Hey, everyone! Just recently started up a DW campaign this past Friday and the first session went pretty well. I plan on tying up the introductory adventure next session and as such I have been thinking of some neat and climatic battles to cap off the current dungeon. What my brain keeps settling on and visualizing is an Earth Elemental the size of a house coming up from the stone and rampaging throughout the area and the party. What Id love some help and suggestions on is how other DMs have ran massive monsters who aren’t too susceptible to the standard hack and slash of normal weapons while also imparting on the players that it isn’t an impossible fight.
For some background the party consists of a Fighter, Mage (Storm Focus), Priest (Travel/Sky domains), and a Battlemaster (Grim World). They have recently descended into a deep cave to stop an Elvish / Fae sorceror from enacting some vile ritual. They have already stopped the sorceror’s minions from kidnapping youthful sacrifices from a nearby farmhouse and now plan to stop him for good. Deep in this cave they will soon find a massive cavern housing an underground forest nurtured by many underwater springs and sunlight given off by colonies of strange beetles.
Depending on how they proceed they will likely fight through groups of satyrs and fae touched goblins or avoid the fights by sneaking through the forest, possibly encountering other wonders or threats. Eventually, however, they will reach the ruin of a temple where the ritual is to take place. Outside the temple will be a massive area of out of place stone and standing rocks. My idea is that a if blood of a divine or arcane nature is shed upon the rocks the spirit of the stones inside will be awakened, pulling itself, and any standing upon the beast, up into the air. As the Priest had to travel barefoot throughout this treacherous landscape (a price asked of his god for a 7-9 invocation roll so that he may bear the suffering of unfortunate travelers) blood on the stone seems likely.
So with that all said I want this encounter, if they do in fact encounter it, with the Earth Elemental to be the physical brute force “boss fight” counterpart to the mystical Elf preparing his ritual. I’m just afraid this idea might be a bit overboard and will scare my party away! Or worse, have them rush in like its just another run of the mill ogre without heeding my warnings of its size, strength, and ferocity. It will have a weakness, of course. Perhaps an area near its “head” will be vulnerable to attack, or that they must chip through to its fiery core, or lure it into water. I may find out that for myself as the battle unfolds.
After that wall of text I just want to hear anyone else’ input on the encounter. What experience do you have in your own games of fighting colossal, yet beatable beasts? How did you / your players react? Thanks for any advice and input you may have!