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Am I the only one who doesn't like the arbitrary "boss monster" tag?
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<blockquote data-quote="ComradeGnull" data-source="post: 6001516" data-attributes="member: 6685694"><p>There seems to be a very fundamental error being committed here. It involves the two possible meanings of the term 'boss'.</p><p></p><p>Meaning 1: 'Boss' (or 'Solo', or whatever) is a technical, mechanical term that means: this block of stats has rules-centric properties that makes it well suited to being the focus of an extended combat. It will last for multiple rounds in the face of PC abilities, and has the capacity to be a significant combat threat to a level-appropriate party.</p><p></p><p>Meaning 2: 'Boss' (or 'Leader' or whatever) is a generic term meaning 'someone who is in charge or wields authority. In an adventure, it typically means the most important antagonist that you are facing in that scenario.</p><p></p><p>There is no reason why the two meanings need to overlap for any particular NPC.</p><p></p><p>That 'goblin leader' in the playtest rules? Maybe he is just the goblin warren's champion fighter- the leader (in the sense of the guy who runs everything) might be an aged, scrawny old goblin who presents very little combat threat, but exerts influence through his superior tactics and knowledge. He may have the combat stats of a level 1 kobold, but a high Int, Wis, and Cha. Your whole adventure might be centered on defeating that old, clever goblin who fights primarily through bodyguards, misdirection, and clever tricks and traps, but the most significant combat threat that your party faces might be that vigorous young champion (whose stat block happens to have the 'leader' or 'solo' tag).</p><p></p><p>Now, for some antagonists it makes sense that the guy in charge is also the guy who has the most raw power. Great. Use a 'boss' template to create the mechanics for the 'story boss' that gives him enough combat options to present a sustained challenge to the party for an extended fight. Or just bump him up in levels. Each will present a different type of challenge. A lot of people think (as [MENTION=6693711]slobster[/MENTION] described quite well above) that just bumping levels probably doesn't provide enough challenge to make a solo opponent capable of holding the attention of an entire party for several rounds. Thus the other additions.</p><p></p><p>Calling a stat block 'boss' does not dictate what role it plays in the story. It just indicates what combat against that opponent is likely to be like. Calling a NPC the 'boss' of a tribe or the conclusion of an adventure does not indicate that he needs to be mechanically threatening in combat in a specific way. It's just that uniting the two ideas- the central antagonist and the biggest combat threat faces- is common enough to be worth treating the two together in many cases. It's not at all equivalent saying that whoever selects Warlord as their class gets to be party leader, and whoever selects Bard has to be the plucky-but-useless sidekick.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ComradeGnull, post: 6001516, member: 6685694"] There seems to be a very fundamental error being committed here. It involves the two possible meanings of the term 'boss'. Meaning 1: 'Boss' (or 'Solo', or whatever) is a technical, mechanical term that means: this block of stats has rules-centric properties that makes it well suited to being the focus of an extended combat. It will last for multiple rounds in the face of PC abilities, and has the capacity to be a significant combat threat to a level-appropriate party. Meaning 2: 'Boss' (or 'Leader' or whatever) is a generic term meaning 'someone who is in charge or wields authority. In an adventure, it typically means the most important antagonist that you are facing in that scenario. There is no reason why the two meanings need to overlap for any particular NPC. That 'goblin leader' in the playtest rules? Maybe he is just the goblin warren's champion fighter- the leader (in the sense of the guy who runs everything) might be an aged, scrawny old goblin who presents very little combat threat, but exerts influence through his superior tactics and knowledge. He may have the combat stats of a level 1 kobold, but a high Int, Wis, and Cha. Your whole adventure might be centered on defeating that old, clever goblin who fights primarily through bodyguards, misdirection, and clever tricks and traps, but the most significant combat threat that your party faces might be that vigorous young champion (whose stat block happens to have the 'leader' or 'solo' tag). Now, for some antagonists it makes sense that the guy in charge is also the guy who has the most raw power. Great. Use a 'boss' template to create the mechanics for the 'story boss' that gives him enough combat options to present a sustained challenge to the party for an extended fight. Or just bump him up in levels. Each will present a different type of challenge. A lot of people think (as [MENTION=6693711]slobster[/MENTION] described quite well above) that just bumping levels probably doesn't provide enough challenge to make a solo opponent capable of holding the attention of an entire party for several rounds. Thus the other additions. Calling a stat block 'boss' does not dictate what role it plays in the story. It just indicates what combat against that opponent is likely to be like. Calling a NPC the 'boss' of a tribe or the conclusion of an adventure does not indicate that he needs to be mechanically threatening in combat in a specific way. It's just that uniting the two ideas- the central antagonist and the biggest combat threat faces- is common enough to be worth treating the two together in many cases. It's not at all equivalent saying that whoever selects Warlord as their class gets to be party leader, and whoever selects Bard has to be the plucky-but-useless sidekick. [/QUOTE]
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Am I the only one who doesn't like the arbitrary "boss monster" tag?
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