What is a good final boss? I'm thinking of this lesser-god(or demi-god) who planned the events of the campaign and made the world what it is now. Do I make him powerful and they fight him or do I have a big boy boss?
Before the party reaches him, they have to kill all 7 of his "generals"(orc, goblins, spiders, etc.) and some other side bosses.
This is my first campaign and we are on session 7, so I'm not stressing it, but it would be nice to know.
So, all depending on the level of the characters, there are many options open to you. For mid-level characters, theres are plenty of cool lore monsters that could inspire you. I would say take the time to check the CR you expect them to be able to handle and then find a monster with some content that fits what you'd like to have your players experience. Like for instance an elder brain in it's lair with mindflayers leading to it. When you read the descriptions of the bigger tougher monsters, the lore can help determine the environments and how to treat the fights.
If you prefer to design your own monster, then I would recommand thinking about what it is you,d like to challenge your players with. Pure combat for final fights might not always be as epic as having let's say other elements to manage during the fight. Maybe they need to balance between fighting the boss and saving people in danger in the area at the same time. Or there is some sort of mechanic they need to observe to make the boss vulnerable. Don't be affraid to add some smaller monsters in there. Action economy is a big thing in D&D fight mechanics. As soon as one side as alot more actions than the other, things tend to go fast on one side.
Right now, a campaign I am running is getting close to this ever big boss fight and since the players will be 20 by then, I made sure to have enough phases and varied elements to make sure the fight is long enough and challenging enough for the players so that when they come up on top, they feel like it was the hardest thing they ever had to do. You could insire yourself by boss fights in MMO games or even any video game out there to see how they manage phases and transitions. This could help you craft your encounter and try to use all the tools at your disposal to make this a challenge for the players.
Eploring your party's weakness is also a great way to challenge them. I have a group who has very poor int score, so whenever they are confronted by spells that rely on INT saves, they have a hard time, so I try to exploit that to make them sweat a little :P
Finally if your final fight is a reflection of the story, you could try to incorporate some elements of what made your campaign and throw theses themes or elements in to tie in with your story.
If you're going to do a single monster as your boss, take a look at other high-end, legendary creatures in the Monster Manual, Tome of Foes, etc. You'll see they have a ton of seemingly inexplicable powers, like legendary actions/resistances, lair actions, multiattack, etc. This is to combat the fact that the players outnumber them, and action economy is one of the big tipping points of the game. Keep this in mind when making your own boss. They should have roughly as many opportunities to take an action as your players. If they don't, give them some minions to even things out. Otherwise, your players will bulldoze right over your boss faster than you can say "roll for initiati-wheredidallhishpgo?"
I would recommend letting some details of your final boss remain uncertain until later, as campaign concepts often evolve as they progress.
As far as action economy goes, it is not technically necessary for the boss to have multiple actions just because the players do; he can just have single actions that are incredibly high value, combined with enough resistances that he can't get stun locked. However, it tends to not be a very engaging fight at that point, because it basically means every time the boss's action comes up he either does massive damage to the entire party or he outright kills several PCs.
Another thing that you can do is use minions. My players are getting close to the end of a story arc and their opponent at the end is much less dangerous than her minions are. She can fly, but one of the PCs is an Aarakocra, so getting to her will be a challenge but she has minions who are the real challenge in combat. Keeping her from escaping and coming back to be a recurring opponent will be the real challenge for them!
As of now, they just levelled up to 4th. I'm thinking that they would be 18-20th level then. I was also thinking of having the boss have stages, ie medium size, then persona like form, then something else, and the party has to do something as well like clearing the area of innocents, stopping a timer, or stopping an invasion.
As of now, they just levelled up to 4th. I'm thinking that they would be 18-20th level then. I was also thinking of having the boss have stages, ie medium size, then persona like form, then something else, and the party has to do something as well like clearing the area of innocents, stopping a timer, or stopping an invasion.
Wait until they reach at least level 12 to decide, as they are nowhere near the campaigns conclusion. If you're set on choosing it now, I would recommend a empyrean or one of the demon lords or archdevils in Mordenkainen's.
What I'm thinking about doing is making the DM (me) as the final boss. Although the DM can't die, they can be beat, I've already made a character sheet for the DM, who is extremely powerful, and controls the story. After you defeat what the players thought was the final boss, (oh btw make the final boss have a good transition into the DM boss) have the DM's physical form come and stop the party and challenge them, to see how strong they truely are. I made the DM have either 666 HP, or an AC of 26 (by the time the players encounter this boss, they'll probably be lvl 20). What do you think? I think it'd be a good twist to the end.
What I'm thinking about doing is making the DM (me) as the final boss. Although the DM can't die, they can be beat, I've already made a character sheet for the DM, who is extremely powerful, and controls the story. After you defeat what the players thought was the final boss, (oh btw make the final boss have a good transition into the DM boss) have the DM's physical form come and stop the party and challenge them, to see how strong they truely are. I made the DM have 100 HP, (by the time the players encounter this boss, they'll probably be lvl 20. What do you think? I think it'd be a good twist to the end.
Your twist is fine, but there are level 20 PCs that can chew through 100HP in one turn, so I might rethink that part. The final boss should be tougher than everything that came before, although there are certainly ways other than HP to make a creature tough to defeat.
