I'm desgning a boss battle for a haunted house themed adventure I'm writing that takes place at 4th level. I'm designing seperate final encounters based on the party's "Urgency Level" (a mechanic I'm using to dermine how far into the villain's plan they are when the party confronts her based on successes/failures/choices throughout the adventure), and I'm wondering if I made this one too hard. Now, this is meant to represent the villain at her full necromantic/demonic power if the players come in with the lowest Urgency Level, so it should go harder than if the players were smarter/more successful earlier on, but I don't want it to be impossible. Here's the boss so far:
The Red-Fingered Countess
Humanoid, Chaotic Evil
Armor Class: 14 (Abyssal Protection)
Hit Points: 66 (12d8+12)
Speed: 30 ft., fly 10 ft
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
9 (-1)
14 (+2)
12 (+1)
17 (+3)
12 (+1)
11 (+0)
Damage Resistance: The Countess has resistance to Cold, Fire, Lightning, Necrotic damage while the Amulet is on her person.
Condition Immunities: Frightened
Senses: Darkvision 120 Ft., passive Perception 11
Languages: Common, Abyssal
Challenge: CR???
Abyssal Protection. Sickly green motes of Abyssal power swarm around the Countess to protect her from harm.
Grim Harvest (1/turn). When the Countess reduces a creature that is neither a construct nor undead to 0hp with a spell of 1st level or higher, she regains hit points equal to twice the spell’s level, or three times if it is a necromancy spell.
Magic Resistance. The Countess has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Spellcasting. The Countess is a 5th level spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). The Countess has the following spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): chill touch, control flames
1st level (3/day): false life*, sleep, ray of sickness*
2nd level (2/day): darkness*, ray of enfeeblement*, web
3rd level (1/day): animate dead*, bestow curse*, wall of sand
Actions
Chill Touch.Ranged Spell Attack: +7 to hit, 120 ft., one target. Hit: 2d8 Necrotic damage, and it can’t regain hit points until the start of your next turn.
Demonic Corruption. (Recharge 6). A 15-foot-radius cloud of Abyssal energy surrounds the Countess. The corruption can spread around corners. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned. While poisoned in this way, a target takes 5 (1d10) poison damage at the start of each of its turns. A target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Emptying a vial of holy water on the target also ends the effect on it.
Legendary Action
Blood Spririt. If any party members are currently poisoned, the Countess can sacrifice 5 of her own hp to create one blood spirit to serve her per poisoned target. The spirit appears 15 feet away from the target, tethering the target with its crimson tendrils. Each turn (sharing the initiative count of their target), the blood spirit will move its full movement speed towards the target, and if it reaches the target, they are stunned until the spirit is destroyed.
Lair Actions
On an initiative count of 20 (losing ties), the Countess can take one Lair Action with any of the following effectsas long as she still holds the Amulet. She cannot perform the same action two turns in a row:
Abyssal Chasm: A 10x20 ft tear in the planar fabric opens in the floor in an unoccupied space, creating a chasm into the Abyss itself. A poisonous odor seeps from the demononic plane and grants disadvantage to skill checks made while a creature is adjacent to the chasm. If a creature fails a Strength (Athletics) check to cross the chasm, they slip over the edge and become incapacitated until they succeed a DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check to pull themselves back from the edge. If a creature falls into the chasm, they take 2d8 slashing damage from the denizens of the Abyss, and are deposited back in the Material Plane at the end of their next turn.
Beckon: The Countess animates 1d4 crawling claws. Not all of the claws will immediately attack the party, as if they are awaiting further orders (a party member may discern this with a succesful DC 16 Wisdom (Insight) check).
Ascend: The Countess may sacrifice 5 hp and select one undead created through Beckon to ascend. If the undead is a crawling claw, it becomes a skeleton. A skeleton ascended becomes a zombie.
(here's also the stat block for the Blood Spirit she summons:
Blood Spirit
Evil
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 5
Speed 5 ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
10 (+0)
10 (+0)
10 (+0)
10 (+0)
10 (+0)
10 (+0)
Condition Immunities frightened, restrained
Senses darkvision 60 ft.
Languages None
Actions
Crimson Tendrils.Melee Weapon Attack: automatic hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 1 damage per turn the tendril remains attached. Each point of damage caused in this way is transferred to the Countess.
Blood Loss.Melee Weapon Attack: reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: The blood spirit attatches itself to the target, continuing to drain HP and stunning the target until it is destroyed.
