A while back, I came up with the idea of there being a FIFTH boss in the game.

You know how lichen can combine to become larger, tougher enemies set on spelling your doom?

Well, what if enough lichen combined to create a gigantic, humanoid lichen?

Where you could find it:

The lichens came to Cradle on a meteor, right? Where's the meteor!? Find that, I bet you'll find the Lichen Lord.

The first level(s) will take place outside the meteor, and all further levels (even the boss fight) take place inside.

This monstrous lair (which I'm calling the "Lichenous Crater") would probably be found within either tier 2 or 3.

• AREA 1: Excavation Site

Like the clockworks tunnels, except when you look down, you'll see a giant freakin' meteor, and probably other levels within the excavation site. This area should be randomized, and party button rooms could act as "mini-elevators" that take you to the next part of the level (not to the next depth). Beware of knights that have been consumed by the Lichen, and now walk around like zombies. If you defeat the lichen, you'll free the knight inside.

• AREA 2: Slimy Tunnels

Now you're exploring the inside of the meteor, which is, of course, infested with Lichen. There could be slippery patches and/or thorns on the floor.

• AREA 3 / BOSS: The Lichen Lord's Cave

And of course, the LL himself. This level would start with a long, narrow tunnel sloped downwards. Eventually you'll reach a large chamber with a small lichen siting in front of the party button with a glowing core. Once the button is pressed, a swarm of lichen will spew out of the tiny tunnels in the room's walls, forming with the glowing lichen to eventually form... drum roll please... the Lichen Lord!

Here's an image of what the battlefield might look like, created with Spiral Spy. I had to ask Vanaduke to fill in for the Lichen Lord.

How you would fight it:

• PHASE 1-3:

The Lichen Lord would unleash waves of destructive, but simple attacks (e.g. smash ground with hand, stomp, maybe a bit of a bite), as well as the ability to shoot waves of thorns.

To beat it, you have to attack its various body parts (or have them sustain enough damage from hitting the ground too hard) until they break apart into several of the small lichen, which you would need to eliminate before they combine, or reform their corresponding body part.

For phase 1, you're fighting the legs, phase 2 has you tackling the arms, and finally, phase 3 is the torso.

• PHASE 4:

Once you've destroyed the arms, legs and torso, the L.L. should now be nothing more than an evil looking head that will bounce around the battle field, while still trying to hit you with spikes and such (he'll definitely bite you at this point :) ). You should be able to attack it with any weapon of your choice, until the head is finally destroyed, and the L.L. becomes nothing more than a red slimy puddle and a pile of lichen cores.

Warning! If there are enough lichen left alive, they might reform the torso, meaning they'll pretty much revert the fight back to phase 3.

Upon the Lichen Lord's death, it should drop a "glowing" lichen core(s), which, of course, can be traded in for some cool, lichen themed armor/accessories/weapons/whatever. :)

SHADOW LAIR IDEA:
The Lichen Lord becomes the Lichen Titan, which is formed with several different types of Lichen, rather than just the regular ones.

What it would look like:

Here's a sketch that I drew in crayon. Don't ask why it's in crayon.
http://media-cache-is0.pinimg.com/originals/ec/56/ec/ec56ecddab0d05f06ab...

Here's a written description:

-Large, red body composed of clear slime, with yellow spots on its back
-hands and feet have thorns for fingers and toes
-large head with glowing eyes and mouth, as well as horns
-thorns growing down its back
-about the size of Lord Vanaduke

What you could trade in those Glowing Cores for:

• The Lichen Launcher (3-star gun)

Description: The secret behind lichen reproduction, embedded into this blaster, and modified to the benefit of gunslingers alike. It's a little gross, if not disturbing.

How it works: Shoots a lichen. The lichen flies a short distance away, then splats on the ground, if it doesn't hit something first. Deals piercing damage.

Upgrades:

• Has an upgrade tree whereas it would shoot different elemental types of lichen (excluding the toxoil and sloom) or just regular lichen.
• All 4 star versions of the Lichen Launcher shoot a somewhat larger lichen, which rolls a short distance away upon landing, instead of splatting on impact with the ground. It will still splat if it hits a wall or enemy.
• All 5 star versions will shoot lichen colonies that, upon hitting the ground, will home in on the closest enemy, and go splat if it hits something, or after a few seconds.
• Oilers from the Oiler Cannon will ignite upon hitting the ground, setting enemies on fire. Enemies that suffer a direct hit from an unlit oiler will be temporarily weak to fire, unless the enemy in question is a fire variant (that means this is a bad choice for Firestorm Citadel)
• Quicksilvers from the Quicksilver Driver will instead go into their electric spasams when hitting the ground, dashing around randomly through emenies. Quicksilvers from the Spiked Quicksilver Driver will be more focused on enemies.
• The Void Gel Cannon is slightly more powerful than the Spiked Lichen Driver, and can only be crafted at the Sanctuary Alchemy Station. (Kind of Ironic, I know.) Additionally, the VGL deals inverse piercing damage (super effective against slimes that resist piercing, but not very effective against fiends that are weak to piercing)

Personally, I think this is a great idea, and it would be pretty cool if it were in the actual game.

If you agree with me, please leave a comment and tell me what you think, and spread the word as well. If we want this in the game, we have to tell this to someone on the development team (but don't just shove it into their faces or poke them about it; that would be rather rude :) )

Thanks for your support.

P.S. For those who want to complain about how we already have a slime boss (The Royal Jelly): I'm already fully aware of that. Please find something else to complain about (if there is nothing to complain about, don't be a smart alec and complain about how there's nothing to complain about.)