Author Topic: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?  (Read 4631 times)

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Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« on: August 25, 2011, 06:20:58 AM »
Hello!

Im joining a campaign this weekend, in which my friends have already played one session, and from what I understand they got their asses handed to them by a boss in the end of session 1. Long story short, the boss is hiding in an abandoned glasswork factory, and there is no way getting to her without fighting off at least a few of her goblin patrols, armed with grenade-like glass weapons with AoE damage, before you get to her chamber. The chamber is a 30x30x30 ft. square room with a pool of liquid in the middle, and she herself is a tiny fairy or outsider hovering above it with her flying ability. Touching the pool deals 1d6 cold damage, and damaging the boss will cause her to bleed in the pool, which spawns an aberration-type monster that attacks immediately. The boss has damage reduction 5/something, fast healing, and if hurt she will turn invisible and hide under the ceiling until she is back at 100%. She is armed with a tiny returning dagger, which she uses every round, but she has yet to reveal any othe means of attack.

The party from last time were all level 2 when they faced her, and they consisted off:

1) A human druid using the spontaneous divine caster optional rule. He currently knows Aspect of the Wolf and CLW, and I know nothing of his 0th level spells. His AC is a war-trained riding dog. He possesses no means of ranged attack. During the last encounter, his spells and abilities were all depleted from fighting goblins when they reached the boss.

2) A human bard, using sleep and grease. Sleep was unable to affect the boss due to its HD cap, and he depleted his bardic music against the goblins. This character carries a crossbow, but is largely unable to hit the little bastard with it.

3) A human ranger, using a longbow as her primary weapon. She struggles to hit, and when she does the d8 longbow is usually negated by the DR 5/?.

I will start out as a level 1 character, and I am planning to bring a grey elf wizard (elven generalist). I will be sporting a humming bird familiar, SF: conjuration and Improved Initiative, and I will hopefully be able to contribute to the encounter by identifying the pool of liquid and the boss monster, for which the DM asked for Knowledge (The Planes) checks. I can prepare 3 0th level spells and 4 1st level spells for the day (goblins + the boss), but I am at a loss as to what to prepare.

So, as a newly joined level 1 wizard, how would you deal with the situation? The others barely injured the little beast last time, and I need to be the deciding factor in this very tough battle! I have access to spells from the PHB, PHB2 and the Spell Compendium only.

Mixster

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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2011, 06:41:46 AM »
Are you sure the spell failed because of HD limit? If its' a faerie it rarely has more than 1 HD, so it could just be the spell resistance?

The boss probably has damage reduction /cold iron as most faeries do. Bring some cold iron to deal with that.

Get a longspear for the druid, so he can stab the bugger with reach without touching the pool.

Cast silent image of a wall around the pool, so when the aberration appears he will think he is walled in.

Consider getting Bloodwind (spell compendium) for the AC for dealing with the boss, so it can still be useful, a swift action casting is nice.
If Complete Mage is available Dawnburst is a first level spell that can see invisible creatures.
Color Spray can stun the creature for a round, which could allow you to grapple it and hope it has fewer HP than whoever decides to grapple it and jump into the pool with it. Summoning a monster to grapple with it could be a good idea if the druid isn't up for having his AC doing it.
Enlarge Person can give one of your guys reach so you can reach in and grapple the thing. Useful if stunned with color spray first. Or if it has used all it's AoOs for the round.

If you take precocius apprentice, this seems like a job for glitterdust.
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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2011, 06:46:56 AM »
Hit her with a tanglefoot bag. Then use a net or a bola, pull her to where the party can reach her, disarm and grapple her, then tie her up and drown her in her pool. Or just stab her until she stops moving.
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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2011, 09:04:42 AM »
Definitely get a few Cold Iron(and in case your little bugger is some kind of devil: Silver) Bolts and Arrows, they're cheap enough and you can justify having those with you "just in case".
You're an Elf, how is your STR-score? I imagine too low for a Composite Bow, but a regular Longbow is better than the customary Light Crossbow of a Human Wizard.
Launch Bolt is a 0 level spell from SpC, nice to have in your Spellbook and not too expensive to get on a scroll.
If AC is an issue, True Strike will be useful(get a potion for the Ranger, if you do have the money left)

Alchemical Items should be good for this, namely Alchemists Fire(since the pool does cold damage, I imagine your enemies won't be fire resistant).
Any Wizard should be able to craft a few Flasks of [insert damage type here] with just his INT + 1 point in case your DM is the sort that doesn't believe in untrained checks for Craft: Alchemy

You can also throw flour, paint or powder at an invisible enemy, to make it visible for a short time(courtesy to Comp. Scoundrel or Dungeonscape).

Magic Missiles might not do a lot of damage, but at least they hit their mark without fail.
Might be useful to finish off a fleeing/hiding boss that is already low on hitpoints.

