I have an awesome dnd map of a throne room. It has 4 diverting hallways off to the side and the main one leading to the actual throne room. It is elevated so the main platform has cliffs that lead to an abyss below. Then I have 8 hanging banners on the top. The players are entering the throne room to fight this evil queen. It was revealed that she is the mother to one of the players and has already called her son a disappointment and tried to kill him. This is their 2nd time meeting. She is a blood cleric that is puppeting a giant undead turtle to a city to destory it in pursuit of her goal. She just usurped the throne from her husband, killing him off in an army of undead. It was the king's goal to get to this city for something valuable, but she doesn't care about the city either way. However, the players a torn in her side so she would be eager to kill them off. She is also a blood cleric who uses necromancy to herald her undead army. So here is what I am thinking.
The players will enter a hallway, another map, with waterfalls of blood and the undead standing off to the side of the hallway, watching. They aren't attacking as she will invite them in. This is to give a sense of unease and dread as they approach, and then later on, this legion of undead will enter the throne room to attack, creating two sides that they have to fight off. Once they enter, the queen may perhaps offer a deal or offer one chance to serve her since she intends to turn the undead turtle around. The group are there to stop the turtle from attacking the city but they are most likely going to attack since they hate her. Once this fails, she will start the attack. While they fight her they will notice 8 dead blood clerics suspended from the banners. These clerics are serving as an extra battery for her army. So for each one they take out, that cleric will drop to the ground. The cleric becomes a greater zombie (another annoying minion to deal with) and she loses a bit of health and an aspect of her power. This could be less undead she can control, less control of the turtle so it causes shakey ground and etc. I'll have a level of power stripped for every cleric knocked down. This helps divide their attention about taking out the BBEG who has powerful attacks, take out the battery cleircs or deal with the undead. And at the start of each round, every cleric battery still up = 10 hp healed to her. So potentially 80 hp.
This campagin has been running ro 2.5 years and this is the biggest fight they will have this campaign. After this, they start another campagin in the same world 10 years later as the apolocalyse begins. (This campagian is a pick your apolocalyse and the next is dealing with said apolocalyse). I have 6 level 13 players, each with rare or lower magic items. They are all veterans so I believe they can handle this but I don't want to do so much that its too complex. So please tell me, any thoughts to either make this a better fight or better for the players?
I recommend having a map, and number zombies. Several monsters of the same type tends to get really confusing, so make sure to remember where each Undead minion is, who it's targeting, and what it's health is.
It doesn't sound like you need much help here. You have a boss, a unique boss-gimmick, and stakes.
For 6 level 13 players, the boss will need 5 legendary resistances, 5 legendary actions, and since she's a spellcaster she'll need to be able to cast multiple spells on her turn.
Note that he can concentrate on 3 spells and casts spells like they're a multiattack. This boss fight after the PCs had dealt with 2 black dragons, a CR16 executioner boss monster, a room full of enhanced ogre warriors (about 14), and another CR18 angellic boss monster with minions and then he wasn't even the final boss, the last boss was much tougher
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I have an awesome dnd map of a throne room. It has 4 diverting hallways off to the side and the main one leading to the actual throne room. It is elevated so the main platform has cliffs that lead to an abyss below. Then I have 8 hanging banners on the top. The players are entering the throne room to fight this evil queen. It was revealed that she is the mother to one of the players and has already called her son a disappointment and tried to kill him. This is their 2nd time meeting. She is a blood cleric that is puppeting a giant undead turtle to a city to destory it in pursuit of her goal. She just usurped the throne from her husband, killing him off in an army of undead. It was the king's goal to get to this city for something valuable, but she doesn't care about the city either way. However, the players a torn in her side so she would be eager to kill them off. She is also a blood cleric who uses necromancy to herald her undead army. So here is what I am thinking.
The players will enter a hallway, another map, with waterfalls of blood and the undead standing off to the side of the hallway, watching. They aren't attacking as she will invite them in. This is to give a sense of unease and dread as they approach, and then later on, this legion of undead will enter the throne room to attack, creating two sides that they have to fight off. Once they enter, the queen may perhaps offer a deal or offer one chance to serve her since she intends to turn the undead turtle around. The group are there to stop the turtle from attacking the city but they are most likely going to attack since they hate her. Once this fails, she will start the attack. While they fight her they will notice 8 dead blood clerics suspended from the banners. These clerics are serving as an extra battery for her army. So for each one they take out, that cleric will drop to the ground. The cleric becomes a greater zombie (another annoying minion to deal with) and she loses a bit of health and an aspect of her power. This could be less undead she can control, less control of the turtle so it causes shakey ground and etc. I'll have a level of power stripped for every cleric knocked down. This helps divide their attention about taking out the BBEG who has powerful attacks, take out the battery cleircs or deal with the undead. And at the start of each round, every cleric battery still up = 10 hp healed to her. So potentially 80 hp.
This campagin has been running ro 2.5 years and this is the biggest fight they will have this campaign. After this, they start another campagin in the same world 10 years later as the apolocalyse begins. (This campagian is a pick your apolocalyse and the next is dealing with said apolocalyse). I have 6 level 13 players, each with rare or lower magic items. They are all veterans so I believe they can handle this but I don't want to do so much that its too complex. So please tell me, any thoughts to either make this a better fight or better for the players?
I recommend having a map, and number zombies. Several monsters of the same type tends to get really confusing, so make sure to remember where each Undead minion is, who it's targeting, and what it's health is.
It doesn't sound like you need much help here. You have a boss, a unique boss-gimmick, and stakes.
For 6 level 13 players, the boss will need 5 legendary resistances, 5 legendary actions, and since she's a spellcaster she'll need to be able to cast multiple spells on her turn.
Check out Aeloth, The Dark King, who I used as a boss-type monster for 6 level 16 characters: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/1902019-aeloth-the-dark-king
Note that he can concentrate on 3 spells and casts spells like they're a multiattack. This boss fight after the PCs had dealt with 2 black dragons, a CR16 executioner boss monster, a room full of enhanced ogre warriors (about 14), and another CR18 angellic boss monster with minions and then he wasn't even the final boss, the last boss was much tougher