Game Master / Adversaries
Adversaries
Building foes: ranks, roles, types, morale
Building AdversariesAdversaries are built from a few choices, in this order: Rank (how much of the encounter the creature represents),…Adversary RanksRank sets how much encounter weight a creature carries and how active it is.Build SelectionsEvery adversary is assembled from a few Build Selections , made in this order: Choose a Role Maneuver.Adversary RolesRole HP Strong Weak Brute Strong Might, Fortitude, Soak , morale, melee offense, holding the line Intellect, Reflex,…Leader ManeuversA Leader wins by improving allies, controlling tempo, creating openings and keeping the enemy pressed from several…Controller ManeuversA Controller wins by limiting movement, inflicting conditions, splitting the party and making the battlefield harder…Soldier ManeuversA Soldier wins by controlling space, punishing careless movement, and making it costly to attack the wrong target or…Brute ManeuversA Brute hits hard, stays threatening up close and makes direct engagement dangerous.Predator ManeuversA Predator exploits openings, attacks from advantage, and vanishes or repositions before the enemy can answer.Sniper ManeuversA Sniper threatens from distance, punishes exposed enemies and makes open ground dangerous.Skirmisher ManeuversA Skirmisher moves aggressively, exploits openings and stays dangerous by refusing to stand still.Generic ManeuversGeneric maneuvers fill out an adversary's options without belonging to a Role or creature identity.Creature IdentityIdentity has three layers: Creature Type (broadest nature and body logic), Subtype (which kind of member of that…AberrationAberrations are defined by alien body logic, an intrusive pressure on minds or space, and a basic wrongness that sets…AnimalAnimals are living vertebrates with no magic and no innate language or culture.ConstructConstructs are defined by how they were made.DragonDragons are the legendary, usually winged, magical reptiles.ElementalElementals are made of, sustained by, or fundamentally governed by a primal state: flame, frost, storm, stone, tide,…FeyFey are supernatural beings, usually humanoid in look, tied to nature or another fantastical realm.HumanoidHumanoids are person-shaped creatures built on a basically human body: upright, with a human-like head, torso and…Magical BeastMagical Beasts have an animal's body that magic, a curse, breeding, mutation, dream-force, planar influence or another…OozeOozes are mindless, amorphous masses defined by fluid bulk, unstable shape, dangerous contact and persistence through…OutsiderOutsiders come from beyond the mortal world.PlantPlants are creatures made of vegetation, distinct from ordinary plant life (which is treated as an object).UndeadUndead are once-living creatures whose death did not end cleanly.VerminVermin are living invertebrates: insects, arachnids and arthropods.Aether-TouchedAether-touched creatures have been warped by a leyline (see Hexploration ).Building an EncounterPick a threat (Trivial, Low, Moderate, Severe, Extreme) and read the budget for the party size.Adversary MoraleMorale decides whether enemies fight on, withdraw, flee, surrender, or bargain, breaking groups in pieces rather than…Reaction RollsWhen first contact is uncertain (unknown group, tense standoff, unexpected meeting), roll 2d6 and read the column for…NPC ToolsThese tables flesh out any NPC or adversary beyond its stat block, for scenes that need more than "it attacks" or "it…One-Roll GeneratorsEach generator is six roll tables thrown at once.