Dealing with Hunteds

[Blue]

Just curious as to a couple of things about how others deal with Hunteds.

 

1) Do you roll hunteds before the scenarios and then find a nice place to insert them?

 

2) Do you forego rolls and just insert them as needed and appropriate to the level of occurance purchased?

 

3) What do you do when a hunted is eliminated (through capture or possibly death). Do you just not worry about them anymore, do you replace them with an equivalent hunted, or do you find a way to bring them back (jailbreak, ressurrection, etc.)

 

Just curious.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

I mostly forego rolls, using frequency more as a general guideline in terms of how often a Hunted's presence should be felt on some level, and how much impact the Hunted should have when he/she/they do show. However, I do roll sometimes, mostly when I'm at a loss for a story idea.

 

As to replacing Hunteds who are eliminated, what I did would depend on the circumstances. If a Hunted is killed, the character may pick up a new Hunted - the first one's relatives/heir/lover, perhaps, or the police if the death occurred in a manner in which the PC was (or seemed to have been) at fault. Resurrection may be literal, or just replacement with someone else using the old guy's gear and motif (as has happened in the comics, with Mirror Master and some other villains). In the case of a group, the replacement might reflect remnants of the old group, perhaps pulled together to seek revenge, or it may reflect a new group in some manner inspired by the original - or, learning from the original's failure, taking a different tactic in terms of MO or how to address problem heroes.

 

Depending on the specifics of what occurred, the PC might develop a Reputation involved in the loss of the old Hunted, or pick up a DNPC along the way (perhaps someone saved from the previous Hunted). There are lots of possibilities.

[Vanguard00]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

Just curious as to a couple of things about how others deal with Hunteds.

 

1) Do you roll hunteds before the scenarios and then find a nice place to insert them?

 

On rare occasions I do this, or on those incredibly rare instances where I GM a face-to-face game (which I haven't done for a couple of years now).

 

At times, though, I go through all the PCs disads, roll where appropriate, and devise a story based on the outcome.

 

2) Do you forego rolls and just insert them as needed and appropriate to the level of occurance purchased?

 

 

This is my preferred method, but a PBEM GM has a lot of leeway with such things. If you roll there’s still the chance that the hunted appears several times in a row, which I think lessens the impact. The Hunted disad for me is kind of like being able to use a “wandering monster†whenever I want to, as long as it’s appropriate to the story and the level purchased.

 

Remember, too, that it doesn’t necessarily have to be the individual/group that shows up. Maybe it’s a news story. Maybe it’s something the PC heard about in regards to the Hunted. Maybe the Hunted is already in jail and the PC needs to testify. There are all manner of ways to use a Hunted without just inserting random combat.

 

3) What do you do when a hunted is eliminated (through capture or possibly death). Do you just not worry about them anymore, do you replace them with an equivalent hunted, or do you find a way to bring them back (jailbreak, resurrection, etc.)

 

Well, first off, does anyone ever really die? It’s possible, I suppose, in which case I’d either replace the Hunted with another (more likely) or allow the PC the option of reassigning the points (less likely).

 

I’m a big believer in using the Hunteds like a “rogues galleryâ€, so they won’t stay in prison for long, didn’t really die, etc.

[RDU Neil]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

1. Nope, never

 

2. Yup... and occurance rate is basically "Go with 11-, unless the villain is a main part of the campaign, then 14- is ok." (And this is for points, not for rolling dice. 11- mean they occur when appropriate... 14- means they are a major story element.)

 

3. With hunteds or any disad that no longer is applicable due to campaign or character growth, I just allow the player to switch it around for disads that actually apply. (I do get approval on the disads, but I let them come up with them, or suggest some if they can't.)

 

Disadvantages to me, as GM, are plot hooks. They aren't optional, they are expected... but should never be used to bone the player... instead they should be used to make for interesting stories. I often only refer to them (as GM looking over the PC sheets) when I just need a refresher on things we may have forgotten along the way, or most often when the player says, "A cold attack? Crap... I have a 1.5x Stun against cold attack!" and I'm like "Really? Oops... sorry about that. I didn't plan it." And it's true. Half the time, I'd have missed enforcing the disads if the players hadn't reminded me... but they do, because it only happens rarely, and makes for a memorable issue to overcome.

