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Level 20 Dragon Fight design advice
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<blockquote data-quote="Oofta" data-source="post: 9054477" data-attributes="member: 6801845"><p>I almost always have minions in my boss fights, especially at higher levels. I just ran a session for 19th level PCs with a slightly modified kraken and threw in a couple of also slightly modified molten magma ropers. The kraken is CR 23 and the ropers are only CR 11; taken individually the ropers don't add a ton to the fight, they still couldn't be totally ignored. This was after they had already had a few encounters without a long rest, so it was a hard fight but not intended to be a truly deadly one. It worked well for my group.</p><p></p><p>So specifically for a dragon, a main thing is to not treat them as melee brutes. They will not last long if they just land and go mano-a-mano. Instead they will use hit-and-run tactics, try to split the party, probably focus fire on whichever PC they perceive as weakest. </p><p></p><p>At the same time, you want to make sure you're engaging your players and ensuring that most of the time they can do <em>something</em> with their PCs that at least has a chance to contribute to the game. Easiest is to just make sure everyone can fly or has effective ranged attacks. </p><p></p><p>Another possibility is a lair full of traps. Make it so that some of the traps can be countered by something other than a disable device. For example the group is fighting the dragon opens a dam, water is flooding out. Maybe the fighter can get to and pull down a large rock to cause a small avalanche to redirect the flow or the wizard can cast a wall of force to stop the flow. The tricky thing here though is knowing the group and how much you're going to have to broadcast options.</p><p></p><p>You can always use things like Fizban's greatwyrms which have CRs in the upper 20s but they kind of just look like they could just be a massive bag of hit points. </p><p></p><p>It's also okay to have things that are a bit contingent on how well the group is doing and what they're enjoying. As a general rule I never change anything once initiative is rolled but this is an unusual situation. I have a pretty good handle on what the PCs in my group can do because we've gotten to 20th level through play. But a one shot is going to be tougher.</p><p></p><p>So consider adding reinforcements, traps and hazards that may expire or be added as needed. If a particular hazard is being super annoying, give the group a free check for them to realize there's a way they could shut it down or, with a bit more effort, turn it to the group's advantage. Have the dragon bring in reinforcements. Consider having goals other than just killing the dragon.</p><p></p><p>Good luck with this, having encounters that are both engaging and threatening is difficult at all levels, it's just a different kind of challenge.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Oofta, post: 9054477, member: 6801845"] I almost always have minions in my boss fights, especially at higher levels. I just ran a session for 19th level PCs with a slightly modified kraken and threw in a couple of also slightly modified molten magma ropers. The kraken is CR 23 and the ropers are only CR 11; taken individually the ropers don't add a ton to the fight, they still couldn't be totally ignored. This was after they had already had a few encounters without a long rest, so it was a hard fight but not intended to be a truly deadly one. It worked well for my group. So specifically for a dragon, a main thing is to not treat them as melee brutes. They will not last long if they just land and go mano-a-mano. Instead they will use hit-and-run tactics, try to split the party, probably focus fire on whichever PC they perceive as weakest. At the same time, you want to make sure you're engaging your players and ensuring that most of the time they can do [I]something[/I] with their PCs that at least has a chance to contribute to the game. Easiest is to just make sure everyone can fly or has effective ranged attacks. Another possibility is a lair full of traps. Make it so that some of the traps can be countered by something other than a disable device. For example the group is fighting the dragon opens a dam, water is flooding out. Maybe the fighter can get to and pull down a large rock to cause a small avalanche to redirect the flow or the wizard can cast a wall of force to stop the flow. The tricky thing here though is knowing the group and how much you're going to have to broadcast options. You can always use things like Fizban's greatwyrms which have CRs in the upper 20s but they kind of just look like they could just be a massive bag of hit points. It's also okay to have things that are a bit contingent on how well the group is doing and what they're enjoying. As a general rule I never change anything once initiative is rolled but this is an unusual situation. I have a pretty good handle on what the PCs in my group can do because we've gotten to 20th level through play. But a one shot is going to be tougher. So consider adding reinforcements, traps and hazards that may expire or be added as needed. If a particular hazard is being super annoying, give the group a free check for them to realize there's a way they could shut it down or, with a bit more effort, turn it to the group's advantage. Have the dragon bring in reinforcements. Consider having goals other than just killing the dragon. Good luck with this, having encounters that are both engaging and threatening is difficult at all levels, it's just a different kind of challenge. [/QUOTE]
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