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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ValhallaGH" data-source="post: 4816031" data-attributes="member: 41187">Whew!  I ran a 9 man table once (a Deadlands game).  You have my deepest sympathies.Immediate reaction: Don't use solo villains against teams that large.  That's like one guy taking on all the Avengers or the X-Men.Second reaction: PL Cheatery.No, I'm serious.  Stop laughing.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />Ahem... my first advise is to have the villain scheme to separate the team, taking them on in smaller bunches.  When he does have to take them on all at the same time, use tactics that split them up (the classic is to endanger bystanders, but there's a lot of options).Second, I'd advise you to give them a "Solo package" that consists of a number of luck feats (one for each PC present is a good rule of thumb).  This will give him some staying power without giving your players a lot of hero points from excessive GM fiat.  If I need to say it, this is for when he fights the whole team, not when he's going to the corner store or mugging old ladies.Third, coyote6's suggestion of hitting a higher PL defensively than he does offensively is a good one.  This makes him tough without making him deadly, allowing you and your players to get a long, satisfying battle without the pressure of PC death at every attack.  (The only drawback is if your players start looking for "I win" buttons, ramping up offenses that are adequate to the level of stupid-good.  This can usually be fixed by discussion with the players.)  For most PL 7 groups, a defense of +8 or +9 is enough to be difficult to hit (+5 to +7 if he likes to take it on the chin) and backing it up with a lot of toughness should work fine.  Another trick is to have a lot of Impervious, forcing teamwork since few single characters can actually harm him.  A nasty trick (and one you shouldn't tell your players about, lest they be tempted to use it) is Immunity (all damage) Limited to half effect.  Regeneration can be an equally obnoxious "you can't stop me!" route, though don't let him recover from the 'defeated' condition of Unconscious.Fourth, defensively a PL 11 to 12 will let him survive everything except "one team punch".  That 13 to 16 toughness makes him nigh invulnerable, but even so not much can survive 19 damage, and if someone crits while everyone else connects, you're looking at 24 damage.  That's a threat to PL 18 world destroyers.  Fifth, if the players are getting frustrated due to the villain's toughness and your good dice rolling, don't be afraid to give them a break, including damage that the monster didn't take.  If they critted, and are working for it, and you're simply rolling 19s and 20s, give the villain a bruise anyway.  It will make them feel better ("See, we can hurt him"), and it will make it easier for them to actually hurt him.  And that makes the whole thing a lot more fun.There's probably other advice I could give, but I'm run dry at the moment.  Good luck.</blockquote>

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