I’d like to hear stories about your favorite Big Bads. Specifically, I’d like to know how you use the rules to make them really challenging to the players. I’ve read Sage’s “The 16 HP dragon” blog post, but I would like to know how this works in action.
In particular, I am concerned about taking away the successes/potency of the PCs by having such a very powerful enemy that is either too fast or too tough for them. For example, what happens when a thief tries to backstab a vampire lord who is super fast and know that the thief is coming? Does the thief even get to roll?
How do you backstab someone that is not
surprised or defenseless ?
The move simply doesn’t trigger!
So, when the thief’s player says, “I sneak around behind the vampire lord for a backstab,” how do you respond?
How do you do that? He can clearly see all of you in this torch-light ballroom.
You could strait up tell the thief that the vampire lord is very perceptive, and his normal sneaking maneuvers won’t work. He’s going to need some sort of distraction or extra thought into his moves on order to get the jump on the vamp. Couch the explanation in the fiction, and I bet the thief will get very creative in order to get his precious backstab
A giant. If your sword is like a needle to it, how do you kill it?
Adam Koebel with sheer awesomeness
In DW, a creature is a “big bad” because it is in such a position as to be hard to kill. If something is too tough or too fast for the PCs, they’re going to think it’s big and bad and have to react to even survive. A big bad is not a pile of HP for them to mill through, it’s a creature that’s achieved the stature and power to be able to really defend itself.
Even a paunchy king with no combat ability can be a big deal because he’s had to get to. If you can get into position to backstab him he’ll die like anyone else, but getting there is the trouble.
In addition to what Sage LaTorra said, the consequences of killing or even fighting them are far reaching and unpleasant.
Sage’s evil king – he may be a despotic monster, but he may also be the only power capable of stabilising the volatile social and political situation in the region.
The necromancer may have killed your village and turned them into undead slaves, but she’s also tied herself to a black gate, and killing her is going to create a flood of dead souls back into the living.
Being in a position of power doesn’t just mean you’re harder to get to, it also means you’re an inextricable part of how things work, and there’s consequences for removing you.