Evaluate this quick houserule/template

[Libertad]

In Pathfinder, a simple template is a quick blurb or ability added to a monster with minimal book-keeping.  So I decided to make one for solo boss encounters.

Dark Training [Simple Template]
There are times when evil overlords and vicious dragons must take on entire party of adventurers at once.  If alone, they will fall quickly, but not if they act fast.  Monsters and NPCs overwhelm entire groups with their near-supernatural mobility.
One-Person Army (Ex): Every round, the creature gains a number of rounds worth of actions to take equal to the number of non-helpless (not unconscious, not paralyzed, etc) PCs involved in the battle.  It is highly recommended for the DM to split up the creature's attacks among the entire party instead of whaling on a lone PC.


I get the feeling that this can go very bad, but I did it as an equalizer in the action economy, where 3-5 PCs will often fight a single lone "boss" monster.

[phaedrusxy]

I'd suggest making it more limited, like the Warmind's/Warhulk's Sweeping Strike (but let it work with ToB maneuvers, etc). I wouldn't allow this for any kind of magic... Then you could probably just make it a feat.

Spellcasters already have action-economy breaking shenanigans they can use (Timestop, Celerity, Schism, battlefield control, Slow, etc). Of course, those aren't limited to NPCs only...

[SolEiji]

Generally a bad idea, though I had (or rather have) this exact gimmick for one especially powerful time related BBEG in another game.  Mostly because it brings up the question of "why doesn't he just burn all 6 turns killing the wizard".  Actually the time BBEG had an answer for that one, in his perspective he's actually fighting multiple one vs one battles with different timelines of himself so the other "turns" can't attack anyone else, there isn't anyone there to attack.

Not that it helps with action problems, but this may benefit you: because the boss needs friends.

[linklord231]

As a rule, I dislike things that are so obviously meta, especially ones marked "GM Only." 

[DancingFish]

It seems like it'd be too much. A boss is most of the time a level or two ahead of the party anyway, so with this they could nuke to oblivion if they happen to be a caster.
If you want them to be able to stand their ground in action economy, a more sane option would probably be giving them JUST an additional standard action.
The easiest way is simply adding mooks, though.

[SolEiji]

I'm also fond of the embedded puzzle or gimmick boss, like the boss who won't die until all his minions are dead, or the boss who has a shield for artificially high hp, or the boss who turns red and goes berserk after 50% hp.

Also, for those that clicked, I'm sorry, and see you back in 1d4 hours.

[oslecamo]

A favorite way of mine to buff solo monsters is to allow them to use their secondary/tertiary abilities as free actions 1/round. Stuff like breath weapons/minor SLAs or other obscure abilities. So the boss throws a lotof different effects on one round instead of just spamming his top attack in a single poor guy.

Another is simply making their single-target attacks multi target.

"Has multiple actions but spreads them over the party because reasons" just feels way too meta indeed.

[RedWarlock]

There was a technique I liked that they mentioned, but didn't use as much as I'd like, in 4e solos, where they would have actions that were strictly a response to PC actions. Like when a PC flanks, the dragon gets a tail sweep attack that can knock them back, or aura effects that hit those that come within within range. Then it gets into a puzzle of figuring out what triggers what response, and avoiding those things, while they work down the HP.

There's also the model of the Minis-game versions of the gargantuan/colossal dragons, where they have several different initiatives, but separate actions, rather than whole turns, like a bite attack is one, a breath weapon would be another, a move is a third, etc.

[Captnq]

Hate it.

It makes the NPC perform stupidly. He splits his attacks, making it seem like you are cheating on behalf of the players. My players would call me out on the carpet for this one.