Planning my first one shot and looking for a suitable final boss. Dont wanna go too weak, or too tough. Its also gotta have some sentience to work in the story.
I was thinking Hag, but they look way too tough. Bugbear, I think, seems a little weak?
Maybe a simple goblin, who happened to find a magic wand (like maybe a wand of magic missiles), but it doesn't always work every time because he doesn't really understand how it works. Or maybe he's got a ring of invisibility, so he's not hard to kill, but you have to find him first!
Maybe a haunted treant. Like a treant zombie. And they could kill it, OR they could try to cure it instead.
Maybe a Gelatinous Cube! That's a classic!
Maybe a Lizardfolk Shaman. Like basically a Circle of Spores druid lizardman with a couple minor magical protective items.
Just be careful to check the stat blocks so you pick something that doesn't require magical weapons to hit it. And one Big Bad Guy can be a real challenge, but a bunch of Little Bad Guys can be even more terrifying for low level characters. I'd rather face a single ogre rather than a dozen obnoxious little kobolds with daggers 'n stuff. F-ck those guys!
Good luck!
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Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
Maybe a simple goblin, who happened to find a magic wand (like maybe a wand of magic missiles), but it doesn't always work every time because he doesn't really understand how it works. Or maybe he's got a ring of invisibility, so he's not hard to kill, but you have to find him first!
Maybe a haunted treant. Like a treant zombie. And they could kill it, OR they could try to cure it instead.
Maybe a Gelatinous Cube! That's a classic!
Maybe a Lizardfolk Shaman. Like basically a Circle of Spores druid lizardman with a couple minor magical protective items.
Just be careful to check the stat blocks so you pick something that doesn't require magical weapons to hit it. And one Big Bad Guy can be a real challenge, but a bunch of Little Bad Guys can be even more terrifying for low level characters. I'd rather face a single ogre rather than a dozen obnoxious little kobolds with daggers 'n stuff. F-ck those guys!
Good luck!
Setting is a village and surrounding countryside. Basically trying to solve a mystery of something that has happened in the village. The clues could lead to the monster responsible. I say could because theres a couple of red herrings...if the team go in swords blazing or miss some clues, they might not reach the end boss at all.
The Lizardman shaman would definitely fit. It's gotta be something sentient, capable of thinking of a plan.
It's open-ended, a number of ways it could go. But the best way leads to the monster big boss
One of my favorite monster villains is the Yuan-ti! They're similar to lizardfolk, but much smarter and craftier, and they allow for a greater level of intrigue and subterfuge in their tactics.
Yuan-ti Purebloods appear quite human, generally have high charisma, and thus make exceptional spies. This could provide great opportunities for social encounters in the village, as the players try to figure out who the real bad guys are and who is just a villager who got duped.
A Yuan-ti Malison would be a good BBEG for their first boss fight. The malison would have a hidden lair outside the village, from which he or she would be coordinating the pureblood infiltration. There would also likely be an altar to Merrshaulk or Sseth or Dendar the Night Serpent in the lair. Perhaps the purebloods have been luring villagers to this lair to be sacrificed to the yuan-ti's deity, and the players have to rescue the villagers and put a stop to the kidnappings. This also allows you to use time against the players. A deadline is called a deadline for a reason! Every time they fuss about and waste time, another villager dies.
A yuan-ti malison is only a CR3 monster, with immunity to poison but no other resistances. But! They can shapeshift into snakes, they have multi-attack, and they can cast Suggestion, which can REALLY change the course of a battle! And they're smart. They'll have proper defenses prepared. They may use captured villagers as human shields, so the party's ranged attacks will be at disadvantage lest they risk killing the people they're trying to rescue. And the yuan-ti can use magic items just like the players can. In fact, defeating the malison will likely provide the players with their first magic item loot of the game.
And the great thing about yuan-ti is that they provide a full campaign worth of storytelling potential. This could be just one cell of yuan-ti, working as part of a larger network of coordinated cells, each working to sow mistrust and paranoia throughout a countryside, turning people against their local leaders, regional leaders against each other, and creating the chaos and bloodshed needed to evoke their Grand Design - opening a portal to the Night Realm, allowing their deity to fully enter this realm and conquer the material plane!
(Or..... you know, just between you and me... a simple drunken goblin with a Ring of Invisibility and a Wand of Magic Missiles.... just sayin'.... it's got potential.)
Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
An otyugh that's messing with villagers' water supply. Not necessarily evil. Just unhappy that it isn't getting as much garbage as it used to. Or somebody is throwing away strangely tasteless trash that makes other trash also tasteless. Could lead to their level 2 quest.
