taking out the small fry

[potestas]

So you have your people up against a boss type bad with his second and 3-4 goons. Do you allow the goons to be taken out simply by stress or the whole nine yards, how about the side kick? does it deend on where you are in the story?

[killking72]

You usually have a good idea of how hard you group could hit, so make it where the inevitable magic user will be out of gas, and then you face the big boss, to make sure the spellslinger has the whole "take consequences to explode the boss", or "take consequences and miss the boss." Both are very fun story wise as a fellow Wizard.

[dragoonbuster]

You go with the flow. What works best within the narrative?

Goons don't usually fight all the way to the end, but sometimes I'll have goons go up to Milds only, or Milds and Moderates, or only take one consequence total (regardless of type).

Is the fight going a lot harder on the players than you thought? Take 'em out quicker. Fight too easy? Make the goons take more consequences.

Honestly, this is probably the easiest way to adjust a fight's difficulty on the fly.


Also, what killking72 said.

[Wordmaker]

I have a large group (6 players) so it's tough keeping the climactic showdowns dramatic and exciting, providing a challenge while still keeping things moving smoothly.

Typically I'll use the lesser goons to soften up the players or give them a chance to show off how tough they are before facing the main villain. If it's just a scuffle against a few goons in the street, I'll let them take a consequence or two. For the big showdowns, I tend not to let goons take consequences, and they get dropped from the fight pretty quickly.