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Dark Market Amani Hostage Taker – Ci’marron

Adversaries Designed by BriCheese

Adversary overview

An amani troll dressed in certain status symbols. It's clear he has control of this operation.

tl;dr

This unit essentially uses Stress as a countdown mechanic. If the party ignores their demands and kills their subordinates, or attack this unit directly, this unit starts marking Stress. Once all Stress has been marked, this unit starts to actively hurt and eventually kill their hostage, Juniper Brightwing, in an attempt to discourage the party from interfering. Unlike how Stress normally works, once it has marked all of its Stress, it does not start taking HP damage; instead, Juniper takes that damage.

In order to successfully stop the Night Market Nightwell Harvesters, the party is mathematically forced to make this unit mark all of their Stress – which means they either need to kill this unit very quickly to save Juniper, or otherwise negotiate or force them to let go of her before she’s killed.

This unit has some additional features that allow it to give its allies an extra action, mark its own Stress more quickly, and the same buffs/debuffs that the Harvesters receive if the players allow Juniper to die.

Stat block

Tier
2
Type
Leader
Difficulty
14
HP
9
Stress
6
Attack mod
+4
Damage thresholds
Minor Damage — Mark 1 HP Minor
Mark 1 HP
14
Major Damage — Mark 2 HP Major
Mark 2 HP
26
Severe Damage — Mark 3 HP Severe
Mark 3 HP

Standard attack

Stabbers
Range: Melee
Damage: 2d10+3
Attack Mod: +4
Damage Type: Physical

Features

Passives

  • We got a hostage, don't ya dare act funny, mon!

    Whenever the party kills a Dark Market Nightwell Harvester, this unit marks 1 Stress.

    Whenever the party attacks this unit, this unit marks 1 Stress.
    If an attack causes this unit to mark HP, it marks an additional Stress.

    Once this unit has marked all Stress, any action that would cause this unit to mark a Stress does not cause it to mark HP until Juniper Brightwing is dead. Instead, Juniper Brightwing marks 1 HP as the hostage taker attempts to make good on their threats. This includes when it uses Actions that require this unit to Mark a Stress.

  • Ya done it now, she's dead! An' it's your fault, mon!

    If Juniper Brightwing dies, this unit's Difficulty is reduced by 3, but deals double damage, and using the Experience "It's your fault she's dead, mon, don't blame us now!" no longer costs Fear.

  • Hostage Situation

    On Encounter Start, begin two countdowns:

    “A good day’s work!” starts at 10. This countdown is the “fail” condition for the encounter. It is reduced by 1 each time a Dark Market Nightwell Harvester successfully escapes with harvested Nightwell. If this countdown reaches 0, the encounter ends in the players' failure, and all adversaries retreat, having accomplished their goal.

    “Dark Market Harvesters” starts at 20. This countdown is the “summoning pool” for the Dark Market Nightwell Harvesters. This count goes down by 1 every time a Dark Market Harvester dies or escapes. Every time this count goes down by 1, a new Dark Market Harvester spawns at the edge of the scene. Once it reaches 0, no more enemies spawn.

Actions

  • We're serious, mon! Don't mess with us!
    stress 1

    Mark a Stress to spotlight 1d4+1 allies. Attacks they make while spotlighted in this way deal half damage.

Reactions

  • I'm threatenin' ya, mon, give it up!

    Every time this unit marks a Stress or would mark a Stress while Juniper Brightwing is still alive, it threatens all hostile targets within Far range. All affected targets must make a Presence Reaction roll against this unit's Difficulty (14). Targets who fail this Reaction cannot make an attack against this unit or any of this unit's allies as part of their next action unless they mark 2 Stress first.

    This unit may additionally spend a Fear to add the Experience "Got 'er by the throat, mon, don't do shit!" to its Difficulty for this attack.

Motives & tactics

Prevent the party from stopping the harvest. Keep the hostage alive. Punish the players for ignoring his demands.

Experiences

  • Got 'er by the throat, mon, don't do shit! +3
  • It's your fault she's dead, mon, don't blame us now! +3

Dark Market Amani Hostage Taker – Ci’marron

Tier 2 leader

An amani troll dressed in certain status symbols. It's clear he has control of this operation.

Motives & Tactics: Prevent the party from stopping the harvest., Keep the hostage alive., Punish the players for ignoring his demands.

Difficulty: 14 | Thresholds: 14/26 | HP: 9 | Stress: 6

ATK: +4 | Stabbers: Melee | 2d10+3 Physical

Experience: Got 'er by the throat, mon, don't do shit! +3, It's your fault she's dead, mon, don't blame us now! +3

HP:

STRESS:

Features

We're serious, mon! Don't mess with us! - Action: Mark a Stress to spotlight 1d4+1 allies. Attacks they make while spotlighted in this way deal half damage.
We got a hostage, don't ya dare act funny, mon! - Passive: Whenever the party kills a Dark Market Nightwell Harvester, this unit marks 1 Stress. Whenever the party attacks this unit, this unit marks 1 Stress. If an attack causes this unit to mark HP, it marks an additional Stress. Once this unit has marked all Stress, any action that would cause this unit to mark a Stress does not cause it to mark HP until Juniper Brightwing is dead. Instead, Juniper Brightwing marks 1 HP as the hostage taker attempts to make good on their threats. This includes when it uses Actions that require this unit to Mark a Stress.
I'm threatenin' ya, mon, give it up! - Reaction: Every time this unit marks a Stress or would mark a Stress while Juniper Brightwing is still alive, it threatens all hostile targets within Far range. All affected targets must make a Presence Reaction roll against this unit's Difficulty (14). Targets who fail this Reaction cannot make an attack against this unit or any of this unit's allies as part of their next action unless they mark 2 Stress first. This unit may additionally spend a Fear to add the Experience "Got 'er by the throat, mon, don't do shit!" to its Difficulty for this attack.
Ya done it now, she's dead! An' it's your fault, mon! - Passive: If Juniper Brightwing dies, this unit's Difficulty is reduced by 3, but deals double damage, and using the Experience "It's your fault she's dead, mon, don't blame us now!" no longer costs Fear.
Hostage Situation - Passive: On Encounter Start, begin two countdowns: “A good day’s work!” starts at 10. This countdown is the “fail” condition for the encounter. It is reduced by 1 each time a Dark Market Nightwell Harvester successfully escapes with harvested Nightwell. If this countdown reaches 0, the encounter ends in the players' failure, and all adversaries retreat, having accomplished their goal. “Dark Market Harvesters” starts at 20. This countdown is the “summoning pool” for the Dark Market Nightwell Harvesters. This count goes down by 1 every time a Dark Market Harvester dies or escapes. Every time this count goes down by 1, a new Dark Market Harvester spawns at the edge of the scene. Once it reaches 0, no more enemies spawn.

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