A new roleplaying idea - Boss Battles!!

[Ksarh]

Needing people who can RP a bit decently as well as actually wanting to DM is always a problem with such a system

[Christoph]

It's more that Althanas isn't designed with 'DMs' in mind. For that reason, it seems unlikely that the first version of Boss Battles will have use

[Ksarh]

They wouldn't be DM's in the true sense, but yeah, I know the site isn't really geared towards it. Since I'm not the first to mention them it seems to be a bit tied to the general idea of having a boss monster however. After all, if it's just a handful of people slaying a boss monster in cooperative writing, then it's no different from a regular quest.

[Christoph]

Honestly, you shouldn't ever think of anything as a "regular quest" or a "regular battle". The concept of quests and battles was designed specifically to be versatile. If you think of either one as "regular", then you're only limiting yourself.

Either way, I'm adapting it to my mission board. It'll be different from the norm because a group must complete one of the quests on the board first, and then are assigned a boss battle if they want one. Basically, it gives them the finale and/or the big twist at the end of an edventure. The notion of a boss battle in the manner described in this thread doesn’t fit the nature of Althanas. Our goal is to give writers a helping hand while teaching them to be self-sufficient.

[Petoux]

First I would like to say for the rping experience levels, I understand that everyone has skills ranging from a newb to a master, therefore the different bosses and their attributes and the rules that go along with that particular boss will solve that problem. Anyway, thought of another one that would be an interesting fight:

The setup:

You are on a large wooden bridge, the biggest one you've seen surrounded by poisonous water that can kill you quicker than you can blink if you fall in. There is a very large platform in front of you and a ghostly outline of a dragon can be slightly seen. It is a ghost dragon! About 40 feet tall and 25 feet wide, this ghost dragon seems like a very deadly challenge.

Name: Giason

Statistics:

4444 Hit Points

308 - 9999999999 Attack Points (Described below about the massive range of damage.)

208 Evade Points (This means you hit the boss quite often because of it's massive size.)

Exp gained if victorious: 20,000 divided up evenly with all the characters fighting against it. Going after it solo is suicide, so I was thinking a minimum of like what? 8 people go after this thing for even a slight chance? Max amount of people that can join will be 16. Recommended rping experience will be average to master, or at your own risk. Anyway ... more of the break down...

Attacks include:

Hindering Breath

Desc:

A giant green puff of fog is spewed out from the dragons mouth is used on the first turn (and then every so often afterwards). 1/3 (One third) of the players (rpers) will be hindered (slower reaction time and movement) for three posts unless healed. This attack does no damage, YET can not be dodged.

...

Stone Breath

Desc:

This attack randomly picks one player and encases them in solid stone. This attack does no damage, yet the player/rper can not do a thing (unless somehow the spell/attack is broken) for one post. This attack can not be dodged.

...

Summon Lizard Men

Desc:

Occasionally, the dragon will summon two five foot lizards that stand like a human onto the battle field distracting the players/rpers from the main target (the dragon). They both attack the players/rpers with their spears. They barely do any damage and are very easily killed. Once the spell is cast, it is automatically re-casted every 5 turns/posts. The dragon heals 10 HP every time this spell is cast.

...

Risky Bite:

Desc:

When the dragon gets to 1/2 of it's health it will open it's mouth baring it's teeth and throat and invite someone inside. This attack does nothing UNLESS you choose too. If you decide to enter his mouth, your character will have a 90% chance of receiving the 9999999999 damage causing instant death (they get eaten, and this can not be dodged since they have the choice to do so or not). However, if successful ... the dragon will miss and lose 1/2 of it's remaining health. If you decide not to enter his mouth, the dragon returns to his normal attacks. Basically, you choose if you want this to attack or not. Do you take the risk of your character dying vs killing the dragon faster? This attack can ONLY be used once. The dragon heals 100 HP using this attack.

...

Arrow Shot

Desc:

A giant arrow capable of hitting 4 people in one hit is launched from the dragons mouth dealing a decent amount of damage. This attack CAN be dodged.

...

Claw Strike:

Desc:

The Dragon will slam down both of his front claws in a random location on the bridge. This attack can be dodged, yet if hit ... it does quite a bit of damage to the player or players.

...

Last Ditch:

Desc:

This attack can only be used when the dragon has 70HP or less. The dragon can NOT attack with anything or do anything (including the auto summoning of the lizard men) during this attack for 3 posts, once the 4th post is posted (dragon wise/the "DM")... this attack is unleashed and can not be dodged. This attack causes 9999999999 damage to a single target killing the target instantly. Better kill the dragon quick! (It isn't hard with HP that low irregardless of it's racial ability). If the dragons skin is gone around this time, it will regrow irregardless immediately (since it's HP will be low anyway, to "easy" otherwise ). The boss heals 10 HP each post with the last ditch.

...

Ghost Dragon Racial Ability:

Name: Ghost Skin

Think this battle will be a snap with Boss HP that low? Think again. A ghost has a certain skin that makes it almost immune to all attacks. Physical attacks will do 2 damage irregardless of how powerful the attack is. Magical attacks will do 3 irregardless of how powerful the attack is. HOWEVER, if you find the certain magic attack that eliminates it's skin (whoever DM's this boss will pm me and I will give them that weakness so only the DM knows and no one else) ... Physical attacks will do 80 dmg and Magic attacks will do 160 irregardless of how powerful the attacks are. If you find this weakness, it only lasts for 4 posts until the ghost regrows it's skin. You can only use this weakness attack once, so use it wisely!!

...

What do you think?

[MetalDrago]

First off, HP does not exist in Althanas. Second off, I'll explain why. In Althanas, damage is used more or less realistically. Each individual cut and attack is explained in intricate detail, for the simple reason that it's important to us not to make this as much about a game as about a way to improve one's writing skills, and make the story itself believable. These are the major problems. With your above post. Aside from that, it would seem like a doable thing, minus the Stone Breath, and other auto-hit attacks. No attack in Althanas is unblockable/unavoidable.

[Petoux]

About the unavoidable hits ... I agree, with the exception of the "Risky Bite" {In this example anyway} since it's up to the player to decide if they want to do that or not. So, what would you recommend to fix these problems?

[MetalDrago]

We wouldn't make it a percentage count, nor can we make it instant kill. You see, only the player decides if he/she dies. Now, as for the dragon's attack being nearly impossible to dodge, that won't be a problem. Many players have such attacks. And dodging a move like that, unrealistically, would be either godmodding or powergaming... Can't remember which, the two terms weem interchangable.

[Petoux]

With the althanas rules in place, what would be a good boss setup if YOU were using the dragon personally?

In other words, how would you outfit a boss?

[MetalDrago]

Basically the same way, minus a couple of attacks and immunities. The Ghost Skin can stay... It would basically be played the same as any other NPC, only with a much bigger part in the story. The biggest difference between our styles would be that I wouldn't use a giant, multi-part boss... I'd probably put 4-8 people against another humanoid/small monster who just happened to have very strong powers. I'd even go so far as to completely flesh out the character, giving him attacks, attributes, and a history (just like a character sheet) before ever using him.