What I'm thinking about doing is making the DM (me) as the final boss. Although the DM can't die, they can be beat, I've already made a character sheet for the DM, who is extremely powerful, and controls the story. After you defeat what the players thought was the final boss, (oh btw make the final boss have a good transition into the DM boss) have the DM's physical form come and stop the party and challenge them, to see how strong they truely are. I made the DM have 100 HP, (by the time the players encounter this boss, they'll probably be lvl 20. What do you think? I think it'd be a good twist to the end.
At level 20, 100 hp is paper. Try 1,000 hp.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
What is a good final boss? I'm thinking of this lesser-god(or demi-god) who planned the events of the campaign and made the world what it is now. Do I make him powerful and they fight him or do I have a big boy boss?
Before the party reaches him, they have to kill all 7 of his "generals"(orc, goblins, spiders, etc.) and some other side bosses.
This is my first campaign and we are on session 7, so I'm not stressing it, but it would be nice to know.
So, all depending on the level of the characters, there are many options open to you. For mid-level characters, theres are plenty of cool lore monsters that could inspire you. I would say take the time to check the CR you expect them to be able to handle and then find a monster with some content that fits what you'd like to have your players experience. Like for instance an elder brain in it's lair with mindflayers leading to it. When you read the descriptions of the bigger tougher monsters, the lore can help determine the environments and how to treat the fights.
If you prefer to design your own monster, then I would recommand thinking about what it is you,d like to challenge your players with. Pure combat for final fights might not always be as epic as having let's say other elements to manage during the fight. Maybe they need to balance between fighting the boss and saving people in danger in the area at the same time. Or there is some sort of mechanic they need to observe to make the boss vulnerable. Don't be affraid to add some smaller monsters in there. Action economy is a big thing in D&D fight mechanics. As soon as one side as alot more actions than the other, things tend to go fast on one side.
Right now, a campaign I am running is getting close to this ever big boss fight and since the players will be 20 by then, I made sure to have enough phases and varied elements to make sure the fight is long enough and challenging enough for the players so that when they come up on top, they feel like it was the hardest thing they ever had to do. You could insire yourself by boss fights in MMO games or even any video game out there to see how they manage phases and transitions. This could help you craft your encounter and try to use all the tools at your disposal to make this a challenge for the players.
Eploring your party's weakness is also a great way to challenge them. I have a group who has very poor int score, so whenever they are confronted by spells that rely on INT saves, they have a hard time, so I try to exploit that to make them sweat a little :P
Finally if your final fight is a reflection of the story, you could try to incorporate some elements of what made your campaign and throw theses themes or elements in to tie in with your story.
Hope you guys have loads of fun playing it !
If you're going to do a single monster as your boss, take a look at other high-end, legendary creatures in the Monster Manual, Tome of Foes, etc. You'll see they have a ton of seemingly inexplicable powers, like legendary actions/resistances, lair actions, multiattack, etc. This is to combat the fact that the players outnumber them, and action economy is one of the big tipping points of the game. Keep this in mind when making your own boss. They should have roughly as many opportunities to take an action as your players. If they don't, give them some minions to even things out. Otherwise, your players will bulldoze right over your boss faster than you can say "roll for initiati-wheredidallhishpgo?"
I would recommend letting some details of your final boss remain uncertain until later, as campaign concepts often evolve as they progress.
As far as action economy goes, it is not technically necessary for the boss to have multiple actions just because the players do; he can just have single actions that are incredibly high value, combined with enough resistances that he can't get stun locked. However, it tends to not be a very engaging fight at that point, because it basically means every time the boss's action comes up he either does massive damage to the entire party or he outright kills several PCs.
Another thing that you can do is use minions. My players are getting close to the end of a story arc and their opponent at the end is much less dangerous than her minions are. She can fly, but one of the PCs is an Aarakocra, so getting to her will be a challenge but she has minions who are the real challenge in combat. Keeping her from escaping and coming back to be a recurring opponent will be the real challenge for them!
Professional computer geek
Thank you all!
Out of curiosity, what level are they?
There is no dawn after eternal night.
Homebrew: Magic items, Subclasses
As of now, they just levelled up to 4th. I'm thinking that they would be 18-20th level then. I was also thinking of having the boss have stages, ie medium size, then persona like form, then something else, and the party has to do something as well like clearing the area of innocents, stopping a timer, or stopping an invasion.
Wait until they reach at least level 12 to decide, as they are nowhere near the campaigns conclusion. If you're set on choosing it now, I would recommend a empyrean or one of the demon lords or archdevils in Mordenkainen's.
There is no dawn after eternal night.
Homebrew: Magic items, Subclasses
The final boss suggestion is to have a giant monster and have your adventures do an Innerspace.
I'm running a Spelljammer campaign in which the main villain in a superpowerful Elder Brain known as the Messiah.
Loading...
Okay...
There is no dawn after eternal night.
Homebrew: Magic items, Subclasses
What I'm thinking about doing is making the DM (me) as the final boss. Although the DM can't die, they can be beat, I've already made a character sheet for the DM, who is extremely powerful, and controls the story. After you defeat what the players thought was the final boss, (oh btw make the final boss have a good transition into the DM boss) have the DM's physical form come and stop the party and challenge them, to see how strong they truely are. I made the DM have either 666 HP, or an AC of 26 (by the time the players encounter this boss, they'll probably be lvl 20). What do you think? I think it'd be a good twist to the end.
Your twist is fine, but there are level 20 PCs that can chew through 100HP in one turn, so I might rethink that part. The final boss should be tougher than everything that came before, although there are certainly ways other than HP to make a creature tough to defeat.
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
At level 20, 100 hp is paper. Try 1,000 hp.