What do we think? Is this too hard a boss for a level 4 party, even for a "hard mode" encounter? Appreciate yall's thoughts!
With AC 14 and 66 hit points, 'dead in one round' is a reasonably likely outcome against a 4th level party.
Exactly what they said. An AC of 14 and 66HP is roughly what you'd find on a CR 1/2 monster, maybe CR 1? And even if she's commanding a group of minions, you have to expect the party to focus fire on the one with "sickly green motes of abyssal power swarming around" them. So if this is supposed to be an enemy that single-handedly challenges the party in combat (which I assume it is based on the legendary actions and lair actions), it needs more survivability.
Fun story, I made this mistake once as a newish DM, when I had a would-be "boss" with similar stats, sending minions to attack a group of 3 PCs at level 4 or 5 (I forget which). What was supposed to be a dramatic confrontation turned into a brief flurry of attacks, and when it was all over, the only sign of that enemy that anyone could find, was a single charred boot.
Anyway, this could still work if the party can't immediately attack the Countess for some reason, such as illusory decoys, some kind of magic barrier, an ability to transfer damage to minions, or maybe she's just hiding in the shadows and taunting the group while her minions do the fighting? Otherwise you could beef up the AC and maybe double the HP? You could probably even get away with tripling the HP if the party is fresh and not worn down (in HP, spell slots, and limited-use abilities) by the time this fight happens.
Exactly what they said. An AC of 14 and 66HP is roughly what you'd find on a CR 1/2 monster, maybe CR 1?
It's actually fairly average for CR 3, the DMG monster creation rules overestimate the hit points of low CR monsters, but that's still not much for a 4th level party. There are a few annoying features of the writeup, particularly if the team is melee heavy.
A separate thing to warn about in boss design: be wary of snowballing mechanics, such as health-on-kill, as they're prone to either being irrelevant (because the monster doesn't live long enough for them to get rolling) or overwhelming.
With AC 14 and 66 hit points, 'dead in one round' is a reasonably likely outcome against a 4th level party.
That's a good point. I did base the chassis off a Necromancer, which has an AC of 14 and 66 hp, and is a CR 9, but I suppose the necromancer isn't meant to be a single boss monster.
I’d add that even with advantage on saves against spells, a +1 on Wis saves means hold person could very well end the fight instantly. So I’d make sure to decide which saves she’s proficient in, and likely give a couple legendary resistance. Or make her not a humanoid.
That's a good point. I did base the chassis off a Necromancer, which has an AC of 14 and 66 hp, and is a CR 9, but I suppose the necromancer isn't meant to be a single boss monster.
The necromancer, like most 2014 mage templates, is a total glass cannon that has trouble actually performing at its nominal CR.
I did originally had her with resistance to s/b/p from nonmagic weapons while she had her amulet as well, but I thought she'd be too tough. Maybe I'll add that back in.
If the PCs seem to have an easy time, add more henchmen/minions. To drop the quantity being sent to slaughter, have higher level henchmen/minions.
If the PCs seem to have a difficult time, retreat the BBEG, leave some very low henchmen/minions to keep the PCs occupied and be used to give treasure/XPs on the "field" of battle. Allow the PCs to go lick there wounds, heal up and determine how to re engage and move forward again.
I will also point out that with a low STR and DEX, any character with weapon mastery, or those that like to shove will have her knocked prone on every round - unless you make her immune to the prone condition.
The spirits automatically inflicting a stun just by getting near a character could be a bit much, I would remove the stun and replace it with something else (like inflicting disadvantage until the spirit is killed).
14 Ac (as has been pointed out) is really low for a "boss" (at 4th level, depending on how ability scores were done, the characters could have between a +5 to +7 on their attacks), and 66 hp is way too low - i would double it (at least).
Not everyone likes doing the math, but if you figure out the % chance of each person scoring a hit against the villain based on their to hit bonus and the villain's AC... Then figure out the average damage each would inflict... then multiply that by the % to hit chance figured out in step 1 ... you'll get an idea of how much damage the villain is likely going to take each round of the fight. That will give you an idea of how long the fight will last.
You can also do that in reverse (figureing it out for the villain vs PCs). That will show how long the PCs have to win the fight before dying. You can also compare both numbers to see which side is likely to win, and it will show how long it is likely to take.
