Fists of the Ruby Pheonix Finale Criticism and Suggestion.

Having finished fists of the Ruby Pheonix I can't help but be disappointed with the final showdown with the lightkeepers in the glass lighthouse as written. The players should be level 20 at this point although they may have skipped some things if they might not be. And really, it's just 2 encounters to play around at level 20 before the campaign is over.

I feel like the showdown with the lightkeepers could be extended and draw on the Fighting Game tropes from games like Mortal Kombat that the game seems to be drawing parallels from to expand that last chapter to be more fun for the players and give them more time to play around.

My suggestion would be to have a showdown with each of the lightkeepers on their own with some minions in a customized arena. Make a grand entrance as they enter into the darkness of the lighthouse, then spotlights come on, they are in a wrestling ring with a crowd of oni and flashing lights. Pyrotechnics go off as Ran-To makes his way to the ring with his own entourage of Ogre wrestlers, Hype Men and Coach while "Break the Wall Down" plays introducing the concept.

Once the fight is over they feel the ground below them lift up as everything fades to black. Ten minutes to rest before the next scene fades in they are in a Ninja dojo and they have to fight Shino and a swarm of camouflaged ninja that look identical to her. Make the terrain destructable and when they break through a wall it opens into the opposite side of the same room. to play up the weird physics.

Fight Blue viper in an endless rat warren where he can leap out of puddles and stab at peoples ankles with a ton of poison traps. Fight Syu in a silk web that repeats vertically and make her moth familiar giant and give it the stats of a Mu Spore or something. Play the Mothra sound effect when it attacks.

Then they get their full rest before facing syndara. A sense of progression up the tower like the arcade mode of Mortal Kombat. Maybe you could have syndara or a simulacrum of him presiding over each fight as the grand judge, give the villain more of a presence as you make your way to him. Fiat some cheats during the fights to make it clear that he isn't playing fair. nothing too dramatic, but have him rearrange the players to an optimal position for an AOE once per fight or increase the distance of a move to get the players an idea of what he is capable of.

I really enjoyed the campaign, but I feel like Book 3 needed more time and I wish I recognized these issues ahead of time and ran them differently. Hopefully someone else can learn from my mistake. and take this advice.