And so, the 3 part epic saga of my homebrew monster extravaganza comes to an end, with the final update
The Ecounter
Beginning The fight started off... really ******* good actually, for the players. They quickly figured out the fights gimmick, and it was many rounds until one of them took a hit by Forest of Teeth, bringing the damage pr. round way low.
The lair actions were really important to keep the Wizard at bay, between walls and lair actions.
By round 4, the Sorlock had popped twinned haste on him and the Monk, meaning Come Closer was out the window - the wizard just rolled godly saves. They got good damage in, and i was legitimately getting worried.
Middle
By now, the druid had healed a fair amount, and the damage was starting to rack up on the boss.
BUT! spell slots were running low - Grasping Roots forced the Sorlock to spend a lot on misty step and shields. The monk was living his best life, just whacking away while hasted dodging. No stuns tho, too high con save. He did roll terribly on attacks tho.
Lair Actions made for some really interesting scenarios. Bed of Barbs and walling off the players from each other forced them spending additional resources. Still though, they had an answer for everything i threw at them, and not because i rolled poorly.
Late
The fight is tearing on them. Theyre still taking very little damage, but theyre running out of options and resources. This stage was a bit of a slug fest ill admit. For a boss fight this long, some dynamic elements wouldve been a nice add-on.
Still though, no hits by Forest of Teeth, and lucky rolls from the Wizard got them out of the stickiest situations. Still, defeat was on the horizon.
A huge heal from the druid saved their asses when things were starting to look really dire.
Endgame
By the end, the real strength of the boss started to show. With no resources to dodge and reposition, it gradually got more and more dangerous to be... anywhere on the field, because of its omnipresence.
The true danger of Forest of Teeth would also show. Once they ran out of misty steps, hasted speeds, and what not, it meant that once they got stuck, they did not get out. The summons starting actually mattering here, we barely felt their presence before this. Okay, the Wizard did, but still they were more a nuisance then danger.
Finally, for the final 20 Hp of the Guardian, it broke its roots and disabled lair actions, active and future. Attack rolls had advantage against it but it gained 60 ft. speed and another slam attack. It went down in 2 rounds - wouldve been quicker if the sorlock and monk hadnt been downed.