 

Players can tell when the GM has created a threat just to screw with them, vs. when it comes up naturally in the course of a game. They hate the former, but often enjoy (at least my players do) the latter.

[Hermit]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

Just curious as to a couple of things about how others deal with Hunteds.

 

1) Do you roll hunteds before the scenarios and then find a nice place to insert them?

 

Sometimes. Occaisionally a scenerio that was not built to take a hunted into account can actually be enhanced by it. However mostly I just use the number as a guideline.

2) Do you forego rolls and just insert them as needed and appropriate to the level of occurance purchased?

Sometimes

 

3) What do you do when a hunted is eliminated (through capture or possibly death). Do you just not worry about them anymore, do you replace them with an equivalent hunted, or do you find a way to bring them back (jailbreak, ressurrection, etc.)

 

Just curious.

I tend to try to replace them. It is almost a sure thing that the PC will offend SOMEONE in the course of gameplay and I'll be able to rationalize it easily

 

I try not to rely on jailbreaks as much as I used to. I want the players to feel like they're making a difference on an individual scale even if it always seems more evil is out there.

[Dust Raven]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

For the most part, I plan for a certain Hunteds as I need them according to frequency. If I'm stuck for an adventure, I'll roll everybody's Hunteds (and DNPCs too) and build an adventure around what I come up with.

 

For most personal Hunteds (those As Powerful types just interested in one PC), I'll roll them before each advanture and have them somehow show up. The might end up being hired by the other Hunted or just show up at the wrong time.

 

As for eliminating a Hunted, I have several ways to go about it. If a Hunted is caught and captured, the PC has an advanture or two to buy off the Disad or else that Hunted will escape, or start to affect the heroes from prison (even Doctor Destroyer would get confidential meeting with his lawyer). To buy off the Hunted, the PC may either spend XPs to buy it off compleltey, or exchange it for a different Disad (perhaps a different Hunted). Whatever it's changed to will need to be role-played out (perhaps out of game if it really doesn't involve the other character directly), and is better handled from the results of the advanture that ended in the capture of their previous Hunted.

 

Of course, if the Hunted is killed/dies, I can always take the "the body was never found" route and follow the steps above. If the body is found (if the PC personally stuck a blade through is heart and cut of his head) I can either make it a robot/clone unless the PC buys off the disad, but most cases I just replace it with a new one of my choosing.

[Magmarock]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

1) Do you roll hunteds before the scenarios and then find a nice place to insert them?

 

Yes. I roll them all first and if none show that's ok, but when they do show I treat them as "Wandering Monsters" more or less. I do try to fit them in logically, of course.

 

One time, when running a pick up game at a convention, I rolled for Hunteds and they ALL SHOWED UP! Insanity ensued. It was one of my best con games ever!

 

 

 

 

2) Do you forego rolls and just insert them as needed and appropriate to the level of occurance purchased?

Like I said, I haven't done this but I have designed scenarios around the Hunteds in the first place. Does that count?

 

 

3) What do you do when a hunted is eliminated (through capture or possibly death). Do you just not worry about them anymore, do you replace them with an equivalent hunted, or do you find a way to bring them back (jailbreak, ressurrection, etc.)

It varies. Right now, I can't recall a Hunted ever being killed (which doesn't mean much considering my sucky memory) but so far, having a Hunted out of the picture hasn't been such a big deal. I do try to make sure that Hunteds are worth the points (i.e. they should be able to adversely affect the PC, either personally or by influence).

 

In our current FtF game, one PC, Union Jack, took Scorpia as a Hunted. She has been captured and is in the Stronghold located just north of Scotland. There have been rumors and internal reports that Scorpia suffered abuse (physical, not sexual) and ill treatment by UNIT 1 during interrogation and such. We're still in the middle of it all so I can't comment on it yet. But I can say this much: even as a captive, Scorpia is causing Union Jack all sorts of grief.

