Short Shot Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Okay, there I was, minding my own business, staring at my bookshelf trying to get story ideas for my first campaign as a GM. Hmm.. okay, that story would work and that villian would be fairly easy to build. La-de-da. Ho hum. And then I realised that with any kind of warning, this one guy, built well under caps, can likely take down the entire team. Now, the characters for the team are tentative, and the final builds might be able to handle him. I have come up with a way to get the characters to do it regardless (A simple side mission). I'd be interested in knowing if any of you have ended up with that situation and what you chose to do about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karmakaze Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Re: A villian came up and bit me I hope that the villain that bit you wasn't radioactive. Because then you'd have to become the Amazing Villain-Man, and that's just asking for trouble... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transmetahuman Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Re: A villian came up and bit me I know sometimes it's hard, but remember that as GM you don't have to play the character to his fullest potential. Okay, in optimum conditions he can wipe the floor with them, but 1) He might be stupider than you 2) He might easily be less combat-experienced than you (than you are at RPG combat, I mean). 3) As a player, you can have characters do things that battle-hardened veterans might balk at in real life - maybe this guy gets flustered a little, doesn't make instant, optimum decisions, maybe flinches or panics. 4) NPCs (and PCs) shouldn't always be played as if they know exactly what they can do and how their powers work - even experienced supers can have things radically change on them, and when no one really understands how you do what you do in the first place, it should be easy to justify some caution. 5) Most definitely, he shouldn't know exactly what the PCs can do! He's up against people who do impossible things; who's to say they can't pull some brand-new impossibility out of their, uh, capes? I make a big effort to sub-optimize the opponent NPCs; I just don't believe that everyone who gets powers becomes a battle-hardened ubertactician overnight. See how the combat is going, and emphasize or de-emphasize these kinds of things on the fly, to make the combat more fun. Categorically losing their very first fight probably isn't the best way to start a new campaign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackjack Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 Re: A villian came up and bit me There are other factors to consider. A _team_ of people, working together, _always_ has at least some advantages over a single indivudual. For one, a team can overwhelm a single individual. Even with Defense Maneuver, or high defenses, a single indivdual can only do so much against a variety of attacks from numerous sources and strange angles. There are many ways within the HERO rules system to give your characters an advantage over a statistically more-powerful adversary: Coordinated Attacks, Multiple Attacker bonuses, use of skills like Analyze, Deduction, and Tactics. Also, as a GM, you can devise scenarios that allow your players to use their Non-Combat skills or abilities to improve their chances. On a more character-driven note, it has been my experience that players - like most people - will often rise to whatever challenge you set for them. That is a large part of the nature of heroism in the first place. It's easy to be brave when you know you have an equal or better shot at winning. It's when you're outgunned, outnumbered, and your back is against the wall, that a person shows their true colors. The X-Men prevail against the Juggernaut not by doing STUN or BODY damage to him; they out-think him, find ways to turn his strength against him, and most of all, they simply don't give up. In the case of your players, don't be afraid to test their mettle. Let them be bloodied a little or even defeated - temporarily. Let them learn and grow from the experience, and when they face your villain again, they will be smarter and stronger for it. Most of all, when they _do_ defeat your villain, the victory will be infinitely more sweet. Good luck to you and your players - it sounds like they're going to need it. Blackjack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrosshairCollie Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 Re: A villian came up and bit me Let the villain kick their butts. Seriously. Nothing motivates a team into getting their **** together and actually being a team than getting their butts Xiaolin Smackdown'd into the pavement. If they have some reason to suspect he's actually up to something important (rather than knocking a bank over, say), there's a good chance they'll try to actively HUNT his butt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 Re: A villian came up and bit me I went through the "Wipe out the whole party of 250 point characters with one 100 point character" bit in my early twenties, and it was fun. These days, the story is the thing, not the fight. If I need the bad guys to lose, I look through their psych limits and other disads and figure out what they might do wrong. Maybe they're overconfident. Maybe they're cowards. Maybe they're Unlucky. If I need the bad guys to win, they play smart, and they have as many henchmen and allies as they need. It's the principle of Schroedinger's Henchmen: Behind every door, henchmen both do and do not exist. Only when the player characters open the door does the wave form collapse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRavenIs Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 Re: A villian came up and bit me I have had this happen, it will happen again. I don't let it bother me, I just find a way for the bad guys to lose, unless it's part of a longer plot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexus Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 Re: A villian came up and bit me I try to design villains according to concept first, game effieceny second. I've found that if I try the other way they end up being real killers because they were somehow "created" specfically to pound the team into the pavement with all the right powers, weakneses vs attacks the PCs don't have, etc. It can be a hard line to walk but a beatdown where you don't even have a chance of victory is dishearting and just makes the gm look like he's power tripping. As the GM I hold all the cards, I know the characters and I know what the situation is going to be. If I run things as me against them I'm always going to win and that's not fun for anybody but possibly me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Short Shot Posted August 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 Re: A villain came up and bit me As I said, the characters to play in this campaign aren't even finalised yet, so I may be bringing up a non issue. And I don't THINK I'm power tripping. I didn't specifically build the character to take down the team. I just was going over some recent stories I'd read and said "Cool, this would be a good story line" and built the character to concept. THEN went "Oops". What I think will most likely happen in this case is that particular story will be shelved for the time being. Part of the concept for this campaign is actually "We've pulled a team together from our membership to deal with this issue, and your particular qualifications give you the best shot." So, if it something they can't handle, well... er.. I guess they wouldn't have the best shot now, would they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaRagno Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 Re: A villian came up and bit me ...but that was alright; I hadn't had a bite in three days! budabum-CHING! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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