Threat Heat
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The Logic behind adversaries targeting is managed with Threat Heat. Without Threat Heat increasing actions and effects, this mechanic doesn’t serve much use. There are a few Effect Trees options which affect Threat Heat significantly. Unless these are in play, Threat Heat is more of a suggestion than a hard coded rule. Threat Heat influences the behavior of Units giving the player’s characters a way to manage adversary targeting.
Mechanical Overview
The Threat Heat Meter
Threat Determination
To keep things simple the Threat Heat Meter has only has three tiers. As a Story Guide imagine when you have a unit selected, each of the characters at the table have a score of 0, 1, 2, or 3. If the score is 0, the Unit will ignore them for anyone with a 1 or higher. If the score is 1 they’re free game unless there is a character with a 2 Regardless of how high the numbers are, the highest one will be the Focal Target of the unit.
Threat Heat: 0
This is the default. From here Threat Heat can shift to Threat Heat: 1 for a variety of reasons. Getting caught stealing, causing damage, or other hostile actions. Not every adversary is going to have a Threat Heat against every character. Unless it is clear the character is actively hostile against them, it is likely they’ll be treated as a bystander.
Threat Heat: 1
This is base hostility. Adversaries will want to get Threat Heat 1 characters out of the way or also caught up in their Area of Effect Actions. Control oriented units will prioritize Threat Heat 1 characters over Threat Heat 2 characters to get them out of the way so they can focus on the Focal Target.
Threat Heat: 2
The Focal Target of Focus Target. When looking through the eyes of your unit, Threat Heat 2 is the one the unit wants dead the most. If they activate an Assault, a Threat Heat 2 Target will be their choice, even if it means moving past or turning their back on a Threat Heat 1 character.
Threat Heat: 3
Threat Heat 3 will only be in play if there is a character using Provocation Effects. In stead of Heat Level Decimals, Threat Heat: 3 has Provocation Tiers.
Heat Level Decimals
For every active character, our Threat Heats need a decimal to track the precise level of Threat. The short and simple way to determine this is proximity. The highest threat is the one closest to the unit. If we have a table with 4 players involved in the engagement, we will use .1, .2, .3, and .4. If there are no active Threat Heat effects in play, this will simply be ordered as the closest as .4, and the farthest a .1
Provocation Levels
When a Provocation Effect is in play, the Threat Heat of the character is increased to 3. Only the highest Tier Provocation effect is applied to the unit. Provocation has two Tiers; Immanent and Hatred.
Threat Heat: Immanent X (1-10)
Most Provocation effects are Immanent. Immanent has Tier 1 through 10. The Adversary will always take their offensive actions against the Immanent Threat of the highest tier if they decide to take a Hostile Action.
Immanent Threat levels do not determine the actions of units, only their primary offensive target when using actions and effects. They may still flee, move away from the Threat Heat, and activate support actions on allies. It does not change their intelligence when fighting, they will still be as strategic as possible for their unit Modus Operandi.
Threat Heat: Hatred
Hatred is the highest point of Heat Threat. The unit will ignore all other factors and assault the character or unit they hate. This does not alter their offensive Modus Operandi, they will take every advantage against the hated they possibly can.
Hatred Threat does not determine the actions of units, only their primary offensive target when using actions and effects. They may still flee if the situation is dire for them, they will move away from the Threat Heat if it is an advantage to do so, and activate support actions on allies who are also taking hostile actions against their Hated. It does not change their intelligence when fighting, they will still be as strategic as possible for their unit Modus Operandi.
Strategic Threat
While proximal threat should be the go-to at the beginning of engagements, strategic threat should be updated as each character performs actions, or should already be in place with a well informed group of units. Here are the general threat modifiers for the heat.
The Highest Damage: Units will be aware of who is doing the most damage if they are in line of sight and do not have any effects which reduce threat heat. Damage or brutalization should garner higher threat. A particularly graphic execution should even stack up the threat on the character activating the action.
The Healer: If units see a healer healing, the healer instantly takes on all threat previously generated by who they healed. Provocation effects don’t transfer this way. In combat, if the healer heals the character who is the Focal Target, they become the Focal Target. Since the Healer most likely has to Heal the Highest Damage Dealer first, they tend to end up as Heat Threat: 2 and must rely on players with Provocation Actions and Effects to keep units from dropping them like a sack of rocks.
The Tank: Tanks generate the lowest natural Threat Heat. In many cases, they will simply be avoided by units. It is common knowledge to take down easier looking targets first. A tank who plays into this might get away with being a Heat Threat: 2 Focal Target because they look easy to take down, but Strategic Threat will catch up. To be a Tank, in most cases, Provocation Actions and Effects are required to keep the focus on you.
The Hybrid: Characters are often built as either a general build or a focused build. General builds might heal with one action, then hit hard with their next, then provoke a single adversary. In the end it is up to your judgement who the Focal Target of your units is.
The Story Guide’s Notes
Handling Threat Heat with all your players doing a little bit of everything may seem stressful to bother keeping up with. The only Threat Heat you should really pay attention to is rewarding the Provocation Actions and Effects and remembering Threat Heat: Hatred doesn’t care. They want their Focal Target dead above all else.