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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2011, 09:45:05 AM »
It's a pixie / faerie - grapple it like mentioned above.

You have a bard? they have lots of glass? SONIC damage.

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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2011, 10:08:45 AM »
Also, you or the Bard could summon a flying monster to keep the faerie occupied and to help you deal with it while it's flying.

In the ranger spell list there should be a spell to take flying creatures to the ground but at the moment I can't recall the name.
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Arakiaz

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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #6 on: August 25, 2011, 10:41:07 AM »
I play the bard in said group and I'll say that feary is a bitch to hit as I recall it (can't remember because it is 3 months since last level) have AC 22.

I was close to worthless in that encounter because I've used my bardic music in what I thought was "The Big Encounter" I was able to use diplomacy on it so it saw me as a friend until I tried to grapple it. Unfortunaly I wasn't able to touch it.

I have no summon spells since that is the druid role.

But hopefully we will be way better prepared for it when we returns.

I actually have possesion of the returning dagger but that is a mistake by the DM so I'm sure that the feary
will get it back next session

@DrHorrible: the ranger is level 2 so he doesn't have spells yet
« Last Edit: August 25, 2011, 10:43:31 AM by Arakiaz »

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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #7 on: August 25, 2011, 11:17:56 AM »
Unless your under some kind of time restraint, i would just block the doors, and starve it out. If it turns out to be able to sustain it self, i would put firewood in the room and set fire to it, and then smoke it out. Make sure the only way out is into a net you set up. Then when it comes out, proceed by pummeling it with big sticks and wet newspapers.
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Echoes

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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #8 on: August 25, 2011, 11:26:46 AM »
Fengut should shut down the boss easily. It's either an imp or a quaist - both have DR 5/something, fast healing, and require a knowledge (the planes) check (edit: and have invisibility, which is what ruled the mephits out).

I second the recommendation to bring cold iron and silver ammo - use silver if it's an imp, cold iron if it's a quasit.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2011, 08:13:24 PM by Echoes »
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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #9 on: August 25, 2011, 02:15:53 PM »
If I were around I'd also try something stupid... like cutting myself and bleeding into the pool...

You might get a free abberation type monster for thinking like a weirdo like myself... as the spell the DM has custom crafted may bare any who bleed into the pool a flesh golem that does what they say or something...

You might neutralize the pool, reducing the enemies effectiveness.

You might send it into overdrive... in which case you RUN AWAY AND LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY... leaving the pixie to fend for its self in a room with a malfunctioning mob spawner.#

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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #10 on: August 25, 2011, 03:53:24 PM »
I suspect the creature is a mephit.  Probably air, since it would have to stop and fan itself to heal.  Never mind, Echoes is right with the imp or quasit idea.  

Ask if your character can make a knowledge check to identify the creature based on descriptions from the other characters.  This gives an in-character reason to go in with the right preparations.  The DM may assign a penalty for using second hand information, but you should also get bonuses from being able to look things up and consult with other experts.  You should easily make the check by taking 10.  
« Last Edit: August 25, 2011, 04:03:25 PM by Maat_Mons »

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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #11 on: August 25, 2011, 07:38:09 PM »
Is this a history-changing do-over (in which case you shouldn't be going in uber-prepared for it anyway) or is this a Return to the Scene of the Crime? If the latter, you shouldn't assume that the enemy hasn't made at least minor tactical changes. I had a mid-level party make that mistake once, fought a huge guardian beast, went off to lick their wounds, came back expecting an empty room and found four mummies doing guard duty in it's place.  :)

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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #12 on: August 29, 2011, 08:03:58 AM »
Well, I think that I owe you to know just how the battle went down, though it is a bit embarrassing really.

I joined up with the others, and after 9 hours of rest and preparation we went for the 'fairy' once more. The room was considerably larger than the 30x30x30 box I had been told about, which of course allowed for more chasing around, but more about that later. The lair were an underground cathedral of some sort, clearly devoted to some demonic deity, and the little bastard were hiding behind a pedestal that stood in her summoning pool. She surprised us with a Summon Monster II spell, and the monsterous giant spider she summoned immediately attacked the druids riding dog. I blew my knowledge check completely, and believing that the little barbie doll with claws and bat wings were some sort of humanoid, I blew my first round of combat casting Sleep on her. On the second turn, I tried casting Enlarge Person on the ranger, who tried to resist my spell (and failed to do so), declaring that my "dex debuff would ruin his character". Anyways, the guy spent the next 6 rounds shooting and missing, while using his Rapid Shot feat every turn, to "maximize his potential damage output", and proved utterly worthless by missing every single shot he fired. On my second turn I enlarged the bard, who also shot and missed every shot in the first 6 rounds, despite using Targeting Ray and bardic music. The druid tried to catch the boss in a net, but he gave up when he missed his throw on a roll of 19, which meant that the creature had a touch AC of 22, and started vandalizing some skulls that stood on spikes around the pool.

