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Goober4473
2008-06-29, 02:42 AM
I posted a while ago about this in the General Gaming forum, and now it's fairly well along, with a few good bosses so far.

Some background:

I was looking over the 4th Edition rules, and got to monsters. I saw the rules for solo monsters and I rejoiced. I love boss fights against a big bad or a really tough monster guarding the final treasure, or even just and interesting battle against a randomly powerful monster.

But then I looked through the Monster Manual. Now, I'm not complaining, but there were two or three "bosses" in the book, tops, and they weren't spectacular. Sure, they're interesting monsters, but no more so than a group of 5 regular mobs.

But the system is in place. The pieces are there to use. Nothing's holding me back from making the most awesome and epic boss battles I can imagine.

So I began work on the Boss Compendium. I posted over on the general gaming forum, and got a couple contributions from people.

Anyways, currently, I have 3 bosses done myself (levels 1, 2, and 10), and 2 from others (levels 8 and 28), and will be adding more as often as I can. If anyone here would like to contribute as well, I have a template you can use, and email me at [email protected]. Artwork would also be awesome if anyone is so inclined. Otherwise, check it out and tell me what you think.

The Boss Compendium (http://www.edanet.com/goober/Boss_Compendium.pdf)

Boss Template (http://www.edanet.com/goober/Boss_Template.doc)

P.S. I can't want to get to the final boss. Gonna be like 30 stages with 8 minibosses... *dreamy look*

drawingfreak
2008-06-29, 12:59 PM
The DMG has rules for changing a monster into a Solo monster. One could easily make boss enemies that way.

Mewtarthio
2008-06-29, 01:48 PM
You seem to be overlooking the entire point of this thread. The Boss Compendium was created because Goober is dissatisfied with Solo monsters as actual "bosses." The PDF itself contains fights reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda or Metroid Prime.

Goober4473
2008-06-29, 04:36 PM
Right. A solo monster is cool. I love 'em. They're a great idea, and if you set up the scenario right, a solo a few levels higher than the party could be a pretty good boss. But what I'm trying to do it take it even further, and make fights that are designed specifically to be cool bosses, not just difficult fights against one monster.

Tough_Tonka
2008-06-29, 07:30 PM
That hopper boss sure is peculiar.

DracoDei
2008-06-29, 08:00 PM
The PDF itself contains fights reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda or Metroid Prime.
Excellent games, but NOT what I think I usually want in a RPG, in fact I was going to raise something very like this point as a CRITICISM... feels too contrived for my taste... your millage(sp?) may vary...

Other than that...
I think RP should be emphasized against the fae frog much more... list some HEAVY situation bonuses, and give EXTENSIVE samples of his dialogs... basically 3 or 4 entire scripts (Lyric Sheets?) for each stage written for different types of parties (listing only what the FAE is saying/singing of course). If the party is going to get dissed in epic lyric style then the players DESERVE the pleasure of HEARING the exact words being aimed at them.


The details of exactly what is PHYSICALLY happening in the crystal construct fight could be a lot clearer I think...

Haven't read the last one.


Edit: See my comments here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/printthread.php?t=64595) for what I consider to a REASONABLY rational reversal of the normal "Final Fight" narrative structure (the original version of the concept I had actually made and run some players through made more sense, but it would take too long to explain). Strangely enough, it also got compared to a videogame (and not without just cause) but the logic was much better than in yours (except the fae thing with actually fits in very well with how fae must be defeated in many stories).

Goober4473
2008-06-30, 02:33 AM
I was planning to get a bunch of quotes written down for Hopper's songs when I had the time and inspiration.

I wanted to have a skill challenge statistically sound in there, but you could count a really good roleplaying insult/joke/whatever as a success if you want. But not every player can come up with that stuff on the fly, and their characters may be much more witty than they are.

The idea behind the boss fights is to do something differant. Not just another battle, but against a tougher monster, nor just another trap, or social encounter, or whatever. These fights require strategies and tactics you normally wouldn't need, and generally take much longer than a normal fight. This makes them unique and important, as opposed to just another encounter.

As it turns out, video games use these kinds of boss fights a lot. Things like having to complete some puzzle or challenge before you can move in and make your attacks. Repeat until you deal X amount of damage, then the boss changes, and you need to figure out what to do to drop its defenses again.

Each boss should be unique, and not all of them follow one set structure. A "boss fight" could easily be a fight against multiple enemies, as long as it's more than just a normal battle, and is somehow important or epic in style.

LiteYear
2008-06-30, 03:48 AM
Just a quick technical side-track, but it may be better to distribute the boss template file as a Word Template file instead of a Document file. To do it, just change the extension from .doc to .dot It will prevent users from accidentally modifying the base file (i.e. saving over the base with a completed monster)

Goober4473
2008-07-02, 04:16 PM
Compendium updated with another submission: The Hound of Blackness.

puppyavenger
2008-07-02, 04:37 PM
Compendium updated with another submission: The Hound of Blackness.

May I suggest changing the name? it just sounds.. weird.

DracoDei
2008-07-03, 09:31 PM
Actually on second look, half of these aren't THAT bad...

With the recent one, my preference would be to remove the pillar, and maybe increase speed and/or defense when it is bloodied to make up for that, or reduce the shifting to 4 squares and make it at will while bloodied... feels less contrived, although potentially more problematic...

As for the Hopper... I just meant that stuttering a bit before getting off "Well the same you you..." from a player would get them a -7 or so to their check, whereas zingers that cause every jaw around the table to drop and everyone to either be shocked into silence or unable to speak because they are laughing so hard for a full minute would be a +7.

I still haven't read the Demon one... but of the rest, the Crystal Gaurdian or whatever it is seems like the biggest offender... having it fall for the chandler trick more than once for instance... and if you can FORCE it to that location, you should be able to restrain it with equal measures while the other party members do their thing.

Eighth_Seraph
2008-07-03, 10:36 PM
Wow. I love the entire concept of this thread. Bravo. My personal favorite is the Guardian/sphinx.

Hrm. I feel the need to make a rendition of Mejora's Mask's giant sand worm thingies. The ones copied off of A Link to the Past. Problem is, I can't afford the 4e core books. Is the system's design as straightforward as it seems? I feel like I could hitch a homebrew baddie together using the existing bosses as examples.