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<blockquote data-quote="Zaruthustran" data-source="post: 6628203" data-attributes="member: 1457"><p>Like others have suggested, I use God of War boss battles and Shadow of Colossus as a guide. These are Encounters, not Combats.</p><p></p><p>Treat the big monster as a terrain puzzle. Skill checks (perception, nature, arcane) to find those Inevitable Weak Spot. Skill checks (acrobatics, athletics) to get there, and/or Intimidate or Perform checks to goad it into exposing itself. Attack rolls and/or Just-The-Right-Spell to inflict damage/hamper the creature. Change up the formula (and move things around the battlefield) to keep things interesting. Don't forget to allow use of the environment: a fight with a Colossal should include bridges and portcullis's to collapse or drop onto the creature, trees to fell, wagons of flaming oil to send careening, floodgates to unleash, herds to stampede, and so on. Big critters require big levers to influence, so as a DM provide those levers for players to discover and use.</p><p></p><p>Treat the attacks as environmental dangers, avoidable (or mitigate-able) by saving throws. At these differences in scale AC doesn't matter. A creature that can punch through a stone tower doesn't care if the thin layer covering your skin is cloth, leather, or steel. Int or Wis save to see the attack coming and predict where it's going to land, Dex or Con save to avoid or withstand (made with Advantage if you succeeded on previous save). </p><p></p><p>Failed save doesn't necessarily = death. It could be some serious setback that forces you to regroup or start over. Like, instead of that giant foot literally hitting you (which could only result in SQUISH), it smashes down too close, sending you flying 30 feet for 3d6 damage. Or it collapses the wall you're standing atop of, sending you down in an avalanche of bricks for 4d6 damage and forcing you to start over with the Acrobatics or Athletics checks before you can once again get in position to initiate the next phase in the encounter.</p><p></p><p>In other words: video games. Multi-stage boss battles are terrific role models for epic fights.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Zaruthustran, post: 6628203, member: 1457"] Like others have suggested, I use God of War boss battles and Shadow of Colossus as a guide. These are Encounters, not Combats. Treat the big monster as a terrain puzzle. Skill checks (perception, nature, arcane) to find those Inevitable Weak Spot. Skill checks (acrobatics, athletics) to get there, and/or Intimidate or Perform checks to goad it into exposing itself. Attack rolls and/or Just-The-Right-Spell to inflict damage/hamper the creature. Change up the formula (and move things around the battlefield) to keep things interesting. Don't forget to allow use of the environment: a fight with a Colossal should include bridges and portcullis's to collapse or drop onto the creature, trees to fell, wagons of flaming oil to send careening, floodgates to unleash, herds to stampede, and so on. Big critters require big levers to influence, so as a DM provide those levers for players to discover and use. Treat the attacks as environmental dangers, avoidable (or mitigate-able) by saving throws. At these differences in scale AC doesn't matter. A creature that can punch through a stone tower doesn't care if the thin layer covering your skin is cloth, leather, or steel. Int or Wis save to see the attack coming and predict where it's going to land, Dex or Con save to avoid or withstand (made with Advantage if you succeeded on previous save). Failed save doesn't necessarily = death. It could be some serious setback that forces you to regroup or start over. Like, instead of that giant foot literally hitting you (which could only result in SQUISH), it smashes down too close, sending you flying 30 feet for 3d6 damage. Or it collapses the wall you're standing atop of, sending you down in an avalanche of bricks for 4d6 damage and forcing you to start over with the Acrobatics or Athletics checks before you can once again get in position to initiate the next phase in the encounter. In other words: video games. Multi-stage boss battles are terrific role models for epic fights. [/QUOTE]
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