I had now blown 3/4 of my first level spells on this single encounter, and wasted my buffs on a party that did little more than running around in circles while flailing their arms above their heads. After watching the three stooges 'fighing' for 5 rounds, I suddenly got depressed, suicidal and bored at the same time, and decided to charge the monstrous spider with my dagger, which resulted in me getting bitten and poisoned, but luckily not so much that I lost consciousness. The fairy started to blast the stooges with a projectile vomiting attack that nauseated the ranger, and then the DM got bored too. The fairy thingy decided to land between the druid and the bard and attack them with her tiny claws, obviously fudging rolls that made it easy for them to grab her and stomp her to death.

The fight took somewhere between 20 and 30 rounds, and more than 2 hours of realtime play, and we would have been forced to retreat if the DM had not given us the free victory. The party sucks to high heaven, but I can't help but to wonder if it was a little too hard. DR 5, fast healing, flight, AC 22+, spellcasting (CL 5+) and flight, at-will invisibility (not used in round 2) seems harsh for a level 2 party in my book.

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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #13 on: August 29, 2011, 08:21:13 AM »


The fight took somewhere between 20 and 30 rounds, and more than 2 hours of realtime play, and we would have been forced to retreat if the DM had not given us the free victory. The party sucks to high heaven, but I can't help but to wonder if it was a little too hard. DR 5, fast healing, flight, AC 22+, spellcasting (CL 5+) and flight, at-will invisibility (not used in round 2) seems harsh for a level 2 party in my book.

It probably is. Hell, a 5th level wizard can stomp a 2nd level party without all the added goodies.

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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #14 on: August 29, 2011, 10:06:03 AM »
If it's an imp or quasit, it's probably not spellcasting, it's their SLAs.

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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #15 on: August 29, 2011, 01:16:21 PM »
I am 100% certain I've seen this exact fight asked about before; can some dig it up?  My phone sucks at searfchinjg.
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Mixster

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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #16 on: August 29, 2011, 02:57:53 PM »
If that monster is a CR 4 (which it could be it's a boss fight so it could reasonably be 2 levels ahead) I would say that it only has around 10HP with those points in all the other stats. That way, it would probably suffer badly to magic missiles.

If it had a touch AC of 22, It's pretty nasty but if not, a 2nd level tripper could presumably have tripped the bugger into the pool, and if it attempted to move away trip lock it, he would need some way to see invisibility, but bags of flour or a wizard could help here.

Also, for next time, be sure you agree with your party on your course of action in situations like this. The ranger attempting to resist your buff is a stable of a party not having talked over their tactics.

But Enlarge person + Grapple seems to be the best way of dealing with that thing if this comes up again.
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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #17 on: August 29, 2011, 06:01:16 PM »
OK, E-mail, I am asking you NOT to read this thread, since it appears to be someone else asking about the exact same encounter with slightly more information.   They are asking if it's even possible to succeed, and for advice.
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Mixster

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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #18 on: August 29, 2011, 06:31:59 PM »
OK, E-mail, I am asking you NOT to read this thread, since it appears to be someone else asking about the exact same encounter with slightly more information.   They are asking if it's even possible to succeed, and for advice.

Although you can be pretty damn sure it's possible. With the information from that thread, A warforged with adamantine body is pretty much impervious to any harm done by it after it has used the two level 2 spells it has.

You would be needing a good deal of cold iron to wound it, but that was guessed in the first post, bringing some is a good idea, and if it doesn't work, you can always sling silver pieces at it and see if it likes that.

Then there's the invisibility + healing problem, which while annoying, isn't deadly. You'd need to deal with this on a creature such as this without class levels, which is a possible boss-fight from level 1. You could do this with Dawnburst, from complete mage, or through precocious apprentice. A warlock with see the unseen could regard this task as pretty trivial, he sees the thing, then keeps summoning bat swarms on it untill he decides it's dead, if it's too high up to get a bat swarm dropped on it, he can summon it 20ft below it and it will sense it and move to attack. If the bleed monster seems to become a problem, the party should be able to deal with that.

Yes the fight is hard, but nowhere near impossible, I'm pretty confident that a 2nd level warlock and a 2nd level druid could do this without needing the 2 other guys in the party.
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Re: Damn tough boss fight ahead. What would you do?
« Reply #19 on: August 29, 2011, 06:42:05 PM »
Yes the fight is hard, but nowhere near impossible, I'm pretty confident that a 2nd level warlock and a 2nd level druid could do this without needing the 2 other guys in the party.
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