So 2nd edition jettisoned the whole seperate Villainous Flaws and Wiles in favor of keeping everything under the umbrella of standard Arcana. Villains get a both Arcana, which works I suppose but lacks the flavor of the old systsm. How are people finding that works out in play?
Fri, 06/17/2016 - 15:34
#1
Villainous Wiles and Flaws v Virtues and Hubris
villains, character creation
Plus the 2nd edition (if you ignore John Wick's personal preference) finally allows for your players to try those ultra cool "Villainous Hero" and "Heroic Villain" play styles (both welcome at my table).
TAJ-07: Technopriest And Justicar Of 7thSea2e
I ran into a big problem when trying to convert some villains over in that some of the Virtues and Flaws simply make no sense either mechanically or flavorwise for a Villain to have. Not to mention, how does a Villain's Hubris work? Do the players activate it? Does the GM just decide to give himself a Danger Point if it looks like the Hubris comes up? So I took a stab at converting some of the old ones over into the new system (haven't finished them all just yet). Players can spend a Hero Point to activate any given Villain's Flaw once per session as long as they know what the Flaw is, either through roleplaying means, Risks, or possibly even Sorte.
http://pirates-of-the-7th-sea.obsidianportal.com/wikis/flaws-and-wiles
Personally I am allowing my players to spend a HP to activate the villain's hubris (only once per session). They are free to figure it out through straight role-playing or through DS.
I like what you have come up with, but I think for my first game I will use virtues and hubris for now.
Michael
Generally most folks are making them low-powered Villains (Say Villainy 5ish). The book seems to support this as well.
That's similar to what I did for a game session I ran on Saturday. Had a player face off with a bodyguard who I didn't want at full-out Villain level, but wanted to last longer than a single Brute! So I house ruled to treat him like a Villain (6 dice) but that he went down after 2 Dramatic Wounds.
Henchmen are low influence villains. If you want, you can create them with Hero rules, but it is better just handle them as low influence Villains (and possibly low strength). I never understood why henchmen should be different from villains.
Well, in the past it was because they were easier to take down than villains.