How would you model an entanglement (or other reaction) where an enemy crew wants to run a score against the players’ crew? The descriptions of the entanglements kind of suggest a flat payoff to avoid it as the only method, but that feels kind of flat.
My players have severely messed with the Red Sashes and a Leviathan-worshiping drug cult. I want them to be able to retaliate but the entanglements seem a bit tame for the revenge they’ll want to unleash.
I’d look at using the NPC & Faction Downtime (p158). If the faction is in a position to make threats or seize a claim or destroy their resources, let them. Otherwise, show the players there’s a clock filling up as the faction collects info on them. I have a few scores that involve the crew trying to control the damage from an enemy’s action.
For example, the Spirit Wardens got a tip-off from a crew’s enemy and have now quarantined the block around the crew’s Cover Operation claim to investigate and interrogate people. If the crew don’t do anything real soon, the Wardens will find out more about the crew and its hidden lair and probably cause a riot among the refugees in the area who, already feeling persecuted, will riot before long and burn down the crew’s claim.
They can also just, like, show up to murder the PCs. That’s always good! Then the PCs can use flashbacks to show how they’ve made preparations for that kind of thing.
How do you design your scores? I usually brainstorm 2-4 ideas and the players get to choose. (I play a lot with new people, so we start like this and I slowly teach them towards “players tell me what they want to do”.)
I would make the retaliation a score on the list: “Looks like Red Sashes are about to burgle your speakeasy. Are you there to fight back or do you let this happen?”
Then we play it like a regular score. Or if they pick something else, I tell them what consequences are.
I would
1) give hints, Harper style: “guys, this rival gang is up to something against you. Want to spend some downtime investigating?”
2) once the threat is known and clear, you can set up a score in which the PCs counter the NPCs actions”: attacking them preemptively, make the go agaist a fake target, move resources before they are destroyed, ecc.