Overview
The Primordial Flame is an epic level encounter facing off against an aspect of Fire. The Flame has been corrupted by an outside entity, the aspect of corruption. A vicious warlord, he's sending his forces and machines of war forward to invade and conquer the Material Plane.
Fight Synopsis
The Primordial Flame is a fairly straightforward fight with a good amount of environmental effects constantly happening. The Flame himself is quite the military strategist - he will masterfully place himself on the battlefield while avoiding putting himself in compromising situations.
He himself will alter between Gout of Flame(when it is available), and Flail Slam for his main attacks. The Masterwork axe will add extra damage and lower player's mobility. He is well aware of his Burning Aura effect, and will position himself in such a way to hit as many people as possible.
All the while fire effects will be erupting with By Fire Be Purged. Environmental effects will constantly have players worrying about their placement on the battlefield.
This fight was partially community driven, so there are some cut/changed mechanics from the stat block below. Here's the alternative options should you want to utilize them.
Taste the Flames(Replaces By Fire Be Purged) - A massive construct stands off to the side of the battlefield and shoots flames across. At initiative count 20 and initiative count 10, all creatures in a 10 foot line all the way across the battlefield must succeed on a DC 21 Dexterity Saving Throw or take 4d6 fire damage. If the Primordial Flame is hit by this fire, he can use his reaction to heal for the same amount. The construct cannot be destroyed.
Helm of Pulsing(Replaces Masterwork Axe) - The Primordial Flame's helmet is magic in nature. Once per round, he can use his reaction to halve the damage from an attack or spell. Immediately afterwards, the helm pulses out a wave of energy, dealing damage to all creatures within 30 feet. They must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw or take 3d10 damage of the same type resisted. In addition, he gains a Legendary Action which costs 1 action to lower the damage of the next attack against him by 1d10.
Save the Secrets(Replaces Too Soon, Major) - The Primordial Flame's lair secrets are revealed to the players. The Primordial Flame has 5 legendary resistances. The players do not gain a surprise round, but they do have advantage on saving throws against the lair actions, and do not have disadvantage against any other saving throws.
Personality
The Flame is ancient, and is one of the best tacticians out there. He has faced off against all manners of armies, heroes, and unbeatable foe. But he's always come out on top. He is confident, aggressive, and incredibly smart. This shows in both his words and his fighting style - he is not adverse to "talking it out", but often will simply use this to size up his opponent. He revels in warfare, and loves the thrill of the fight. Due to this, he reportedly has been seen cackling like a madman while fighting, though nothing about his fighting style dictates a madman in the slightest.
During combat, he is ruthlessly efficient. He will not coup de grace foes, because once they are down they are not immediate threats anymore. However, once the threats are eliminated, he will end it permanently. Any left behind will permanently fall to his flail.
Brief Lore
The Flame has ruled over his plane with an iron fist. Most of the plane has been converted to creating machines of war. He's waged war against other planes already, this is just another step in his plan of conquest. Corrupted by the Primordial Decay, the Flame has quickly diverted all of his forces to the Material Plane to wage war there. After all, nothing encourages more corruption than war.
Music
The right music helps set the tone amazingly. For this encounter, a militaristic track with a bit of intensity will work for what we need. The song that is playing when you face off against Imlerith in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt fits pretty darn well.
If you like this encounter, consider buying an encounter package here!