Re: NPCs "level"
Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 4:52 pm
I use extra tours of duty. If I build a bad guy and I want them to be on par with the PCs, I just build a character. If I want them to be tough, I give them an extra extra tour of duty. For a really nasty bad guy, I give them two extra tours of duty. The arch nemesis gets the same treatment, ironically, as faceless minions - I decide what the nemesis should have for goal numbers and reverse engineer it from there.
In one of my campaigns, there was a recurring nemesis who dueled the noble at parties. He was built using the lifepath system, but then after giving him a tour of duty and another tour of duty, I went and gave him Tweaked as well. The net effect is someone with 60 extra points instead of 40. I have also built recurring villains who got a tour of duty, another tour of duty, and both psi tours of duty - effectively 40 extra build points. The extra cash or contacts or rank this gives also reflects the power level of a recurring villain or nemesis.
But all too often, I decide that someone is goal 16 at their specialty, 12 at stuff they should know, and 6 at stuff they might know, and I don't bother with a character sheet for villains at all.
In one of my campaigns, there was a recurring nemesis who dueled the noble at parties. He was built using the lifepath system, but then after giving him a tour of duty and another tour of duty, I went and gave him Tweaked as well. The net effect is someone with 60 extra points instead of 40. I have also built recurring villains who got a tour of duty, another tour of duty, and both psi tours of duty - effectively 40 extra build points. The extra cash or contacts or rank this gives also reflects the power level of a recurring villain or nemesis.
But all too often, I decide that someone is goal 16 at their specialty, 12 at stuff they should know, and 6 at stuff they might know, and I don't bother with a character sheet for villains at all.