A pygmy ettin causing trouble for the local ______ trade. Lower HD by 1/4 and damage for attacks to 2d4+2. Smarter than the average ettin, though. Maybe INT of 12.
A pack of wolves led by a worg is slaughtering livestock. For food? For fun? Or is there something far worse hidden in the seemingly meaningless deaths?
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Planning my first one shot and looking for a suitable final boss. Dont wanna go too weak, or too tough. Its also gotta have some sentience to work in the story.
I was thinking Hag, but they look way too tough. Bugbear, I think, seems a little weak?
Is there a particular setting? A particular mood?
Maybe a pair of bugbear brothers in heavy armor.
Maybe a simple goblin, who happened to find a magic wand (like maybe a wand of magic missiles), but it doesn't always work every time because he doesn't really understand how it works. Or maybe he's got a ring of invisibility, so he's not hard to kill, but you have to find him first!
Maybe a haunted treant. Like a treant zombie. And they could kill it, OR they could try to cure it instead.
Maybe a Gelatinous Cube! That's a classic!
Maybe a Lizardfolk Shaman. Like basically a Circle of Spores druid lizardman with a couple minor magical protective items.
Just be careful to check the stat blocks so you pick something that doesn't require magical weapons to hit it. And one Big Bad Guy can be a real challenge, but a bunch of Little Bad Guys can be even more terrifying for low level characters. I'd rather face a single ogre rather than a dozen obnoxious little kobolds with daggers 'n stuff. F-ck those guys!
Good luck!
Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
Anzio Faro. Lvl 5 Prot. Aasimar Light Cleric.
Setting is a village and surrounding countryside. Basically trying to solve a mystery of something that has happened in the village. The clues could lead to the monster responsible. I say could because theres a couple of red herrings...if the team go in swords blazing or miss some clues, they might not reach the end boss at all.
The Lizardman shaman would definitely fit. It's gotta be something sentient, capable of thinking of a plan.
It's open-ended, a number of ways it could go. But the best way leads to the monster big boss
One of my favorite monster villains is the Yuan-ti! They're similar to lizardfolk, but much smarter and craftier, and they allow for a greater level of intrigue and subterfuge in their tactics.
Yuan-ti Purebloods appear quite human, generally have high charisma, and thus make exceptional spies. This could provide great opportunities for social encounters in the village, as the players try to figure out who the real bad guys are and who is just a villager who got duped.
A Yuan-ti Malison would be a good BBEG for their first boss fight. The malison would have a hidden lair outside the village, from which he or she would be coordinating the pureblood infiltration. There would also likely be an altar to Merrshaulk or Sseth or Dendar the Night Serpent in the lair. Perhaps the purebloods have been luring villagers to this lair to be sacrificed to the yuan-ti's deity, and the players have to rescue the villagers and put a stop to the kidnappings. This also allows you to use time against the players. A deadline is called a deadline for a reason! Every time they fuss about and waste time, another villager dies.
A yuan-ti malison is only a CR3 monster, with immunity to poison but no other resistances. But! They can shapeshift into snakes, they have multi-attack, and they can cast Suggestion, which can REALLY change the course of a battle! And they're smart. They'll have proper defenses prepared. They may use captured villagers as human shields, so the party's ranged attacks will be at disadvantage lest they risk killing the people they're trying to rescue. And the yuan-ti can use magic items just like the players can. In fact, defeating the malison will likely provide the players with their first magic item loot of the game.
And the great thing about yuan-ti is that they provide a full campaign worth of storytelling potential. This could be just one cell of yuan-ti, working as part of a larger network of coordinated cells, each working to sow mistrust and paranoia throughout a countryside, turning people against their local leaders, regional leaders against each other, and creating the chaos and bloodshed needed to evoke their Grand Design - opening a portal to the Night Realm, allowing their deity to fully enter this realm and conquer the material plane!
(Or..... you know, just between you and me... a simple drunken goblin with a Ring of Invisibility and a Wand of Magic Missiles.... just sayin'.... it's got potential.)
Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
Anzio Faro. Lvl 5 Prot. Aasimar Light Cleric.
An otyugh that's messing with villagers' water supply. Not necessarily evil. Just unhappy that it isn't getting as much garbage as it used to. Or somebody is throwing away strangely tasteless trash that makes other trash also tasteless. Could lead to their level 2 quest.
A pygmy ettin causing trouble for the local ______ trade. Lower HD by 1/4 and damage for attacks to 2d4+2. Smarter than the average ettin, though. Maybe INT of 12.
A pack of wolves led by a worg is slaughtering livestock. For food? For fun? Or is there something far worse hidden in the seemingly meaningless deaths?