Bosses

Lamia Sorceress

Monster  
Count 1
Motivation Territorial, Treasure
Statistics hp:20+10 per player, ac:14, damage:6
Modifiers STR/DEX/CON: +4, WIS/INT/CHA: +2
Special Abilities Two Initiatives, Resistant to Nonmagical Weapons
Initiative 01 Spear Attack: 6 damage + reach
Initiative 02 Psychic Assault: 4 damage + 30 ft AoE, DC 15 WIS Save for None
1/day Shatter: 15 damage, DC 15 CON Save for Half

Bosses are powerful enemies that require the party to use all or most of their available resources to defeat. Not every dungeon has a boss, but those that do typically only have one.

Designing a Boss Fight

In general, boss fights can use the bear template with enhancements. Many standard 5E statblocks can also be used as bosses. Remember that the three round combat rule is still in effect. Standard statblocks need to be appropriately lethal to drive a conclusion.

From the player perspective, a boss fight is the time to use all remaining items and spells. When it’s present (and it won’t always be), it should serve as a high-stakes finale to the dungeon crawl.

Running a Boss Fight

  • Death Saving Throws: Bosses get death saves, unless their stat block says otherwise (i.e. creatures that self-destruct). This allows players some roleplaying opportunities.

  • No Legendary Resistances: In general, avoid abilities that negate player actions through fiat. Instead, when a boss would be stunned or similarly impaired, have the boss lose one of their initiatives in combat.

  • Minions: Most bosses are accompanied by swarms.

(Optional) Not Even My Final Form

Boss fights can be a delicate balancing act between “overpowering the party that ran out of resources” and “obliterated by a party that carefully rationed their spells”. A good way to mitigate this is by dividing a boss into three stages.

  1. 100% HP -> 50% HP Standard Fight

  2. 50% HP -> 0% HP Desperate Fight

  3. 0% HP -> -50% HP Optional Secret Fight

Build your bosses to have a third stage that only triggers if the party has too easy of a time with the first two. Give the third stage an extra 50% of the boss’ HP and a dangerous new ability.

Alternatives to Boss Fights

Not every dungeon has a big boss waiting in the last room. Many are setup in a way that a boss fight is unnecessary, or handled in a different fashion. Below are a few examples.

  • Too Strong: Sometimes the “boss” is creature that’s too powerful to fight, such as an ancient dragon, and instead needs to treated like a Hazard.

  • Different Finale: Sometimes the last “boss” is actually a cave-in, flood, or other trial that is equally dangerous but can’t be handled through combat.

  • Hidden Danger: Sometimes the party survives a harrowing dungeon by the skin of their teeth, only to be confronted by bandits waiting at the entrance for easy pickings.