Boss Template

[Biyama]

[font=Arial Black]The basic idea behind the template is to make bosses that allow for meaningful combats. This means minimizing cheese tactics and giving the boss enough hp survive a few rounds with PCs (potentially allowing retreat and a recurring boss).[/font]


[font=Courier New]Base CR | CR Increase
[/font]
[font=Courier New]0-5 | +2[/font]
[font=Courier New]6-10 | +3[/font]
[font=Courier New]11-15 | +4[/font]
[font=Courier New]16-20 | +5[/font]
[font=Courier New]21-25 | +6[/font]
[font=Arial Black]With the bonuses this template gives, it is impossible to assign a flat CR increase that doesn't neuter or break it at certain levels. Sorrys four mathz.  [/font]

[font=Courier New]Double HP[/font][font=Arial Black] [/font]
[font=Arial Black]Simple, straightforward. Boss needs to not die in one hit to command respect. Increasing HD may seem like a good idea but then your boss has lots of feats and enough BAB to trivialize AC.[/font]
[font=Courier New]Immunity to sleep, paralysis, compulsion, and death effects. Daze and stun are reduced to staggered.[/font][font=Arial Black] [/font]
[font=Arial Black]Similar reasoning to the first bit, the encounter needs to not be trivialized by a single spell or ability. Sorry assassins.[/font]
[font=Courier New]None of this monster’s stats can be reduced below 1 by any effect. This creature cannot have negative levels equal to its HD (a 10 HD creature can only have 9 negative levels).[/font][font=Arial Black] [/font]
[font=Arial Black]Like death effect immunities but I don’t want to entirely get rid of those options as debuffs. You can reduce stats still but not to the point of paralysis/death.[/font]
[font=Courier New]+1 bonus to attack rolls, saves, and ac for every 6 HD the monster possesses (minimum 0)[/font]
[font=Arial Black]At later levels with relatively steep increases in CR, the basic offensive and defensive abilities are severely lacking. This is just a light bump to make hitting and missing more than just a d20 roll in most cases. Do remember these apply to CMB and CMD as well.[/font]

[font=Arial Black]Now the fun bits: Unique styles
These styles are more meant to be guidelines. They also are designed to act similarly to player limit breaks where the boss gets a steroid when their HP is reduced below 1/2 HP. Pick your favorite style and go to town on PCs
Vengeful[/font]
[font=Courier New]-The creature is treated as 1 size larger for determining the result of combat maneuvers and weapon damage.[/font]
[font=Courier New]-The first time the creature is hit in a round, it may make a single attack against the creature that hit it provided it has a weapon that can make the attack ready[/font]
[font=Courier New]-When reduced below 1/2 HP, the creature gains a -1 penalty to AC and +1 bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws. The bonus and penalty increase by 1 for every 9 HD the creature possesses. The creature also gains a single rage power using its HD as its beastmaster level. It gains an additional rage power at 6th HD and every 6 HD after.[/font]
[font=Arial Black]Unyielding[/font]
[font=Courier New]-Fast Healing equal to 1/2 HD
-DR (silver, cold iron, or adamantine) 3+3 per 7 HD. Creatures with 15 or more HD may choose DR (good, evil, chaos, or law) 2+2 per 7 HD instead[/font]
[font=Courier New]-When reduce below 1/2 HP, the creature gains a bonus on overrun combat maneuvers equal to twice its constitution modifier and may overrun without provoking attacks of opportunity. Any creature that is overrun takes damage equal to the creature's unarmed strike+1 1/2 times its constitution modifier.[/font]
[font=Arial Black]Elemental[/font]
[font=Courier New]-The creature gains an elemental subtype (all weaknesses and benefits)[/font]
[font=Courier New]-The creature gains resistance to all elements except the element it weak to equal to 1/2 its HD[/font]
[font=Courier New]-When reduced below 1/2 HP, the creatures attacks deal bonus damage of their element equal to 1/4 their HD (minimum 1). This bonus also applies to spells and supernatural abilities that deal damage that matches the elemental subtype they gained. In addition, at the start of their turn they fire a beam of energy 5 feet per HD in a random direction (roll a die to determine the direction). This beam is as wide as the creature is and deal 1d6 damage + 1d6 for every 3 HD the creature possesses (reflex 10+1/2 HD+con mod for 1/2) divided evenly between all elemental subtypes the creature possesses.[/font]
[font=Arial Black]Sprightly[/font]
[font=Courier New]-Bonus on all speeds equal to HD (rounded down to the nearest 5 feet)[/font]
[font=Courier New]-Spring attack or fly-by attack at a bonus feat[/font]
[font=Courier New]-Creatures with 11 or more HD may make 2 attacks or standard actions during their movement[/font]
[font=Courier New]-When reduced below 1/2 HP, gain the benefit of the haste spell (self only). The creature may also make an additional attack during spring attack and fly-by attack[/font]

[Manly Man]

Pretty cool-looking for beefing up monsters. I will say that, for the list of blanket immunities, they also need to have immunity to ability damage, ability drain, and energy drain, since those are some of the biggest offenders in terms of easy takedown of big monsters in PF. Doing Dexterity damage to a dragon is absolutely killer.

[Biyama]

As far as I have seen, ability damage and energy drain are not all that common in ffd20 so I decided to leave those. Ability drain also usually requires a few doses to reduce a stat to 0. The main goal was to not have bosses die to players that min/maxed their 1 button kill. I don’t want to entirely eliminate all strategies that aren’t straight damage and I am actually considering adding weakness mechanics to each of the styles except elemental

[Manly Man]

I dunno about the energy drain thing, I've made some Necromancers (and other casters) before who were really damn good at dumping negative levels (like, hitting double digits in a single round). And with ability damage, like I said, you go after smaller stats, like Dexterity on larger creatures or Charisma on ugly and simple ones. Ability damage might not be quite as common in FFd20 as it is in Pathfinder, but it's still there; a lot of classes have at least one or two spells or other abilities that deal ability damage or drain, the Necromancer especially, and poisons are still a thing, even if the Poison status effect is also a thing.

[Biyama]

Turns out enervation is still a thing so I added a caveat preventing instadeath from negative levels and stat reduction