Ideas for boss?

[Pikashell]

So my new campaign is starting soon and i wanted to intruduce my players to a boss at the start. I got the idea from a youtube channel called Matthew Colville. The idea was the 1st big bad guy would be like lvl 6 or 7 so when my players get to level 5 they will fight him. So what should the boss be like class, race, motivation. I realy want to make the guy interesting. I though maybe the local leader of the thief guilde or a necromancer that serves a greater evil. Or maybe even the person who gave them their first quest and I can make an interesting plot twist. Whats your opinion?

[Kane0]

What details for your game have you already got?

[Pikashell]

What details for your game have you already got?

Well the players woud go on a simple quest the first time like "go to the goblin hideout and get the ancient sword of my grandfather". The idea is that when they come back the whole town would be gone for some reason and they have to fing out. The problem is that the some of the goblins survived and went to their masters hobgoblins to get reinforcements. So the players will fight both the goblin and hobgoblin army and the bad guys minions.

[Malifice]

Find a CR 10ish monster from the PHB.

Pretty sure Warlord and Champion are all around that CR. Fiend Warlock also sits around that level.

Save yourself the time and use that.

Statting up NPCs as PCs is a waste of time and effort.

[Pikashell]

Find a CR 10ish monster from the PHB.

Pretty sure Warlord and Champion are all around that CR. Fiend Warlock also sits around that level.

Save yourself the time and use that.

Statting up NPCs as PCs is a waste of time and effort.
I tought that if I kinda give him the pc treatment it would make him a more interesting character. I liked the idea of making this bad guy tie in with another thing that will help me make the next adventure. Like for example he is a part of cult that you should stop or he serves this powerfull monster or diety as I previously said

[Unoriginal]

I tought that if I kinda give him the pc treatment it would make him a more interesting character

It wouldn't. Stats don't make a character interesting, nor would dying in 2 turns because of PC health vs 5 people.

Though stats can make a character less interesting if they don't fit the character, and it's enjoyable to have the game stats fit the backstory and personality of the character.

In any case, PC stats aren't more interesting than NPC ones.



I liked the idea of making this bad guy tie in with another thing that will help me make the next adventure. Like for example he is a part of cult that you should stop or he serves this powerfull monster or diety as I previously said

Make them an Wood Elf gcaptain of tge fuards who is actually a Warlock of the Fiend, maybe?

Maybe have them send the PC to fight goblins, but actually the enemies waiting for them are troglodytes?

[Blacky the Blackball]

The whole trope of the "Big Boss" that the PCs must defeat in combat at the climax of the campaign (after having met them and lost to them a couple of times before then to establish them as their "nemesis") is such a tired old cliche that you should do something to subvert it.

Why not have a whole group as the enemies instead of a single boss? The PCs can then take out two or three of them individually to weaken the group before then taking on the remainder.

Or perhaps have the "enemy" as some kind of natural or magical phenomenon that's driving the goblins and the like into action; so the PCs have to solve their problems by fixing what's going wrong rather than just by hitting someone.

Or maybe have an primary enemy that isn't a combatant - after all, that's why they need all those bodyguards and things, and instead of having to fight them, the party have to stop them escaping (maybe even needing to take them alive for some reason so simply killing them isn't an option).

Or perhaps there is a primary enemy that is in public view the whole time, but the PCs can't simply kill them because that would be murder. So the PCs are questing to find the evidence of the enemy's wrongdoing so that they can present it to the Queen, rather than directly confronting the enemy.

[bc56]

I would second the "don't create a PC". PCs are a lot weaker than most monsters, simply because they have fewer hit points.

I would recommend using the encounter tables to pick a single monster that is a deadly challenge, or a strong monster with minions that works out to a deadly challenge. A hobgoblin warlord with some hobgoblins or goblins would be a good threat.

[SirGraystone]

A goblin's tribe have taken over the local silver mine, and the PCs are hired to recover it. But when they loot the goblin chief they find a letter with a crude map of where the mine is and instructions to goblin to take control of the mine sign "The Jackal".

[MrStabby]

Don't build a PC - it is not a great start. Don't just take a MM stat-block either - it is an equally bad idea.

You want a boss.

You want something unique, something memorable.

Just one more encounter plucked from the same book that underpins most other campaigns will not tick this box.


My advice is to build from the ground up.

How much damage should this guy need to go down?

What are his strengths and weaknesses?

What mechanics can represent these?


Now classes are a great way to go. It unifies the world and makes it feel like the PCs are part of it, using the same rules as everyone else rather than being crudely tagged on afterwards. Adding class abilities (rather than levels) provides a strong theme and lets the PCs intuit more about how the enemy will fight.

If you want to give an enemy a cunning action ability consider giving them a sneak attack ability and proficiency in stealth and/or dexterity saves. Find a unique way of meshing together the class abilities with a character concept.


As an example: create the son of a local noble. As the representative of authority he carries enough weight to set quests and has the cash to pay you. He can also be enough of a jerk that the PCs will get some satisfaction from a fight. This guy is in league with a minor devil (plot point to cue presence of warlock abilities) and is a stop-at-nothing underhand coward in terms of personality.

Stat up a guy with high charisma, probably lowish wisdom and follow a rogue theme for combat. Tracking spells can be a pain so maybe you don't want too many levels/choices. In this example I want some "infernal" feel - hellish rebuke would be a spell, maybe counterspell (defensive feel for the cowardice, also a bit of a shock to a plan) and misty step. Give the guy an imp familliar - maybe add on a shield guardian ability that appropriate research/knowledge checks should identify. "Devil's sight" invocation and false life should help support a bit of hit and run type action (coupled with maybe some traps set). For combat abilities add cunning action, and 2d6 sneak attack damage (allow one attack). Proficiency in the typical rogue skills. Add a magic weapon if you are using them in your world.

Give the guy a single legendary action and a single legendary save. These are a signal to the party that you are dealing with a boss and help the mechanics work. At a low level and at the end of an adventuring day a full 3 might push the encounter over the top or mean that the other abilities would have to be dialled back to compensate and suck some of the character. Legendary action can be used for an attack (including sneak attack) or to take the dodge action (letting you keep a more fragile opponent whist maintaining a defence. If he can separate the PCs he can cause a lot of pain going on the offensive. This also maintains a bit of parity between save based attacks and attack role based attacks (legendary save + counterspell making the former a little worse).

This is just an example - fit the details to your world. The point is to do something better than pull an entry from the monster manual and leave it unchanged. If you create the enemy yourself you should know better how to play it and how in integrate it into the encounter and the campaign as a whole.

[Joshthemanwich]

Pretty recently I used a Succubus with levels in Warlock as a reoccurring villain due to the ability to jump into the ethereal plane and escape along with the casting ability of a Warlock and the Chain Pact giving her an Imp companion.

[Specter]

You can include one final boss in your campaign easily. Just be sure to have some minions around to make it more interesting.

[Fire Tarrasque]

FORSOOTH! I have actual experience with PC style bosses.
The trick is too give them things the PCs cannot get. I had my players fight a barbarian of level ten, and I believe they were around level 5-6, but don't quote me on that, it was a while ago.
Heres the catch: I gave that barbarian every path. (Or, two paths. Pre Xanathar.), alongside stats like 24 strength, 22 constitution, didn't role for the HP, things like that. It's pretty simple. And for the record, that boss fought them, and even with significant luck, out of a seven person party, three remained, and two of those would be one shot. It came down to pretty much ONE hit.