D&D 5E Phandelver starting to show up in the wild. NewbieDM looks to be the first!

[Zaukrie]

2-3 Rounds is about what any fight should be.

that's, like, your opinion. My players would find that anti climatic for a boss fight at the end of an adventure. Also, I can't see anyway it even comes close to killing a PC unless it focuses fire on one of them.

 

[Nikosandros]

2-3 Rounds is about what any fight should be.

For brief fights, yes. "End boss" fights and other significant encounters, no, I personally disagree.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Of course, I'm sure someone smarter than me will run the numbers and say I'm being silly.....but that was my first thought on reading the statblock. As with most monsters, it is much less interesting than what KP or Level UP or MCDM would give us.

Yeah, I'm more and more leaning towards just using the ToV monster book instead of the 2024 MM, unless something remarkable happens between then and now.

 

[Reef]

For brief fights, yes. "End boss" fights and other significant encounters, no, I personally disagree.

Yeah, normally I’d agree. But the climatic big boss fight needs to be a little longer.

I’m likely to be leaning heavily on Flee, Mortals in a lot of cases. So tweaking the big boss shouldn’t be a deal breaker. As long as the story (overall and individually dungeon-wise) is good, I’m still inclined to check it out.

 

[overgeeked]

Yeah, I'm more and more leaning towards just using the ToV monster book instead of the 2024 MM, unless something remarkable happens between then and now.

I got tired of waiting so made my own monster stat system.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Forge of Foes is available for backers in digital form (and will be out in physical by February) and is also a good resource for tuning up/recreating underperforming monsters.

 

[Parmandur]

that's, like, your opinion. My players would find that anti climatic for a boss fight at the end of an adventure. Also, I can't see anyway it even comes close to killing a PC unless it focuses fire on one of them.

For brief fights, yes. "End boss" fights and other significant encounters, no, I personally disagree.

Nothing personal about it, but 2-3 Rounds is what WotC is aiming to do. They aren't trying to do something else and missing the mark, that's the design principle: 3 Rounds is an unusually long fight in 5E.

 

[Nikosandros]

Nothing personal about it, but 2-3 Rounds is what WotC is aiming to do. They aren't trying to do something else and missing the mark, that's the design principle: 3 Rounds is an unusually long fight in 5E.

I agree with your assessment and I dislike this design decision. Of course it isn't personal, why would it be?

 

[Parmandur]

I agree with your assessment and I dislike this design decision. Of course it isn't personal, why would it be?

Oh, just meaning that I don't got a dog in the hunt, just stating what WotC goes for in their design.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

WotC has no idea how to build a BBEG and still has the end boss fighting by itself. I'd give it, like, 2-3 rounds vs 4-5 10th level PCs, if that. No bonus actions. One useful legendary action, and an AC that any first level PC would have. Wut?

I think the Refraction is a decent end boss. A thing to remember about it.

Spoiler: End game stuff

Is that the party one has to go through a bunch of stuff to reach it potentially exhausted. The fights just prior to it will be against up to 3 CR 11 monsters either in sequence or together, Also if the party fails to defeat a purple worm they can avoid, that worm will join the final battle.