While running Night’s Black Agents, I’ve been using my GUMSHOE house rules for NPC ability modifiers: The short version is that rather than giving NPCs general ability pools, they’re instead given ratings that can be flexibly used to either modify their own rolls or the rolls of the PCs. (You can check out the original post for a more detailed discussion of how the house rule works and why you might want to use it in your own GUMSHOE games.)
OPPOSING FORCES CHEAT SHEET
I’ve also prepped an Opposing Forces Cheat Sheet featuring stat blocks using NPC ability modifiers.
This cheat sheet compiles information from the core rulebook, the Resource Guide, Double Tap supplement, various adventures, and my own prep notes. The goal is to have a fast reference for “standard” NPCs so that I can quickly cast improvised fight scenes, chases, and other derring-do. Having these as standard references also means that I can create more efficient prep notes by just referencing the cheat sheet instead of creating brand new stat blocks.
During play, I simply keep the cheat sheet on the table next to me, so that it’s easy to grab and reference whenever I need it.
The cheat sheet is split into OPPOSING FORCES (the more typical cannon fodder) and OPERATIVES, who are more elite or specialized role players. Splitting the references like this has a slight disadvantage, because if I forget which list a given stat block appears on I may have to check in both places to find it. But I’ve found separating out the less used stat blocks leaves the more common opposing forces less cluttered and, therefore, easier to use a the table.
Tip: Instead of creating full stat blocks for NPCs that don’t quite fit these archetypes, you can also just reference the archetype and then list the differences. The cheat sheet itself does this in a few places — e.g., guard dogs and boss thugs.
Given that neither the 2023 post floating this idea nor the named characters at the end have any precedent for modifier above +3, I’m guess that the Tough Guy’s Hand-to-Hand +4, and especially the Bodyguard’s multiple +6 modifiers are mistakes.
Quibbling aside, now that you have tested this house rule, how’s it working out?
Fixed!
Re: House rule. Ran into slight difficulty with the Thriller Chase rules when I started using it in NBA. (I’ve added a new optional rule to the original post to reflect the solutions I’m currently trying out.)
There’s a few other places where a specific mechanic or special ability will resolve around having a pool of points. I’ve generally found it easiest to just give the NPC a bespoke pool of points for those special abilities. (For example, the Cover Pool for the Con Men on the Opposing Forces cheat sheet.)
Justin, is there a difference in intent between an Opposing Forces sheet and an Adversary Roster? Or have you just shifted terminology?
This is a stat sheet. It’s not connected to a specific adventure.
You could put these stats on an adversary roster, but as presented here, they’re stat blocks.