Context: the level 14 party of 3 is fighting an Elder Brain Dragon (whose dragon part was once their friend) as it teleports to a city to join in destroying it entirely. The boss wasn’t the elder brain dragon itself, but rather a named NPC who uses the Elder Brain’s power. The fight was about defeating this guardian before getting to the Elder Brain Dragon (Tralox) itself. As the fight begins, Tralox uses legendary actions to grapple the party, and plane shifts everyone in an attempt to have the NPC kill them where Tralox has more complete control.
Boss Fights.
Have a scary boss where the party knows what to expect, and let be boss be just evil.
The party fought other enemies that have the same powers as the NPC boss. They are scary on their own, so the party has been able to prepare – psychic protections, staying close to the paladin’s aura. They know the attack patterns and can prepare accordingly.
One thing, for me, is to make the boss evil. Make them bad so that I cheer when the party cheers that they’re down. I sometimes feel like my villains are my PCs, and I feel bad about their deaths and defeats, but making them simply evil? I love that I can be happy that they’re gone.
Change scenery
The fight took place in the memories of the party’s dragon friend, who the elder brain took. The party saw his various lairs and important slices of his life. The scenery changed every time the NPC boss took 70HP, as well as initiative and position. There were no rounds where no one moved. Not one moment where a fun tactical decision didn’t have to be made. 70 HP isn’t a lot for a level 14 party; each location was only around for a round or two. Just enough for the scene to have an impact but not get boring. It also allowed for a quick break from fighting as I could describe the location and what their friend remembered about it.
Consistent moves with random effects / how to make a cool boss that the party feels likes they can master
My boss had all of 1 main action and a handful of movement abilities, like a bonus action 60ft teleport and a teleport before every melee attack. I think it’s important to have a staple, consistent attack because it lets the players work around it and make effective strategies on the fly. Case in point: the rogue knew the NPC’s strategy: Teleport to the most hurt spellcaster and target them first. So, he moved to be next to the spellcaster and held an action to strike the NPC the moment he was close enough. Of course the NPC took the bait – and the rogue’s attack crit, dealing 71 damage – enough to go to a new memory and stopping the NPC’s strikes to hurt the spellcaster.
As for making that more simple moveset interesting: The main action was a multiattack that had a random effect if it hit: 1) Extra damage based on highest remaining spell slot, 2) You have to use your highest level spell slot next turn or lose it, 3) Disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws, 4) You can’t use a feature that uses spell slots on your next turn.
These are interesting for 3 reasons: 1) they reinforce verisimilitude, since these guys are made to fight powerful magic users. 2) since the party are all different flavors of Gish, it keeps the fights interesting and varied while not nerfing anyone too hard. It can nicely flip the script, making martials shine on some turns, while emphasizing spells the next. Finally, 3) I crit and got the extra damage based on highest spell slot remaining on a character with 6th level spells. The 99 damage that strike dealt would have dropped the caster had they not prepared properly. That was a nice moment. Also rolling a ton of dice is a ton of fun.
Play rules light outside of combat. Or, the rule of cool.
The party defeated this boss, and arrived at their intended location, mere seconds after their initial teleport. The party gets struck by an Elder Brain Dragon’s breath weapon. For those who don’t know, this can turn you into a mind flayer if you’re at 0 HP. The party is badly hurt by now. They’re riding Tralox, knowing they can either save themselves or die trying to fight. They decide to use spells in creative but not RAW ways to try and get themselves off Tralox. Each player does something that breaks RAW but makes sense in this desperate situation, from a tidal wave from beyond its reaches to using Hunger of Hadar to make Tralox unable to fly well, bringing the party closer to the ground. The party said they were trying to run, so why keep to the confines on RAW if the idea is to make a desperate escape? It made the escape so much cooler than if I ensured RAW was strictly enforced. The party manages to escape the grapples and land safely on the ground, though they aren’t out of danger. Certainly not.
It’s okay to lose.
Rightfully so, they chose to run. The rogue was the only one without psychic resistance. Tralox’s breath weapon almost killed him outright, but the lingering effects certainly would. Rather than let himself become a Mind Flayer, he chose to kill himself, not letting his body become a vessel for these creatures. The rest of this fight was occurring around them. Dragons overhead battling it out. People doing their best to run to makeshift teleportation circles. Mind flayers plane shifting in at Tralox’s command. At this point, the Paladin is holding the Rogue’s body in her arms, carrying him to a nearby evacuation portal. Normally, death isn’t a huge issue in a situation like this, but this was different. The rogue’s sword drops max HP as well as regular damage (sword of wounding). They used it to drop their own HP to 0, ensuring he wouldn’t turn into a mind flayer. To bring him back will be difficult, and will leave him changed.
Not only is the rogue dead, but the city they spent all this time protecting has fallen. This is the worst thing that could happen to the party. Not a TPK. Not some minor banishment or anything. They failed, and a number of important NPCs were there. We don’t know who made it out. Level 14s hardly ever get challenged – they’ve done and survived so much until this point. Yet the best session we ever had cumulated into their biggest loss to date. It made it all the better. It felt real and worthwhile – there’s nothing we as a table want more than to kill this damn Elder Brain Dragon.
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