{"id":1649,"date":"2013-05-17T11:42:48","date_gmt":"2013-05-17T18:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/?p=1649"},"modified":"2013-05-17T11:54:58","modified_gmt":"2013-05-17T18:54:58","slug":"better-angels-statting-up-the-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/2013\/05\/better-angels-statting-up-the-opposition\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Better Angels\u2019 — Statting Up the Opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Better-Angels-cover-v4-front-612px\"<\/a>Written by Greg Stolze, \u00a9 2013<\/em><\/p>\n

Most roleplaying games have tangible stats for their characters, and they change only gradually, if at all. That makes it pretty easy to balance the powers of the antagonists against the powers of the player characters. If you know how likely a sueprhero is to hit with his best attack and how much damage he does on average, and how hard a hit he can take in return, you can finesse an opponent to keep the fight from being over too quickly.<\/p>\n

In comparison, Better Angels<\/i> can seem to have only heavily greased vagueness.\u00a0 It\u2019s not about <\/i>how hard characters\u2019 energy blasts hit. It\u2019s more about the power or weakness of their convictions.<\/p>\n

That means characters\u2019 key stats\u2014their Strategies and Tactics\u2014squirm all over the page. Preparing adequate opposition seems like shooting through fog, at a moving target, in gusting winds, with a frisbee.\u00a0 What to do?<\/p>\n

For starters, don\u2019t worry too much about matching up directly with Strategies and Tactics. Instead, focus on player characters\u2019 powers.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a list of ways to cope with or counter each of them.<\/p>\n

Alchemy: <\/b>Alchemy\u2019s moneymaking powers can best be opposed by legal entanglement (\u201c…and do you have a receipt for all this gold bullion?\u201d) or an equally rich opponent. When Alchemy is used as an attack, the best defense is probably someone with Impossible Beauty who can talk down the alchemist\u2019s Greed<\/em> score.\u00a0 The angelic version would be to corner them and then use Circle of Abjuration to wear down their Greed<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Animal Form: <\/b>Animal Form is hard to counter, though if the character is using it to escape disguised as a mouse every time things get hot, remember that other Hellbinders can recognize fellow demons no matter their form.<\/p>\n

Armor: <\/b>Armor is nice, but it doesn\u2019t do jack against Wither.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration<\/a>
Illustration by Kurt Komoda, (c) 2013<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Arrogance: <\/b>Called shots circumvent the protection of Arrogance.<\/p>\n

Banish: <\/b>Ineffable Defense puts pretty deep cuts into the Surprise advantage of Banish, though it doesn\u2019t help as much if the PC is using Banish to drop Molotov cocktails on people. Angels resist this best using Meek<\/strong> Endurance<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Body Control: <\/b>This one\u2019s difficult to stymie, but remember that it needs eye contact. Failing that, really high Nurture<\/em> can let people stall a few commands. Similarly, angels with Word of Blessing can stall and then shore up their Nurture<\/em> or someone else\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Clairvoyance: <\/b>Get secret room or hideout, or build a Clairvoyance-blocking machine. Or just don\u2019t do anything you\u2019d be ashamed for some pervy psychic voyeur to watch.<\/p>\n

Dead Ringer: <\/b>Called shots when trying to penetrate disguise or notice anomalies can be justified once a few impostures have taken place.<\/p>\n

Dominator Strike: <\/b>Armor is a good countermeasure against Dominator Strike, as are good dodge abilities. Righteous Arm is particularly strong against Dominator Strike, too.<\/p>\n

Impossible Beauty: <\/b>The best counter to Impossible Beauty is the Wings aspect.\u00a0 Fly away before the persuasion starts! Angels fare better against it, with both their Foresight and Unstained powers providing defense.<\/p>\n

Ineffable Defense: <\/b>Ineffable Defense spoils Corruption maneuvers pretty adroitly, but a sufficiently high Corruption score can still make its mark. Especially if the corrupter has a Master Die from a compliant spiritual companion.<\/p>\n

Psychic Objects: <\/b>Treat the Psychic Objects power like Alchemy and block it with Impossible Beauty or Circle of Abjuration to leach Greed<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Summon: <\/b>Armor and Ineffable Defense can both make Summon less threatening. So can the Greed<\/em> decreases that work on Psychic Objects and Alchemy.<\/p>\n

Telekinesis: <\/b>Armor and Ineffable Defense work a treat against Telekinesis.<\/p>\n

Teleport Self: <\/b>Ineffable Defense provides security, and anything that can suck out the teleporter\u2019s Corruption makes teleportation much chancier.<\/p>\n

Terror: <\/b>The higher your Cruelty, the less Terror is going to trouble you\u2014as long as you have enough guns. (Did\u2026 did I just sound like Donald Rumsfeld?)<\/p>\n

That Hideous Strength: <\/b>Armor helps a lot against superhuman strength, obviously.<\/p>\n

Wither: <\/b>Since Wither is Corruption<\/em>-based, anything that targets\u00a0Corruption<\/em> makes it less deadly.\u00a0 Also, remember that it\u2019s touch-based, so any mobility power or gadget can pull its fangs.<\/p>\n

How to Be Cool<\/h2>\n

Better Angels <\/i>benefits greatly from ongoing opposition and recurring enemies. As GM, you want enemies who can survive to antagonize the PCs another day. You want opponents who are resilient enough that the PCs must finesse against them with a variety of methods, and who can challenge the PCs from several directions\u2014in other words, foes who don\u2019t fold after one blast of Dominator Strike.<\/p>\n

However! Do not take these tips as license to constantly thwart and frustrate your players.<\/i> Remember on page 67 where we told players not to be dicks to each other? That goes for the GM, too.<\/p>\n

After all, sometimes you\u2019re going to want to let your Hellbinders\u2019 powers work perfectly to establish their badass credentials. And sometimes it\u2019s fun to watch them work a little too<\/i> well, as when they want to stun a foe and wind up disintegrating him instead.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to keep the player characters\u2019 foes alive so they can become bitter enemies and archrivals. But watch for moments where it\u2019s more fun, surprising and interesting to let them die in the fire of the PCs\u2019 supervillainous rage.<\/p>\n

One Last Thing About Balance<\/h2>\n

Take a step back and accept that this rules system swings.\u00a0 A lot<\/i>.\u00a0 Whether you want it to or not. It\u2019s built to do that.<\/p>\n

In Better Angels, <\/i>there\u2019s only so far that \u201cgame balance\u201d will get you. Characters can go into situations and wind up creaming it, getting clobbered, or stalemating no matter what the odds looked like<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Sure, they\u2019re more likely to get smeared if they went in with deficient pools. But a sympathetic Screwtape can plaster them with Master Dice and let them squeak through, or they might just roll really well. Similarly, they can come in with everything in their favor and shoot themselves in the foot.\u00a0It helps to regard this as a feature, not a bug.<\/p>\n

After all, if there\u2019s nothing at stake, there\u2019s no point in busting out the dice, right?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Greg Stolze, \u00a9 2013 Most roleplaying games have tangible stats for their characters, and they change only gradually, if at<\/p>\n

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