Boss Fight! -- Jonath Darkheart - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Boss Fight! -- Jonath Darkheart

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
kiirnodel
Dec 10, 2008 10:05:51 Hello all!

I always have had a fascination with creating 'boss fights' in which aren't the standard 'tank n spank' fights, usually which involve avoiding a predictable mechanic, overcoming an obstacle, doing things in a certain type of particular order, or having multiple options to defeat said baddie. However, I've been coming to the D&D boards more often in 4th edition, as I am new to the edition, as well all are, I still feel uncertain of the power level of these fights.

This is Jonath Darkheart, a half-elven warlock who resides in the Falabard mines. He is performing a ritual to which the party has interest in interrupting, in either case. It's a group of lowbies (Dwarf Fighter 1, Human Warlord 1, Eladrin Rogue 1, Tiefling Warlock 1, Human Ranger 1) only a couple have gotten items beyond the starting gear.

Here is how the fight is piloted. Jonath starts on a balcony with stairs on two sides leading up to it. The party can meander up the stairs to engage him or use other means (eladrin teleport?). The stairs are blocked by two greater twisted reflections, but considering they have low hit points will likely die quickly, their burst of energy will probably give the party an added boost on their way up to the boss, who will likely be blasting away spells by then.

After a few rounds of combat, he will use his teleport-invis ability away from the party and wait for the reflections to engage his foes. Then from afar continues the fight until bloodied. He will try to use Dark Radiance on melee characters to keep chaining the effect as he retreats, using Crash of the Stars and Dementia on ranged threats. When bloodied he blinks and invisibles again, and creates more spawns. He will likely will have badly hurt the party, but they've gathered a couple of potions, have a couple healing words and with the spirit bursts from the greater reflections, might be able to survive the damage. After bloodied he no longer can blink, invisible, create minions, so he blasts away until 'defeated.' He may hold back Dark Insight or Crash of the Stars until the situation arises to use them advantategously, but uses Curse of the Darkheart each time it comes up for use.

Jonath Darkheart -- Level 3 Boss Controller
Medium natural humanoid -- XP 750
Initiative +2 -- Senses Perception +7
HP 240; Bloodied 120;
AC 17; Fortitude 16; Reflex 15; Will 17
Speed 6
Attacks:
• Dark Radiance (standard; at-will) ✦ Implement, Star, Radiant, Ranged 10
+7 versus Reflex; 1d6 + 4 radiant damage. If the target or anyone within burst 5 of the target moves towards Jonath during their turn, they take an additional 1d6 + 4 radiant damage, and the center of effect to trigger this spell is moved to that target. This effect expires when at the end of Jonath’s turn, no one has triggered this effect in the last round.
• Dark Insight (Passive) ✦ Star
Trigger: Jonath successfully casts a spell at an enemy. Effect: Jonath gains an insight charge. Whenever Jonathan casts a spell, he may expend up to three Insight charges to add double that value to his attack roll.
• Curse of the Darkheart (Minor; Recharge 5) ✦ Implement, Star, Close Blast 7
Auto-hit; All enemies in the blast are cursed with Darkheart curse. The next time they take radiant, fire, psychic or necrotic damage, they take an additional 2d6 damage. This curse lasts until the end of the encounter, and does not stack multiple times. Once the target has been struck with an effect, the curse is removed until applied again.
• Eyes of Dementia (Minor; Recharge 5) ✦ Implement, Star, Psychic, Ranged 10
+7 versus Willpower; 1d8 + 4 psychic damage and target becomes confused until the end of Jonath’s next turn.
• Crash of the Stars (Standard; Recharge 6) ✦ Implement, Star, Fire, Area Burst 2 at Ranged 10
+7 versus Reflex; 1d8 + 4 fire damage and targets take a -2 penalty to their willpower defenses until the end of the encounter. This effect is cumulative and can stack indefinitely; a successful save decreases the willpower penalty by one. Miss: Half damage, no willpower penalty.
• Eidolic Attunement (Encounter) ✦ Implement, Star, Self
Jonath teleports up to ten squares (usually up or down the ramp on the battlefield, away from the PCs) and spawns up to six reflections (2 greater and 4 lesser) around the area in which he teleported from. He gains invisibility until the start of his next turn. If Jonath becomes bloodied, he uses this action as an immediate interrupt, even if it has been used already this combat.
Alignment Evil Languages Common, Elven, Infernal
Str 14 (+3) Dex 12 (+2) Wis 14 (+3)
Con 16 (+4) Int 15 (+3) Cha 18 (+6)
Equipment Spire of Jonath, Leather Vestments of Chaos

