Damage Control: Public Opinion Track

With this series, Damage Control, I wanted to introduce some new ideas like overlays over the rules to add more to it. Today, we’re going to look at the Public Opinion Pool, a new way to see how the public views the heroes at the table.

Public Opinion Pool

The Public Opinion Pool tracks how the public feels about the heroes during an Event. It can swing positive or negative depending on what the heroes do, what people see, what the media says, and how villains manipulate the story.

The pool always has a direction and a die rating.

Positive Public Opinion favors the heroes.

Negative Public Opinion favors the Watcher.

It ranges from d6 to d12 in either direction.

Public Opinion Scale

Positive d6: People are cautiously supportive.
Positive d8: People are openly cheering for the heroes.
Positive d10: The heroes are trusted and defended by the public.
Positive d12: The heroes have become symbols of hope.

Neutral: No Public Opinion die is currently active.

Negative d6: People are suspicious or uneasy.
Negative d8: People are angry, frightened, or divided.
Negative d10: The heroes are being blamed for the crisis.
Negative d12: The public sees the heroes as dangerous, corrupt, or out of control.

Using Positive Public Opinion

When Public Opinion is positive, any player may spend 1 Plot Point to add the Public Opinion die to a roll where public support could matter.

This can include: Calming a crowd, convincing police to stand down, inspiring civilians, getting help from bystanders, pushing back against media lies, rallying a neighborhood, or proving that the heroes still deserve trust.

Example:

Spider-Man is trying to convince terrified civilians to evacuate through a collapsing subway tunnel. Public Opinion is Positive d8 because he saved a school bus earlier in the session. His player spends 1 PP and adds Public Opinion d8 to the roll.

Using Negative Public Opinion

When Public Opinion is negative, the Watcher may spend a Doom die to add the Public Opinion die to a roll where public distrust makes things worse.

This can include:

Police interference, hostile crowds, media pressure, witnesses refusing to help, civilians panicking, politicians grandstanding, heroes being blamed for collateral damage, or villains turning the public against them.

Example:

Daredevil is trying to question a witness, but Fisk’s media machine has convinced the neighborhood that masked vigilantes are making things worse. Public Opinion is Negative d10. The Watcher spends a Doom die and adds Negative Public Opinion d10 to the opposition pool.

Shifting Public Opinion

Public Opinion shifts when something happens in public, when the heroes make a visible choice, or when someone successfully controls the narrative.

A normal shift moves the die one step.

A major shift can move it two steps, especially after a climactic scene, a public disaster, or a heroic rescue.

If Public Opinion is neutral and shifts positive, it becomes Positive d6.

If Public Opinion is neutral and shifts negative, it becomes Negative d6.

If Public Opinion is Positive d6 and shifts negative, it becomes neutral first. A second negative shift would make it Negative d6.

The same works in reverse.

Things That Shift Public Opinion Positive

Public Opinion may shift positive when heroes:

• Save civilians at personal cost.
• Prevent collateral damage.
• Take responsibility for harm.
• Expose a villain’s lie.
• Protect a neighborhood or vulnerable group.
• Work with local authorities instead of humiliating them.
• Make a public sacrifice.
• Defeat a threat without causing unnecessary destruction.
• Use their civilian relationships to build trust.
• Let the public see who they really are through their actions.

Things That Shift Public Opinion Negative

Public Opinion may shift negative when heroes:

• Cause major collateral damage.
• Ignore civilians in danger.
• Let a villain control the public narrative.
• Fight each other in public.
• Are framed for a crime.
• Refuse to explain themselves after a disaster.
• Use frightening powers recklessly.
• Threaten witnesses or suspects.
• Damage a beloved landmark.
• Allow the crisis to escalate visibly.

Public Opinion as a Scene Distinction

The Public Opinion Pool should also color the scene, and can create assets of complications.

