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<blockquote data-quote="77IM" data-source="post: 7522919" data-attributes="member: 12377"><p>I like this monster's design, but against 6 level-7 PCs in a straight-up fight, I predict it getting absolutely thrashed.</p><p></p><p>Things I think will work well:</p><p> - Chromatic adaption is a really cool way to keep this fight dynamic. Make sure you telegraph this ability -- every time hybrid shifts, its color should change, or something.</p><p> - Bite + Spell is a pretty good multiattack routine and may make up for the lack of Frightful Presence. (In most big dragon fights, they hit some PCs with fear in the first round or two, which can really give the dragon an edge early-on, and can also feel dynamic when the fear wears off and all the melee people can close in.)</p><p> - Legendary spell casting is great. I'm going to steal this.</p><p> - Webwalker: if the hybrid is in a place that is actually full of webs, this is amazing. The boss can fly right through a wall of webbing that the PCs might need to make checks or spend actions to penetrate. </p><p></p><p>Things that I'd change:</p><p> - Breath weapon damage is super low. Even a CR 8 young green dragon deals 42 damage, and this thing is CR 12. The thing about dragons is that their weapon attacks are sub-par for their CR, but their breath weapons are scary as <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />. I'd increase the breath damage by probably 25-50%. That may be enough to one-shot the squishies in your party, but that's kind of the point. The PCs should be spreading out to avoid having more than two of them caught in a breath attack.</p><p> - Spell list is a bit lackluster. Fill it with spells that you could imagine the boss actually wanting to cast. Defensive spells such as <em>mirror image</em> and <em>greater invisibility</em> and <em>fire shield</em> can work wonders. At your level, <em>counterspell</em> is a must-have.</p><p> - Movement is too low. Dragons are amazing boss enemies when they can do hit-and-run tactics, particularly in an environment that gives them lots of cover and concealment. Consider adding <em>misty step</em> spell, as it's a bonus action to cast. Terrain that slows the PCs is also helpful (cliffs, pits, pools of water, WEBBING). The reason hit-and-run is so effective is the breath weapon recharge, and it's especially synergistic with spellcasting: when the breath weapon is recharging, the hybrid hides and spends a round or two casting defensive and buff spells on itself, or summoning spiders or something. Hiding and casting <em>cure wounds</em> using legendary actions may also be a good idea, especially if the PCs have taken a beating and need a round or two to recover, also.</p><p></p><p>Things that I'd think about ahead of time:</p><p> - Consider lair actions. These are fun, and are usually low-damage effects that serve more as battlefield control and can make the environment seem more dynamic.</p><p> - One way to make a fight seem more dynamic, especially on a boss with decent hit points, is to have them change tactics mid-fight. Maybe she starts with breath weapons and offensive spells, but after a round or two, summons monsters and then retreats to hide and heal and buff, and comes back as a skirmisher. When the hit points are low, she engages the back line in melee. Monster tactics are also a good way to adjust the encounter's difficulty on-the-fly.</p><p> - Think about what will happen if the PCs lose. Would it just be the end of the campaign? Would they be taken captive? Left for dead? There's no wrong answer.</p><p> - Think about how to adjust the difficulty on-the-fly. A good boss fight has the players thinking "well, it was a fun ride, but I guess this is it" but then they win at the last minute. Monster tactics are a good way to do this; if the party is getting pummeled, have the boss get overconfident and play stupid. Spell use and magic item use can also affect difficulty -- if things are too easy, have the boss retreat and quaff some <em>potions of superior healing</em>, after using some high-level summoning items. The easiest thing to adjust difficulty is to fudge the boss's hit points. E.g., if the fight is too hard, and there's only one PC left and they make a suicidal leap at the boss and hit, the boss dies in dramatic agony (turns out they only had a few HP left). You can also fudge the hit points to drag out the fight if it feels over too quickly. I don't generally like doing this because it feels like "cheating." But monster math is hard and if your difficulty prediction was waaaay off, then that's an honest mistake, and you can correct it on-the-fly.