Greater Twisted Reflection -- Level 2 Skirmisher
Medium animate -- XP 125
Initiative +4 -- Senses Perception +0
HP 36; Bloodied 18;
AC 16; Fortitude 12; Reflex 14; Will 13
Speed 7
Attacks:
• Glimpse of Terror (standard; at-will) ✦ Implement, Star, Psychic, Ranged 5
+5 versus Willpower; 1d4 + 2 psychic damage, the target receives a -1 penalty to willpower, this stacks indefinitely. Each successful save reduces the penalty by one.
• Ghost Touch (standard; at-will) ✦ Implement, Star, Psychic, Melee
+5 versus Fortitude; 1d4 + 2 psychic damage, the target receives a -1 penalty to willpower, this stacks indefinitely. Each successful save reduces the penalty by one.
• Spirit Burst (Immediate reaction) ✦Star, Psychic, Close Burst 3
When slain, a twisted reflection becomes at rest and the spirit can return to the afterlife. Anyone within range can use a single healing surge.
Alignment Evil Languages Common, Elven, Infernal
Str 10 (+1) Dex 12 (+2) Wis 9 (+0)
Con 12 (+2) Int 12 (+2) Cha 14 (+3)

Lesser Twisted Reflection -- Level 2 Minion
Medium animate -- XP 37
Initiative +4 -- Senses Perception +0
HP 1; A result of miss never damages a minion.
AC 16; Fortitude 12; Reflex 14; Will 13
Speed 7
Attacks:
• Glimpse of Terror (standard; at-will) ✦ Implement, Star, Psychic, Ranged 5
+5 versus Willpower; 3 psychic damage.
• Ghost Touch (standard; at-will) ✦ Implement, Star, Psychic, Melee
+5 versus Fortitude; 3 necrotic damage.
Alignment Evil Languages Common, Elven, Infernal
Str 10 (+1) Dex 12 (+2) Wis 9 (+0)
Con 12 (+2) Int 12 (+2) Cha 14 (+3)
#2
evilbob76
Dec 10, 2008 15:22:40 It sounds to me like it will be pretty easy... seeing that there's 3 strikers that can dump their quarry/curse/sneak attack on him and do daily + action point and encounter power and could kill him in one round.

This guy has a potential to drop one-two PCs in one round if he gets them with his area attack and curse, and gets good rolls, but I see him going down in 1-2 rounds.
#3
machmoth
Dec 10, 2008 16:08:58 I absolutely adore fights like this.

My first 4e "boss fight" was a ring leader at the end of a twisted and macabre circus. He rode upon a massive elephant, and placed a curse that required the players to leap successfully through three firey rings spread at distant ends of the big top in order to be able to harm him.

It was fun to watch the players, at first, scramble about trying to reach all of the rings, leaving themselves open to be knocked around rather harshly. The quick and agile rogue was the first to complete the circuit, largely unmolested due to his artful dodging and general mobility. Shortly after, the other, less acrobatic characters realized that rather than spending time burning themselves on rings and wasting rounds, they could still mark, flank and debuff the boss while healing and picking off minion. With tactical aid from the others, the significantly buffed rogue was able to do the boss in.
#4
kiirnodel
Dec 11, 2008 7:03:11
It sounds to me like it will be pretty easy... seeing that there's 3 strikers that can dump their quarry/curse/sneak attack on him and do daily + action point and encounter power and could kill him in one round.

This guy has a potential to drop one-two PCs in one round if he gets them with his area attack and curse, and gets good rolls, but I see him going down in 1-2 rounds.

Statistically possible with a straight-forward fight, I find it unlikely given Jonath's ability to teleport combined with the 'adds' that start with the fight blocking access to him (except the single Eladrin, who will be able to engage him one the first turn). With his ability to turn invisible, having a staircase required to reach him, with adds blocking the way (detailed in the post above) that is the part that is supposed to make the 'boss' hard, not entirely the stats.

However, if you still feel his defenses or hit points are low, you may be correct that it may be a viable issue that he has low survivability.

---

Machmoth -- That sounds awesome! I can imagine it would have been one hell of a fight, I bet your players had a blast!
#5
ekio
Dec 11, 2008 9:24:17 Most definitely.

My fight didn't have obstacles to overcome per se-- they were fighting a warforged naga type deal who was trying to create her own plane of reality. And because they were fighting her in her main base of operations while she tried to do this, reality around them kept changing.

