Scene Levels and Non-Sheet Threats
When an opposing force lacks a full character sheet — a mob, a hazard, an institution, a storm — the Director establishes a Scene Level (SL), then sets the opposing force's power score each time a player takes an action. This is how A&E runs armies, landslides, and ancient traps without ever building them a character sheet.
Establishing the Scene Level
Rather than tying threats directly to individual player power, assign a Scene Level to the scene, hazard, or opposing entity based on the average level of the party:
- Easy (lower than party level): trivial resistance; the characters outclass the situation entirely or hold a distinct advantage.
- Moderate (equal to party level): standard opposition; a balanced challenge testing normal resource management.
- Dangerous (slightly above party level): pushes the party; requires tactical thinking, resource expenditure, or synergy.
- Threatening (higher than party level): high-risk scenario; failure carries immediate, severe consequences.
- Lethal (significantly above party level): a severe threat requiring avoidance, extreme preparation, or tactical isolation.
The Opposing Force Framework
To calculate the opposing power score for non-sheet entities, combine three variables:
1. Base Stat (the scaling multiplier). A baseline multiplier categorizing the scale of the action or threat type:
| Category | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Effortless | 0 |
| Trivial | 1–4 |
| Simple | 5–6 |
| Average | 7 |
| Tough | 8–9 |
| Challenging | 10–14 |
| Strenuous | 15–20 |
| Impossible | 100 |
2. Stat Score (threat potency). The raw numerical score based on the threat level the situation poses in the respective regard:
| Threat | Score |
|---|---|
| Trivial Threat | 0 |
| Minor Threat | .5 × SL Stat Points |
| Moderate Threat | .1 × SL Stat Points |
| Major Threat | .2 × SL Stat Points |
| Extreme Threat | .5 × SL Stat Points |
| Mortal Peril | 1.00 × SL Stat Points |
3. Feature Multiplier (contextual resistance). Multipliers representing specialized training, trap workmanship, extreme environmental conditions, and so on — based on the same scale as Stat Scores, but shifted slightly higher since they do not include a Wit pool:
| Resistance | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| None | 0 |
| Minor Skill | .1 × SL Skill Points |
| Moderate Threat | .2 × SL Skill Points |
| Major Threat | .5 × SL Skill Points |
| Extreme Threat | 1.00 × SL Skill Points |
| Mortal Peril | 2.00 × SL Stat Points |
Note: SL Stat and Skill Points are calculated the same way as Stat and Skill Points on the character sheet — and these values are thresholds; the actual value used is up to the Director and circumstantial.
Why This Framework Exists
It keeps the spotlight on the Key Characters. Minions and background forces operate as pressure and consequence during a Key Character's Shot — they never take their own — which is how large-scale conflicts stay fluid instead of bogging down in turn order. The goblin horde, the collapsing mine, and the paranoid spymaster's network are all just Scene Levels and narrated Risks; the story keeps moving toward its narrative goal while minor characters work in the background.