Assault on Nightbane Prison - Part 2
Post Mortem DiscussionI didn't notice many Tag Line uses when spending Plot Die.
Bows and Firearms have an Impact when comparing to Fortitude for Massive Damage test (it was only remembered once that I could hear). Note that this is not used for the Vigor TN; only the amount of Stamina caused determines the TN.
Big combats:Using the 'Drink Coaster' method for larger fights would help with the visualisation. I do this for set pieces (Heroes use Lego minifigs; my zombies are 'not-Lego' knockoffs.)
This makes Energy Burst trick easier to adjudicate. EiC (Jesus) adjusted the Area rules on the fly, where there were 3 separate groups of Common threats. From the description the room was a single Area (with a second Area for the catwalk) + the Area through the door the Heroes entered from. A better ad-hoc ruling could have been for Torchlight to pick a single 'mob' and reliably roast all 4 in the group.
When using coasters, I try not to put all my mobs in the same Area unless piling onto a tasty Hero that is isolated from the team. When playing, friendly fire damage can be an issue.
Torchlight's Energy Burst, from the way everyone appears to be in the area, should have damaged all the humans and all the heroes (except Goldshot, who may have still been in the other room at that point). If Torchlight adds Energy Explosion to his repertoire (from Survivor's Guide), it gets uglier as it is measured in multiple Areas (mostly due to friendly fire).
Note: If Torchlight hadn't completely botched the first Energy Burst, the room could have been 'one-shot' cleared of criminals. Energy Burst is *the* most powerful option for clearing out Mobs and Common Threats if they cluster. Energy Burst (Complex + Simple) followed by an Energy Burst Team Attack (Demanding + Simple) from an ally can clear large Mobs of deadhead zombies and smaller threats.
"White Room Box" vs Shepherd.This looks like a usage of the Energy Manipulation Power. As a multi-stage process, there are some mitigating options to run it.
1. Power Action Roll to create the box (which was done)
2. Some sort of attack roll vs Avoidance should have been made (Ranged or Power Action Roll)
3. MS = Power Passive Value { 12 + pRe + Ranks }; Hits = 1/2 Power Passive Modifier. eg: Re:10 + 10 Ranks = MS 26, 2 Hits. [Note that Force Shield Power works almost the same with a +10 MS bonus].
3a. If this was a Power Trick for Energy Generation instead, the Ranks were half, so example drops to MS: 19, 1 Hit.
To destroy the box using attacks, the basic rule used was correct. The MS20 + 4 hits chosen was very high (see eg above and pg.101 items).
Shepherd and Torchlight could instead have used the "Might Makes Right" rule on the same page (pg.101). This only needed a Might Attribute Action Roll to 'break' it in one go (EiC given figures would have been TN:40; the Power TN using above example would be TN:36 or TN:24 for an Emulated Power). A good time to use "Helping Others" Plot Die expenditure (pg.102) and creative use of "Cooperation" (pg36) for a bonus. Could spend a Plot Die to increase the Might Attribute; getting it to 15 makes the action 2d10 (d12)(d4) giving better chance of an explode.
Stun vs Zombies. Only electrical attacks can Stun zombies (this applies to both special powers and Massive Damage tests). The only time it came up, it was an electrical attack (Goldshot's electric arrow vs Gloria).
Massive Damage Knockback1. Melee Bludgeoning attacks or Force damage. 'Rule of Cool' to being hammered by 4 shotguns though.
2. Z's aren't knocked back, instead gaining the Crippled condition (this can be a big advantage against Super-Zs). Shove and Massive Knockback can still throw them around.
Goldshot's Entangle arrows...Check out the "Devastating Attack" rule specific to Zombies on pg.98 combined with her Entangle attack for your new best friend.
"Combat Sandwich"A brief respite to renew stamina would have been an idea. Even if it is just 'Gloria' doing a monologue. Supervillians always monologue and provide plot exposition; Super-Zs won't have lost this weakness...
Luck Power. Both versions are dependent upon the amount of incoming/outgoing die rolls occurring.
Luck/Good: It is quite good at lower Ranks but appears to taper off around the Rank 8 mark. At that point, a Hero likely has enough Ranks in skills/Powers etc that triggering it isn't noticeable.
Luck/Bad: Very good in large combats or melee Heroes (due to the number of incoming attacks). If the Hero doesn't get attacked, it will feel weak. Sentry, Shepherd and Torchlight would get some benefit from this Power. Goldshot wouldn't.
Also, it is reliant on the EiC paying attention to NPC doubles. Again, the benefit tapers off around Rank 8 due to the die rolling curve.
Suggestion for Human Error's luck:She needs something unique to match what happened in her early appearances.
Luck (Good) x; Linked +1, Limitation +?
Luck (Bad) x; Linked +1, Limitation +?
Element/Energy Explosion (Luck) X; Linked +1, Sustained Damage -4 (unique power)
Usage: Make a Power Action Roll vs Discipline of all targets in the radius (friend or foe!). For the duration of the Sustained Effect, all affected targets suffer the effects of Luck/Bad (even if not attacking Human Error). Every time the effect triggers, Human Error can expend one charge to trigger her Luck/Good without needing a double. She can only hold a number of charges equal to the Power Passive Modifier. The charges expire at the end of the scene.