u/Horror_Artichoke_366

Hi all,

Have a boss encounter coming up with the party fighting a psychic-based sorcerer in a session or two.

I've planned out a lot of different effects and legendary actions this sorcerer can have, alongside their minions which can grapple and bite the party.

However I've realised that this will result in a lot of saving throw rolls from the party, which I feel get a pretty old pretty quickly. Since there are two stages to this fight, it'll be a bit of a long one as well.

Any ideas on how to streamline this? Any other actions that this boss might make that don't involve asking players to constantly look up their saving throw modifiers?

Hi all,

This is a bit of a doozy, so thanks in advance for those who provide their time and advice.

This is a continuation of this post, centered around a party facing off against a corrupted sorcerer that possesses an amulet inhabited by the force of the Far Realms.

It's become time to design this sorcerer (Maleah)'s stat block, and I'm having some difficulty putting all of these ideas together. This is also my first time homebrewing a boss stat block.

Synopsis: The party near the source of consumption that has been causing a horrible famine across the region. After making the perilous ascent to Marrenhall, a now-abandoned manor, they find themselves welcomed inside to its grand dining hall by a mindless thrall. At the head of the table sits a young lady, Maleah. She bears the Starving Glass, an amulet of pure, corrupting void magic. The Starving Glass wishes only to consume life energy, and has influenced her mind to achieve its goal by kidnapping and either consuming or enslaving innocent villagers. It finds the party to be an enticing meal, and she wishes to become friends with them...

Key Points

• This is using 2024 rules, with a party of five Level 7 characters (Glory Paladin, Moon Druid, Rune Fighter, Fey Ranger, Aberrant Sorcerer). They've had an encounter earlier in the day, and are running on ~70% capacity (HP, slots, etc) across the board.
• The combat is split into two stages, set in a richly adorned medieval manor: the first in a open-space dining hall, and the second in the basement levels below as the entire building collapses around them. The basement level is much more claustrophobic.
  • The first stage in the dining hall will have this sorcerer's thralls in play.
    • About three will be 'combat active', and are a moderate threat. Fast moving, multi-attack grapple and bite, with decent armour and HP. Essentially meant to lock down the ranged capacity of the ranger and sorcerer.
    • There will be a further six 'docile' thralls, simple pacified villagers with that pose no threat. However, these can be used by the sorcerer to regain HP and sorcery points, so the party must consider whether they need to spend resources to pre-emptively kill these villagers.
  • The second stage in the basement will be just against the sorcerer, but now with Legendary Actions. It is triggered when she fully draws on the corrupted magic, and begins to collapse the entire building around them.
• It's meant to be fairly brutal, and player 'death' might happen, but this won't be a true death. In short, any player downed or killed will quickly be 'banished' by this sorcerer to a purgatory-type realm, only to be rescued in the last second by a powerful benefactor behind the scenes. The surviving party won't be aware of this until they encounter this benefactor shortly after this combat, which is already a planned plot point.
  • For context: I'm deathly afraid of TPKs, so most combat thus far in the campaign hasn't been particularly deadly (a player gets downed every third combat on average), so this is a way to vibe-check the party while having an out if it gets too hard.

Key Themes

• Consumption - The amulet the sorcerer bears, "The Starving Glass" is a conduit of a consuming force that resides in the Far Realms. It feeds off of the life force and mental fortitude of its victims, and finds the party particularly tasty.
• Void and Psychic Magic: The sorcerer wishes to capture and consume the party, and enslave them as her thralls (or 'friends', as she refers to them as). Most of her spells/actions are related to this, and are aimed at stunning and downing (more Synaptic Stack and Eldritch Blast, less Fireball and Magic Missile).
• The Amulet is the Target: As per the linked post, the amulet is the goal here for plot reasons. Since the sorcerer is doing a great job at being its bearer (feeding it), it is influencing her thoughts and won't leave her willingly. The party will likely need to kill or subdue her in a way.
• Some Humanity Left: A PC has a direct relationship with this sorcerer. It'll be difficult, but they might be able to be talked down with great difficulty (after an appropriate amount of combat)

My Key Concerns (thing I'm not sure / concerned / could use feedback about)

• Is this fun? Would you, as a player, have fun against this boss?
• There is a lot on this stat block. Is it too much? I'm comfortable with running the features used, but it feels like I'm trying to do too many bosses simultaneously.
• How do you avoid Saving Throw Fatigue? Most of her actions involve some form of saving throw (particularly the second stage), and I feel this might get old.
• How would you add more mobility to this character? I've tried to compensate for the 'three melee PCs stand in front of her for multiple turns' with the aura effect and swapping reaction.
• Whilst she has buffed HP, she is still a sorcerer, who don't handle focus-fire well. How would you avoid a potentially disappointing combat that's over in a few turns with a few well-rolled strikes?
• Can I work exhaustion into this better? It's a mechanic that's very on-brand for the main consumption theme, and the 2024 rules are much more simple.

