4.3 KiB
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Social Encounters
The core of social encounters is the Influence roll. The modifier for an influence roll is always Presence and a relevant skill. An additional bonus or detriment can be received based on the apparel score of the involved characters. These additional modifiers typically range from -3 to +3 and depend on the apparel of the characters and the target. This bonus is determined by the GM.
Social encounters revolve around intimacies. In terms of gameplay you're either going to be influencing someone's outlook or using intimacies to persuade someone to do what you want. A character's intimacies dictate what they believe and care about. Without exploiting an intimacy persuasion isn't possible. No matter how charismatic you might be, a stranger won't give over their life to your cause just because you say so; there has to be a reason to make them take such a course of action. You need to play on an intimacy to be able to talk people into doing the things you want them to do. The stronger an intimacy is the more you can convince people to do in its name. While PCs can influence NPCs, they may also be on the receiving end of social encounters using the same rules.
Order of Actions
Social actions don't usually have special timing, there are no "Social turns." When a player's character tries to convince someone of something, they'll probably be the only person rolling dice, everything else is roleplay between the characters. When multiple characters attempt social actions in the same encounter, who rolls when can be decided by the natural flow of conversation or by procedure (in a court for example). If two characters are both trying to present different arguments to a single individual, then that individual's player decides who to listen to first. If it's still not clear who acts in which order, then the character with the highest Presence goes first, with the GM breaking any ties.
Rolling Dice
When making checks in social encounters there are two typical target values these are the target's passive Resolve (10 + Resolve + Resolve) or their passive Composure (10 + Composure + Composure). Typically resolve is used as the target for instill, inspire, persuade, bargain, and threaten actions and Composure is used as the target for read intentions actions.
Intimacies
Intimacies represent a character's relationships, beliefs, ideals, and goals. A character's intimacies help determine what types of influence will affect them.
Intensity
The strength of an intimacy is defined by its intensity -- Minor, Major, or Defining. When a character is targeted by an influence roll that opposes one ore more of their intimacies, add a bonus to their resolve based on the intensity of the most applicable intimacy. On the other hand, if one or more of a character's intimacies supports an influence roll applied against them, then they suffer a corresponding penalty to Resolve based on the most applicable intimacy. If more than one intimacy supports or opposes a social action, only the most relevant intimacy modifies the target's Resolve.
The effects of the different intensities are listed below.
- Minor intimacies are notable relationships or beliefs that have some influence over a character's actions without being an integral part of who they are. Characters will usually let their minor intimacies dictate their behavior on situations where it is directly relevant, as long as it does not act against a stronger intimacy or their own self-interest.
- Major intimacies are relationships that influence the way characters act in many areas of life. Major intimacies influence the behavior of characters even in situations where they are only tangentially or indirectly relevant, and might lead to a character to act against their own self-interest as long as they do not face severe harm or life-altering inconveniences because of it.
- Defining intimacies represent the most important things in a character's life, the relationships or beliefs that they place above all others and refuse to compromise. Defining intimacies influence the greater part of a character's behavior in all field of life. If there's something for which a character is willing to lay down their life, then it is best represented by this level of intensity.
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- 03 🔵 Social Actions