Help Me balance a fight vs BBEG

[Ancalagon]

Hello

So the end of a big adventure (Gates of Firestorm Peak, ie SPOILERS!) looms near. I need some advice on how to balance this fight, esp on the number of mooks.

THE HEROES:
All level 6. Paladin (oath of the ancient), Cleric (knowledge), Warlock (great old one, Tome), Monk (open hand).
NPC Allies: 2 that are semi ineffective, but will help sometimes (esp if things are going bad) by say giving a healing potion or putting oil on a troll (DM controled).

THE BATTLEFIELD:
A large, vaguely cross-shaped room with a few stone pillars and a magical gate (very dangerous) in the middle.


BBEG: High level warlock (10-11). Will start fight with Evard's black tentacle then use magical item (the Eye of the Kraken) to dominate on PCs (I will allow a save each round). If this doesn't work will try EB. Can dimension door out, drink strong healing potion, dimension door back in. He will ask the party warlock to turn and help him as they have the same Patron (I expect the player

BBEG's lieutenant: Level 6 wizard (probably conjurer). His main contribution to the battle is his wand of lightning. He can also use dispel magic, vampiric touch and melf's acid arrow. Has shield, Misty step memorized too.

There is a strong chance for smart play here by the party's cleric, as they have a wand of negation which would shut down both the dominating item and the wand of lightning.


The mooks. As per the module, there is a total of 12 mooks.

ELITE DUERGARS: (in the module, 5)
SAVES: Adv vs spells, charm, paralyzed, poison, illusions
+2 brawn, +0 others
Speed: 30 when enlarged, 25 otherwise
HP 30
AC: 16
+4 to hit, 2d4+6 REACH 20

These are like the regular Duergar, except their enlarge makes them very big and give them huge reach with their pole arms. They will try to act as a defensive screen . If possible, they will shove the PCs into the Gate (this is very ouchy)


TROLL MUTANTS (In the module: 3)
They are weaker than normal trolls (regeneration 3/round, less HP) but have 3 arms.
AC: 14
hp: 35
OFFENSE
Melee Attack: +6 to hit, 1d4+3 3X (3 arms), bite 1d8+3


MYCONIDS (in the module: 2)
As per PHB, standard adult. Will attempt their pacifying spore


Brood gibberlings (In the module: 2)
AC: 12
hp: 30
OFFENSE
Speed: 30 ft., burrow 5 ft.
Melee Attack—Bite: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4+4 ) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be afflicted by gibberslugs.
Ranged Attack—Gibberslug Spit: +4 to hit, range 30 ft. one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) acid damage, and the target must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be afflicted by gibberslugs.

Gibberslugs: A creature afflicted with gibberslugs has one round in which fire can be applied to the place where the slug burrowed, killing the slug. If the slug is not removed, the creature takes 2 (1d4) damage at the end of its turn each round until it is reduced 0 hit points at which point the slug reaches its brain. A lesser restoration spell kills a gibberslug, as does eating darkscape mushroom. Paladin's cure disease also will cleanse a gibberslug. A creature reduced to 0 hit points by a gibberslug drops into a nightmarish coma for 1d20 + 4 hours during which it undergoes a horrific transformation into a gibberling. It can only be awakened from its catatonic state with remove curse or greater restoration, at which point the creature is "stable" at.

 

[aco175]

It seems like things can be swingy with the portal in the middle. It sounds like the old save or die spells that could take out a PC with a bad roll and now the fight is one PC short and suddenly overpowered. This also gives more XP to these enemies even if they do not get to take out one of the PCs.

I tend to think that the 6th level PCs can take on more than presented if they are good on spells and HP. The 30hp bad guys should be one or two hits each or even taken out with the lighting before they can act. I try to hold some mooks back to make another wave in case the big fight needs more.

I also kie to provide ways to access the other areas of the room so the fight does not just allow shooting from afar. Something like paintings on each wall that are portals to linked ones in other areas of the cross. After the surprise the back line takes when a group flanks the, the PCs will get the opportunity to do the same to the BBEG.

 

[Quartz]

Be prepared to make the lieutenant a coward.

It concerns me that both your fighters are close-range and the duergar will get multiple attacks on them before they close. You might want to have the duergar spread out - perhaps four in two pairs well apart with the fifth as the warlock's bodyguard - so they don't interfere with each other.

Do the party have any way of avoiding the fight by making the portal go boom? Or go dead?

 

[Ancalagon]

Be prepared to make the lieutenant a coward.

It concerns me that both your fighters are close-range and the duergar will get multiple attacks on them before they close. You might want to have the duergar spread out - perhaps four in two pairs well apart with the fifth as the warlock's bodyguard - so they don't interfere with each other.

Do the party have any way of avoiding the fight by making the portal go boom? Or go dead?

Some of the duergar will be on bodyguard duty for the BBEG. I'm also thinking that the lieutenant will need to move to line up lightning bolts so the myconids will escort him.

