It’s probably in the book but how do I as the Editor determine how severe a condition a villain will do to a hero upon attacking them?
Lets say for example that I have a villain called Decibelle and she uses her sonic screams to attack a Hero.
I’m struggling to find a bit in the book which says how this is determined beyond the fiction
Page 143. You follow the fiction, taking into account the villain, the situation, the target, and any abilities they may have. It’s no more concrete than this because super powers make all of this so variable. Whether Superman takes a critical condition or not depends on in he’s fighting some bank robbers, Parasite, or Darkseid, yeah?
It is determined by the fiction, because that’s the only way to sort it out. Use the descriptions on p143 to learn what kind of injuries count as what kinds of conditions, and then teach yourself to shift that dial up and down based on circumstances and player die rolls.
If Decibelle fills a space with sonic screams, maybe you think evacuating the hostage and ignoring her screams warrants a Moderate condition because you’re soaking up the hurt… but maybe if they get into a fight with Decibelle and roll well enough, you think a Minor Condition better emulates having the upper hand in that fight, but the PC can’t avoid the omnidirectional effects of sound.
This is a learned skill as an Editor in WiP.
Yeah, what Alfred Rudzki said – it’s going to depend on your heroes and their powers (are they immune to the attack? how would it affect them), what’s going on in the fiction (if it’s a tense, dramatic moment, how much is on the line, etc.), if it’s building off of a miss on the dice.
When in absolute doubt start with a Minor Condition and then work your way up from there, but the fiction is the most important thing to riff off of.