Best thing was when I turned the dwarven fighter (our primary defender) into a kobold.

And his axe into a herring.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 kiirnodel Dec 10, 2008 10:05:51	Hello all! I always have had a fascination with creating 'boss fights' in which aren't the standard 'tank n spank' fights, usually which involve avoiding a predictable mechanic, overcoming an obstacle, doing things in a certain type of particular order, or having multiple options to defeat said baddie. However, I've been coming to the D&D boards more often in 4th edition, as I am new to the edition, as well all are, I still feel uncertain of the power level of these fights. This is Jonath Darkheart, a half-elven warlock who resides in the Falabard mines. He is performing a ritual to which the party has interest in interrupting, in either case. It's a group of lowbies (Dwarf Fighter 1, Human Warlord 1, Eladrin Rogue 1, Tiefling Warlock 1, Human Ranger 1) only a couple have gotten items beyond the starting gear. Here is how the fight is piloted. Jonath starts on a balcony with stairs on two sides leading up to it. The party can meander up the stairs to engage him or use other means (eladrin teleport?). The stairs are blocked by two greater twisted reflections, but considering they have low hit points will likely die quickly, their burst of energy will probably give the party an added boost on their way up to the boss, who will likely be blasting away spells by then. After a few rounds of combat, he will use his teleport-invis ability away from the party and wait for the reflections to engage his foes. Then from afar continues the fight until bloodied. He will try to use Dark Radiance on melee characters to keep chaining the effect as he retreats, using Crash of the Stars and Dementia on ranged threats. When bloodied he blinks and invisibles again, and creates more spawns. He will likely will have badly hurt the party, but they've gathered a couple of potions, have a couple healing words and with the spirit bursts from the greater reflections, might be able to survive the damage. After bloodied he no longer can blink, invisible, create minions, so he blasts away until 'defeated.' He may hold back Dark Insight or Crash of the Stars until the situation arises to use them advantategously, but uses Curse of the Darkheart each time it comes up for use. Jonath Darkheart -- Level 3 Boss Controller Medium natural humanoid -- XP 750 Initiative +2 -- Senses Perception +7 HP 240; Bloodied 120; AC 17; Fortitude 16; Reflex 15; Will 17 Speed 6 Attacks: • Dark Radiance (standard; at-will) ✦ Implement, Star, Radiant, Ranged 10 +7 versus Reflex; 1d6 + 4 radiant damage. If the target or anyone within burst 5 of the target moves towards Jonath during their turn, they take an additional 1d6 + 4 radiant damage, and the center of effect to trigger this spell is moved to that target. This effect expires when at the end of Jonath’s turn, no one has triggered this effect in the last round. • Dark Insight (Passive) ✦ Star Trigger: Jonath successfully casts a spell at an enemy. Effect: Jonath gains an insight charge. Whenever Jonathan casts a spell, he may expend up to three Insight charges to add double that value to his attack roll. • Curse of the Darkheart (Minor; Recharge 5) ✦ Implement, Star, Close Blast 7 Auto-hit; All enemies in the blast are cursed with Darkheart curse. The next time they take radiant, fire, psychic or necrotic damage, they take an additional 2d6 damage. This curse lasts until the end of the encounter, and does not stack multiple times. Once the target has been struck with an effect, the curse is removed until applied again. • Eyes of Dementia (Minor; Recharge 5) ✦ Implement, Star, Psychic, Ranged 10 +7 versus Willpower; 1d8 + 4 psychic damage and target becomes confused until the end of Jonath’s next turn. • Crash of the Stars (Standard; Recharge 6) ✦ Implement, Star, Fire, Area Burst 2 at Ranged 10 +7 versus Reflex; 1d8 + 4 fire damage and targets take a -2 penalty to their willpower defenses until the end of the encounter. This effect is cumulative and can stack indefinitely; a successful save decreases the willpower penalty by one. Miss: Half damage, no willpower penalty. • Eidolic Attunement (Encounter) ✦ Implement, Star, Self Jonath teleports up to ten squares (usually up or down the ramp on the battlefield, away from the PCs) and spawns up to six reflections (2 greater and 4 lesser) around the area in which he teleported from. He gains invisibility until the start of his next turn. If Jonath becomes bloodied, he uses this action as an immediate interrupt, even if it has been used already this combat. Alignment