GM: how to overcome the 1-shot boss enounter

[Greenfield]

I've never used 20-20 auto-kill rules, but I know what you mean.

I was in a superhero game once, running a bionic soldier type.

Boss fight starts, my PC runs in at enhanced speed and body slams the Boss. DM wasn't expecting a high risk maneuver like that (in that system, the "move through" type attack hurts the attacker as well as the target), and nobody was expecting such good rolls to back it up. Result? Big-bad drops, one punched before he even got an action.

So the DM had the number two step in, with what was left of the enemy forces, to try and rescue/avenge the defeat of their glorious leader.

So that's sort of the solution, I guess: Have the #2 to the Boss arrive with re-enforcements, just that tragic moment too late, and tell the group, "Whew, lucky you clocked him quick. Otherwise you would have been overwhelmed!', and continue the battle. It might be a bit less epic than you originally planned, but make it a grand finale.

 

[airwalkrr]

I have dealt with this in a variety of ways. I usually run 3.5, a system which certainly allows for such an eventuality. However, there are ways around such things. A common method is to make the BBEG a spellcaster with contingency. In that event, I have the freedom to decide what the BBEG's contingency is at any moment in order to prevent such a one-shot kill. I have also used a "natural 1 doesn't fail" rule for BBEGs. So if the BBEG gets hit by destruction or finger of death and rolls a natural 1, he may still make the save by virtue of his bonus alone. This way, the PC still feels like he contributed something, since the spell still deals damage, but doesn't end the encounter in one fell swoop. Most commonly for me, I don't allow the PCs to encounter the BBEG until I have run them through a gauntlet of challenges that somewhat depletes their resources, thereby reducing the possibility of a 1-round kill. However, one of my more clever moments occurred when the PCs did get lucky on a disintegrate spell, and I decided to let them have their moment... for about 10 seconds. On the following round the BBEG returned as a ghost (it is actually fairly easy to convert a living NPC to a ghost on the fly), after all, he had yet to fulfill his intended purpose in the world. It fit the situation well and didn't necessarily deny the PCs a momentary victory.