So, my group has a mechanics conundrum. We’ve got a few NPCs joining the main PCs team while they help rescue their allies from a psychopath villain.
What kind of mechanics would you suggest to continue to put the “Team” theme farther out there while not narratively letting the NPCs fall by the wayside?
I was considering adding more Team to the pool (“Red team” since we use blue stones) that when you use it puts the NPC in danger ala Dungeon World, or specifically making a move per NPC (When you directly engage a group and Dynamite is present, roll +Danger) or for the NPCs as a whole (When you engage the enemy with allies who aren’t part of the team, decide what label they stand for and roll+that), or something else…
What do you guys think?
Not quite sure what you mean by NPCs joining the team, but my first thought is that this means “GM PCs” – and i shuddered a bit!
When these NPCs join the team, they are likely going to soak up some of the PCs’ spotlight, and generally make them less-heroic.
I’d recommend you give them an assignment off-screen, and keep game time focused tightly on what the players’ characters are doing, and let the overall mission succeed or fail based on the players’ characters’ performance.
If you choose to keep the NPCs active in the session, i’d treat them more like hirelings in Dungeon World than like independent characters. Don’t give them moves on their own, but let the players describe how they team up with them, and then give the players some slight mechanical and/or great fictional impact from this.
Keep the PCs front-and-center, though! Let the players roll the dice, and make it clear that the moves are the PCs doing, with the NPCs supporting.
Edit to answer the explicit question: no need to change the team mechanic or add points, if only the PCs can access that mechanic.
I feel like these kinds of team ups are mostly done to showcase how the heroes/PCs contrast with their peers, yeah? So I’d just treat them as part of the overall situation and write a few GM Moves to represent the complications they can create. If any of them have Influence over any of the PCs, take advantage of that; have them tell the PCs who they are, either directly or by example.
I personally wouldn’t do either of those other things you suggest, and here’s why:
I wouldn’t have them add Team to the pool, because that makes Team feel less special to me. If any old heroes can jump in and work together, it makes the mechanic feel less based in the PCs’ chemistry and relationships and more just like it’s people showing up. It also turns around what Team actually does; you spend it to put your character out there, or to pointedly disregard the rest of the team. It’s very personal. Spending it on behalf of NPCs just makes it feel like a resource rather than a decision.
I wouldn’t change Labels either, because Labels are very much about how your character views themselves, and the moves reflect that. Again, they’re very personal and meaningful, and deciding that Directly Engaging isn’t a Dangerous act because some other NPC is there doesn’t give the Labels enough weight, imo. It also just feels like treating the NPCs like equipment that can change your stats around.
Tl;dr, just treat them like you would any other significant NPCs; use them to put the PCs in a spot and highlight their personal stories. They’re not likely to “fall by the wayside,” any more than a Villain is–and even if they do, that’s okay! The story isn’t about them anyway.
I’d treat them like Fellowship hirelings. Give them all a move or two (aim for six total) and assign them to npcs. Things like
ROCKBASHER
[–]I can lift it! (Rockbasher can lift anything on earth for about 30 seconds.)
[-]Stone Bodyguard: (Rockbasher takes a hit instead of a player).
This implies the NPCs are always on the players’ sides, which is of course boring. But if you give characters these guys as moves, don’t turn the NPCs badguy until at least both moves are extended.
So, I recently had a teammate join the Team, though for utterly different reasons, as you will see below.
‘Miss Miracle’ has the complete superman (woman?) package. Super strong, super tough, laser visions, flight, the works. And I statted her up using the rules in the quickstart!
Miss Miracle
Modern Age
Drive: To Prove she can be a hero!
Conditions: Insecure, Guilty, and Angry. She does not become Hopeless or Afraid.
Moves:
-Endanger bystanders while directly engaging an enemy!
-Destroy something irreplaceable or priceless to save a bystander
-Inadvertently create a distraction for a villain by telling an audience about how awesome she is
-Tell a hero how the current situation is their fault.
… so obviously, my intent with them was to be a hindrance than a help. But as long as we’re sharing how to stat allies, thought I’d pass her along.
To actually help with this actual issue though, I’d recommend a lot of what the initial posers have said. Either split the team so the ‘extras’ are doing something vital but off screen as the heroes do the heavy lifting…
or go ahead and make them part of what the heroes do. “Alright, Thunderhead, you are going to lead the charge. DupliKate is right there with you, how do the two of you do it?” Give the agency and description to the heroes, to get things done, or when you use a move, make it so that the ‘others’ are caught. ‘Blowout’ is a tough hero, but narrate him taking out some goons only to not notice someone aiming a laser rifle at his head-use them to ‘solve’ problems only if a new complication arises that the heroes need to help with!
I ran the session, kept the NPCs in the crossfire and had them suffer the consequences of a few moves. The PCs were more than interested in interacting with them in a more social setting instead of in a fight, so I obliged them with that, keeping them back holding the enemies forces at bay so they could take on the big bad. Thanks for the advice everyone! I’ll try to leave the NPCs out of the fight in the future.