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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Alaxk Knight of Galt" data-source="post: 3884617" data-attributes="member: 4129">In 7th Sea, "mooks" are called Brute Squads and work like this.  <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They have no hit points (or dramatic wounds if your in the 7th Sea world), one hit and that guy is done.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They come in packs, typically between 4-6.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They have a threat rating which determines how dangerous they are</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">When they attack, they all attack together making only one attack for the group</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Their attack is based on their threat rating and number still standing (knocking out brutes reduces the group's combat effectiveness).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If they hit the Hero, they deal damage based on their weapon type (this can increase depending on how "good" they hit their target)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They can support villains and henchmen, adding their combat abilities to the person they are supporting</li> </ul>Brute Squads are the "common chaff" heroes wade through in cinematic books, movies, and games (oh here come 20 guards to stop us, lets mow them down).  Brute Squads are your disposable bad guys in 7th Sea; heroes go to a bad part of town, show them its rough with some brutes, a lull in the story, here comes some brutes to spice things up and get things going again, etc.  They make great crews for ships, basic soldiers in an army, or random thugs of the inquisition.  The next level up from a brute squad is the Henchman.  They are much tougher (about 1/2 the strength of a Hero - Dramatic wounds equal to their resolve).  From there you get to the Villain level (full or greater strength then a Hero, possibly better then the entire group of Heroes - Dramatic wounds 2x their resolve).If you'll recall, in 2nd Edition there was the concept of the heroic fray.  They specifically cite the Fellowship's battle in the Mines of Moria as an example of it.  It provided a set of rules for running a battle like this (but I can never recall using it).  These rules provided a way to run the PCs against a much larger and significantly less skilled group/small army (similar in style to the brute squad mechanic).If I'm running a cinematic game, Brute Squads are brilliant.  They allow the heroes a chance to do amazing things (defeat the entire town guard) and show off how good they are (until the Villain shows up).In gritty games, I dislike the concept of the Brute Squad.  They spoil the mood by providing opponents who are no match for the heroes.  In a gritty game, I want fights to be tough, death to mean something, and risk involved for all parties.</blockquote>

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