RE: [DL] Too easy!

["coyote" <coyote@net-link.net>]

I've been having a problem where my posse has way too easy of a time. Last
night they took on about half of a nasty band of murderers. Due to limited
players, the villians had a couple members away that are now 'unresolved
plot threads.'

<<snip>>
Sounds like you're not using the full resources of your black hats or
another possibility is your bad guys need to take their vitamins, i.e. beef
up their abilities.

Anyway, the band of four heroes (A gunfighter, a gambler, a blessed, and a
martial artist (who never got to use his abilities) attacked a fortified
position and had very little trouble. The three remaining baddies (plus
one, see below) got a couple of good shots, but things were way too easy
for the PCs. here's some questions:

1. Any general suggestions here?
2. I'm considered stingy on fate chips. They get three per session, plus
maybe 1 an hour of play each. yet they have stacks (even with a limit of
10 to start a session (plus the three new ones) to burn off wounds. Any
suggestions?

<<Snip>>

Make them spend those chips on non-combat stuff. Sounds like you're not
throwing much in the way of social challenges at them. Make them use those
chips on extraneus rolls like dickering over the price of a box or cigars or
the cost to have a horse re-shoed by the town furrier. Also, use the
environment, my players are always at odds with brutal weather, a night out
in the cold windswept prairie is sure to eat up a few chips or the players
are gonna be hurting for Wind later. To me it sounds like your posse are a
bunch of chipwhores, meaning they've figured out that Chips equal
invulnerability that's why they hoard  their chips so what you need to do is
provide them with challenges that require them to spend chips to succeed.
Barring this, my only other suggestion is to take more chips from the pot
when you start the game, usually one per posse member is sufficient. Also,
use Overawe, Ridicule, and Persuasion to break the characters thus getting
more chips for yourself. Look at the odds, you have four posse members with
10 chips apiece versus your three chips unless you take some steps to even
things out you're badguys, no matter how nasty are gonna get their @sses
kicked every time.

>>Joseph C. Wolf