Boss battles in tabletop RPGs are always somewhat enigmatic. It is difficult to make a single threat stand up against a party full of PCs without either making things too easy or absolutely annihilating the players. Adding minions, terrain, and other unexpected features to the fight can help with this, but sometimes a game master just needs a really powerful baddie. These four tough enemies can be used as boss monsters in the Star Wars RPG, but they should probably be reserved for campaigns with high level players.
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Rancor - Allies and Adversaries
Found in the Allies and Adversaries book, the Rancor is an iconic monster that brings more than just its fame to the table. Watching Luke best a Rancor without the use of his lightsaber may have made these creatures appear weak or easy to defeat, but that is far from the case. In SWPRG, the Rancor doesn’t even need the Adversary tag to pose a threat, as its high Soak value, Wound Threshold, and damage output potential are enough to make even the most seasoned players sweat.
Those hoping to deal any damage to the Rancor will need to get through its 12 Soak, that’s enough to even reduce some of the damage taken from most lightsaber attacks. Even this will only plink away at the beast since it has a massive wound threshold of 42. Whenever the Rancor attacks a players with its massive rending claws, it deals a base damage of 15, and should it get lucky enough to roll a triumph, it can then activate sweeping attack to hit all PCs engaged with the target as well. For a slightly easier time, the Captive Rancor stats in Edge of the Empire can be used, but there isn’t much difference. The biggest weakness this creature has is its low Strain Threshold, but players may not think to try stunning the Rancor.
Dark Trooper - Age of Rebellion
For those players that watched The Mandalorian, it’s easy to see why a Dark Trooper could be a huge threat to the PCs. With 8 Soak and 16 Wound Threshold, PCs will have a difficult time taking even one of these down, but send a whole batallion of them out and things will get messy real quick. They are also Adversary 1, meaning the players will need to upgrade the difficulty of attacks against them once. Although the Dark Trooper’s defenses are certainly formidable, they truly shine with their offensive capacities, as they are equipped with a Plasma Shell Assault Cannon and a Missile Tube.
Both of these weapons have the Breach 1 quality, meaning they ignore 10 points of the target’s Soak. Without some means of defending against this, the players will almost certainly go down in just a few hits. The Game Master needs to be very careful with how these enemies are used, as they could easily wipe out a full party of players that aren’t prepared or aren’t strong enough. Use the Missile Tube sparingly as this does 20 damage with Breach 1.
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Krayt Dragon - Allies and Adversaries
Another star that many fans likely know from The Mandalorian, the Krayt Dragon is arguably one of the coolest monsters in the Star Wars universe. Whether players are hunting one by choice in an attempt to get the precious Krayt Dragon Pearls from within them or they come across them unwillingly, they will pose a serious threat. The Krayt Dragon is like a Rancor on steroids, with more Soak, a higher Wound Threshold, Adversary 2, and some nasty abilities that will ruin a player’s day.
While it may not seem it at first, these creatures do have a fatal weakness. This beast’s sinus cavity is actually very weak, and a well-placed blaster shot has been known to take them out in one hit. In game, this is represented by the Cranial Weakness ability. If a player within close range scores two triumphs against the Krayt Dragon, they roll a single critical with +80 to their role. A disruptor rifle adds an additional +50 more to that, certain career talents can add addtional bonuses, and players get a further +10 per previous critical dealt to the Krayt Dragon. With all of these bonuses combined, it would be possible to one shot the monster.
Imperial I-Class Star Destroyer
It doesn’t matter how good a player’s character is with a lightsaber or even the force to an extent, if they wind up in ship to ship combat in space, they are only as good as their ship and their teamwork. This is a great way to level the playing field against high powered characters, and serves as a special opportunity for the GM to flex their proverbial muscles a little bit. In the latter case, there’s little better than the Imperial I-Class Star Destroyer. Built with intimidation in mind, this powerhouse of a battleship could be a multistage boss fight of sorts.
Unless the players have a large battleship of their own, they won’t stand much of a chance against a Star Destroyer head on. Instead, they’ll need to aim carefully to take out critical systems, potentially even boarding the ship and taking it out from the inside. There’s any number of ways that both the players and the GM could spin this encounter, and that’s half of what makes it so interesting. In terms of raw stats, there isn’t much that can take a star destroyer down thanks to its massive firepower, high Armor, and insane Wound Threshold, so players will need to think outside the box even if they are high level.
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