Bosses

There are currently 13 bosses in DemonCrawl.

Bosses roam the board in the same way as familiars but will only walk into opened cells and will not solve cells. If any cell they enter contains loot or a familiar, the boss will destroy it.

Bosses are random for each quest with two exceptions. In Beyond, the Computer Simulation emblem guarantees Beyond Ego and in normal mode, the player's first completion of Shadowman will always be Ego.

When on a boss stage, special loot called  Dark Hearts spawn. These empower the boss in unique ways. Making a mistake in a boss level will spawn additional dark hearts as well as, for most bosses, triggering an additional undesirable effect.

Strategy

You are able to kill bosses by freezing or exploding them. Ego is an exception and can only be exploded. All bosses resist burning. Having full health along with  Midas Glove turns all  Dark Hearts into  Diamonds, making bosses much more predictable. Similarly, Iron Sceptre can clean up unwanted dark hearts without the need to collect them. Uncovering a corner cell as the first cell but then starting to solve elsewhere on the board (using something like Spy gleaning, a Longbow or Wand Of Light to safely make a start elsewhere) will leave a boss confined to a small area of the board, leaving the player to solve the level in relative safety.

Bosses

Name	Image	Abilities
HELLSPAWN		Gain a random omen whenever a Dark Heart is collected. Whenever you make a mistake, increase the stage power by number of omens. You cannot be immune to omens.
EGO		Switches between the following effects randomly every turn: • Lose 1 HP for every burning tile • Lose 1 Defense for every frozen tile • Lose 10 coins for every electric tile Creates a burning/frozen/electric/toxic trail every turn
BEYOND EGO		Switches between the following effects randomly every turn triggered when you make a mistake or a dark heart is collected: • Lose 3 HP for every visible burning cell • Lose 3 Defense for every visible frozen cell • Lose 30 coins for every visible electric cell • Lose 3 max life for every visible sanctified cell • Gain a random omen for every visible cursed cell Creates a burning/frozen/electric/sanctified/cursed trail every turn Is a unique boss fought when using the Computer Simulation emblem in Beyond mode.
JAILKEEPER		Seal your first available inventory slot when a Dark Heart is collected. You cannot open your inventory if you've opened fewer than 10 cells since your last mistake. Whenever you click on an inventory slot, seal it.
CULTIST		Spawn 2 Dark Hearts whenever a Dark Heart is collected. You cannot manually collect Dark Hearts. Whenever you make a mistake, spawn another boss.
BURGLEZ		Lose a random item whenever a Dark Heart is collected Whenever you make a mistake, lose items equal to the amount of visible Dark Hearts. If you would lose an item but your inventory is empty, lose a life instead.
DOOMSTEED		Spawn a Harbinger whenever a Dark Heart is collected. Whenever you make a mistake, activate all Harbingers. It costs more to bribe Harbingers.
LOST SHAMAN		Lose 100 mana whenever a Dark Heart is collected. Whenever you discover a 5 or greater, increase the minimum power. Whenever you use a magic item, decrease the minimum power and spawn a Dark Heart.
BRUISES		Whenever a Dark Heart is collected, you take 1 damage. Whenever you make a mistake, spawn Dark Hearts around the boss. You cannot reduce the stage power.
TIMELORD CHRONOS		Every minute, take 3 damage. Add 20 seconds to the timer whenever a Dark Heart is collected. Reset the timer whenever you collect other loot
SHADE		Conceal a random cell every time a Dark Heart is collected. Whenever you make a mistake, spawn dark hearts in all concealed cells. Nearby cell values are concealed.
HUSKBANE		Spawn 3 cankers whenever a dark heart is collected. Whenever you make a mistake, increase the size of all cankers. Big cankers shrink to their regular size when clicked instead of getting destroyed.
YESTERKING		Uncomplete the first stage. Add a random stage mod to the first stage whenever a dark heart is collected. Whenever you make a mistake, double the power of the first stage.
BAGLORD		Spawn a Bagman whenever a Dark Heart is collected. Whenever a Bagman is killed, take damage equal to its empowerment value. Bagmen cannot weaken monsters.