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Oh, Man, Do I Need Some DM Tips. . .
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<blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 7046057" data-attributes="member: 6801286"><p>This is some good advise. I like designing my big boss battles in a way that they demand a little bit more from the players than just attacking the bad guy. I remember this one time I had my players fight a powerful Mindflayer, and I told them:</p><p></p><p><em>"You notice that some sort of tube comes out of the wall, and attaches to the back of the Mindflayer. It starts pumping some sort of fluid into the Mindflayer's body, and his wounds begin to heal."</em></p><p></p><p>So, the players start hacking at the tube, so he can no longer do that. But that detail was just enough to extend the fight with a few more rounds. It healed the boss back to nearly full hit points, and gave the players something else to focus on.</p><p></p><p>I could of course have extended this fight even more, by informing the players that there are multiple of these tube-stations attached to the walls, with big glass cylinders filled with the same healing juice that they just witnessed. Also, the Mindflayer calls for reinforcements, and other mindflayers enter the room.</p><p></p><p>Now the players need to focus on multiple things at the same time. One or two players may need to deal with the minions, while another smashes the glass cylinders, and while the tank keeps the boss occupied. If the party has a spellcaster, then you might even throw some magical obstacle into the mix as well. Maybe the cylinders are shielded by a wall of force, that needs to be dispelled. Environmental hazards are also always fun. Maybe the boss flips a lever that unleashes a toxic gas into the room which only affects the players. Maybe the boss shrinks the area in which the party can safely fight. Maybe the party needs to stay on the move while they fight the boss.</p><p></p><p>Any of these ideas can extend a fight, and make it much more interesting.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Imaculata, post: 7046057, member: 6801286"] This is some good advise. I like designing my big boss battles in a way that they demand a little bit more from the players than just attacking the bad guy. I remember this one time I had my players fight a powerful Mindflayer, and I told them: [I]"You notice that some sort of tube comes out of the wall, and attaches to the back of the Mindflayer. It starts pumping some sort of fluid into the Mindflayer's body, and his wounds begin to heal."[/I] So, the players start hacking at the tube, so he can no longer do that. But that detail was just enough to extend the fight with a few more rounds. It healed the boss back to nearly full hit points, and gave the players something else to focus on. I could of course have extended this fight even more, by informing the players that there are multiple of these tube-stations attached to the walls, with big glass cylinders filled with the same healing juice that they just witnessed. Also, the Mindflayer calls for reinforcements, and other mindflayers enter the room. Now the players need to focus on multiple things at the same time. One or two players may need to deal with the minions, while another smashes the glass cylinders, and while the tank keeps the boss occupied. If the party has a spellcaster, then you might even throw some magical obstacle into the mix as well. Maybe the cylinders are shielded by a wall of force, that needs to be dispelled. Environmental hazards are also always fun. Maybe the boss flips a lever that unleashes a toxic gas into the room which only affects the players. Maybe the boss shrinks the area in which the party can safely fight. Maybe the party needs to stay on the move while they fight the boss. Any of these ideas can extend a fight, and make it much more interesting. [/QUOTE]
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