This week I was going to write a long-winded article about an alternative way of running boss battles in D&D, but why write an article when I could make a boss battle for you instead! This is a 4CR boss battle against a giant bird of prey that you can use as anything from the finale of a quest to a random wilderness encounter. Check it out!
Besides being a fun fight, this battle shows off a few of my favorite modifications to combat in D&D 5e:
Position Matters: in this fight, standing in the right place is the difference between being forced to make really hard DC20 saves, and being entirely outside the boss’s reach.
Alternate Objective: Instead of just attacking the boss over and over again, you can instead work to get a nearby ancient ballista working, which will do massive damage once you fire it.
Minions: I love throwing a bunch of 1 hp, low AC enemies alongside a big boss. It makes players feel like Heroes, and it rewards strategic minded players who use area attacks.
Every Good Game Devolves Into Pirates 