(3.5) Final Boss for a game

[booliusdoolius]

Hey all, I'm looking for a monster to act as a final boss for the game, but I'm not sure which one will work best. I'm looking for an outsider or a water monster that's around CR 9. I'm looking for something kinda from space or something like that or a giant sea monster that'll give the players a difficult fight. I kinda wanted to do a Rukarazyll but they have DR 20. Any ideas help. Thanks.

[martixy]

If you're looking for something from space, how about an alien. Like from the movie. Called Alien.

Throw a kython or two, or a nest at them. They range from CR 1 to CR 13, so you can have your pick. Book of Vile Darkness.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Maybe a Naga, there are a bunch of different ones at various CRs, they’re alien enough and you can add fins to make it look more aquatic. Spellcasters make better end bosses than bruisers, makes for a more interesting fight.

[booliusdoolius]

That's a good idea, but I was thinking something more Lovecraftian. Something like a Roper or something along those lines.

[Glimbur]

What's your party like? As cool as a single final boss is, the action economy is not kind to them. A nest of ropers could work, though you want to be careful not to just grapple the whole party and TPK.

[booliusdoolius]

I'm not sure to be honest. Most of them are new players and need help making characters, so I'll be helping them make characters. I know that one of my players wants to make a catfolk psion.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Some kind of mind flayer then? You can add levels of psion if it needs a higher CR, or even a prestige class that advances its manifesting.

[the_david]

What about an Aboleth? It's CR7, but it shouldn't be that hard to advance it a little. They live in water, they have cults. It seems like a perfect fit to me.

[tiercel]

What about an Aboleth? It's CR7, but it shouldn't be that hard to advance it a little. They live in water, they have cults. It seems like a perfect fit to me.

This. If you want water + Lovecraftian, aboleths are pretty much the exemplar of the type (and if you can get your hand on the Lords of Madness book, you can get a whole lot more fluff and crunch than you probably need - or even want ;) )

Advancing an aboleth isn’t too bad but a “final boss” encounter with one has an approximately 0% chance of not including cultists and/or dominated thralls, so it would be pretty easy to dial your EL to whatever you want (never mind an intelligent alien mind using the water to its advantage; fighting anything aquatic is generally a real pain for any party not specifically optimized/geared for it).