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Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (original Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
The spirits automatically inflicting a stun just by getting near a character could be a bit much, I would remove the stun and replace it with something else (like inflicting disadvantage until the spirit is killed).
My design philosophy behind the spirits was more as a way of drawing fire away from the boss, hence their 5hp and 5ft movement speed. Since it takes three turns for a spirit to reach the target, there's plenty of time to kill it before it reaches you. I'm imagining parties might let the first one close after seeing it only does 1 damage per turn, but the rest of the fight after seeing how they can stun you, they'll know to get rid of them sooner.
Not to mention they're predicated on at least one party member failing the CON save against being poisoned (which is itself predicated on the ability recharging) before they can be summoned. I figured stun was warranted because it's not like it can happen every round.
The spirits automatically inflicting a stun just by getting near a character could be a bit much, I would remove the stun and replace it with something else (like inflicting disadvantage until the spirit is killed).
My design philosophy behind the spirits was more as a way of drawing fire away from the boss, hence their 5hp and 5ft movement speed. Since it takes three turns for a spirit to reach the target, there's plenty of time to kill it before it reaches you. I'm imagining parties might let the first one close after seeing it only does 1 damage per turn, but the rest of the fight after seeing how they can stun you, they'll know to get rid of them sooner.
Not to mention they're predicated on at least one party member failing the CON save against being poisoned (which is itself predicated on the ability recharging) before they can be summoned. I figured stun was warranted because it's not like it can happen every round.
Well, if you’re just trying to draw attention away, I sometimes like to use little pillars. They pulse with energy and damage anyone in the room (then make boss immune to the damage type).
At this level, I’d keep it small, like on initiative count 20, everyone takes 1d4 or d6 necrotic damage. Enough to get annoying and make them think it’s worth spending an action or two smashing the pillar(s).
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Hey internet!
I'm desgning a boss battle for a haunted house themed adventure I'm writing that takes place at 4th level. I'm designing seperate final encounters based on the party's "Urgency Level" (a mechanic I'm using to dermine how far into the villain's plan they are when the party confronts her based on successes/failures/choices throughout the adventure), and I'm wondering if I made this one too hard. Now, this is meant to represent the villain at her full necromantic/demonic power if the players come in with the lowest Urgency Level, so it should go harder than if the players were smarter/more successful earlier on, but I don't want it to be impossible. Here's the boss so far:
The Red-Fingered Countess
Humanoid, Chaotic Evil
Abyssal Protection. Sickly green motes of Abyssal power swarm around the Countess to protect her from harm.
Cantrips (at will): chill touch, control flames
1st level (3/day): false life*, sleep, ray of sickness*
2nd level (2/day): darkness*, ray of enfeeblement*, web
3rd level (1/day): animate dead*, bestow curse*, wall of sand
Actions
Chill Touch. Ranged Spell Attack: +7 to hit, 120 ft., one target. Hit: 2d8 Necrotic damage, and it can’t regain hit points until the start of your next turn.
Legendary Action
Blood Spririt. If any party members are currently poisoned, the Countess can sacrifice 5 of her own hp to create one blood spirit to serve her per poisoned target. The spirit appears 15 feet away from the target, tethering the target with its crimson tendrils. Each turn (sharing the initiative count of their target), the blood spirit will move its full movement speed towards the target, and if it reaches the target, they are stunned until the spirit is destroyed.
Lair Actions
On an initiative count of 20 (losing ties), the Countess can take one Lair Action with any of the following effectsas long as she still holds the Amulet. She cannot perform the same action two turns in a row:
(here's also the stat block for the Blood Spirit she summons:
Blood Spirit
Evil
Actions
Crimson Tendrils. Melee Weapon Attack: automatic hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 1 damage per turn the tendril remains attached. Each point of damage caused in this way is transferred to the Countess.
Blood Loss. Melee Weapon Attack: reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: The blood spirit attatches itself to the target, continuing to drain HP and stunning the target until it is destroyed.
What do we think? Is this too hard a boss for a level 4 party, even for a "hard mode" encounter? Appreciate yall's thoughts!
With AC 14 and 66 hit points, 'dead in one round' is a reasonably likely outcome against a 4th level party.
Exactly what they said. An AC of 14 and 66HP is roughly what you'd find on a CR 1/2 monster, maybe CR 1? And even if she's commanding a group of minions, you have to expect the party to focus fire on the one with "sickly green motes of abyssal power swarming around" them. So if this is supposed to be an enemy that single-handedly challenges the party in combat (which I assume it is based on the legendary actions and lair actions), it needs more survivability.
