Ghostwise wrote:pawsplay wrote:Tough Break: Things just don't seem to go Killer Shrike's way. The first time in a session he rolls an odd number on a check, he becomes impaired (which can jinx his current roll). At the end of each round, roll a d20; on an 11+, the impaired condition goes away. Killer Shrike almost never benefits from the GM spending a HP on his behalf.
The trigger for Maddicks is not that random - it only occurs when he realises he's probably outmatched and he's gonna get thrashed again. Really, my suggestion does a fine job at simulating what happens in the comics.
He realises he's facing a more powerful opponent, his Complication triggers, he enters a death spiral when he becomes rapidly less of a threat as his bully confidence deflates and he panics, and if the GM allows NPCs to gain HPs from Complications (why not) then Maddicks burn it on something irrational like getting himself Improved Critical 1 or All-Out Attack for the rest of the fight as he gets less predictable and it has a slim chance of actually making him more dangerous.
The rest of the time, he's pretty damn dangerous.
What about this?
On the Ropes When Killer Shrike suffers an embarrassing setback, he becomes impaired. An example would be a round in which he both misses an opponent and his opponent hits him. Further setbacks cause him to become debilitated and then dazed. He loses these conditions if he does something effective, like landing a blow or using a clever strategem. Otherwise, they go away once he leaves the scene and accepts defeat. He rarely benefits from the GM spending Hero Points on his behalf, except to represent acts of desperation.
