Rufus Scott

Celestial Emissary: An Unskilled Guide

Bosses in Bloodborne are hard. Some are very hard. Some are grotesque, eldritch, unspeakable assemblies of warped and elongated limbs.

Very few are actually cute. In my opinion, the Celestial Emissary is too cute to be a boss fight, with his big, bubble head and wobbly body. If you can put aside the harrowing origin of how him and his little marshmallowy minions, then they are actually quite endearing. It’s almost a shame I had to ruin the garden.

This boss can go very very smoothly. It’s a real late-game softball if you follow the short and simple guide below. Even if things start to get out of hand, it’s still easy to take charge; you just have to go for a little jog.

Hades – Greatest Disney BBEG?

Jafar has sat smugly atop the leaderboard for a long time – and for good reason – but I think we finally have a true contender.

It seems so obvious that an actual god would make a good villain for your TTRPG, but most gods would actual be too powerful. Your level 5 fighter isn’t going to stand up to Ares and expect to scuff his armour. What makes Hades compelling though, is that he’s not directly involved in his own scheme. He’s a manipulator, a mastermind, until all the pieces are in place.

And that’s a sign of a good Big Bad Evil Guy.

Martyr Logarius: An Unskilled Guide

When discussing “what is the hardest boss in Bloodborne?”, you cannot expect the same answer from everyone. If you miss a trick with an ‘easier’ boss, then it will feel harder to you. If someone confidentially claims one boss is hardest, players around them will be quick to agree/offer up who they think is hardest/explain why that boss isn’t actually hard at all.

For a long time, Martyr Logarius was my hardest boss. By the end of the first playthrough, I had not completed the Chalice Dungeons and DLC, and he remained at the top of my list. He was the only one I doubted I could beat on my next playthrough.

Even when I beat him once, I was not confident. By the end of my second win, I knew how I’d beaten him, and I think I can get you there too.

As always, if I can do it so can you!

Professor Ratican – Greatest Disney BBEG?

21 people have played Moriarty on TV. Twenty One. Add up all the movies and stage shows and audio productions and we’re closing in on 100 variations. The Professor’s shown up in at least five different video games too.

It’s not simply because Sherlock Holmes is a compelling character/story. There are many storylines that do not include the Professor. He’s been seen and heard in so many times because he is a great villain. A Big Bag Evil Guy that enjoys begin mean and intelligent and better than everyone else. He is so successful that he will often bully Sherlock out of sheer boredom.

So a Table Top RPG villain based on Moriarty is a good idea. I would argue that, with clear evidence to prove it, that the rat crime lord based on Moriarty is an even better inspiration for your BBEG.

Amygdala: An Unskilled Guide

When my attempts on a Soulsborne boss reach the double digits, I like many, scan the wiki articles for what I might need to do differently. For the most part, these are only so helpful, because my level skill limits how I might implement the friendly advice.

In the case of Amygdala, I actually needed to ignore the guidance I first read, because it was making things more difficult than it needed to be. As with most bosses, I found a clumsy, simple, brute force method that works. It won’t work every time, in this case, but it’ll get you there eventually.

Elsa – Greatest Disney BBEG?

Ah, what could have been. Early on production, Elsa called ‘Greta’ and was a cold-hearted villain. I thoroughly enjoy the more heart-felt, nuanced take we ended up with, but I can’t help wondering what darkness we missed out on.

Elsa is still a villain though. She gets good right at the end, but before that she plunges her kingdom into ice, nearly kills her sister and several NPCs and only gets more and more powerful.

If this was the basis of a Table Top Role Playing Game, what we have hear is an adventure with two very different outcomes. Either the heroes convince Elsa to listen to sis and find her compassion… or they have to kill an ice queen.

Spoilers: And yes, I know who the ‘real’ villain is, we’re going to score them at the same time. He’s not worth a separate score sheet, and Elsa makes a much more fascinating BBEG.

Vicar Amelia: An Unskilled Guide

Seen as Bloodborne is such a windy, optional-routes affair, this could be your second boss, or it could be your sixth. It really should be your sixth. The Witch and the Beast unlock so much useful stuff, and the training they give you will make the Vicar a bit more manageable.

Every experience is different, but I would personally say that Amelia is a ‘middling’ difficulty boss. She’s a heavy hitter, but she doesn’t bounce around like Darkbeast and is not as aggressive as Gascoigne. Most importantly, it didn’t require anything too clever for me to beat her. Dumb, brute force was required.

Yzma– Greatest Disney BBEG?

In this highly serious, prestigious and highbrow discussion, it is important maintain a strict standard. There should be no favouritism, no biases or personal prejudices.

The fact that Yzma is a particular favourite of mine should have no bearing of proceedings. We are here to determine her merit as your TTRPGs model for a quality BBEG. Individual preference must be placed to one side in order to maintain the validity of the debate.

As a wise scholar once said: squeak squeak squeakedy squeakley squeaky squeaken.

Darkbeast Paarl – An Unskilled Guide

When you are given advice on a boss in a Souls game, no one ever says how reliable that advice is. You see, some bosses can be definitely and consistently beaten a certain way. Some require a certain method but it is going to take a few goes to get right. And then there are some where the guidance seems solid, but there should be a list of caveats, addendums and warnings attached.

For example, the way I beat Darkbeast Paarl – with my distinct lack of skill – can be replicated. It is however, not necessarily going to be easy to replicate. This boss is a bouncing, trembling, pinballing, camera-shaking, chaos gremlin. The fight can go your way very quickly, but it can just as easily fall apart.

Coco – Greatest Disney BBEG?

In order to figure out which Big Bad is the best for any Roleplaying Game, we must hold them all to the same standard. Otherwise, this very serious discussion lacks credibility.

Having said this, certain villains would be poor for the average fantasy adventure, but excellent for very specific game types or storylines.

The villain of Coco (spoilers incoming) would be a pitiful BBEG in a regular hack and slash. With a game more centred around roleplay, or a game where everyone is a travelling bard, this dastardly individual has some merit.