It's the end of your campaign, and all that's left is the final boss fight. Your players dig in for combat, and you're prepared for the BBEG to show why they're so intimidating. But how can you ensure that your boss fight is dramatic enough to merit being the finale of the campaign? You don't want it to be over too quickly, but you also don't want to wipe out your party. So how do you set up your boss fight so that it excites the players but is also balanced? Some folks would say that the answer is a carefully, mathematically-balanced encounter, but I argue that you can do even better than that by breaking your boss fight into three parts that are more scripted. Read on for how to use this method to create exciting boss fights.
I've written something similar before: a guide to improvising encounters. That guide takes a few basic considerations and turns them into encounters, but the premise is the same as what we're doing here: we're balancing our encounters to create dramatic moments. The key difference with a boss fight is that it matters more that it be satisfying and dramatic; it's the culmination of your whole campaign. So we'll use the same concept to create boss fights that are more interesting than simply the result of dice.
As I mentioned, you can spend a lot of time working out a mathematically sound encounter. This requires considering challenge ratings, character levels and abilities, and other details like weaknesses and spells. But you can make it simpler for you and better for your players if you wing it. No, seriously. We'll plan for three parts of the encounter, and in the final part, the players will defeat the BBEG. It's as simple as that. Obviously, this approach isn't for hardcore combat simulators; this approach is about storytelling and getting the most drama for your effort. If you like the sound of that, consider the three parts of a boss fight:
There are generally three phases you want to include in a boss fight. Part one is where the players make their first attacks or other tactical efforts. During this phase, you want the players to be able to deal a good chunk of damage to the BBEG, but you also want the BBEG to attack in a way that exemplifies why they are the final boss--what makes them so much of a badass? Part two is where the players run into trouble. During this phase, the BBEG should use a tactic that weakens the party's strategy, and they should strike hard at members of the party. You want this part to feel like the BBEG is getting the upper hand. Finally, in part three, the players pull ahead again. The BBEG should be able to make a last-ditch effort to turn the tide, and should even be able to render unconscious at least one member of the party, but ultimately, the players will win with a dramatic strike.
Let's get into the details with each part now. Part one: the players make a strong initial showing, as does the BBEG. In practice, this should look like the party getting opportunities to strike the BBEG. I generally argue that it's better to give your BBEG a higher number of hit points and a lower Armor Class; this means more dramatic successes for the players, but an ability on your part to string the encounter along. So set a relatively low Armor Class depending on your party's level. I like to give them roughly a 50% chance of hitting initially, so a party with an average +3 to hit should have a 13 AC; likewise, a +6 to hit should mean a 16 AC. I generally let this phase of combat go for about three to five rounds or so; you want the party to hit the BBEG enough that it seems like they've done about half damage total.
At this point, let's address the BBEG's hit points. I don't start with a number set in stone. I might decide that it has generally about 150 hit points or something like that, but this number doesn't matter very much. Whether the party is scoring 30 points of damage or 90, it should seem like the BBEG is at about half health. This just means that the players should work for three or so rounds to damage the BBEG, and it works. Whatever they accomplish should be enough. If they deal more damage than expected, just grant the BBEG more hit points in your head, but if they deal less than expected, string this phase out for another round or two until you can tell your players feel like they have made good progress.
Then we get into phase two of the boss fight: the players run into trouble. I like to deploy a dramatic flourish here generally, usually by employing an effect that makes the BBEG harder to hit. Perhaps it's magical armor (an artifact or "Mage Armor") or simply the BBEG going Super-Saiyan; the effect is that they pose more of a threat than previous. I like to boost the BBEG's AC by enough to make the players only 25% likely to hit. To provide examples, this would be a +3 to hit with a 15 or 16 AC, or a +6 to hit with an 18 or 19 AC. Now, your players are only succeeding in hitting the BBEG half as often as they were, which allows the BBEG to deal more damage relative how much they're taking damage. At the same time, boost the BBEG's saving throws to defend more against spellcasters. I recommend a +3 or 4 bonus, but this can be adjusted with good fudging of rolls on the BBEG's part. You can go the other route with this as well: improving the BBEG's likeliness to hit the players or deal greater damage can also add the imbalance you need to create some drama. This phase of the battle generally lasts another three to five rounds. Your players need more time to deal the damage they were dealing earlier in part one. Just as important to your consideration of when to move on to part three is how much damage the party has taken. When you have one or two party members who are at about one-quarter health or less, it's time to move onto part three.
Part three is where the players turn the tide and win. I like to use the AC-improving effect as a story moment; sometimes players will strategically try to negate the AC boost, and sometimes, the effect simply wears off. In any case, it can be helpful to have the AC boost disappear in phase three so that the party can get back on top of the encounter. You can have the boost you've granted to your BBEG disappear when a player strikes them particularly hard--basically use anything that would allow you to change the battle back to closer odds. In part three, I like to have one or two members of the party go unconscious. This really ups the drama. The BBEG should look both poised to win the battle and in fairly bad shape; we're imagining at this point (the beginning of part three) that the BBEG has only about 25% of their hit points left. This part of the battle should again be about three to five rounds, granting time to do and take damage. Then, when one of your players deal a considerably blow (more than 10 damage, let's say), the BBEG has taken all they can, and they fall unconscious. I think it's more interesting to have the BBEG incapacitated than dead, personally, so I generally have the BBEG rendered helpless rather than kill them; it should be a player choice to kill or spare a BBEG, not mine as a GM.
You can absolutely mix up the makeup of your boss fights. Add minions to the mix, use interesting terrain to create strategy, give the BBEG special powers; whatever you want can work. This guide simply shows you how to pace your boss fights for the enjoyment of your players. And trust me, your players will almost always prefer a dramatic fight than a statistically random one. It's more engaging and exciting, and that's the point of playing.
That's all for now. Coming soon: how to design a custom TRPG, how to roleplay learning new skills and abilities, and descriptions of what each deity's temples look like. Until next time, happy gaming!
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