New to D&D beyond but thought I would share this stat block which I am trying to refine for a final boss battle in a few months. I was wondering if anyone had any tips for how to balance it better although I know that it will inevitably depend on the level and intricacies of the party. For context this is the final boss in a campaign running from 3rd to 20th level and the characters are quite strong with powerful magic items and NPC allies. I am trying to balance this to both make it more fun for the party and a cool climactic encounter. My first thoughts are as follows:
The spell save DC and attack bonuses seem very high and without a Paladin in the group I am not sure how people will be able to save with any consistency
Building on point 1 Nadriel has a large number of debilitating affects such as mind control and stunning which are a pain to be constantly stuck in.
He seems like a bit of a glass cannon and I want to make him a little more survivable.
Based on this I am trying to come up with some solutions. The first thought I had was allowing people to have magic items making them immune to being stunned or paralyzed but which require attunement. I am not sure how to fix the DC or attack bonuses though as these are the stats that realistically based on the story I am running that he would have and this stat block ignores magic items other than his spear.
If anyone has any balance suggestions for the fight then it would be much appreciated whether it be increasing his power level or decreasing it.
I saw that the Mythic Action section was maybe unintentionally left in, and you can work that to your advantage. Is there any room in your remaining plot to add that this BBEG is cursed or otherwise searching for immortality?
Something that can allow probably chance of the Final Fantasy-style PHASE TWO of any good final boss. The lich goes down, but his skin falls off and his skeleton animates to continue the fight, or some similar nonsense. Mythic Enemies (from the Theros sourcebook) provide a lot of fun inspiration for that type of encounter.
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I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
Yeah I had an idea originally of including a mythic action for him but I wasn't sure what it could be. He definitely would be searching for immortality and that could be something which I could use to make a phase 2 potentially. I'll have a look at the Theros sourcebook thanks. There is certainly an unknown figure who he could have made a pact with or something to gain more power. Maybe after he drops to 0 hit points he could become some form of eldritch abomination with like more focus on the mind flayer part of his stats than the archmage. I'll have a think and will try to work out how to balance it.
A save DC of 27 is a bit nuts, yeah. Characters without proficiency in the appropriate save or some kind of outside bonus (like a Paladin aura) will always fail a save over 25. There's a few creatures in the game with saves that high, but designers are typically very careful about how they use them.
A DC 27 Dexterity save to take half damage is a very different thing than a DC 27 Wisdom save to avoid Dominate Person. If you throw a DC 27 Dominate Person on a character without proficiency, absent some outside factor, you own that character until the spell ends. Doesn't matter how many times they get to repeat the save or whether they have advantage: numerically they cannot pass a 27. Personally, I would just lower the save DC, but if you don't want to do that you could allow your characters some item that gives them a flat bonus (advantage won't help) to these saves. Even a suped-up Ring of Protection could make the difference between an impossible save and a merely extremely difficult one.
Separately, this thing looks like a bit of a nightmare to run. I would cut down on its massive array of spells to only the handful you're most likely to actually use. Remember that this stat block is just for you; your players will never see it, so feel free to remove spells the creature should be able to cast, but that you're not likely to use in battle (Modify Memory sticks out, as do things like Alter Self and Sending).
Separately, this thing looks like a bit of a nightmare to run. I would cut down on its massive array of spells to only the handful you're most likely to actually use. Remember that this stat block is just for you; your players will never see it, so feel free to remove spells the creature should be able to cast, but that you're not likely to use in battle (Modify Memory sticks out, as do things like Alter Self and Sending).
Yeah thats true I probably will make a note of the spells that I will be planning to use most but I wanted to for at least the first draft to consider what he might have for RP contexts although tbf his spellbook has quite a lot of different spells which he could prepare given enough time.
As for the DC I will probably just end up lowering it maybe I'll cap proficiency bonuses at +6 or something. Idk but thanks for your help anyway much appreciated
I saw that the Mythic Action section was maybe unintentionally left in, and you can work that to your advantage. Is there any room in your remaining plot to add that this BBEG is cursed or otherwise searching for immortality?
Something that can allow probably chance of the Final Fantasy-style PHASE TWO of any good final boss. The lich goes down, but his skin falls off and his skeleton animates to continue the fight, or some similar nonsense. Mythic Enemies (from the Theros sourcebook) provide a lot of fun inspiration for that type of encounter.
