Adversaries

art © Wizards of the Coast

Adversaries (monsters, obstacles), just like characters, also have a Level, and an amount of HP that varies with that level.

Adversaries can also have Bonuses or Maluses that affect dice rolls or Difficulty as usual.

Adversaries can be sentient opponents, but they could also be obstacles of some sort. For example, a locked door could be represented by the GM by setting a Level (which defines its Difficulty to be unlocked). If the lock is of Level 3, then a character needs to roll over a Difficulty of 13, and reduce its HP of 13 to 0 in order to successfully unlock it (this might take several turns or different attempts, which is intended).

Symmetrical rolls

When a character attacks an adversary, the Difficulty is equal to the base of 10 + the adversary’s level (+Bonuses/-Maluses that adversary might have). A Positive Effect reduces the adversary’s HP. A Negative Effect might mean that the adversary counterattacks and hurts the character’s HP by that amount.

When a character is attacked, the adversary rolls (+Bonuses/-Maluses of that adversary) against a Difficulty of 10 + the character’s Level (+Bonuses/-Maluses of the character). Again, the difference in Effect usually translates to HP lost by one of those sides of the conflict. OR the character can roll against a Difficulty set by 10 + the adversary’s level (+Bonuses/-Maluses that adversary might have).

This means that rolls are symmetrical; The game can be “player-facing” (in which only the players roll for their characters, both to attack and defend), or it can be played as traditionally, with the GM also rolling for the Adversaries against a Difficulty set by the Character (and their level, and any other relevant mods).

Adversary Types

Adversaries come in one of three types: Minion, regular or Nemesis.

A Minion is an adversary or minor obstacle that is easier to defeat or overcome. They have max HP equal to their Level. They are useful as disposable enemies like goons and “cannon-fodder”, or as simple obstacles like a stuck door, a simple lock to pick, etc.

A Minion cannot take any Conditions.

A regular Adversary or obstacle, just like a normal character, has max HP equal to 10 + Level. This is the default for “involved challenges”, as it forces characters to make several attempts against them, until all of their HP are depleted.

A regular adversary can take the same amount of Conditions that a character can.

A Nemesis is an important adversary that is harder to take down, or a notorious obstacle that takes much more effort to bypass. They have double the usual HP. For instance, a Dragon Nemesis of Level 4 would have 28 HP (2 x 14, which would be the default value for regular adversaries of 4th Level).

A Nemesis can take double the amount of Conditions that a character can.

Tip

The GM can represent any type of challenge as an Adversary (a puzzle to solve, a chase, a social debate) by abstracting it with a Level and a type (minion/regular/nemesis) and using its HP as its duration.

Sample Adversaries

Goblin Level 1 - HP 11 Mundane chainmail armor (+1) Mundane short sword (+1) Goblin Minion Level 1 - HP 1 Mundane short sword (+1)

Ork Level 2 - HP 12 Mundane leather armor (+1) Expert Melee Combatant (+3) Mundane Falchion (+1) Troll Nemesis Level 1 - HP 22 Mundane Big Club (+1) Mundane Thick Skin (+1)