COMING SOON! -- Archetype Anthology: A Dozen Archetypes for D&D 5th Edition on Kickstarter! From dual-wielding tempests to planar explorers -- a softcover collection of new archetypes for your 5th Edition game!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MarkB" data-source="post: 7758098" data-attributes="member: 40176">There are some video games where boss monsters are crafted so that a character may die repeatedly as the players learn their attack patterns and weaknesses. A lot of MMORPGs do it this way.But it's far from universal, or even that commonplace, especially in single-player games. In the majority of videogames, the tactics for the boss fight are presented to the player such that they can grasp them as they play. Either the first attacks will be heavily signposted, with tutorialised indications of what to do in response, or the player will face a <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FinalExamBoss">Final Exam Boss</a> - one which uses similar tactics to several of its previously-fought minions, but is tougher and deadlier. In this case, the players have already learned the required tactics, but must now apply them all together to defeat this challenge.And yes, these approaches allow players to beat the boss the first time around if they're quick, careful and lucky, and no, they don't feel at all cheated - they feel a sense of accomplishment.It's entirely possible to use some of these techniques within a D&D game. If the boss creature has a special attack, let them unleash it upon a hapless NPC first. If they're a more powerful member of the same race or organisation the PCs have been fighting through to get there, have them use similar tactics and tricks, but with higher DCs and more powerful effects.</blockquote>

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