D&D 5E Creating Boss monsters

[Professor Murder]

So are there any good official or 3rd party rules or suggestions for beefing up existing monsters to make them into proper boss fights? Like how to best add Legendary encounter rules or Mythic encounter rules to existing monsters. The number one thing I miss from 3/3.5 edition is monster templating. Sure, it was a mess and not really balanced, but it was at least pretty easy for me to add additional stats and abilities on existing monsters, instead of creating a new creature from scratch.

I'm looking for existing resources, be there supplements, articles, or the like. While personal input is appreciated, I'm looking for something a bit more polished than a forum reply tbh.

 

[Rabulias]

There are a number of publications on DM's Guild that add Legendary Actions to more creatures. Search for "Legendary Action" there and you will find them. (Not So) Legendary Actions ((Not So) Legendary Actions - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild) and the Legendary Bestiary series (starting with Legendary Bestiary: Legendary Actions for Low-Level Monsters (Legendary Bestiary: Legendary Actions for Low-Level Monsters - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild)) are good in my book. I don't have any recommendations for template-type products.

EDIT: Do'h! How could I forget Dragonix's Monster Manual Expanded series (Monster Manual Expanded (5E) - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild). They provide variant/alternate versions of creatures, so kind of like "pre-applied" templates.

 

[Professor Murder]

There are a number of publications on DM's Guild that add Legendary Actions to more creatures. Search for "Legendary Action" there and you will find them. (Not So) Legendary Actions ((Not So) Legendary Actions - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild) and the Legendary Bestiary series (starting with Legendary Bestiary: Legendary Actions for Low-Level Monsters (Legendary Bestiary: Legendary Actions for Low-Level Monsters - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild)) are good in my book. I don't have any recommendations for template-type products.

EDIT: Do'h! How could I forget Dragonix's Monster Manual Expanded series (Monster Manual Expanded (5E) - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild). They provide variant/alternate versions of creatures, so kind of like "pre-applied" templates.

Thanks! The first one is a lean 3 pages and is along the lines of what I was looking for.

 

[Rabulias]

Thanks! The first one is a lean 3 pages and is along the lines of what I was looking for.

Hope it helps! There is also a Matt Colville video where he goes through the process of DIY Legendary Actions to "normal" monsters:

 

[jayoungr]

And this video offers some refinements to Matt Colville's idea:


There's also a printed supplement to go with it:

- | Dungeon Masters Guild

-

www.dmsguild.com

 

[was]

add better tactics

 

[Professor Murder]

add better tactics

Pardon?

 

[toucanbuzz]

Another community tackled this question a bit ago by having boss monsters change abilities as their HP dropped, and simply boost them to offer more than 1 action a round.

Personally, I like Colville's action-oriented monsters that give elite monsters extra oomph. I bookmarked the initial post of user-created content inspired by his suggestions.

 

[was]

I'm suggesting that creatures who survive long enough to become bosses, should improve their combat tactics during their rise to power (i.e. using terrain to their advantage, positioning minions to ambush attackers or snipe at them from afar or maybe using spells/abilities to incapacitate/isolate their foes). Just something better than a direct frontal assault.

 

[Professor Murder]

Ah. Three words without capitalization or punctuation did lack a touch in nuance.
But I kid.
I use tactics. It's not a matter of tactics. It's math. My current group is typically 6 players. That's six characters worth of attacks, hit points and resources to bring to battle. I'm the DM. I can of course set up any scenario I wish in terms of terrain, positioning, or the like. My goal isn't to win. My goal is in fact to lose after providing an enjoyable challenge. If I wanted to win, I can. Easily. It's not the case of "I don't know how to beat my players." The issue is I want fights to be enjoyable. Not a cakewalk but not a frustration fest either. I have thrown monsters six levels higher than the party average at my party and it still can get dropped after 3 rounds, which means, best case, it goes 3 times. Unless I can use Legendary rules effectively because they allow the boss to go on PC turns in a combat round.