Defend Someone

When you  defend someone or something from an immediate threat, roll + Savior.

For NPC threats:

On a hit, you keep them safe and choose one. On a 7-9, it costs you. Also choose one of the following: For PC threats:
 * add a team to the pool
 * take Influence over someone you protect
 * clear a condition
 * expose yourself to danger
 * escalate the situation.

On a hit, give them -2 to their roll. On a 7-9, you expose yourself to cost, retribution, or judgment.

Description
Defending someone is the move you use to stop something bad from happening. It’s not about preemptively preparing a defense, or setting up a shield—it’s about preventing the worst in the moment. The threat must be immediate for this move to trigger.

NPC threats include threats from the environment—anything the GM describes or controls.

Defending someone from a PC threat is for when a fellow PC tries to do something bad and you try to stop them. The key isn’t that you’re defending another PC—it’s that you’re defending against another PC. You can also defend yourself from a PC threat when another PC tries to hurt you.

When you trigger this move, be sure that both you and the GM are clear on what the immediate threat is. You can defend someone from physical dangers and threats, but you can also defend someone from cruel words or insults—if an older hero berates your teammate, you can defend them just as much as if a fireball was hurtling towards their face. In this case, the immediate threat is the harm and eﬀects of the words.

You don’t trigger defend someone when you’re trying to keep yourself safe from an NPC or environmental threat—that’s much more likely to be another move, like unleashing your powers, or rejecting their Inﬂuence.

Keeping them safe  means that you prevent the danger you acted against. If you’re putting up an energy shield to stop someone from getting roasted, then on a hit, you do that—they’re protected from the ﬂame blast.

Options
Against an NPC:

On a 7-9, you must expose yourself to danger or escalate the situation— your choice.

Exposing yourself to danger  leaves the danger up to the GM. It could mean anything from you taking the hit instead of whomever you’re defending, to your actions leaving you in a more vulnerable position.

Escalating the situation  means you make things more tense, more dangerous, more complicated in general. This is you breaking out your powers to defend someone when a moment before it was just a verbal fight.

Against a PC:

Getting a 7-9 means you expose yourself to cost, retribution, or judgment—GM’s choice, based on the situation.

Cost  means you pay a price, usually marking a condition yourself, to defend against the other PC.

Retribution  means the other PC gets a chance to act against you without your interference.

Judgment  means other people watching might judge you for your actions, leading them to shift your Labels or otherwise act against you.