 

 

Mags

[John T]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

I tend to roll for Hunteds more often than not, but I don't always make them important to the story. For Hunteds with NCI, it might be a lackey that shows up to gather data on the hero(es), perhaps without ever being noticed or identified in any way with said Hunted. If the Hunted is More Powerful, a lackey can be potent enough alone to handle 1 or 2 of the heroes.

 

I've also used Hunteds as brief flavor for stories. In one scenario, the group was facing off with a Cosmic Threat level villain, but I'd also rolled up a player's Hunted. Not wanting to make the situation impossible for the group, I had the Hunter lurk in the wings until an opportunity presented itself, then launch a sneak attack on his target. The Major Villain was so incensed at the "interference" that he blasted the Hunter through a dumpster and a parked car, allowing me to demonstrate that A) the villain was, in fact, a badass, that the villain had an exploitable Psych Lim and C) that I'm not the merciless GM everyone makes me out to be!

 

John T

[Blue]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

Typically I roll before hand. But if I'm running something like a Viper Specific adventure then it's likely we won't see Viper for an appropriate amount of time afterward. (If they characters had an 11- then viper probably won't come up for at least 1 or 2 sessions).

 

As for replacements, I do everything. Replacements, Jailbreaks, and possibly resurrections.

 

I considered that if a player is good enough to remove a villain from play then it should be quite a while before that villain shows up. And if you manage to shut down a big organization some how, I might replace them but with something of less point value, as you probably should be rewarded for doing something so immense in gameplay.

 

I also consider how much players like the villain in my "reappearance" schemes.

[OddHat]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

1) Do you roll hunteds before the scenarios and then find a nice place to insert them?

 

Nope, never.

 

2) Do you forego rolls and just insert them as needed and appropriate to the level of occurance purchased?

 

Yes. An 8 or less will show up every third adventure or so until it gets paid off. I encourage players to take the same hunteds. An 11 or less is the focus of the campaign.

 

3) What do you do when a hunted is eliminated (through capture or possibly death). Do you just not worry about them anymore, do you replace them with an equivalent hunted, or do you find a way to bring them back (jailbreak, ressurrection, etc.)

 

I allow the hunted to be paid off if the PC has the points, or the points to be divided among new disads if not. One PC hunted by the Morningstar Corporation (think Demon with suits) managed to kill most of the board of directors by disrupting a magor ceremony. He is now hunted by the survivors, and by the demonic entity that was being called.

[Chimpira]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

1.) No. I never roll for hunteds or DNPC's for that matter. I just look at how often they are supposed to appear and work it from there.

 

2.) Yes, especially if it is a solo game. I like for all my players to belong to the main team 'book' but each have their own title 'book'. In their own universe more things that are relevant to them happen. DNPC's and Hunteds pop up more often. In the main game, I gauge how often they will be in story arcs based on the frequency. Sometimes they make appearances in ways that would not invite confrontation. For example, one of my players is playing the reincarnated spirit of Lancelot and he has The Black Paladin as a hunted. These two are so linked that at times they inhabit the same space in dreams. They recognize this as neutral ground and hold heated conversations there.

 

3.) If the hunted is captured I still let them keep the hunted but advise the player that he should buy down the frequency (if it is high) unless his villian has NCI. If the villian is killed by the hero, then points need to be paid off for the hunted. If another character did the killing and the hero is reasonably upset about this then I would allow for him to pick up another hunted.

[Magmarock]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

I let Players buy off their Hunteds too. It's just not a common occurrence. Considering the sheer numbers of villains out there, if a PC has a Hunted, there should be a good reason for it and it needs to go away In Game, as well as being bought off.

 

 

Mags

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

I let Players buy off their Hunteds too. It's just not a common occurrence. Considering the sheer numbers of villains out there' date=' if a PC has a Hunted, there should be a good reason for it and it needs to go away In Game, as well as being bought off.[/quote']

 

Actually, I can't remember the last time our group had a player show up knowing his Hunted. We've run on the theory of "mystery hunted's" for so long it's just second nature now.

 

So if we resolve that Hunted, you've likely made an enemy in the interim who can cheerfully take over. If not, well, let's look at who ight be interested in your character and why, and we may just have a new arc of adventures.

