Today's session

[Thorguild]

Hi all,

Spider-man and Shadowcat just trounced Hydro-man and Jigsaw! This was my first time as Watcher, and second time playing. Here's some things that came up.

First round: Spider-man swings down from a rooftop and smacks Hydro-man. He had a 3d10+d8+d4+pp. Hydro-man rolled D8(my mistake, should have been d4 Buddy)+3d8 others. Spider-man spent a plot point and got +2 result with a D10; D12+ Physical damage. My jaw dropped.

Jigsaw added a d10 menace to the Doom Pool.

Next up was Shadowcat. The player used Lockheed to create a D10 complication "Too Hot to Handle" on Jigsaw's gun, taking it out of play.

Jigsaw charged Spider-man with his fists. Spider-man used lots of dice and dodged by a huge margin.

(Seeing that I needed something to keep the game going more than 15 minutes, I used GM's privilige to take a die from the Doom Pool and had Hydro-Man come back with D6 Physical Stress.)

Hydro-man attacks, and does the big nothing. His die pool was pathetic compared to the hero's. Spider-man spends a PP and does d12 damage on a reaction.

Spider-man drops another huge die pool on Jigsaw. Jigsaw goes to sleep (and jail).

Shadowcat has Lockheed leave the scene for a PP. Then Shadowcat moved up and used her intangibility to disrupt Hydro-man's own intangibility. Another big die pool, and stepped up damage leaves HM on a trip to Sing-Sing.

Two rounds, and no damage to the heroes. And I even used too much power on then, bringing back HM.

So how do I make a better challenge?

Thorguild

[Duck Call Lass]

Use tougher villains.

Those guys aren't so great. I'd expect Spidey and Kitty to mop the floor with them in a comic book.

Add scene distinctions to your advantage. Don't just let the heroes swing in and do whatever they like.

Be more proactive than just adding to the doom pool. Spend the doom pool a lot.

[MidnightBlue]

First round: Spider-man swings down from a rooftop and smacks Hydro-man. He had a 3d10+d8+d4+pp. Hydro-man rolled D8(my mistake, should have been d4 Buddy)+3d8 others. Spider-man spent a plot point and got +2 result with a D10; D12+ Physical damage. My jaw dropped.

You lost me on the underlined statement.

How did Spider-Man get D12+ Physical Stress on Hydro-man with one hit?


By the way...I LOVED the "Two Hot To Handle" attack on the gun. That is totally comic book! Nice!

[MidnightBlue]

Oh...was it from Extraordinary Successes?

[Thorguild]

Exactly right, MidnightBlue. The effect die was a d10. I think the roll was 23 to 11, or something else equally lopsided. With 2+ successes over, the d10 went to d12, and then d12+. KO!

I'm not sure how any villain, or other character, with only one powerset can hope to match someone with two. You are always going to be down a die.

Thorguild

[MidnightBlue]

I still don't see a problem with one vs. two power sets, but I've stated as much in other threads. Others disagree. Nothing wrong with that.



While there are a great number of options and choices to make, this is still a dice game. Sometimes players are going to get lucky rolls...and if they have the PP, they can stack those good rolls to the heavens.

[On the other hand, I just made a roll in a Spatula's PBP game with 7 dice (3d10, 1d8, 2d6 & 1D4) and rolled 2, 1, 5, 6, 5, 2, 2. I'm just lucky I didn't have the Growing Dread limit! Sometimes the dice hate you.]

I just think that the game is meant to play fast (once you wrap your head around everything you can put in your dice pool and what you can do with your PP/opportunities...which I'm still trying to remember in actual play).

I think most of the other posters listed the best options to increase the challenge:

-Creative use of the Doom Pool.

-Creative Scene Distinction usage...set up a scene that plays against the common narrative usage for their abilities.

-Full use of all your tools including Assets, Stunts, Complications.

-Teamwork between villains...I.e. one setting up a Hero and boosting the next villain's chance to lay the smackdown.

-Minion/Henchmen additions.

-Split the Heroes up (or bring them together)...force them into group dynamics counter to their Affiliation strong suits.

-Take note of hero limits.

Just some ideas and some that have already been mentioned, I'm sure.

[salsa]

I always let the lack of grandstanding get the best of me when I'm watchering. I keep forgeting to use it. Grandstanding is your tool to get that doom pool growing. If the heroes don't do anything about it, soon you'll be creating complications (preferably involving bystanders) and they'll be labelled lousy heroes

[ClausLars]

Yeah...

Wraith rolled 1,5,10,1,1,9,1,4 using d10,d8,d12,d6,d6,d10,d8,d12. Action vs. Shriekers B, Concrete, Glad.

I this character has both of Sentry's limits retooled because it's DC. He's linked to the Great Darknesss there. Those 4 opportunities were activated to add a second d12 to the Doom Pool which activated his other limit releasing The Great Darkness (the Void).

As for toughening up boss. One game I'm in has treated them kinda like Mobs of guys. We were facing off Carnage in a redux of The Breakout. We fought his goons first, then Carnage popped out on his own. Facing the entire team, he doesn't stand a chance, but the Watcher gave him 4d10, and damn he was tough. Still went down, but there were plot points being burned like crazy to keep up.