Villain tactics and GM dirty tricks

[Ilari]

The question is simple. Each of the standard archetypes (Brick, Martial Artist, etc) has certain strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, it stands to reason that each archetype would have certain other archetypes it has trouble dealing with in combat. For example, Bricks often have trouble with Martial Artists, or so I've gathered.

I'm a new Champions GM, so I would very much like to know if there are any other pairings like that. What do I throw at my players to challenge them, combat-wise?

[Shigeru]

MAtial Artists often have a lack of ranged powers or movement powers. Either of these weak areas can be exploited by introducng an adversary that plays on the characters deficiency.

A MA with no real ranged powers might face an energy projector with great movement abilities (to keep himsellf out of reach of the hero) and just harass the MA with ranged attacks, for example.

[OzMike]

Non-flying Bricks and Martial Artists often have trouble with flying Energy Projectors or Mentalists.

Find Weakness is often a great equalizer for a villain as long as the attack's DC isn't too high - then it becomes a player killer.

Mentalists often have trouble with other Mentalists.

Area Effect attacks are the Martial Artist's bane. So are entangles for them and characters with Accessible Focii.

Damage Reduction is a great way to give a villain staying power in a fight without making them impossible for lower DC attacks to hurt.

No one likes to be Flashed or 'Darknessed'. Also Invisibility is great for keeping characters off guard.

Anyone with a high level of movement will be challenging for most groups if they use hit and run tactics. Energy Projecting Speedsters are particularly nasty.

Having an opposing villain team fight as a team is a great challenge.

My final bit of advice is this: know which genre/comic book age you want try to simulate and go for it. Communicate it clearly to your players (get consensus on what that means) and tell them to trust you. Ignore and change the rules as you see fit to fit within this and you'll be fine.

Have fun :)

[Shadowsoul]

I'm more of a fantasy GM but I would suggest that psychics can really mess bricks about.

A stealthy psychic could probably wreak havoc with a PC energy projecter as well.

As for more general dirty tricks. Hostages make for interesting situations. A villain doesn't have to close with the PC's until he/she/it is good and ready, harassing and weakening them first is more sensible as a rule. And no villain is so tough that a few minions running around and getting in the player's way won't be appreciated, (ok it is possible to build near invulnerable villains but there's a difference between giving players a challenge and making it impossible for them to win).

[boomer]

Someone like Dr. Destroyer is the great equalizer. He's got more points and more tricks up his sleeve. As mentioned above....a Legion of Doom acting in concert will be fairly tough. The Zodiac Conspiracy has a great villan team that is coordinated by code words.....the supplement details their tactics for each. If the good guys are winning and you need those villans for later......always have them manage to get away.....my players hated when I did that.....

[NestorDRod]

A common element for Mentalists is that their powers are based on Line of Sight (LOS). So a stealthy or invisible attacker can generally get the upper hand. Or, as I believe someone has already mentioned, disabling their sight through Darkness or Flash.

[BoloOfEarth]

I also look at the team as a whole and look for things that they may have trouble with, to give them a good challenge.* For instance, if none or only one hero can affect Desolidified, then a Desolid villain with powers that affect the real world will really rock the heroes' world. If almost all of the heroes use HtH attacks, someone with high movement and ranged attacks (especially with No Range Modifiers) will force them to think. A team without a mentalist will generally have a tough time fighting one, even if the heroes all have a modicum of Mental Defense. If the team is light on Enhanced Senses, villains with Invisiblity or Darkness or Flash will make their lives miserable.

You can also use this to make one player shine. For instance, let's say your energy blaster is the only person that can affect Desolid. As soon as you throw that Desolid villain out there, it immediately puts that hero in the spotlight.

*I also like to make sure they have at least one way I can see to overcome any challenge, even if it's obscure or requires them to use something outside their own powers. I once saw a hero take a villain out of the fight with a simple fire extinguisher, and another time a HtH fighter used a bunch of bar stools to defeat a villain with a nasty damage shield.)

[Vondy]

Simple coordination on the part of the villains is often enough - without conceptual foils coming into play. Many players, who often break fights into mano-a-mano slugfests, are completely unprepared for adversaries who use cover, coordinate attacks, and leverage rules options - like snapshots, holding phases, flash before attack, etc.

[Pariah]

One of the dirtiest tricks any GM can use is to actually use the PCs' Disads against them. Got a brick who's Vulnerable to Sonic attacks? Slide Howler into the next adventure. Hunted by VIPER? They have espionage agents and techies in addition to the standard cannon fodder agents, you know. Have villains do things that tweak your PCs' Psych Lims, and that sort of thing.

Of course, don't overdo it. If your player's brick finds himself fighting someone with Sonic attacks every adventure, it's going to get old for both of you pretty quickly. But if you're looking for ways for the villains to give the heroes a run for their money, the players themselves can often provide the best resources.

[Hermit]

As a GM I have to thank you guys, this sort of stuff is always helpful...
as a player... you traitorous sons of b@@## *Shakes fist*

[assault]

Use a Bigger Death Ray.

(And use their disadvantages. Disadvantages are meant to be fun, though, so don't abuse them.)

[Trebuchet]

Energy Projecting Speedsters are particularly nasty.And remember that speedsters don't have to travel on foot like the Flash; there's nothing that says fliers can't be speedsters too. One of my co-GMs runs a flying speedster (DEX 38, SPD 9) with Skill Levels in Flight who is very effective.

[Querysphinx]

Anyone with teleport other can really wreck a speedster's day.

[Pariah]

If you want someone who can give your team's brick(s) fits, put them up against another brick...with a martial arts package.

[Ilari]

Thanks, folks. Your responses have been very helpful.

Of course, I realized that I'm really not going to have too much of a problem challenging my PCs. The opposition in most books (CCC, Evil Unleashed, etc) is geared towards "standard" Superhero games: 350 points and up.

I'm starting my game with 250.

I have the feeling most villains from CCC would wipe the floor with my team. So far 2 out of 5 characters have been created -- a brick and a mentalist -- and I ran the numbers on them for Combat Efficiency Rating (see Digital Hero #3). Assuming I've done my math right, the mentalist's a 40 and the brick is around a 55. That's... not a lot.

[MilkmanDan]

Anyone with teleport other can really wreck a speedster's day.

Add "Stretching, Does Not Cross Intervening Space" for a rather vicious surprise aspect. Not that I ever had a character with that, noooooo . . .

[GoldenAge]

Anyone with teleport other can really wreck a speedster's day.

Especially if he can create invisible Force Walls. :sneaky:

[Hyper-Man]

Anyone with teleport other can really wreck a speedster's day.


That really depends on the build whether they can hit with it.

Some speedsters have their own Teleport UAA AOE to simulate disarming enemies and such.