Play video games for a little bit of time and you'll probably run into a boss
battle. In tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons &
Dragons, there might be times that a party will end up taking on a single
creature or bad guy. Often times it happens to be a dragon. People
who are used to video games might find it natural to throw in a boss
fight. However, they are some of the hardest encounters to design and run. It's
easy for the players to just steam roll the poor lonely creature or
to turn the encounter into an overlong test of endurance instead of
an interesting fight. With this in mind, I hope to present some of what I've seen on this topic.
They Aren't That Great in Video Games
I'd argue that most boss battles in video games aren't very good.
There are a few that might be well designed and fun but from my
experience there are many more that are a slog to get through at
best. If you come from mainly a video game background, don't feel
like you need to have one. Some creatures will prefer to go in
groups. There is nothing wrong with that. Even “bosses” in games
often appear with minions. Don't force them in just because it's a
convention in video games, and a convention I feel fails more than it
succeeds. You can boil down this advice to “why bother?” but I'd
argue that isn't such bad advice. Don't have one for the sake of
having one. A possibly deadly encounter that propels the story
forward can be done in many different ways, and it is what we should
be aiming for.
Sometimes It's Unavoidable
Some creatures and some people prefer to be alone. When given the option, players will try to go about their business as
safely as possible. As such, it really shouldn't be a surprise if
players try to corner a big bad when they are on their own. It really
only makes sense. However, doing so can force us into a “boss”
fight. If the party worked for that opportunity, it could be very
reasonable to let the players have an easier battle. It could also be
very reasonable to let the party gang up on the target. If not, the
“boss” has their own strategies they can employ to try and turn
the odds better (call guards, escape, summon creatures using
magic/items, find a good tactical position, etc.). They may try to
run away when they realize they got into such a difficult situation.
This results in a change from beating on a bag of hit points to
trying to chase and corner the big bad. What this tries to do is
change things from a slog to a different kind of situation.
Less Room For Error
Games have a number of things that are different than tabletop
role-playing games. Saving and loading means that the margin of error
for players can be far smaller in a video game than a tabletop one.
You don't have the luxury of reloading and I find players prefer to
move forward instead of being stuck anyway. Chance, however, still
plays a big role in tabletop role-playing games and it means the tide
of battle could turn against the players through no fault of their
own. For this reason, be careful with constructing encounters where
the math could easily go either way. At the same time, remember that
players will need to discover the weaknesses of their enemies as well
as tactics as they are playing. This means we can't expect the kind
of perfect play we could if reloading was possible. A player who's
already failed a couple of times can jump straight to the tactic that
works: our players can't.
Bag of Hit Points
The usual failure I see from “bosses” is that it devolves into
the boss being surrounded and beaten until dying. Combat encounters
tend to be most interesting when things change from round to round
and as a result tactical options are presented. These options mean
decisions need to be made and weighed. Avoiding this pitfall is
usually done by adding some kind of “twists” to the boss (maybe
they can teleport away when surrounded, have special actions such as
legendary actions or lair actions, they can fly, they can try to keep
the party at range, etc.), adding support for the boss through goons
(also known as henchmen, minions, etc.), creating an environment that
allows for many tactics or has its own twists, or adding other goals
to the encounter. The advice involving adding more creatures to the
encounter kind of moves it from a “boss battle” and more into a
dangerous and story important encounter. I don't see the problem when
the encounter is fun and allows for more options.
Damage Out
A party of adventurers can do a lot of damage in one round. If the
“boss” only has one attack, it will probably have difficulty
keeping pace. It's my interpretation that this is one of the reasons
legendary creatures get legendary actions (and lair actions when in
their lair) in Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition. These extra actions give the legendary creature more
attacks per turn and help it to keep pace. If you take a
non-legendary creature and run it as a “boss”, you might see that
the encounter is easier than challenge rating might seem to show
because of this. You might also see that it's harder than expected
because the creature had an ability that lets it hit above its rating
(intellect devourer can be hard to take down without at least one
death even at higher level).
Enemy Twists
A wide range of things can be given to a “boss” to help make them
more interesting. I typically call them twists since they change
encounters from what otherwise would be expected. Flying, and
teleporting are ones I've seen commonly used. These two options give
the “boss” more tactics they can employ and also help prevent
being permanently surrounded and beaten into submission. There are
many other twists you can employ. Giving a particular item to the
boss (item to turn them invisible, etc.) is often the way chosen to
add this twist. However, the item needs to add something significant.
A few +1s here and there isn't enough to change the tactical
considerations. You also need to account for the item possibly falling into the hands of your players. Legendary actions and lair actions are elements that
I would describe as being very twist like and they are already in D&D
5th edition. However, you might want to add more or add
some more craziness to keep things interesting.
Goons
Adding more targets is an easy way to get around the surrounded
“boss” issue. The minions allow for more complex tactics,
different targets, and force players to work to get close to the boss
in order to surround them. It also means that the “boss” doesn't
need as many hit points to be a challenge since some of the damage is being
shifted to the henchmen. There are many ways to do so. If in combat,
the “boss” might call for help from nearby. If the players snuck
into the big bad's tent to try and assassinate them, such a move is
very reasonable. There are also magical means to gain allies.
Powerful demons can summon weaker demons to help them and a
necromancer might be able to raise some nearby skeletons to help out.
They don't all have to come at once, as the calling for backup
example shows. Doing so forces a bit of a time limit on players since
they need to take care of the “boss” before too many
reinforcements come.
Environment
The area that an encounter takes place in allows for different
tactics. The way players act in a 10 foot wide tunnel will be
different than a dense forest, or a desert. Hazards such as large
drops (for throwing people into), lava, fires, and flowing water
(doubly so for vampires) again provide more tactical options for
players. The environment is also tied into how well both players and
creatures can employ stealth, cover and flanking.
What's the Goal?
The goal in an encounter is important. The goal in an encounter might
not simply be “hit the boss until it dies”. The more general goal
of “sending the evil being back from where it came” allows
different options. Can they dispel it? Can they trap it in an item or
use an item to weaken it (obtaining the item involves a large quest
but renders the final boss battle easier)? Can they interrupt the
ritual before its finished, meaning the “boss” will just fade
away? All of these are aimed at fighting the bad guy directly. Maybe
just keeping them busy for long enough to free the prisoners and
trapping them in the cave will be enough. However, in this case,
freeing the prisoners could be the main goal. This change forces
tactics to be different, especially if the bad guy will try to kill
or take the prisoners hostage when they realize what is going on.
Player Side
You don't have to focus only on the side of the enemies. Giving your
players an extra option or two in combat helps make things more
interesting. Many of the things I mentioned earlier such as
environment and goals will affect both sides. Even something like a
necklace of fireball with a single bead can greatly change the
methods employed in an encounter. If players have more options and
are better equipped, you can also safely throw more at them.
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