Off topic: How are games failing you?

[Endoperez]

Fighting is one solution. If you aren't a great fighter, obviously it will be much harder to defeat the big bad in a straight fight. That's why you have to even the odds. As an example, your mission might be to stall while the rest of your party does some sabotage - suddenly talking is a really good option. Who said Charisma is useless?
In addition, the plans of those megalomaniacal final bosses usually have huge holes in them. There are classics (Fallout, Planescape: Torment) in which you can discover why the big bad's plans' won't work, and TELL HIM THAT. Even if it doesn't cause him to kill himself or give up, it could make the final fight much easier, or give you a "you sacrificed yourself, but you saved the world" ending.
Not to mention the possibility of talking the second-in-command to fight for you. Star Wars, anyone?

You could also play the sneaky rogue who discovers the way to defeat the big monster, in-game and in-character. "Hey Bard, see that missing scale in the belly of the dragon? Use the magic arrow!" Why yes, stealth sure came in handy in here! Not to mention another staple, "destroy the One Ring". Or old literary classics such as "we'll cause a prison break and use the confusion to our advantage".

And then there's the whole exploration aspect: the legend about the magical sword that will make you immune to the magic of the Evil Mage, hidden away somewhere far away. Following the long line of sub-quests would give you a sword that will give you a chance you wouldn't normally have. Of course, finding the sword should be difficult and require non-combat skills, (with different quests and rewards available for the combat-focused characters, of course).


It's only worth the developers' effort to make special cases for the important enemies - but they are the only important enemies. As long as killing monsters isn't your only way of gathering experience, it's at least theoretically possible to make non-combat skills useful in the boss fights.