[Slim_McCoy]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

Actually, I can't remember the last time our group had a player show up knowing his Hunted. We've run on the theory of "mystery hunted's" for so long it's just second nature now.

 

Got to be careful with the "mystery disad" of any type in our group. I made the mistake once in an L5R game of telling the GM, "I want to take a Nemesis, but I'm not familiar enough with the material to flesh him out. I'll leave it up to you." Found myself with a powerful person (Doji Kuwanin, for those familiar with L5R) who couldn't stand the sight of me. Fortunately, we were both honorable enough not to go at it without provocation. Now that I think about it, it was actually rather fun role-playing through the process of figuring out WHY we hated each other so much... maybe it wasn't such a mistake after all.

 

Another thing that comes to mind on the subject of Hunteds: their target may spread to the entire group if they're interfered with too often; i.e., Bob's Hunter is now dead, but he's interfered with Dave's enough to earn personal attention).

 

That'll be $.02, please

[pinecone]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

I just roll'em if they show they show...some times if it really will mess up the run they "foreshadow" and show later.......I have rolled hunteds and decided that I need not come up with an adventure after all...the old "belligerant dwarf" ploy.....One of the coolest adventures I ever ran started out because I literaly rolled All of the hunteds (Hot dice) after the destruction the heros were obsessed with finding out why all of their enemys were uniting (so I made somethimg up....Aliens!...Thats the ticket!) whenever someone eleminates adisad they can buy it off,replace it or take a new one for the same points (or take a cheaper one and EP the diff)....

[Sketchpad]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

I run a game in 2-3 session adventure arcs and roll at the beginning of the planning stage to determine if something shows up. I do the same thing with DNPCs. Depending on what I roll determines what happens:

1/4 Roll+ (3 or 4 on 14-): Major Baddness. Group hunteds send in their top guns, single hunteds have a great idea that could easily be the focus of the arc (discovered hero's ID, found a nifty device, gained a few friends, etc)

1/2 Roll+ (7 on a 14-): Hunted shows up to make some difficulties. Perhaps it's the motivation for them to work with a group or they try and confront the hero one-on-one. Unlike above, their strategy hasn't changed at all. With a group, there's a good assualt squad sent in or maybe a meta human character or two. Formidable opponents, but about the same power as the PC.

Exact roll (14 on a 14-): Hunted makes an appearance, but only briefly. Perhaps there is news that they escaped from jail or news about something involving them. In group cases, a small squad may show up (Viper sends a scout party, maybe a few Demon agents come onto the scene).

Failed roll (15+ on a 14-): Hunted doesn't show.

 

I have similar rules for DNPCs

[DoctorItron]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

1) If I don't have a creative scenario idea, I'll roll randomly to see who shows up. That can help kick my brain into gear. "Okay, Foxbat and VIPER show up this week ... hmm ... Nest leader Foxbat has just purchased a VIPER franchise!"

 

2) I'll sometimes insert a hunted as needed. Let's say I have a scenario concept that requires a specific type of villain. Rather than just make one up on the fly, I'll review hunteds to see if there's one that fits the role.

 

3) When a hunted is dead, captured, or reformed, I ask the player if they want to dedicate future XP awards to removing the hunted from their character sheet. If yes, the hunted is gone forever. If no, then the hunted or a variant (friend of the hunted) comes back.

[zornwil]

Re: Dealing with Hunteds

 

Just curious as to a couple of things about how others deal with Hunteds.

 

1) Do you roll hunteds before the scenarios and then find a nice place to insert them?

 

2) Do you forego rolls and just insert them as needed and appropriate to the level of occurance purchased?

 

3) What do you do when a hunted is eliminated (through capture or possibly death). Do you just not worry about them anymore, do you replace them with an equivalent hunted, or do you find a way to bring them back (jailbreak, ressurrection, etc.)

 

Just curious.

#2 moreso, but #1 when I want to just explore options/shake things up.

 

Re #3, I don't worry about it. By the time that happens, characters have created plenty of new Hunteds, typically.