Keeping your Cards close to your GM Screen

I had a lot of fun misleading my players in this Saturday's session of Scion. They thought they were kidnapping a minor (but important) hireling of the badguys (to use for a hostage exchange)...

1. To their surprise, the victim was a Scion with as much Legend rating as they have, and access to many of the same (powerful) knacks the PCs use. They were a bit surprised when the hostage gave a magical command for one of the PCs to throw her out of the speeding getaway van. Recapturing her and gaining control of the situation was pretty tough.
2. A PC grappled her on the same tick that she activated Animal (Ant) 3, mystically gaining Insectoid Super-Strength. This gave her +8 dice on her next 3 dicerolls to wrestle free, and my dice were hot! The PCs grabbed her no problem, then got manhandled a few ticks later. Not realizing her strength was only temporary, the PCs threw everything they had into the struggle. Tons of Willpower and Legend were expended on someone they could have just waited out.
   
3. They assumed once she was bound and gagged and unable to escape, she'd be powerless. But she still had some Legend and Boons to use, and rendered two of the PCs sterile.
4. Eventually, they decided she was dangerous enough they had to take extreme measures, so they beat her to incapacitation. Then began a debate on whether to actually exchange hostages or just kill her. But all this time their NPC sidekick was present. The sidekick had once been enslaved by the power of Giant's blood - the PCs had spared her life and converted her to their cause. Suddenly she starts getting appalled that they wouldn't try to extend the same opportunity. "I thought we were the good guys? If you kill her, I'll runaway again, and this time I won't come back!"

Incredible role-playing came out of it all. A very memorable scene, with lasting ramifications. Characters arguing back and forth, and sometimes storming off to try to cool down.