Boss Phases in Tactics Games

Bosses in a tactics thing should be one of many things. For something objective based, a boss should make completing that objective a living fuckin' nightmare. For something meant to be fought, it should have either distinct phases split between multiple, sequential health bars, or be made of multiple, discretely target able components, with each component governing a separate, synergistic action that the players can systematically disrupt.

what a fuckin' word salad holy shit

time to talk about phases.

Phases and Bosses in a TTRPG

So TTRPGS have the distinction of, if a boss wins, then the game is over (negative). Even in the fastest character creation system, if everyone dies it's fuckin' Joever, start back in town or like, possess the hirelings you sent to guard your horses. It's been a day. Those dudes are dead. What do you do?

What is a Boss?

Big fucker with a gimmick. If he's made to be fought, he can't just be DPS checked down, players have to shmoove, or coordinate more than none at all, to get their ass.

But, the gimmick will, by definition, be new and thus possibly disorientating enough for the players to possibly not get it and thus nearly all die to it.

Ask any MMO player about a Stack mechanic and you'll hear horror stories of people running away from it.

So, what do?

First Phase Sacrifice

One way is to make the First Phase a layup.

First Phase, maybe, should have higher than average HP, but it's Gimmick should be like, not fully complete.

Maybe it's missing a part that makes it really difficult to handle, so it's a bit of a breeze but one that the players understand. Or at least like, one player can understand and then explain to the rest.

Maybe it's not as punishing as it could be. What would nearly reduce everyone to critical HP levels would only deal like, below average damage. A normal cleave hit's worth. What might stun only slows, what might bring disease [long term] only poisons [short term].

This gimmick should basically force players to do something other than their optimal shit that they've more than likely figured out from various trash fights they've been doin'.

Phase 2, shit's real.

Now you ramp the Gimmick to its normal levels. HP is normal for a boss, because now you're also dealing with, potentially, an action economy eating Gimmick. The Fighter might need to eat an opportunity hit to Stack, or the Artillery might need to run out of range to avoid getting splashed by a delayed AoE.

Or, someone might just need to burn an action to stop drop and roll so they aren't on fire.

Shrimple.

<h2>Addendum</h2>

Another way to do Phase 2 is a paradigm shift.

So, dungeons and dragons 4th edition, hereafter 4e, had Monster roles.

Primer of Monster Roles

Monster Roles, after much studying of this sickass 4e monster database, are combat roles that monsters in 4e fall into.

They generally act as such:

Artillery has ranged and some AoE damage, and often will also deal some push on that damage.

Controller will be similarly ranged, but be more focused on AoE damage, hindering debuffs, and terrain fuckery. The wizard you need to gank or the fight becomes a nightmare type shit.

Soldiers are frontline peeps with active defense, and an offense that relies on forcing you to attack them, because otherwise they get free hits off. Meant to tie you up and slap your shit.

Brutes are big beefy fuckers with big damage. More HP, often having some Bloodied (Half Health) interaction so once you, or they, are at half HP shit gets dicey.

Skirmishers harass and harry, having opportunity attack evading movement attached to many of their moves, so they can slip right past your frontline and get to your backline, which is spooky, or they're just hard to pin down and can lead players on wild goose chases.

Lurkers are like Skirmishers, but more focused on hunting your backline. They often have Invisible, which means they can completely avoid detection 'cause they're not even on the board, and coming out of Invis means they'll chunk your backline.

Application to Phase Changes

Another tech to use, instead of amplification, is a role shift.

Maybe a big beefy Brute, once phase 2 begins, tightens up their fighting style to become a cleaner, more precise Soldier, with players needing to adjust in someway.

An Artillery, after softening their opponents in Phase 1, goes in for the kill when they become a Skirmisher, or worse, a Lurker.

A Controller, after priming the battlefield with traps and slowing terrain, might transform into a much more directly deadly Artillery and start blasting their foes with impunity.

And so on.