Special Boss Powers

[Kyle+]

The quest you design may feature a powerful boss character that the heroes must defeat. These Special Powers are intended for heroes of the battle-hardened class. Powers 5-12 are combinations of my own creations as well as direct adaptations of material found in the Warhammer's Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness / The Lost and the Damned publications. One thing I like about these powers is the integration of the under-utilized Mind Point stat.

Special Powers
D12 powers
• 1 = 3 random chaos/evil spells
• 2 = 4 random chaos/evil spells
• 3 = 5 random chaos/evil spells
• 4 = 6 random chaos/evil spells
• 5 = Tendril of Hate
• 6 = Mind Eater
• 7 = Brutal Weapon
• 8 = Blade Venom
• 9 = Demon Weapon
• 10 = The Taint of Chaos
• 11 = Nurgle’s Rot
• 12 = Stream of Corruption

Tendril of Hate: After dealing damage against the hero, the figure sucks a huge amount of air into its stomach. Laughing maniacally, it dislocates its jaw, cocks its head back, and belches foul gas into the room. The hero must pass a mind test: Both the boss figure and the hero immediately roll the # combat dice equal to their current mind points. Whoever rolls more skulls emerges victorious. If the monster wins, a wormlike tendril extends from its stomach and whips through the air toward you with a stinger exposed. The wicked tendril attacks the hero’s throat with 2 combat dice. There is no chance to defend.

Mindeater: Forged over burning corpses and quenched in a living human, this blade has an insatiable hunger for the spiritual energy of its victims. After dealing damage against the hero, the air is filled with a powerful wind carrying moaning, insane laughter, and other sounds of death and delirium. The hero must pass a mind test: The hero must roll a 6 using the # of D6 dice equal to their current mind points, or succumb to madness. If the test is failed, they suffer mind point damage equal to the body point damage dealt.

Brutal Weapon: After dealing damage against the hero, the hero must pass a mind test: The hero must roll a 6 using the # of D6 dice equal to their current mind points, or succumb to the boss’s devastating attack. If the hero fails to deflect the hit, the force of the blow breaks the hero’s armor and sends them sprawling across the floor in the direction that the boss figure is facing. The hero flies over other figures and stops only when they hit a wall or other barrier. Defense dice are reduced by 1 and the movement phase during the next turn is spent regaining their footing.

Blade Venom: The metal of the weapon is tainted and venomous as a result of its quenching in poison and bile. Every point of damage dealt causes an additional loss of 1 body point.

Demon Weapon: The blade has been forged with the blood of young children and women. It shrieks a song of hate and despair which is agonizing to all who can hear it. The hero must pass a mind test: The hero must roll a 6 using the # of D6 dice equal to their mind points, or succumb to horror as the weapon strikes. If the test is failed, every skull rolled in the attack counts as two skulls.

The Taint of Chaos: Every time the figure suffers body point damage, roll D12:
D12
• 1-4 = your hit is successful
• 5-8 = your hit goes right through the creature’s disgustingly resilient body
• 9-12 = your hit is successful but the creature’s body writhes and contorts in a gut-wrenching chaos mutation. Roll D12 three times and sequentially add the results to the figure’s Attack, Defend, and Body stats.

D12 mutations
• 1-4 = +0
• 5-8 = +1
• 9-12 = +2

When the figure is killed, roll D12:
D12
• 1-6 = the monster dies in a gory explosion of blood, brain, and guts.
• 7-12 = the figure’s flesh bubbles and its bones begin to twist apart. Its body splits, spurting blood and spilling organs over the ground. New limbs branch from the gaping cavities, and two new abominations form from the gory mass, both with the starting stats of the original plus mutations of their own. Roll D12 three times and sequentially add the results to the figures’ Attack, Defend, and Body stats.

Nurgle’s Rot: The Rot is a horrifying disease which affects the victim’s body and spirit. A person who eventually dies from the Rot is resurrected as a plaguebearer. Those who contract the Rot often slay themselves, hoping to die quickly and cleanly and avoid becoming a servant of darkness. After dealing damage against the hero, the hero must pass a mind test: Both the boss figure and the hero immediately roll D6 and add the result to their mind points. Whoever’s total is higher emerges victorious. If the boss wins, the Rot is transmitted and takes root. Each new infection advances the disease to the next stage. The only way to cure the disease is to use a Potion of Restoration (alchemist’s shop) or use enough Healing Potions to restore 8 or more body points at the same time.

Disease Stage Effect
• 1 = Skin becomes pale yellow-brown; attack dice reduced by 1
• 2 = Green and purple blotches break out on the victim’s skin; defense dice are reduced by 1
• 3 = The skin begins to rot and a small cloud of flies gathers about the figure; movement dice are reduced to 1d6
• 4 = A single horn sprouts from the victim’s forehead. The figure gains the Plaguebearer’s additional horn attack after moving at least 5 spaces and then attacking an enemy.
• 5 = The eyes start to grow together and the nose atrophies; the hero can no longer make ranged attacks.
• 6 = The victim’s feet grow into two huge claws; attack and defense dice are further reduced by 1.
• 7 = The victim’s face and flesh dissolve into a mass of tissue; the hero no longer benefits from using healing potions, but he becomes disgustingly resilient to enemy attacks.
• 8 = The victim finally dies and his shadow-self becomes one of Nurgle’s Plaguebearers.

Stream of Corruption: Each time the boss suffers body damage, its flesh writhes with tumor-like masses that explode in stinking jets of blood, pus, maggots, slime, and other putrescence. The stream forms a triangle 8 spaces long and 4 spaces broad at its end. First roll to determine the direction of the blast.
D12 direction of explosion
• 1-6 = front
• 7-8 = back
• 9-10 = left
• 11-12 = right

Each figure caught within the stream must roll D12:
D12 Result
• 1-4 = You dive out of the way and roll to safety.
• 5-8 = You are attacked with 5 combat dice and cannot defend. Test for Nurgle’s Rot.
• 9-10 = You take D6 body points of damage and must test for the Rot.
• 11-12 = You inhale the filth, nearly choking to death. Body points are reduced to 1. Test for the Rot.

Enjoy!