Skip to content

Ritual Boss Fight

Encounter Builder

Key Elements from the Original Encounter:

  1. The Boss (Cleric of Shar) - In 5e, you've chosen to make her a War Priest (CR 9), which is a great fit for both her combat prowess and religious backing. You’ll also want to emphasize her connection to shadows, so abilities like Darkness and Shadow Step (or similar mechanics) will be thematic.
  2. Ritual Guardians (Shadowslain Fighter) - These guys could work as Shadowfell-themed Fighter 8s or perhaps Revenant-like entities who are tethered to the cave’s magic. Their role should be to defend the ritual, but they’ll also serve as challenges in their own right.
  3. Wights in Cages - These act as a secondary threat, potentially released during the phases of the battle.
  4. No Extreme Time Pressure - The party doesn’t have a strict "save the world in 30 minutes" timeline, so you can focus more on the narrative and the pacing of the fight.

Encounter Structure (Phases)

Each phase can escalate the tension, with the party needing to adapt to different circumstances. Here's a possible flow for the encounter:

Phase 1: Ritual Disruption

The fight begins with the War Priest focusing on completing her ritual. During this phase, the environment is charged with dark energy, and shadows seem to come alive, harassing the party.

  • War Priest’s Actions:
    • The War Priest stays mostly in the background, invoking shadows that lash out at the party, trying to disrupt their movements. She focuses on maintaining the ritual.
    • Shadow Tendrils (Recharge 5-6): Shadows burst from the ground, attacking 1-2 party members. Each creature within a 10-foot radius of the tendril must make a Dexterity saving throw (DC 15) or take 2d8 necrotic damage and be grappled (escape DC 15). A creature can use their action to break the grapple.
    • Shadowstep (1/Turn): As a bonus action, she can teleport between shadows, moving up to 30 feet within dim light or darkness, reappearing in a space the War Priest can see. This makes her hard to pin down.
    • Summon Shadows: As a legendary action (recharge on a 5-6), she summons 1d4 shadows (use the stat block from the Monster Manual) to harass the party.
  • Wights (Caged): The Wights are still trapped in their cages. They don’t pose an immediate threat but are slowly being powered by the ritual. If freed, they become active CR 4 undead that can contribute to the chaos. They will attempt to claw at the party’s legs if released.
  • Environmental Hazards:
    • The cave is dark, with only flickers of light from magical sources or the War Priest’s ritual. Any areas of shadow will have half movement for anyone who can’t see in the dark.
    • There are mysterious arcane sigils on the walls and floors that the War Priest can manipulate to hinder the party (perhaps creating zones of difficult terrain, or forcing the party to make Wisdom saves to avoid fear effects).

Phase 2: Empowered by Shar

Once the War Priest feels the ritual is reaching its apex, she fully completes the first stage, empowering herself with Shar’s blessing. At this point, she becomes a more active combatant.

  • War Priest’s Actions:
    • Divine Power (once per short rest): As a bonus action, the War Priest can empower herself, gaining advantage on all attack rolls, saving throws, and checks for 1 minute.
    • Curse of Shar (Recharge 5-6): She targets one creature within 60 feet, cursing them with Shar’s shadowy wrath. The target must make a Charisma saving throw (DC 17) or take 3d6 necrotic damage and become blinded for 1 minute. The target can make the saving throw again at the end of each of their turns.
    • Shadow Slam (Melee Attack): She now uses her full action to fight. On a hit, this attack deals 2d10 necrotic damage and pushes the target 10 feet away.
    • Darkness (1/Day): She can cast Darkness centered on herself, forcing the party to fight within the magical darkness. She can see in it, but the players can’t unless they have darkvision or some other means.
  • Ritual Guardians (Fighter Shadows):
    • The two Fighter 8s are empowered by the dark ritual. They move to protect the War Priest, using Action Surge if necessary to counter the party’s attempts to disrupt her.
    • Possessed Fighters: These shadowy fighters are no longer just men but warped reflections of their former selves. They can use a bonus action to lunge and grapple any party member, reducing their movement by half.
    • Disruptive Wights: If any wights were freed during Phase 1, they should now act aggressively, with their Life Drain attacks adding an additional layer of difficulty.

Phase 3: Ritual Complete

If the War Priest succeeds in completing the ritual (or if the battle has gone on for too long), she becomes empowered by Shar and the ritual concludes. This is a final phase, and things get incredibly dangerous.

  • War Priest’s Actions:
    • Empowered Shar’s Blessing: The War Priest can now regain 20 hit points at the start of her turn. She also gains Resistance to all damage types except Radiant.
    • Black Sun (Recharge 5-6): The War Priest invokes Shar’s power, casting Sunburst on the party (or a radius of 30 ft.), dealing 12d6 necrotic damage (DC 18 Constitution save for half). This deals radiant damage to undead.
    • Necrotic Empowerment: Once per turn, when she hits a creature with an attack, she regains 2d10 hit points.
  • Wights and Shadows:
    • If the wights were still alive, they are now fully powered, each acting on their own, using their Paralyzing Touch and Life Drain to make the fight more challenging.
    • Shadowy Minions (Legendary Action): The War Priest can use her legendary actions to summon 2 additional shadows once per round. The shadows will attempt to drag party members into the darkness or drain their strength.

Adjusting for the Ranger’s Damage:

Since your ranger is likely to outdamage most other characters, it’s crucial to ensure they don't completely overshadow the rest of the party. Here’s how you can do this:

  1. Shadows Disrupting Ranged Attacks: The War Priest can use her Shadow Tendrils and Darkness to create conditions that make ranged combat harder (disadvantage on attack rolls or forcing concentration checks for spells like Hunter's Mark).
  2. Grappling and Restricting Movement: The Ritual Guardians and Wights can use grapple and zone control to prevent the ranger from standing too far back and picking off enemies at range.
  3. Legendary Actions: Use her legendary actions to disrupt the ranger’s turn, forcing them to spend more resources on mobility or healing.

Final Touches:

  • Tactical Terrain: The cave could be divided into dark and lit areas, forcing the party to adapt. If the party can take control of light sources, it could help mitigate the War Priest’s abilities.
  • Moral Dilemma with Wights: If the party decides to free the Wights, it can create moral tension. Do they risk facing these undead enemies, or leave them trapped, possibly prolonging the ritual?
  • Ritual Progression: You could have the War Priest's ritual slowly empower her over time, with different abilities becoming available at the end of each phase.