Fun story, I made this mistake once as a newish DM, when I had a would-be "boss" with similar stats, sending minions to attack a group of 3 PCs at level 4 or 5 (I forget which). What was supposed to be a dramatic confrontation turned into a brief flurry of attacks, and when it was all over, the only sign of that enemy that anyone could find, was a single charred boot.
Anyway, this could still work if the party can't immediately attack the Countess for some reason, such as illusory decoys, some kind of magic barrier, an ability to transfer damage to minions, or maybe she's just hiding in the shadows and taunting the group while her minions do the fighting? Otherwise you could beef up the AC and maybe double the HP? You could probably even get away with tripling the HP if the party is fresh and not worn down (in HP, spell slots, and limited-use abilities) by the time this fight happens.
It's actually fairly average for CR 3, the DMG monster creation rules overestimate the hit points of low CR monsters, but that's still not much for a 4th level party. There are a few annoying features of the writeup, particularly if the team is melee heavy.
A separate thing to warn about in boss design: be wary of snowballing mechanics, such as health-on-kill, as they're prone to either being irrelevant (because the monster doesn't live long enough for them to get rolling) or overwhelming.
That's a good point. I did base the chassis off a Necromancer, which has an AC of 14 and 66 hp, and is a CR 9, but I suppose the necromancer isn't meant to be a single boss monster.
I’d add that even with advantage on saves against spells, a +1 on Wis saves means hold person could very well end the fight instantly.
So I’d make sure to decide which saves she’s proficient in, and likely give a couple legendary resistance. Or make her not a humanoid.
The necromancer, like most 2014 mage templates, is a total glass cannon that has trouble actually performing at its nominal CR.
I did originally had her with resistance to s/b/p from nonmagic weapons while she had her amulet as well, but I thought she'd be too tough. Maybe I'll add that back in.
Stay flexible when you plan for the battle:
If the PCs seem to have an easy time, add more henchmen/minions. To drop the quantity being sent to slaughter, have higher level henchmen/minions.
If the PCs seem to have a difficult time, retreat the BBEG, leave some very low henchmen/minions to keep the PCs occupied and be used to give treasure/XPs on the "field" of battle. Allow the PCs to go lick there wounds, heal up and determine how to re engage and move forward again.
I will also point out that with a low STR and DEX, any character with weapon mastery, or those that like to shove will have her knocked prone on every round - unless you make her immune to the prone condition.
The spirits automatically inflicting a stun just by getting near a character could be a bit much, I would remove the stun and replace it with something else (like inflicting disadvantage until the spirit is killed).
14 Ac (as has been pointed out) is really low for a "boss" (at 4th level, depending on how ability scores were done, the characters could have between a +5 to +7 on their attacks), and 66 hp is way too low - i would double it (at least).
Not everyone likes doing the math, but if you figure out the % chance of each person scoring a hit against the villain based on their to hit bonus and the villain's AC... Then figure out the average damage each would inflict... then multiply that by the % to hit chance figured out in step 1 ... you'll get an idea of how much damage the villain is likely going to take each round of the fight. That will give you an idea of how long the fight will last.
You can also do that in reverse (figureing it out for the villain vs PCs). That will show how long the PCs have to win the fight before dying. You can also compare both numbers to see which side is likely to win, and it will show how long it is likely to take.
Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (original Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
My design philosophy behind the spirits was more as a way of drawing fire away from the boss, hence their 5hp and 5ft movement speed. Since it takes three turns for a spirit to reach the target, there's plenty of time to kill it before it reaches you. I'm imagining parties might let the first one close after seeing it only does 1 damage per turn, but the rest of the fight after seeing how they can stun you, they'll know to get rid of them sooner.
Not to mention they're predicated on at least one party member failing the CON save against being poisoned (which is itself predicated on the ability recharging) before they can be summoned. I figured stun was warranted because it's not like it can happen every round.
Well, if you’re just trying to draw attention away, I sometimes like to use little pillars. They pulse with energy and damage anyone in the room (then make boss immune to the damage type).
At this level, I’d keep it small, like on initiative count 20, everyone takes 1d4 or d6 necrotic damage. Enough to get annoying and make them think it’s worth spending an action or two smashing the pillar(s).