,000 feet in the air and think they're falling. Or maybe that they're deep underwater.
Thats about as much of an idea as I have, so I thought I'd throw it out to the hive mind of the internet to hear what yall think lol
First off, this is very cool. Secondly let's get the basics out of the way: Mirror Image, Blur, and other Illusion spells will be your friend here. No matter what other trickery you pull here some blows are bound to be exchanged and Illusion spells are a whole load of fun to play with.
Perhaps they create a Mysterio-style sort of lair action (a la Spider-Man: Far From Home), create a table with different Illusion effects. Have the party make a wisdom save at the top of every round, lest they be victim to the table. They feel as though a pit to the Nine Hells has opened up beneath their feet? Frightened condition. They don't see the falling rocks knocked from the building above (Illusion can hide danger as much as creating it)? They stand there and take some damage. Play with status effects!
Maybe at the top of the fight they all cast Illusion magic on themselves so that they either A) All appear like members of the party or B) All look the same, thus obfuscating which one the Boss actually is.
Alternatively the fight could be a long chase through a twisting and winding maze, with Illusion effects impeding the players from catching up if they aren't savvy. I'll think more on this and try to comment again later, but hopefully this is a good first start.
I would have your boss use minor illusion and silent image to suggest your group caught him off guard (e.g they find him without his armour and he reaches out for his weapons). Hopefully they blow some big resources before they realize your guy is behind them.
I would have your boss use minor illusion and silent image to suggest your group caught him off guard (e.g they find him without his armour and he reaches out for his weapons). Hopefully they blow some big resources before they realize your guy is behind them.
I did this once as a player to GREAT effect. Arcane Archer hid in the rafters while the druid enemy couldn't understand why their spells weren't connecting. Then the volleys began.
If you have scope to establish it, then some form of psychoactive magical gas could be on the cards. The gas is released, and everyone makes Wisdom Saves each round they breathe. Breathing happens on a turn where they take damage, make an attack action, or cast a verbal spell. They can hold their breath for a number of rounds equal to the normal number of minutes they normally can (because it makes it more interesting!)
The psychoactive magical gas makes it that the reality of the world is, for you, what you see. Failing the save makes his illusions real, and makes them deal psychic damage to you when you would normally take anything else - EG, if he makes the illusion of a bandit attacking you with a spear, if you pass the save, it's an illusion and does nothing. If you fail, it does 1d8 psychic, because the mind makes it real(tm).
Definitely approve of the idea of an illusion where he isn't where he seems to be. This is also important as it takes an action to see through the illusion, so every illusion they see through prevents their attacks!
I would look for spells which cause area effects which linger, like Black Tentacles and that one with thorny vines, and have it be a gamble whether he cast the actual spell or an illusion!
Thanks for suggestions everyone! Here's what I ended up doing:
Fight started with boss and he activated the room's failsafe. Had each player roll a d4 to randomly determine which illusion they were placed in. as well as what type of elemental creature was harassing them
1. AIR: character free falling
2. FIRE: character standing on a single stone platform in a lake of lava. (DEX save at end of turn to avoid lava splash damage)
3. WATER: Character trapped under water in cold dark cavern. (CON save to avoid cold damage)
4. EARTH: Character trapped in seeming endless desert. (CON save to avoid exhaustion (capped at 2 levels))
Meanwhile, while they were trapped, the bbeg was buffing himself on his turn with things like mirror image and blur
At the end of each player's turn, I called for a DC 12 Perception (was originally DC 15 but I noticed fight was going south lol) in order to notice the source of the illusion, a small out of place looking crystal. When broken, it brought that character out of the illusion where they could see the rest of the party standing in a stupor. From there, they could either attack the bbeg, or look for a way to bring their party members out of the illusion (breaking crystals in the "real world").
This was INCREDIBLY challenging for the party and we NEARLY had 2 deaths, but they all survived, beat the bbeg and were really engaged in the fight the whole time so I'd call it a success lol
Thanks for suggestions everyone! Here's what I ended up doing:
Fight started with boss and he activated the room's failsafe. Had each player roll a d4 to randomly determine which illusion they were placed in. as well as what type of elemental creature was harassing them
1. AIR: character free falling
2. FIRE: character standing on a single stone platform in a lake of lava. (DEX save at end of turn to avoid lava splash damage)
3. WATER: Character trapped under water in cold dark cavern. (CON save to avoid cold damage)
4. EARTH: Character trapped in seeming endless desert. (CON save to avoid exhaustion (capped at 2 levels))
Meanwhile, while they were trapped, the bbeg was buffing himself on his turn with things like mirror image and blur
At the end of each player's turn, I called for a DC 12 Perception (was originally DC 15 but I noticed fight was going south lol) in order to notice the source of the illusion, a small out of place looking crystal. When broken, it brought that character out of the illusion where they could see the rest of the party standing in a stupor. From there, they could either attack the bbeg, or look for a way to bring their party members out of the illusion (breaking crystals in the "real world").
