[Role Playing Game] Boss Battle - Looking for ideas

[Aeroblyctos]

Hello there.

I'm creating the ninth chapter of The Chosen Ones campaign. Right now I'm thinking of the boss of the chapter. The boss is a strange obelisk that is used to protect the caverns. The player eventually runs to this obelisk and must turn it off by defeating it.

So what I'm looking for is unique spells and events for the boss fights. Yes, there will be two boss fights from the same boss. The first phase is required and the second phase is optional and comes after a puzzle.

The boss itself doesn't have attack damage. It just stands there with different animations. The model for the boss is like this for now, until Kitabatake creates for me something great. But the theme will always be an obelisk that is just standing there.

Start to throw some awesome ideas for the boss.

 

[cleavinghammer]

Some ideas (with each spell randomly chosen and activated one at a time):

The obelisk summons multiple portals from which units constantly spawn. The portals take a while to stabilize, and should be attacked during this period to avoid being overrun.

The obelisk shines brightly, reflecting damage. Any spells cast on it will be negated, and the same spell cast on the attacker. An alternative is to have the attacker knocked back and damaged for a distance proportional to the damage he dealt (higher if a random-chance effect occured on the attack).

Random parts of the floor rise up. Any unit not on the raised parts takes tremendous damage as the obelisk fires a devastating spell (RoF, modified Stampede, etc).

A beam of light shines from above, dealing great damage to units caught in the beam (including the obelisk). The idea being to have the units play keep away with the beam, so it ends up going back and forth over the obelisk.

A large ritual circle appears on the floor and glows. Units still standing in the circle after a few seconds have a variety of horrible things done to them (status effects, damage, etc.)

The obelisk becomes invisible, and reappears later in a different location. Random chance of activating if targeted by an ability.

 

[Chaosy]

This is my suggestion to the first phase:
The boss summons 1 guardian at ech corner, each guardian got one or two abilitys when the guardian dies his spell(s) are transfered to one of the remaining alive guardians.

example:
guardian of light: heals one of the other guardians for X hp and gives passive extra hp reg to nearby guardians.
guardian of darkness: increases his attack damage by X for each %hp that are missing
guardian of flameuts the target in flames dealing damage per second
guardian of earth: stones rain for the sky dealing damage to units at a location

 

[Drunken_Jackal]

You could do like a "homing laser beam", which is a laser that follows the players location that becomes faster as the laser comes to an end.

For phases, the elevation part of cleeavinghammer sounds awesome.
You could also make a part where mini obelisks are summoned, regenerating the primary one and rendering it invulnerable. You must destroy it to stop the regeneration.

 

[cleavinghammer]

The Grand Unifying Idea: the obelisk spawns either minions portals or supportive mini-obelisks. Then it shoots a continuous laser from its summit following the heroes, slicing through the summoned structures and units (and heroes, if they're too slow).

 

[Aeroblyctos]

Okay thanks guys so far. Many great great ideas I've written down.

Keep up the awesome job! I'm still need of more ideas. Especially some little longer spells where strategy and speed is needed.

 

[Drunken_Jackal]

You say he's from a cavern, right?
Perhaps rocks falling down which become pathing blockers when they hit the ground?

 

[Aeroblyctos]

So how is that tactical?

 

[Da Fist]

Okay, I am thinking... Rockets. Forcefield. Flaming Stones. Poison Spores. Hitting the Obelisk multiple times. Oh. I almost forgot. Attack of the Clones.

How do speed matter on this one?

Well, technically, rockets will fire out of the obelisk, leaving holes ( stucking the player when stepped on ), the poison spores can.. Uhh.. Poison.. If caught. Stones part is like the one that Drunken Jackal said, but the stones are pickable, and flaming ( you have to wait for the stones to cool of before it is pickable ). And the attack of the clones is that every now and then, you will see yourself ( actually your clone ) is doing the same thing you have done before, but it will damage you if you have gone too close to them. And, speed is important because you will throw the stones into 4 Forcefields

And you will try to make the stones through the forcefield WHILE it is spinning.

Tactical?

Yes. The Obelisk has 3 Lives. Each life lost is a new wave of more challenging problems ( No life lost yet = Flaming Stones + Spinning Forcefield , 1st Switch = Rockets 2nd = Spores + Stones cool slower 3rd = Clones + Spinning Forcefield is revolving faster
Also, to make the obelisk lose a life, one must make a stone through the forcefeilds and must hit the obelisk)
So, you must estimate the time the forcefield has a open hole to throw, calculating the speed of the stone and you must make sure the debris will kill you. And, oh, when your clone throws a stone ( when copied ) it could kill you.

-Da Fist-

P.S. Now, this is one hell of a hard boss.

 

[cujo5150]

Would something like the game of shark be possible?
A line of 3 balls would move in a circle around the obelisk while moving in the line.
Sometimes 2 lines would appear moving in different directions.

 

[cleavinghammer]

Use great big aura models to show where the next AoE attack will land: first one then two then four, etc. Until there is only a tiny safe area left. With a delay that grows ever shorter.

^ In addition to the above idea (rotating orbs that deal damage), one, two and three orbs that protect the obelisk by standing between each hero and the obelisk (that is, they're always between their assigned hero and the obelisk, at the same distance). If a projectile-type spell is cast, they block it.

 

[Edhel-dur]

Quick question. You control only one character?

Edit. Either way, how about this. the obelisk (or whatever) shoots flames in the air which land on the ground. Where they land, the ground will still burn so if you step in it you get a DOT. Also the boss, will do a knock-back effect.... so if you have bad positioning it will push you into a flame.

 

[Aeroblyctos]

I'll read your posts guys tomorrow but I can say that you control three heroes.

 

[Drunken_Jackal]

So how is that tactical?

It blocks a certain area, limiting the the amount of area thats accessible.
When you cant walk or go to anywhere much, do become somehow stunned and confused on what to do.

 

[Aeroblyctos]

Okay thanks guys I got a lot of boss ideas now.

I don't say stop; boss ideas will always come in handy as I still need to create more bosses for the campaign in the future(chapter 10 left after chapter 9).

+rep

 

[cleavinghammer]

Do you have any particular themes or settings in mind?

 

[Aeroblyctos]

Actually nope. I combine pretty much everything together.

 

[Drunken_Jackal]

I was thinking of a boss battle with is path-based or based on what path you take in the dungeon.
But, I dont know how that would work.

 

[cleavinghammer]

^ Okay, working with that.

For a dungeon with three paths with ice, rock and lava enemies respectively, adapt as needed. Once each boss is defeated, the final boss is fought, being a combination of the previous ones.

Give each boss the ability to randomize the boss room's tileset to normal rock and lava/ice/mud. Lava deals damage, ice causes the heroes to slide uncontrollably in a straight line, mud slows them down. The final boss causes one, two, then all three effects.

Each boss has a particular stat that is higher than the others; once defeated, the remaining bosses get boosts in the defeated's stats. For example, rock has high armor and HP, killing it increases thoses stats for lava and ice. Ice has high magic damage and resistance, lava attacks fast and hard, etc, etc. If the dungeon has multiple mcguffins to find (keys, orb fragments, runes...) the final boss' phases should reflect the order in which they were acquired. For example, getting the ice, lava then rock key gets a different boss moveset order than lava, rock, then ice.

 

[Aeroblyctos]

Sounds like a fine idea.