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Avoiding One Shot Boss Fights
🕑 Added 2024-08-07 22:04:59 +0000 UTCMy last post gave an example of a monster feature that made it difficult to shut down a creature before reducing it to half hit points. A few commenters pointed out that such a mechanic would make all boss fights feel the same. Hammer a creature to half hit points, then hit it with spells or effects that shut it down.
Thinking about that reminded me of boss monsters from various video games, especially ones that required specific tricks to defeat them. In 4e, monster groups each had a distinct mechanic to make them feel different from other creatures. Kobolds could shift 1 square as a minor action. Goblins moved away when you attacked them.
A similar approach could make monsters that are meant to serve as bosses feel similar. In this case, each one needs a mechanic that helps soften the blow of a single spell or attack that can shut it down.
Ideally, each mechanic would double down on the creature's flavor and provide a distinct puzzle to solve during an encounter. The examples below aren't finished mechanics, but directional ideas. Each should be usable when the creature is bogged down by spells or conditions that render it helpless. The mechanic should give the creature an added level of survivability, allow it to better recover from the conditions, and keep the encounter interesting.
The exact trigger is up in the air - I'll have a better sense of what it might look like when I've had a chance to fully digest the 2024 rule - but it should cover the common ways to shut down a boss. It can also leave some gaps. For instance, a creature that is vulnerable to a specific type of shutdown effect might not be able to use its defense in response to it.
These abilities are mostly one use options, except the ettin one.
Ogres - Mindless Rage: At the start of its turn, the ogre can end all effects it is subject to and instead become mindlessly enraged. For the next 1d4 rounds, the ogre moves up to its speed toward the nearest creature and attacks it in melee.
Frost Giant - Shield of the Ice Jarl: At the start of its turn, the frost giant becomes sheathed in protective ice. It gains temporary hit points equal to 5 times its level but cannot move. It gains advantage on all saving throws and at the end of each of its turns it can end a spell or effect it suffers from.
Troll - Horrid Separation: At the start of its turn, the troll tears its head from its shoulders. It loses its bite attack but ends all effects it suffers from.
Ettin - Double Trouble: A spell or condition applies to an ettin only if two versions of it apply to the creature at the same time.
Evil High Priest - Dark Guardian: At the start of its turn, the EHP can summon 1d3+1 wraiths to protect it. While the wraiths are present, the EHP has advantage on all saving throws.
Comments
Mike Mearls
Interesting. I haven't gotten to conditions yet, but there is probably a 100% chance that adding keywords to them would be valuable. Need to think on this.
d20fanclub
These are creative and great, but I think they're a byzantine solution to a simple problem. The conditions that are specifically problematic for bosses are action denials. Bosses should simply be immune to action denials (dominate/stun/etc); to avoid making this a laundry list of immunities, it could be phrased positively as "bosses can always take their full turn's worth of actions" or whatever. In addition to being simple and direct, this solution, unlike escapes or indomitable, shuts down problematic CC-based gameplay without the collateral damage of nerfing other kinds of save-based effects. (Videogames have done this forever, but I think it works even better in D&D — in videogames, non-boss encounters tend to be window dressing, which means CC abilities are inherently niche as a result of boss CC immunity. In D&D, that's not the case, so CCs retain a strong role in addressing non-boss encounters.)
mAc Chaos
More monster design! This is stuff we can apply into our own games right now.
