Consider the Ideal Climax; Adventure Climax
Source: Dungeon Master’s Guide p. 75
Adventure Climax
| dice: d12 | Climax |
|---|---|
| 1 | The adventurers confront the main villain and a group of minions in a bloody battle to the finish. |
| 2 | The adventurers chase the villain while dodging obstacles designed to thwart them, leading to a final confrontation in or outside the villain’s refuge. |
| 3 | The actions of the adventurers or the villain result in a cataclysmic event that the adventurers must escape. |
| 4 | The adventurers race to the site where the villain is bringing a master plan to its conclusion, arriving just as that plan is about to be completed. |
| 5 | The villain and two or three lieutenants perform separate rites in a large room. The adventurers must disrupt all the rites at the same time. |
| 6 | An ally betrays the adventurers as they’re about to achieve their goal. (Use this climax carefully, and don’t overuse it.) |
| 7 | A portal opens to another plane of existence. Creatures on the other side spill out, forcing the adventurers to close the portal and deal with the villain at the same time. |
| 8 | Traps, hazards, or animated objects turn against the adventurers while the main villain attacks. |
| 9 | The dungeon begins to collapse while the adventurers face the main villain, who attempts to escape in the chaos. |
| 10 | A threat more powerful than the adventurers appears, destroys the main villain, and then turns its attention on the characters. |
| 11 | The adventurers must choose whether to pursue the fleeing main villain or save an NPC they care about or a group of innocents. |
| 12 | The adventurers must discover the main villain’s secret weakness before they can hope to defeat that villain. |
| ^adventure-climax |