Chosen Ones, Part 14 (Patreon)

Sometimes a GM is a little bit adversarial towards the players, but getting that correct is an extremely fine line. If they get defeated too many times, they become discouraged and may even give up, basically waiting until the GM gives them a clear way forward. It takes a rare kind of player to be able to look at an actually unwinnable scenario and still find ways to make it fun, because the player has to be able to really lean into character flaws and comedic self-deprecation. I think it does help to be very clear and up front with the players that they're going to be punished, and that it's not going to be as a judgement against them so much as narrative fiat, but something like this is why, through the course of this adventure, the crew has had small victories, such as a girl taking interest in Paul, or the group making a huge payout by working with criminals.

Incidentally, another thing I really like about the Hero system is the fact that you can buy "the universe is supernaturally working against me" as a character flaw, so if you are that rare player who is able to play conflict against yourself, you can essentially sign up for it!