The Stat Block (I've tried to be true-ish to the standard formatting/phrasing, but ultimately I'm the only one reading this so I'm not too fussed).

Name: Maleah the Unfed | AC 17 | HP 180* | Speed 30 ft
*HP is variable - I'll be doing 'when the time is right' HP tracking.
Ability Scores: STR 8 | DEX 16 | CON 16 | INT 11 | WIS 14 | CHA 20
Saves: CON +7, CHA +9
Spell DC: 16 (intentionally lower at the beginning, read on)
Immunities: Psychic damage, Charmed, Frightened
Senses: Darkvision (120ft)
Traits:

• Legendary Resistance (1/day)
• Metamagic (10 points): Heightened Spell, Quickened Spell, Careful Spell
• Thought Shield: Maleah's thoughts cannot be read by telepathy or other means unless she allows it. She has immunity to Psychic damage, and whenever a creature deals Psychic Damage to her, it receives that damage instead.
• Innate Sorcery: Once activated by Body Harvest, Maleah's spell DC increases to 17, and she gains advantage on spell attack rolls
• Consuming Aura: Any creature that ends its turn within 10ft of Maleah makes a Constitution saving throw. Failure - The creature takes one level of Exhaustion.
• Insatiable Hunger: Once reduced to 0HP, Maleah consumes all remaining thralls and regenerates to full HP. She triggers stage two (building collapse), and can now use Legendary Actions.

Actions - Spellcasting (Abbreviated): Mind sliver, minor illusion, chill touch, eldritch blast (with agonising + repelling invocation), hold person, crown of madness, fear, hunger of hadar, blight, enemies abound, dominate person, synaptic static.

Bonus Action - Body Harvest: Maleah absorbs the life essence of an allied thrall within 60ft. They are instantly killed, and she regains 20HP and 2 sorcery points.

Reaction - Sacrificial Thrall: A creature Maleah can see makes an attack roll against her. Maleah chooses an allied thrall within 60ft of her. They instantly swap places, and the thrall becomes the target of the attack instead.

Legendary Actions (3/turn, active in the second stage only):

• Force Surge: Maleah casts Eldritch Blast (+agonising +repelling invocation).
• Telekinetic Surge: Maleah collapses part of the structure. A area covering 1d4 grid squares centered around a target are covered in rubble and become difficult terrain. Any creature in the affected square/s makes a Dexterity Saving Throw. Failure - The target takes 8 (2d8) bludgeoning damage, and is knocked Prone. If failure is by more than 5, they are Restrained under rubble. Success - The target takes half damage.
• Consuming Surge: Maleah targets one creature she can see within 60 feet, which makes a Constitution saving throw. Failure - The target takes 2d8 Necrotic damage, and gains one level of Exhaustion. Success - The target takes half damage.
• Void Surge (1/turn): Maleah creatues a 5-foot-wide sphere of pure, consuming void energy that draws everything towards it. The area within a 10 feet emanation of the sphere is Difficult Terrain, and any creatures that ends their turn in it must make a Strength saving throw. Failure: The target is drawn into the sphere, taking 3d10 Force damage. If they are downed while in contact with the sphere, they are banished until the end of comabat. Success: The target takes half damage.
  • Any projectile attacks that pass through the emanation are taken at disadvantage (reflective of the black-hole warping effect it has)

Let me know what you think! If I've missed any crucial details I'll respond and edit this post.

Hi all, quick advice question.

My party (five Lvl 7 PCs) are about to face off against the penultimate boss of the campaign.

The boss is a very strong sorcerer, who unintentionally obtained and is now heavily influenced by a corrupted amulet with a mind of its own. This amulet feeds off of lifeforce around it, and is the conduit for her power.

Big buildup for the past few sessions, signposting the extreme threat posed, but I'm afraid of hearing from the table:

"I attempt to grapple and remove the amulet from the sorcerer. That's a hit. Can she make a DC17 Dex save?"

This would, lore-wise, 'sever' the power more or less since it's an attuned magic item, and end the boss fight (or change it into a format I'm not too keen on).

The straightfoward response would be something like "It seems to be attached itself to her body, bound into her skin and bone. It doesn't budge," but this feels like a bit of a disappointing brick wall to the attempt.

Any thoughts on how else to approach this in a more creative/engaging way? Or just simply explain how it's inseparable from her body before they attempt the grapple, and move on?