I provided options to add innocents into the mix, a surprise ambush, and other hazards to make sure that even if the final boss does go down in a few shots, the day isn’t won yet.
To help with this Sudden Death problem, I gave the GM several options to add complexity to this encounter, in the event the PCs really are that organized. However, if they are well-prepared, it’s likely this final boss has the same problem as other modern-era bosses - one or two good shots can take him out. No spoilers here, but the PCs conclude the adventure by fending off a dangerous, netherworld spirit. Next, I gave the GM lots of options for adding complexity to the adventure’s action-filled ending. When I ran this adventure, the PCs took the time to talk to him, threaten him, and question him before finally taking him out. But even though he’d only take a bullet or two to take down, the encounter with him was tense and creepy. He’s skinny, alone, unlikely to try to fight. To help with this, when the PCs finally meet the Candleman, he’s not armed. But I still wanted to have him live long enough to creep out the players with his occult activities. He’s dangerous, but I designed him to be in the background for most of the adventure. I wanted the Candleman to be a creepy, but unassuming, regular guy. In the adventure, the PCs discover that a dastardly villain - the Candleman - is behind some unusual attacks in town. To help set up a better villains, I used some of these tricks.
A Colt Army revolver is going to take someone out pretty fast. Cecilia’s Blasphemous Bordello takes place in the old west, so it has a lot of the same problems as modern games. Even if the PCs decide to kill the villain quickly, this overall situation is going to make for a tough, memorable encounter. For example, the big bad may be standing in the street, his hands raised in surrender, but his goons are holding hostages, he has a bomb that’s about to blow up an apartment building across the street, and a mysterious helicopter suddenly appears out of nowhere heading towards the area. This is the technique of giving the players more problems to deal with that they can, and challenging them to figure out the optimal way of dealing with all of them. I’ve written before that I’m a big fan of plate-spinning. The Boss is the Least of Their Problems.They may hesitate, giving your boss time to execute just one more plan… A villain who does horrible things but just looks like a scrawny guy is much more likely to get to interact with the PCs before they take him down. If they see your big bad is a brute in a tac-suit with a sniper rifle, they’re not going to spend much time talking to him. Don’t Make Your Boss Combat Effective.This approach lets your players get some roleplaying in with your villain before any kind of violent confrontation, making the boss feel more epic when they finally deal with him. Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home is a great example of this - he starts out an egotistical hero and then transforms into a maniac by the end. He can still be a jerk, a megalomaniac, or whatever, but he should avoid doing anything overtly evil until he’s out of range. Insert your boss at the beginning of the adventure in some other role. If your players don’t know he’s the boss, they won’t kill him. So how do you prevent the Sudden Death issue in modern-era games? Too many lucky breaks for your villain is going to start feeling “gamey” and break immersion. It feels weird to shoot Hans Gruber with a dozen machine gun bursts before he goes down. However, I’m not convinced that any mechanical solution is going to satisfy your players. A narrative system might give the GM enough fortune chips, drama points, or whatever to have the boss avoid fire. A lot of Hit Points shields a boss from instant death. This “sudden death” problem CAN be solved mechanically. Fantasy has protective spells, arrow ranges are limited, and armor can always withstand several blows.)īut in modern day adventures, the GM is a crazy person to present the big bad to the players before the finale.
Lots of DMs have seen their end bosses go down with a few spells, but it’s generally much easier to avoid in low-tech games. (This problem does still exist in fantasy games. This guy is ready to ruin your entire adventure…
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