Yes. This Isn't Even My Final Form is a meme for a reason - it's inherently dramatic and awesome. Staged fights solve a lot of problems:
Prevents steamrolling because stage two resets things - including position and battlefield if you want
Allows you to have a lot of spells/features but as two/three separate creatures instead of one long, complicated stat block
Allows you to shed any debilitating statuses (which at least helped in stage 1 rather than just outright negating a bunch of stuff like lots of solos do)
Can be broken up with intervals of recovery/skill or social challenges/chase scenes/whatever to make the whole thing more elaborate/memorable
Gives you a chance to pull the players out of "battle mode" for a second to reinforce the stakes, the story, and general cinematic flair of your scene
I have had great success with this model and I think it's also a lot of fun to design.
Thanks for the help. I'm really glad to be getting so many tips. I have run boss fights before but I had to cram everything in because some people had to stop and then weren't coming back so couldn't make it as cool as I wanted it to be. This time I think it should be much better and a mythic form certainly could do that. Now I just need to decide on the slightly more complicated thing... what to make its second form.
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Hey everyone,
New to D&D beyond but thought I would share this stat block which I am trying to refine for a final boss battle in a few months. I was wondering if anyone had any tips for how to balance it better although I know that it will inevitably depend on the level and intricacies of the party. For context this is the final boss in a campaign running from 3rd to 20th level and the characters are quite strong with powerful magic items and NPC allies. I am trying to balance this to both make it more fun for the party and a cool climactic encounter. My first thoughts are as follows:
Based on this I am trying to come up with some solutions. The first thought I had was allowing people to have magic items making them immune to being stunned or paralyzed but which require attunement. I am not sure how to fix the DC or attack bonuses though as these are the stats that realistically based on the story I am running that he would have and this stat block ignores magic items other than his spear.
If anyone has any balance suggestions for the fight then it would be much appreciated whether it be increasing his power level or decreasing it.
Here is the stat block: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/4541402-nadriel-mind-flayer-archmage
I saw that the Mythic Action section was maybe unintentionally left in, and you can work that to your advantage. Is there any room in your remaining plot to add that this BBEG is cursed or otherwise searching for immortality?
Something that can allow probably chance of the Final Fantasy-style PHASE TWO of any good final boss. The lich goes down, but his skin falls off and his skeleton animates to continue the fight, or some similar nonsense. Mythic Enemies (from the Theros sourcebook) provide a lot of fun inspiration for that type of encounter.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
Yeah I had an idea originally of including a mythic action for him but I wasn't sure what it could be. He definitely would be searching for immortality and that could be something which I could use to make a phase 2 potentially. I'll have a look at the Theros sourcebook thanks. There is certainly an unknown figure who he could have made a pact with or something to gain more power. Maybe after he drops to 0 hit points he could become some form of eldritch abomination with like more focus on the mind flayer part of his stats than the archmage. I'll have a think and will try to work out how to balance it.
A save DC of 27 is a bit nuts, yeah. Characters without proficiency in the appropriate save or some kind of outside bonus (like a Paladin aura) will always fail a save over 25. There's a few creatures in the game with saves that high, but designers are typically very careful about how they use them.
A DC 27 Dexterity save to take half damage is a very different thing than a DC 27 Wisdom save to avoid Dominate Person. If you throw a DC 27 Dominate Person on a character without proficiency, absent some outside factor, you own that character until the spell ends. Doesn't matter how many times they get to repeat the save or whether they have advantage: numerically they cannot pass a 27. Personally, I would just lower the save DC, but if you don't want to do that you could allow your characters some item that gives them a flat bonus (advantage won't help) to these saves. Even a suped-up Ring of Protection could make the difference between an impossible save and a merely extremely difficult one.
Separately, this thing looks like a bit of a nightmare to run. I would cut down on its massive array of spells to only the handful you're most likely to actually use. Remember that this stat block is just for you; your players will never see it, so feel free to remove spells the creature should be able to cast, but that you're not likely to use in battle (Modify Memory sticks out, as do things like Alter Self and Sending).
Yeah thats true I probably will make a note of the spells that I will be planning to use most but I wanted to for at least the first draft to consider what he might have for RP contexts although tbf his spellbook has quite a lot of different spells which he could prepare given enough time.
As for the DC I will probably just end up lowering it maybe I'll cap proficiency bonuses at +6 or something. Idk but thanks for your help anyway much appreciated
Yes. This Isn't Even My Final Form is a meme for a reason - it's inherently dramatic and awesome. Staged fights solve a lot of problems:
I have had great success with this model and I think it's also a lot of fun to design.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Thanks for the help. I'm really glad to be getting so many tips. I have run boss fights before but I had to cram everything in because some people had to stop and then weren't coming back so couldn't make it as cool as I wanted it to be. This time I think it should be much better and a mythic form certainly could do that. Now I just need to decide on the slightly more complicated thing... what to make its second form.