The gate can be disabled but it takes time and effort, it would be unwise to do that in the middle of the battle.

 

[Imaculata]

Design the boss area in such a way that smart players can gain an advantage on the bad guys. Add opportunities to take cover, to gain higher ground, and to use terrain elements against the bad guys.

For example, what I sometimes do is add a minion with a powerful weapon, that the players can take control of, if they take out the minions first. Or I add pieces of furniture that the players can use to their advantage. Barrels of gunpowder, barrels of flammable oil, alchemy potions, traps... anything that makes sense to be present in the room, and could be used by the players to gain the upper hand.

One of my last big battles had a mechanical lifting arm in the arena, that the players used to grapple a powerful enemy, and temporarily put it out of action. I like to include multiple optional objectives during a big battle, rather than only having the players hit the bad guys.

Another recent battle had a couple of minions performing a magical ritual, that when disrupted by the players would weaken the boss.

So contrary to what was just suggested, I would for example place magical orbs in the arena that the players can destroy, to weaken or disable the portal.

 

[hastur_nz]

A dozen mooks sounds like too many for me, for 6th level PC's, especially when you've only got 4 PC's and no Wizard or similar to help really thin the numbers quickly (Warlock just doesn't have the same big-boom / crowd control, and while Cleric has Spirit Guardians that's pretty dangerous unless the mooks are one-hit wonders which I don't think they are here).

You should know your group's capabilities better than us, but that's my initial thought - dial down the strength and/or number of mooks. One false step, and half a dozen mooks pounding on a single PC, could easily lead to that PC being down for the count, before things have even really got started.

In my experience with 5e, at PC levels around say 5-8, any fight where the PC's are outnumbered, and there's a decent boss-type in the mix, is very much "deadly", i.e. a good chance you'll drop at least one PC, and a chance one or more will die. Especially if your group doesn't have a good Controller. For example, last week I used 3 ogres (+1 later), an air elemental, and a Cloud Giant, vs 4 PC's of level 7 - I dropped two PC's towards the end, with only one ogre left and the cloud giant badly hurt; so the cloud giant picked one up and threatened to drop her off the edge of flying castle unless the PC's gave up; the one surviving ogre was commanded to carry the other unconscious PC downstairs... my players threatened the giant with something of his (long story)... so he dropped the PC to her death a mile or so below, and the PC's got lucky and killed him before he could drop more of them. Ogres are only CR2, but in combo with a high CR boss, and a supporting elemental, the basic action economy worked in favour of the bad-guys, especially as my group also doesn't have a wizard-type, like yours it's mostly fighter-types and a cleric or two.

 

[Quartz]

Maybe I'm channelling too many bad movies & comic strips, but it would be very cinematic for the cleric to activate the Wand of Negation and throw it into the Gate. Cue ominous rumble, pyrotechnics, and baddies running for it... Or maybe the PCs hear the BBEG telling his minions to not let the Wand near the Gate and put 2+2 together. Then the fight becomes 'get to the gate' rather than 'fight the bad guys' which should be much more manageable.

 

[Ancalagon]

One thing I've decided is to NOT give the warlock Telekinesis :O

Edit: Repelling blast though? Fair game!

I'm also reducing the level of the warlock from 11 to 10, but he still has 3 slots due to the power of the gates (his EB is weaker, and he doesn't have a mystic arcanum)

 

[FrogReaver]

It mostly depends on how you play the enemies. If they are played with any bit of intelligence or the players don't play perfectly or the monsters get 1-2 lucky rolls then the PC's are doomed.

A few scenarios to consider:
1. The cleric doesn't use the wand of negation at all
2. Lightning bolt wand rolls very high damage and a few players fail the save
3. Domination affects a player for 2 rounds
4. The players don't handle the glitherslugs properly because the feel other targets are a bigger priority.
5. The players don't use aoe spells to begin handling all the lesser foes or they do and lose concentration on them.

It just looks to me like way to much can go wrong for the players and they aren't going to be left with a way to recover.

 

[Harzel]

If the NPC allies are really not a factor, then we have 4 PCs vs. 14 opponents. On its face, that would make me worry about the PCs chances. And if one of the PCs succumbs to the dominate, things could be really bad while that lasts. However, if the myconids and some duergar (guarding the BBEG) don't engage unless the PCs get close that makes things a little better.

So if all the mooks are going to be able to whomp on the PCs pretty much from the outset, then I think I'd take away, say, 2 trolls and 1 duergar. If some will hang back as body guards, then maybe delete just 1 troll (although if the PCs insist on putting themselves in the position of engaging all the mooks at once anyway, then things could go badly).

On a side note, how would a wand of negation 'shut down' the other magic items? It looks like it could be used to banish the BBEG though, which would certainly be a game-changer if successful. Am I looking at a different wand of negation than you are?

EDIT: Oh, looks like there was previously a wand of negation that does shut down other wands. Ignore previous comment.