Weasel conflicts

I have a question about weasel conflicts, or rather, conflicts with animals that do have traits and skills (not just Nature).

In the official missions releases, it says to use the Nature, as with any other animal.

It didn’t feel interesting enough, so when I had a weasel fight I did the following:

  • weasels rolled for disposition using nature
  • they had to, like the players, each commit to one of the three actions
  • they used skills, traits and weapons to fight
  • the highest ranking (captain) got 1 persona point and 1 fate point to tip the scales

My purpose with this was to really make weasels stand out as highly intelligent and lethal opponents.

Have anyone else here tried something similar, and how did that work out for you?

I wouldn’t give them Fate and Persona (and it might be a bit much if a weasel captain taps nature with persona) but otherwise I do exactly the same thing.

I agree not to provide Fate and Persona to NPCs in a Conflict. But, I’d enrich them with additional Traits, Gear, or adjusted Skills and Wises.

But this could depend in part on the recurring use of the NPC. If it is a one-time cameo, then maybe the extra characterizations aren’t much worthwhile. When the NPC is going to be a recurring element those added elements will contribute to the memory of that NPC for players as well as illustrate how they could interact with that NPC in future to unsettle the scales in their favor instead of being overwhelmed by a talented NPC.

I used persona and fate in order to allow the leader (weasel captain) to use his wises during rolls, but resteicted it so that he couldn’t add Nature or use them in any other way.

Essentially, by doing that, I gave him access to his full register of attributes, skills, traits AND wises.
But still with limitations.

He should be a memorable and returning character, and by letting the players experience his depth (compared to the “lower ranked” weasels) they will have a better understanding of him when they meet again

I’ve been thinking about that lately with the change in how Wises are used in 2e. I used to enjoy having Wises to reflect subtle differences in knowledge for NPCs that could provide a benefit. Since, I also always tell players what the dice pool is coming from during interaction with NPCs, this helped them view how a Wise could be creatively used, as well as providing that perspective of what unique knowledge the NPC brought to the scene.

So, I’ve been thinking of whether there could be a houserule to allow for NPCs to make use of Wises more effectively. My initial inclination was to provide Fate and Persona not to an NPC, but to the GM; this would allow the GM to make use of Fate or Persona during the session, but not very much. It could be applied for only those distinct moments it best applies.

But then, I’m still a bit frustrated to lose Wise tests in which the test is simply having the knowledge to oppose another rather than having a specific Skill to oppose.