This was INCREDIBLY challenging for the party and we NEARLY had 2 deaths, but they all survived, beat the bbeg and were really engaged in the fight the whole time so I'd call it a success lol
Hey congrats! This sound absolutely incredible, and honestly I may nab elements of this for a big bad fight later on in my campaign. Cheers!
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So my party of 4 to 5 level 6 characters are about to take on a leader of a street gang focused on illusions magic, elusiveness, spycraft and just all around trickery. I would hate for a "boss fight" with these themes to end up in a simple slugfest so I was trying to think of some kinda "puzzle" mechanic to the fight.
I had the idea of his office having a failsafe that he triggers that causes the "arena" to change as the fight goes on. Something like as soon as the fight starts they're "transported" 20,000 feet in the air and think they're falling. Or maybe that they're deep underwater.
Thats about as much of an idea as I have, so I thought I'd throw it out to the hive mind of the internet to hear what yall think lol
First off, this is very cool. Secondly let's get the basics out of the way: Mirror Image, Blur, and other Illusion spells will be your friend here. No matter what other trickery you pull here some blows are bound to be exchanged and Illusion spells are a whole load of fun to play with.
Perhaps they create a Mysterio-style sort of lair action (a la Spider-Man: Far From Home), create a table with different Illusion effects. Have the party make a wisdom save at the top of every round, lest they be victim to the table. They feel as though a pit to the Nine Hells has opened up beneath their feet? Frightened condition. They don't see the falling rocks knocked from the building above (Illusion can hide danger as much as creating it)? They stand there and take some damage. Play with status effects!
Maybe at the top of the fight they all cast Illusion magic on themselves so that they either A) All appear like members of the party or B) All look the same, thus obfuscating which one the Boss actually is.
Alternatively the fight could be a long chase through a twisting and winding maze, with Illusion effects impeding the players from catching up if they aren't savvy. I'll think more on this and try to comment again later, but hopefully this is a good first start.
I would have your boss use minor illusion and silent image to suggest your group caught him off guard (e.g they find him without his armour and he reaches out for his weapons). Hopefully they blow some big resources before they realize your guy is behind them.
I did this once as a player to GREAT effect. Arcane Archer hid in the rafters while the druid enemy couldn't understand why their spells weren't connecting. Then the volleys began.
If you have scope to establish it, then some form of psychoactive magical gas could be on the cards. The gas is released, and everyone makes Wisdom Saves each round they breathe. Breathing happens on a turn where they take damage, make an attack action, or cast a verbal spell. They can hold their breath for a number of rounds equal to the normal number of minutes they normally can (because it makes it more interesting!)
The psychoactive magical gas makes it that the reality of the world is, for you, what you see. Failing the save makes his illusions real, and makes them deal psychic damage to you when you would normally take anything else - EG, if he makes the illusion of a bandit attacking you with a spear, if you pass the save, it's an illusion and does nothing. If you fail, it does 1d8 psychic, because the mind makes it real(tm).
Definitely approve of the idea of an illusion where he isn't where he seems to be. This is also important as it takes an action to see through the illusion, so every illusion they see through prevents their attacks!
I would look for spells which cause area effects which linger, like Black Tentacles and that one with thorny vines, and have it be a gamble whether he cast the actual spell or an illusion!
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Thanks for suggestions everyone! Here's what I ended up doing:
Fight started with boss and he activated the room's failsafe. Had each player roll a d4 to randomly determine which illusion they were placed in. as well as what type of elemental creature was harassing them
1. AIR: character free falling
2. FIRE: character standing on a single stone platform in a lake of lava. (DEX save at end of turn to avoid lava splash damage)
3. WATER: Character trapped under water in cold dark cavern. (CON save to avoid cold damage)
4. EARTH: Character trapped in seeming endless desert. (CON save to avoid exhaustion (capped at 2 levels))
Meanwhile, while they were trapped, the bbeg was buffing himself on his turn with things like mirror image and blur
At the end of each player's turn, I called for a DC 12 Perception (was originally DC 15 but I noticed fight was going south lol) in order to notice the source of the illusion, a small out of place looking crystal. When broken, it brought that character out of the illusion where they could see the rest of the party standing in a stupor. From there, they could either attack the bbeg, or look for a way to bring their party members out of the illusion (breaking crystals in the "real world").
This was INCREDIBLY challenging for the party and we NEARLY had 2 deaths, but they all survived, beat the bbeg and were really engaged in the fight the whole time so I'd call it a success lol
Hey congrats! This sound absolutely incredible, and honestly I may nab elements of this for a big bad fight later on in my campaign. Cheers!