Villain XP

[Super Squirrel]

I give my villains experience. It ranges from 1-2 per encounter with the players so generally speaking, the players are getting better faster than than the villains but it keeps the villains from being static. Does anyone else do this?

 

Also, what do you do with the XP?

 

I give the skills/powers based on how the encounters go, with an occasional case of the XP going for something they need for that next encounter. For example, Lead Sin a 250-pt Power Suit was creamed in battle because both Reptile and Whisper kept blinding him. He now has a visor on his helmet that gives him an optical display instead of just having a glass shield (3-pt Flash Defense, OIF). Now the next time the players encounter him, they will only be getting him for a segment or two at the most. I should note that they broke the original visor in the last game to allow for Reptile's spit attack which was a Flash/EB NND. They broke it after Whisper blinded him with her Flash attack.

 

Demo improved his VPP by 2 points. That isn't going to do him much good beyond giving him the ability to do an additional 1/2d6 when using a +1 advantage.

[CrosshairCollie]

E.V.I.L. XP

 

I also give XP to the villains, though how I spend it depends on the villain. The dullards do more of the 'cover the weakness that directly got me beaten' technique, though smarter villains often try to get a new power that capitalizes on a weakness of the heroes who beat them, or cover some other weakness. Imagine the look on their faces when Power Crusher (a 4th Ed villain with strength and lots of no-range Drains and Transfers through gauntlets) threw a lightning bolt at a flyer who was certain he was safe!

 

However, maybe I'm being overzealous here, but I give my villains about 10 XP per appearance, unless they're going to be appearing in consecutive games, then I trim it back to 5. It seems like a lot, but after 2 or 3 games, odds are, win or lose, that villain (or team) isn't going to be seen for a bit, and the PCs will have gained even more XP than that.

[Killer Shrike]

I advance my villains as well, but I dont do it after a game session, I do it before the next session they appear in. More flexible and tailored that way.

[BNakagawa]

I think the treatment depends on the role of the villain.

 

If the PCs are supposed to be on a growth curve and this specific villain is to be used as a measuring stick. (i.e. first encounter he kicks your ass, later you fight him to a standstill, lastly, you wax him) then they should grow either very slowly or not at all.

 

If a villain is supposed to be a PCs nemesis or the group's nemesis, then they will need as many points as it takes to maintain their position relative to the PCs.

 

If the villain is supposed to be a growing menace, then all bets are off.

[ShelleyCM]

Villains are people, too!

 

Originally posted by Killer Shrike

I advance my villains as well, but I dont do it after a game session, I do it before the next session they appear in. More flexible and tailored that way.

 

That's similar to what I do. It's not a scientific process; I just give them the skills and improvements that make sense after the last encounter.

 

-Shelley

[Armitage]

Re: Villain XP

 

I base it off the system of awarding points to players in a villain campaign that was presented in Adventurer's Club #13. I cut the original numbers roughly in half though, since the original article wasn't xp, it was scoring points for a one-shot game.

Crime earns good money. 1 point

Crime earns great money. 2 points

Crime earns unique prize. 3 points

Crime humiliates hated enemy. 2 points

Target guarded inadequately. +0 points

Target guarded adequately. +1 point

Target well guarded. +2 points

Target very dangerous. +3 points

Capturing an enemy and leaving them in a deathtrap. +2 points

Killing a hero. +1 point. (Not cumulative with above)

Flamboyance and spectacle. +1-2 points

 

This system gives heroes an extra motive to stop a villain who's on a crime spree. And gives villains another reason not to kill heroes.

[Blue]

I'm nowhere near as precise. I was when I first started playing but after a time I realized it was all about making it a contest for the players. So I don't bother to count out points for the villians, I just make minor changes to cause problems for the heroes. Consider it a post-creation "Villain Bonus".

[zornwil]

Originally posted by Blue

I'm nowhere near as precise. I was when I first started playing but after a time I realized it was all about making it a contest for the players. So I don't bother to count out points for the villians, I just make minor changes to cause problems for the heroes. Consider it a post-creation "Villain Bonus".

 

This is pretty much how I do it as well, I use points to get a rough idea if I'm way overbuilding or some-such but for the most part don't worry.

 

When a villain makes a 2nd/etc. appearance, I may have him, if possible, learn and grow from whatever happened inbetween as appropriate. However, as above it's not precise, it's just whatever makes dramatic sense.

 

As one person pointed out, some villains just aren't meant to grow, either, they make good measuring sticks. However, other villains are sort of the opposite; they have immense power but because they are over-confident or have similar psych lims they might pull their punches in the early encounters and start letting loose as the heroes can take it.