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="77IM, post: 7522919, member: 12377"] I like this monster's design, but against 6 level-7 PCs in a straight-up fight, I predict it getting absolutely thrashed. Things I think will work well: - Chromatic adaption is a really cool way to keep this fight dynamic. Make sure you telegraph this ability -- every time hybrid shifts, its color should change, or something. - Bite + Spell is a pretty good multiattack routine and may make up for the lack of Frightful Presence. (In most big dragon fights, they hit some PCs with fear in the first round or two, which can really give the dragon an edge early-on, and can also feel dynamic when the fear wears off and all the melee people can close in.) - Legendary spell casting is great. I'm going to steal this. - Webwalker: if the hybrid is in a place that is actually full of webs, this is amazing. The boss can fly right through a wall of webbing that the PCs might need to make checks or spend actions to penetrate. Things that I'd change: - Breath weapon damage is super low. Even a CR 8 young green dragon deals 42 damage, and this thing is CR 12. The thing about dragons is that their weapon attacks are sub-par for their CR, but their breath weapons are scary as :):):):). I'd increase the breath damage by probably 25-50%. That may be enough to one-shot the squishies in your party, but that's kind of the point. The PCs should be spreading out to avoid having more than two of them caught in a breath attack. - Spell list is a bit lackluster. Fill it with spells that you could imagine the boss actually wanting to cast. Defensive spells such as [I]mirror image[/I] and [I]greater invisibility[/I] and [I]fire shield[/I] can work wonders. At your level, [I]counterspell[/I] is a must-have. - Movement is too low. Dragons are amazing boss enemies when they can do hit-and-run tactics, particularly in an environment that gives them lots of cover and concealment. Consider adding [I]misty step[/I] spell, as it's a bonus action to cast. Terrain that slows the PCs is also helpful (cliffs, pits, pools of water, WEBBING). The reason hit-and-run is so effective is the breath weapon recharge, and it's especially synergistic with spellcasting: when the breath weapon is recharging, the hybrid hides and spends a round or two casting defensive and buff spells on itself, or summoning spiders or something. Hiding and casting [I]cure wounds[/I] using legendary actions may also be a good idea, especially if the PCs have taken a beating and need a round or two to recover, also. Things that I'd think about ahead of time: - Consider lair actions. These are fun, and are usually low-damage effects that serve more as battlefield control and can make the environment seem more dynamic. - One way to make a fight seem more dynamic, especially on a boss with decent hit points, is to have them change tactics mid-fight. Maybe she starts with breath weapons and offensive spells, but after a round or two, summons monsters and then retreats to hide and heal and buff, and comes back as a skirmisher. When the hit points are low, she engages the back line in melee. Monster tactics are also a good way to adjust the encounter's difficulty on-the-fly. - Think about what will happen if the PCs lose. Would it just be the end of the campaign? Would they be taken captive? Left for dead? There's no wrong answer. - Think about how to adjust the difficulty on-the-fly. A good boss fight has the players thinking "well, it was a fun ride, but I guess this is it" but then they win at the last minute. Monster tactics are a good way to do this; if the party is getting pummeled, have the boss get overconfident and play stupid. Spell use and magic item use can also affect difficulty -- if things are too easy, have the boss retreat and quaff some [I]potions of superior healing[/I], after using some high-level summoning items. The easiest thing to adjust difficulty is to fudge the boss's hit points. E.g., if the fight is too hard, and there's only one PC left and they make a suicidal leap at the boss and hit, the boss dies in dramatic agony (turns out they only had a few HP left). You can also fudge the hit points to drag out the fight if it feels over too quickly. I don't generally like doing this because it feels like "cheating." But monster math is hard and if your difficulty prediction was waaaay off, then that's an honest mistake, and you can correct it on-the-fly. [/QUOTE]
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