Gamer Peak

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.

Witch of Hemwick: An Unskilled Guide

This won’t take long.

Seriously, this boss fight barely needs a guide. This fight is easy. And I don’t mean that in the way that a “git gud scrub” kind of gamer would tell you this fight is easy. It really is straightforward.

Even I could beat this first time every time. And not get hit. Not even once. Or ever actually feel in danger. And if I feel like that, it must be very simple.

Lady Tremaine – Greatest Disney BBEG?

Not every Disney movie has a Big Bad Evil Guy. I recently skipped Bolt (unless you count the pretend villain… or the lawyer) and I went right past Cars (that one car is a bit mean?). Of the movies that do have villains, not all of them are going to make good inspiration for the Big Bad in your Table Top RPG.

Lady Tremaine is not going to win this imagined contest. She might win last place though. She’s not taking on any adventurers with any amount of success. Even in a game where you play the talking mice…

Blood-Starved Beast: An Unskilled Guide

With Father Gascoigne dispatched, you’ve got a few directions you can head in. You can save up and pay your way into the Cathedral Ward, to take on Vicar Amelia, or go further out to the Witch of Hemwick, but Old Yharnam is definitely my first optional area every playthrough. Good for blood stones and helpful unlocks after beating the boss.

The Blood-Starved Beast at the bottom of Old Yharnam is quite the contrast to the big and bulky Cleric Beast and to the focused fighting force of Father Gascoigne. He’s must more erratic, harder to read at first, comes with very different dangers, and above all else is much, much more gooey.

But like CB and FG, BSB can be beaten, without any major skill. I found this to be a messy fight no matter what I tried, but I could control the fight even with my ineptitude. And without realising the trick that makes the first half very easy.

Hopper – Greatest Disney BBEG?

Not every story makes for a great basis of Role-Playing Game. Some stories are surprisingly good. A Bug’s Life might not have as much combat as your average D&D campaign, but not closer: A plucky hero journeys through unknown lands to gain the aid of a bunch of performers to help save a group of farmers from the Big Bad Evil Guy and his army.

As soon as you imagine the circus troop as a bunch of bards – persuading and performing and sleight-of-handing their way around the villains, it suddenly makes a lot of sense. Hopper, the main villain in question, is superbly suited for the BBEG role.

Father Gascoigne – An Unskilled Guide

Hopefully, this is boss number 2 for your first playthrough of Bloodborne. If not, I highly recommend seeking out the Cleric Beast first. It’s not just because he’s easier (whether a Souls boss is easy often depends on the player, but CB definitely feels more like a training boss). It’s also because a win before Father Gascoigne will give you a well-needed confidence boost.

Gascoigne is a tough boss this early into proceedings, and has turned a lot of players away from continuing the game. But with a bit of confidence, and advice from this clumsy, bumbling gamer, and you can win even if it doesn’t seem likely.

If I can do it, so can you.

Mor’du– Greatest Disney BBEG?

“Rocks fall, everybody dies” is a common trope in table top games, which the Games Master can use to express joking (or in some cases, very serious) disdain or disapproval of their player’s behaviour. When the game has gone off the rails, the party is threatened with death by sudden squishing.

[Spoilers] In Brave, however, ‘rock fall, villain dies’ is more apt.

In most TTRPGs, ending a story arc with a boss that’s just a big bear might not result in the most thrilling conclusion. But Mor’du is a very big bear. A big, scary, rage-filled, super strong bear. So there’s something we can work with.

Cleric Beast – An Unskilled Guide

If you’ve found this monster, it is either your very first Bloodborne boss, or you’ve found after meeting and/or beating Father Gascoigne. If it’s the latter, hopefully this encounter will be less stressful for you.

Gascoigne is the real test of whether you want to play this game. The Cleric Beast is (a little bit) easier to train your skills on.

As with most things in Bloodborne, this will not be easy, but the Cleric Beast is very manageable, and with a little bit of preparation and planning he can be beaten.

If I can do it, so can you.

The Horned King – Greatest Disney BBEG?

I’m one of those people who is very fond of Black Cauldron. Where most people find it too dark for Disney, to bleak and weird, I was very much on board.

Re-watching Black Cauldron for this blogpost, I found that I enjoyed the movie just as much as when I was young, but my thoughts on the main villain were altered greatly. I’d remember him as this all powerful tyrant that would be in contention for the topic TTRPG Disney villain, but he’s a little… wimpier than I remember.

That might not necessarily be a bad thing for your campaign though.