Air Elemental Boss Fight

[SangoProduction]

Can someone help me in making an interesting boss fight with an unusual Air Elemental - an eternal guardian of...a box. We don't know what's inside the box, but someone wants it, and is paying money for the party to get it.

Current Party: A berserker (reach weapon), a two-weapon ranger (made not-useless), and a psion.

My initial idea was to have the air elemental controlling lightning.
1) The stage would initially be a set of platforms, each large enough for one person, revolving around a central platform on which the air elemental rests, and is 3x3 squares.
2) The inner ring of platforms moves 2 squares clockwise around the center each turn, and the outer ring moves 1 square counter clockwise around the center each turn.
3) The entrance to the room they wish to enter is on the other side of these platforms, but is covered by an electric gate of sorts. They could fight the elemental, and drop the gate that way, or try and ignore the elemental, and shove themselves through the gate (taking significant damage) - if they make a fortitude or will save to intentionally walk in to lightning.
4) Balls of lightning also orbit the elemental, and moves 3 squares clockwise each turn, and has a ray of lightning going from the elemental to the ball. Running in to one would cause some light damage.
5) The elemental remains in a "stasis" of sorts, until the party deals enough damage to knock the elemental in to the next phase.

Originally, I planned on requiring a jump check between platforms. But I instead thought that it would just be a move action instead...because "roll or fall in to the abyss" doesn't sound fun, lol.

Are there any suggestions for this section?

I'm kind of at a loss for what to actually do for the next phase or 2 of the boss. Perhaps something with a charging attack, and them being able to run to the platforms before it is unleashed? What do I do for the Psion, who's got pretty good range? Perhaps have a slowly enclosing circle of lightning after the first phase?

[Psyren]

Originally, I planned on requiring a jump check between platforms. But I instead thought that it would just be a move action instead...because "roll or fall in to the abyss" doesn't sound fun, lol.

You don't have to make failing this lethal. If they fall off, you could have the howling winds around the elemental catch them and put them back on a platform (WoW style), but they take some damage in the process (cold, electric, slashing and/or bludgeoning), or the winds disorient them for a round or two (20% miss chance from dizziness) or something. This gives them options in how to handle it - do they buff each other to jump or fly easily? Do the big heavy members of the party that can't jump well simply tank the damage with DR or high HP? Do they just heal through it? Etc.


I'm kind of at a loss for what to actually do for the next phase or 2 of the boss. Perhaps something with a charging attack, and them being able to run to the platforms before it is unleashed? What do I do for the Psion, who's got pretty good range? Perhaps have a slowly enclosing circle of lightning after the first phase?

What you need are other threats - "one big monster" boss fights almost never work. Either the big bad is too tough and TPKs the party, or he is a pushover that dies in a couple of rounds because he gets one set of actions to the party's 4-5. Minor elementals maybe, or something like a flock of harpies that live in the chamber and worship it.

Even if you are set on just the one monster, I would consider having some of the platforms be trapped. Maybe some of them get electrified periodically and zap folks who land on them, maybe some have springs that launch you to a platform you didn't intend on, or maybe some are jagged and function like spike traps or caltrops or something

[Eisfalken]

It's hard to know exactly what to do without the average party level here, but here's some off-the-cuff thoughts.

1. Limit how much you alter the battlefield by moving all that stuff around. It's a lot more work than you may think, and it could be a headache for the players as well.

2. Instead of moving the battlefield, just change conditions. Drop or raise the floor in specific places where falling does a smidgen of damage, and have some effect occasionally make bull rush attempts to push them around some. Maybe even blow straight down; if they fail the save, they get knocked prone or something.

3. Make the elemental a divine spellcaster so it can heal and buff itself. This way, you can do the fight where phase 2 is them fighting it mostly as normal, then when it gets to half hp it flies off and heals and rebuffs. If your PCs are high enough to tackle it, try giving it cleric 11; this gives righteous might plus a domain spell (should be Air and one other related to it's purpose, maybe Protection).

4. Phase 1 should be them getting to the elemental. Use swarms of mephits or other annoying but not strictly lethal enemies. You can even have small teams of mephits working siege engines near the back of the room where the PCs are going, firing them at the PCs; the damage is altered by selecting the type and size of siege weapon, the enchantments on it (if any), and the ammo it is firing. Each team of mephits has one of X number of keys needed to pop the lock on the gate.

5. Phase 2 is the initial elemental fight. Have him burn his lower-level stuff for smaller buffs, and you might sprinkle in some extra elemental enemies, environment hazards, etc. if the PCs are doing super-good thus far. Or if they bungled the first room, ease up on the damage output and give them a chance to do this thing.

6. Phase 3 starts when elemental gets to half hit points; he flies straight up through a big, tall tower, to the top where your "box" is locked up. Have the route up to the tower be really wonky: climb up one building's stairs to a room, cross a rope bridge, up a ladder to a short cave tunnel, out the tunnel to another better bridge to the tower's middle, then up the tower on an outside stairwell to the top room. During the entire time, hit them with any pesky, low-level elemental air stuff you can: mephits, elementite swarms (Planar Handbook), half-air elemental beings (MotP), whatever you can dream up related to air elementals (the idea is that they are minions from the elemental's home). Have them harass the PCs on the way up, stall them enough for the elemental to heal up and rebuff for the final confrontation.

7. Phase 4 starts when they get into the room; have the elemental use righteous might as the final spell to increase size and other stuff (have stats handy for that one). Now it's just a straight fight to the death, and this time pull any dirty tricks you were holding back on. Make sure the PCs know the elemental is prepared to slay them outright by this point; have the elemental make gruesome threats, focus on weaker targets when possible, etc.


Not sure if that helps any, but figured I'd throw it out there.

[SangoProduction]

Thanks for the help you guys. I'll take the information in to consideration this Sunday. And even when setting up the room, I already realized what a pain it would be to move the orbs and lightning with Roll20. I think I'm going to go with a set up where each turn a platform is stood or stepped on, increases its charge by 1 {None, charging, charged}, and each turn when not stepped on, it charges down one step.
At Charged, anyone who steps on it takes moderate lightning damage.

Should I include this feature in the main platform (and have it not charge with the elemental, but can damage it)? [The two-weapon ranger has effective ranged options, so it's not a complete "screw you" to him.]

I think it will keep the party moving, and thinking ahead, which was my goal.

[Afgncaap5]

You could always take a cue from Oozes and other Asteroids Monsters (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AsteroidsMonster) by having defeating the main version create several small elementals. This concept of combat makes more sense for an elemental than most other creature types.