Positive examples:

• The Crowd Starts Chanting Their Name
• The Neighborhood Has Their Back
• Someone Filmed the Rescue
• Even the Cops Are Impressed
• The City Still Believes

Negative examples:

• Everyone’s Recording This
• The Crowd Turns on Them
• The Bugle Already Ran the Headline
• Police Want Someone to Blame
• The City Is Afraid

These can be used as scene flavor, complications, or temporary Distinctions depending on the moment.

Watcher Option: Public Opinion Backlash

When Public Opinion is Negative d12 and would step up again, the Watcher may trigger a Backlash instead.

Choose one:

• The police issue warrants for the heroes.
• A government agency intervenes.
• A beloved NPC publicly denounces them.
• A villain gains public legitimacy.
• The heroes are banned from a key location.
• A crowd turns dangerous.
• A teammate’s reputation is damaged.
• The heroes lose access to an important ally or resource.

After the Backlash, Public Opinion steps down to Negative d10.

Player Option: Public Opinion Surge

When Public Opinion is Positive d12 and would step up again, the players may trigger a Surge instead.

Choose one:

• Create a free d10 Asset representing public support.
• Remove a social complication from the scene.
• Step down the Doom Pool’s largest die.
• Gain help from civilians, police, journalists, or local heroes.
• Expose one piece of a villain’s plan.
• Turn a hostile crowd into allies.
• Protect the heroes from legal or media fallout after the scene.

After the Surge, Public Opinion steps down to Positive d10.

Event Use

Public Opinion works best when it is tied to a specific Event, location, or community.

For example:

• Hell’s Kitchen Public Opinion
• New York Public Opinion
• Mutant Public Opinion
• Avengers Public Opinion
• Spider-Man Public Opinion
• Public Opinion: The Trial of Daredevil

This lets different stories have different reputational stakes. The Avengers might be loved globally while mutants are feared nationally. Spider-Man might be trusted in Queens but hated by readers of the Daily Bugle. Daredevil might be seen as a guardian angel in Hell’s Kitchen while the mayor’s office calls him a menace.

Optional Rule: Split Public Opinion

For more complicated stories, track two Public Opinion Pools at once.

Example:

Hell’s Kitchen: Positive d10
City Hall: Negative d8

This is especially useful for street-level games. The people on the block may love the heroes, while politicians, cops, and media figures see them as a threat.

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Some villains can directly attack Public Opinion.

Kingpin can shift Public Opinion negative through money, media, police connections, and manufactured charity.

J. Jonah Jameson can create or step up negative Public Opinion against Spider-Man.

Mystique can frame heroes by impersonating them.

Doctor Doom can shift Public Opinion positive toward himself by acting as a savior during a crisis.

Purple Man can create artificial public support or public panic.

This gives social and political villains a way to fight the heroes without always throwing punches.

Sample SFX

Beloved Protector: When Public Opinion is positive, spend 1 PP to step it up after you save civilians or prevent collateral damage.

Media Darling: When you use Positive Public Opinion in a social roll, step up the Public Opinion die.

The People Know Me: Spend 1 PP to use Positive Public Opinion even when it would not normally apply, as long as you are protecting your home neighborhood or community.

Public Menace: When Public Opinion is negative, the Watcher may step it up after you use a destructive power in public. Gain 1 PP.

Framed Again: When a villain successfully creates a complication based on your reputation, shift Public Opinion one step negative and gain 1 PP.

Voice of the People: When you remove a social complication affecting a crowd, neighborhood, or public institution, step Public Opinion one step positive.

Sample Unlockables

5 XP: Local Support: Once per session, when Public Opinion is positive, create a d8 Asset representing help from ordinary people.

10 XP: Control the Narrative: Once per Event, after a public victory, shift Public Opinion two steps positive.

10 XP: Expose the Lie: When Public Opinion is negative because of a villain’s manipulation, spend 10 XP to reveal evidence that immediately shifts it one step positive.

15 XP: Symbol of Hope: When Public Opinion is Positive d12, spend 15 XP to create a lasting campaign Asset, such as The City Believes in Us d10 or Protected by the Neighborhood d10.