Evil Languages Common, Elven, Infernal Str 14 (+3) Dex 12 (+2) Wis 14 (+3) Con 16 (+4) Int 15 (+3) Cha 18 (+6) Equipment Spire of Jonath, Leather Vestments of Chaos Greater Twisted Reflection -- Level 2 Skirmisher Medium animate -- XP 125 Initiative +4 -- Senses Perception +0 HP 36; Bloodied 18; AC 16; Fortitude 12; Reflex 14; Will 13 Speed 7 Attacks: • Glimpse of Terror (standard; at-will) ✦ Implement, Star, Psychic, Ranged 5 +5 versus Willpower; 1d4 + 2 psychic damage, the target receives a -1 penalty to willpower, this stacks indefinitely. Each successful save reduces the penalty by one. • Ghost Touch (standard; at-will) ✦ Implement, Star, Psychic, Melee +5 versus Fortitude; 1d4 + 2 psychic damage, the target receives a -1 penalty to willpower, this stacks indefinitely. Each successful save reduces the penalty by one. • Spirit Burst (Immediate reaction) ✦Star, Psychic, Close Burst 3 When slain, a twisted reflection becomes at rest and the spirit can return to the afterlife. Anyone within range can use a single healing surge. Alignment Evil Languages Common, Elven, Infernal Str 10 (+1) Dex 12 (+2) Wis 9 (+0) Con 12 (+2) Int 12 (+2) Cha 14 (+3) Lesser Twisted Reflection -- Level 2 Minion Medium animate -- XP 37 Initiative +4 -- Senses Perception +0 HP 1; A result of miss never damages a minion. AC 16; Fortitude 12; Reflex 14; Will 13 Speed 7 Attacks: • Glimpse of Terror (standard; at-will) ✦ Implement, Star, Psychic, Ranged 5 +5 versus Willpower; 3 psychic damage. • Ghost Touch (standard; at-will) ✦ Implement, Star, Psychic, Melee +5 versus Fortitude; 3 necrotic damage. Alignment Evil Languages Common, Elven, Infernal Str 10 (+1) Dex 12 (+2) Wis 9 (+0) Con 12 (+2) Int 12 (+2) Cha 14 (+3)
#2 evilbob76 Dec 10, 2008 15:22:40	It sounds to me like it will be pretty easy... seeing that there's 3 strikers that can dump their quarry/curse/sneak attack on him and do daily + action point and encounter power and could kill him in one round. This guy has a potential to drop one-two PCs in one round if he gets them with his area attack and curse, and gets good rolls, but I see him going down in 1-2 rounds.
#3 machmoth Dec 10, 2008 16:08:58	I absolutely adore fights like this. My first 4e "boss fight" was a ring leader at the end of a twisted and macabre circus. He rode upon a massive elephant, and placed a curse that required the players to leap successfully through three firey rings spread at distant ends of the big top in order to be able to harm him. It was fun to watch the players, at first, scramble about trying to reach all of the rings, leaving themselves open to be knocked around rather harshly. The quick and agile rogue was the first to complete the circuit, largely unmolested due to his artful dodging and general mobility. Shortly after, the other, less acrobatic characters realized that rather than spending time burning themselves on rings and wasting rounds, they could still mark, flank and debuff the boss while healing and picking off minion. With tactical aid from the others, the significantly buffed rogue was able to do the boss in.
#4 kiirnodel Dec 11, 2008 7:03:11	It sounds to me like it will be pretty easy... seeing that there's 3 strikers that can dump their quarry/curse/sneak attack on him and do daily + action point and encounter power and could kill him in one round. This guy has a potential to drop one-two PCs in one round if he gets them with his area attack and curse, and gets good rolls, but I see him going down in 1-2 rounds. Statistically possible with a straight-forward fight, I find it unlikely given Jonath's ability to teleport combined with the 'adds' that start with the fight blocking access to him (except the single Eladrin, who will be able to engage him one the first turn). With his ability to turn invisible, having a staircase required to reach him, with adds blocking the way (detailed in the post above) that is the part that is supposed to make the 'boss' hard, not entirely the stats. However, if you still feel his defenses or hit points are low, you may be correct that it may be a viable issue that he has low survivability. --- Machmoth -- That sounds awesome! I can imagine it would have been one hell of a fight, I bet your players had a blast!
#5 ekio Dec 11, 2008 9:24:17	Most definitely. My fight didn't have obstacles to overcome per se-- they were fighting a warforged naga type deal who was trying to create her own plane of reality. And because they were fighting her in her main base of operations while she tried to do this, reality around them kept changing. Best thing was when I turned the dwarven fighter (our primary defender) into a kobold. And his axe into a herring.