Julio
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Joined: Sat 13 Jan 2018, 21:22

Curbing/Challenging the Boss

Sun 04 Feb 2018, 17:06

I know there has been a lot of discussion related to the boss and his power relative to other roles. However, I am more curious about how you challenged or curbed the boss in your games (to make it more fun for the players). 

I ask this because my PC's Boss has Command 3, as well as commander and gunslingers. So he roles 10 dice (5 base, 3 skill, 2 more skill from commander), and if he succeeds he sends 12 ( command skill x 4) gunslinger at whatever problem exists for him in the arc. This has been other PC's but also other bosses who don't have the man power or equipment to contend.\

So my question is, "how do I either curb the bosses power (in the fiction or not) so that the other PCs are not dwarfed by his power. Additionally, what are some good ways to challenge bosses?"
 
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Jurij 1138
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Location: Zonen på Öarna

Re: Curbing/Challenging the Boss

Mon 05 Feb 2018, 14:10

Remember - when he sends 12 gunslingers, he has to feed them as well as buy all the bullets for them. It's really expensive.
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Atomics
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Joined: Thu 20 Oct 2016, 23:56
Location: Sacramento, CA, USA

Re: Curbing/Challenging the Boss

Tue 10 Apr 2018, 20:32

There are plenty of easy ways to handle this. As Jurij pointed out, when a PC is actively using their gang, you have to spend the bullets and pay for their food/water for the day. If the gang is just doing other work for the Boss in the Ark, he don't have to pay for the gang. If spending 13 food/water per day isn't a problem for the Boss, then you may be handling the scarcity of resources in your game wrong (see rule #2, of Chapter 9, "Your Job As Gamemaster")

But in this case, if the PC does want to actively use them, and he takes all his men with them, you can use other methods to balance it out. It would be easy to have another NPC break into the PC Boss' Den and steal stuff (leaving your turf unguarded = bad idea). I've seldom had a boss bring his ENTIRE gang, except in rare "showdown" type situations. And if this is a problem, then give another Boss in the Ark the same talents and/or an even higher Command (i.e. bigger gang). The GM has ultimate say over NPCs and their actions.

And if the PC Boss isn't phased by all this, and they do want to bring 12 gunmen with them and pay for them all, remember that the GM handles all the NPC's actions. If they're not involving PCs, then you completely decide the results (e.g they miss every shot, cross off 12 bullets for that round, Boss). If they are shooting another PC in the group, then you really have bigger GM problems. Even then, if they fail their Shoot roll, maybe their gun jams/breaks, or they shoot a fellow gang member. If the Boss really has it coming, maybe a NPC/robot/devourer shows up and kills some of this gang. Use ham-fisted actions like this sparingly and only when players are behaving badly. You don't want the game to get confrontational (PCs vs GM).

And remember that the golden rule of all RPGs is that the game should be FUN! If you have players who are not having fun, then the game is probably in trouble. Whether you do it in game, or out-of-character, the GM needs to get things back in line.
 
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DruidGamer
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Joined: Fri 16 Dec 2016, 09:22
Location: Northeast USA

Re: Curbing/Challenging the Boss

Mon 14 May 2018, 12:17

As stated, sending ALL of your gang to do something leaves you (or if you accompany them, your stash) undefended which makes a great opportunity for another Boss (or even someone you previously targeted for extortion) to take advantage of.  Also, all non-PC gang members have stock statistics (core book p139) and the GM decides when/if/ever they change.  My group has Big Bosses (non PC) that lead the various factions so even a Boss has someone they have to answer to occasionally.  So far (knock on wood) there hasn’t been an issue with a PC Boss overshadowing the other players.

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