Hulk Smash! --How Do You Save Civilians?

[Dunlaing]

This isn't just for Hulk, it could be for any situation where you're fighting an enormously powerful villain and there are a lot of innocent civilians around.

How do you represent the threat to civilians and how do heroes save civilians? I understand that the Doom Pool represents this in the abstract, but the PCs don't really have a good "roll to reduce the Doom Pool" option. And I want the Hulk to spend his actions attacking heroes, not just rolling to increase the Doom Pool.

Should there be a watcher "character" just representing the overall chaos that takes actions? Or multiple "characters" brought in by spending doom dice? ("ok, I'm spending a d6 from the doom pool to interrupt the action order with a new character called 'falling debris' it's going to fall on a little old lady who is walking her dachshund unless someone wants to react?")

Also, I know the book explicitly talks about a villainous version of Wolverine using Berserk and the dice going into the Doom Pool, but is that really kosher? It seems a little harsh on the players who feel the increased effectiveness of the attack against them and are the ones to suffer the cost of activating the ability.

[Duck Call Lass]

Scene distinctions that you create by using the doom pool, which can be removed by the heroes.

Use them against the heroes to inflict emotional stress.

[MidnightBlue]

Scene distinctions that you create by using the doom pool, which can be removed by the heroes.

Use them against the heroes to inflict emotional stress.

This.

Start a rampaging Hulk scene with a Trapped Bystanders distinction.

The players can actively work to remove the distinction.

It also shows that they have to split their attention between the Hulk and the bystanders they wish to get out of harms way.

[Dunlaing]

Scene distinctions that you create by using the doom pool, which can be removed by the heroes.

Use them against the heroes to inflict emotional stress.

This.

Start a rampaging Hulk scene with a Trapped Bystanders distinction.

The players can actively work to remove the distinction.

It also shows that they have to split their attention between the Hulk and the bystanders they wish to get out of harms way.

Is there something about scene distinctions I'm missing? I'm asking earnestly, I'm not being sarcastic. Because, mechanically, the most efficient way to save those Trapped Bystanders is to just defeat the Hulk and end the scene. As a player, I wouldn't feel any particular need to split my attention and try to remove that scene distinction and would be surprised to find out the Watcher had expected me to.

[MidnightBlue]

Is there something about scene distinctions I'm missing? I'm asking earnestly, I'm not being sarcastic. Because, mechanically, the most efficient way to save those Trapped Bystanders is to just defeat the Hulk and end the scene. As a player, I wouldn't feel any particular need to split my attention and try to remove that scene distinction and would be surprised to find out the Watcher had expected me to.

It's a perfectly valid question. No worries.

Example: Hulk is rampaging, the heroes want to stop him and there's a Trapped Bystanders scene distinction in play.

The players can choose to ignore the scene distinction altogether. That is an option. They can also use it as a D4 PP generator (worried about hitting the bystanders)...or maybe even grab the D8 as the bystanders inspire the hero to do better.

The Hulk can also choose to ignore the scene distinction, use it as a D4 Doom Pool generator (maybe they are distracting him) or grab the D8 (he uses the bystanders to distract his target).

But...the Hulk can also attack the Bystanders (eliminate the scene distinction) and will likely smash them to pulp if the heroes don't stop him.

It might also be easier for a player's hero to remove the scene distinction (rescue the bystanders) than to attack the Hulk directly and thereby removing a distinction that the Hulk might have been using to good effect.

Just some thoughts.

[EldritchFire]

If you want to put the spotlight on it, make Civilians in Distress a large-scale threat. That way, each page the fact that civvies are in trouble cause the heroes to worry about saving them (IE area effect SFX causing emotional stress). The heroes can take actions to save the civvies (IE, stress out the threat). It also gives them a mechanical reason to worry about the civvies. If they don't "save them" the heroes take stress!

This is a great opportunity for RP, as each hero uses their own way of saving civilians, and even could end up splitting the heroes up! "You two, follow the Hulk, stop him! You, help me save the civilians trapped under the rubble!"

-EF

[MidnightBlue]

Excellent idea EF.

[Mouse]

You could tell the players at the beginning of the fight, "There's a Trapped Bystanders Distinction on the scene. If it's still there at the end of the fight, they're all going to die. This will be bad press for the your team at the very least, and it'll play poorly in the papers while the Mutant Registration Act is up for debate in the Senate. Or you can attack the Distinction, which would represent you saving those bystanders. It's up to you."

Which is to say, make it explicit what you're doing and then use the rules as a loose framework to model the sort of situation you're presenting. The players then get to make an informed choice as to whether to deal with the bystanders or to try to win the fight faster.

Or if you're willing to bend the rules a bit more, you can make the bystanders' trapped-ness a character. Each round on its turn, it makes a roll against some sort of public opinion stress meter. Anyone has the option of stepping in the way and taking the stress themself, and anyone has the option of "killing" the trapped-ness character. Either way, the characters are at least attempting to save lives.

[Alric]

You could also hit each hero with a "Civilian in Danger" complication. After all no hero would ever ignore an innocent civilian in danger... and if he does use all your GMs might to hose him unmercifully. If the complication goes over d12 the hero is out for the duration protecting the civilians.

A good use for the villain's area effect... and a perfect time for the villains to make a timely escape.

[Grimmshade]

You could also hit each hero with a "Civilian in Danger" complication. After all no hero would ever ignore an innocent civilian in danger... and if he does use all your GMs might to hose him unmercifully. If the complication goes over d12 the hero is out for the duration protecting the civilians.

A good use for the villain's area effect... and a perfect time for the villains to make a timely escape.

You could also use an Asset for the villain, so he didn't have to complicate all the heroes. I've had villains use Scene Distinctions like "News Crew in Danger" to add a "Crashing News Helicopter" asset to themselves that they can then use to aid them in escape or for smashing into heroes.

Of course he could also just use the Scene Distinction alone for the same actions.