How can i spice up the Dracolich for my players?

[damascoplay]

So,as the title implies,i need a little bit of help on this one. I'm currently running a campaign for my players,in wich they are trying to find a way to take down a white dragon (That currently has been turned into a Dracolich) from the skies in order to fight him on land,making things easier for the Cleric and the Monk in the group to deal with.

I'm DMing for 4 players,three of them are level 10 and the other one is a warlock level 9 (But is close to leveling up),and another player may be joining them on the next session,but with a lower level.

What i'm trying to do is to make the fight agaisnt the Dracolich more difficult for them,since just the Dracolich alone is going to be pretty easy for them to handle,since they are only going to fight him once they get to level 14 or higher. They already have a couple of power ups that they gain throught the use of a inspiration point,wich makes them stronger and gives them more abilities in battle,that lasts for one minute.

So,i need a few ideas on how i can improve my Dracolich for that fight!

[mephnick]

Don't have him fight alone or don't let them fight him on the ground. A grounded Dracolich vs a group of level 14 characters won't even last 2 rounds.

How are they going to ground him anyway?

[Unoriginal]

Give the Dracolich Lair Actions and Legendary actions that make him particularly deadly in the area the fight is going to happen?

Give him zombies minions who lay waiting in the snow with instruction to grapple the heroes and wrestle them to the ground if the dragon lands?

[damascoplay]

Don't have him fight alone or don't let them fight him on the ground. A grounded Dracolich vs a group of level 14 characters won't even last 2 rounds.

How are they going to ground him anyway?

I've planned on them finding an ancient shattered orb of dragonkind that needs to be mended back in order to work. It has limited castings of the 2th level EarthBind Spell (The Orb's the only thing capable of using Earthbind),besides other spells and magic effects.

[Unoriginal]

Doesn't using that kind of Orb make the whole of Dragonkind hate you forever or something?

[damascoplay]

Doesn't using that kind of Orb make the whole of Dragonkind hate you forever or something?

You can use an action to draw the attention of evil dragons within 40 miles. Besides that,there's nothing else that will make you the enemy of dragonkind.

[mephnick]

Anyway, if you're really intent on making a memorable single monster boss encounter, the only way I've found to do it effectively is using Angry DMs Paragon system. Legendary and Lair actions don't do enough to fix the action economy IMO.

[Zanthy1]

Undead horde. Have a handful of moderately powerful zombies or other undead start fight, and every round have 1d3 more show up. Until the dracolich dies, then they'll stop coming (but the remaining will still fight). If the players start to ignore the horde, have an undead spellcaster spawn or other more significant undead that have to be dealt with (perhaps they heal the dracolich?) that way the party cannot just focus fire on teh dracolich and end the fight super early.

[AttilatheYeon]

Tabasco, maybe a little siracha 😁

[Kane0]

Try stealing some bone spells from the Diablo II necromancer as inspiration, make them legendary actions.
Nobody will see that coming.

[Chugger]

Tabasco, maybe a little siracha 😁

Ah, ya beat me to it! Nicely done. I was gonna say cayenne and some garlic powder, but hey - anything hot would work. Ghost pepper sauce might actually dissolve it! :O

[damascoplay]

Tabasco, maybe a little siracha 😁

Aha! I saw that one coming from a mile!

[damascoplay]

Try stealing some bone spells from the Diablo II necromancer as inspiration, make them legendary actions.
Nobody will see that coming.

I like this one a lot!

[BillyBobShorton]

Spells. Dragons with Spells, man.

Study those legendary actions too. No dragon fight should ever be a 2 round cakewalk. EVER.

Watch Critical Role Episode 55: "Umbrasyl" and note how Matt Mercer runs a dragon.

And if all else fails, double its HP. The longer they live, the more dangerous they become.

Best of luck!

[damascoplay]

Spells. Dragons with Spells, man.

Study those legendary actions too. No dragon fight should ever be a 2 round cakewalk. EVER.

Watch Critical Role Episode 55: "Umbrasyl" and note how Matt Mercer runs a dragon.

And if all else fails, double its HP. The longer they live, the more dangerous they become.

Best of luck!

Thanks! I will keep that in mind.

Time to rewatch ep 55 then :P