Social Scenes
Overview
These rules provide the basic dice system for resolving social encounters. Unlike combat, social encounters are not held to a rigorous time-keeping system and instead are designed around the concept of having the initiative in the conversation. Essentially when one person is speaking they “hold the floor” until either they yield or are interrupted. That’s not to say no one else is talking during this time it just means they are controlling the narrative.
Timing
Timing in social encounters is much more fluid than in combat (which is specifically broken down into half second increments). Each maneuver can be expected to take roughly half a minute though depending on the situation this can vary to as little as a handful of seconds to hours (Banter and Converse specifically can take quite a while depending on context). Ultimately the Initiative mechanic is far more important for dictating the narrative and players shouldn’t concern themselves too much with timing except when critical to the scene (and then use common sense).
Maneuver Resolution
Maneuvers are generally resolved with an “Active Speaker” rolling their Awareness against a maneuver-specific skill. This roll is subject to a host of situational bonuses/penalties. In most cases they will then subtract either the subject’s Grit or Blend rating from their successes. If they score 2 or more net successes they have the target enthralled and completely maintain conversational initiative (they also get to add the net successes to their next maneuver). The target’s only recourse is either the Walk Away or Punch to the Face maneuvers. If the Active Speaker scores 1 or less the subject gains another option called Interrupt that is used to attempt to wrestle initiative away from the speaker. In all cases the subject can always opt to continue to listen indicating they are interested in hearing the active speaker out, regardless of how well (or poorly) they are doing on their rolls. The interrupt mechanics simply exist to give the target the option of at least attempting to talk about what they wish.
Roleplaying Maneuvers
Generally speaking a player (or GM) should declare the maneuver they are performing and then roleplay it out. Depending on how well the player (or GM) did roleplaying the maneuver a subjective bonus to the roll should be given (don’t penalize poor roleplaying, not everyone is a natural actor). Then the roll is made and resolution follows per the maneuver. Remember just because one active speaker is initiating the maneuver does not mean nobody else is speaking; other PCs, NPCs, and the actual subjects of the maneuver can and will likely participate in the dialogue of most individual maneuvers. The only notable exception to the “Roleplay then Rollplay” rule tends to be interrogate style maneuvers where the dialogue hinges upon the success of the roll. For those it’s best to simply “Roll first, ask questions later”.
Multiple Subjects
The majority of the maneuvers are optimized for a single subject but this does not preclude them from functioning on multiple subjects at the same time. Essentially for each subject beyond the first simply add 1 to the relevant resistance attribute for ALL of the subjects. If the roll is against Grit and there are three subjects, all of them will add +2 to their grit when determining resolution. When determining the bonus to any follow up rolls simply use the lowest (which could possibly be negative) for the next maneuver. And of course any of the subjects who the PC yields less than 2 successes against can opt for an interrupt at any time.
Maneuvers
Maneuvers are the bread and butter of Social Encounters. The active speaker chooses which maneuver they wish to initiate and everyone else simply participates. After a maneuver resolves anyone who wishes to (and is able to) interrupt can attempt but otherwise the active speaker "holds the floor" until they are done saying speaking their bit.
The complete list of social maneuvers
| Maneuver | Type | Usual Roll | Resist | Effects/Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watch | Observe | Etiquette (Customs, Court) or Streetwise (Read) | Blend | Watches a crowd and pick up on anything out of the ordinary. |
| Read | Observe | Streetwise (Read) | Blend | Get specific information about a specific subject. |
| Converse | Initiation | Charisma | Grit | The best way to initiate a social encounter. |
| Interrupt | Interrupt | Etiquette | Opposed Etiquette | The polite way to butt-in on a conversation. |
| Walk Away | Interrupt | Introspect | Opposed Charisma | The polite way to end a conversation. |
| Insult | Interrupt | Deceit | Grit | The impolite way to end a conversation. |
| Punch to the Face | Interrupt | Unarmed | Agility | The violent way to end a conversation. |
| Banter | Action | as Converse, Interrogate, or Read | Grit or Blend | Active Read, Passive interrogate, or further Converse. |
| Interrogate | Action | Deceit | Grit | Solicit information from a subject. |
| Influence | Action | Deceit | Grit | Manipulate the subject's currently held beliefs/thoughts. |
| Deceive | Action | Deceit | Awareness(Deceit): +Grit | Make the subject believe something untrue. |
| Impress | Action | Charisma | Grit | Manipulate the subject into believing something is awesome (usually oneself). |
| Intimidate | Action | Deceit or Strength | Grit | A base mechanism to get major bonuses to Interrogate or Negotiate maneuvers. |
| Negotiate | Action | Charisma or Deceit | Opposed by Negotiate roll | Anyone else want to negotiate? |
| Seduce | Action | Charisma or Deceit | Grit | Pretty obvious. |
Watch
The Watch maneuver is the most passive form of social information gathering available. The active speaker isn’t looking for anything specific but instead is simply passing time and gathering information.
Mechanics
Characters typically roll Etiquette. If more specific information is requested the roll can be made against other skills such as Streetwise(Read), Bureaucracy(any), or Empathy (Deception/Emotions). These rolls get half again their successes (round up) to notice these specific circumstances, but only half successes (round down) to notice anything else. The roll is made against the Blend of any targets of interest in the area.
Resolution
Any subject whose final Blend value is lower than the roll will be “noted” as suspicious in some way (Watch cannot divine finer details other than the obvious). There are significant environmental factors that can increase (or reduce) blend in a crowd.
Read
The read maneuver is the single target version of watch and requires the active speaker to spend the maneuver evaluating the finer details of a subject. To perform the Read the subject must be readily viewable, specifically their face and enough of their shoulders and hands to be able to witness sufficient body language to make the proper read.
Mechanics
A successful Watch maneuver isn’t required to perform a Read, the active speaker can Read any subject they like, but half (round down) of the net successes from a preceding Watch roll can be added to the Read roll if they are Reading someone they noticed during the Watch. The roll is usually Streetwise(Read) but as with Watch more specific Reads can be performed with other skills. As with Watch add half again (round up) successes from skill-specific read results and half (round down) on those rolls for the general result. The roll is opposed by the subject’s Blend.
Resolution
Negative net successes result in a misread, 0 or 1 is just failure, 2 yields base success, 5 is a complete reveal of whatever the subject is hiding. For conversation purposes 2 successes will reveal the target’s disposition and each success beyond two will allow the active speaker to cancel one point of bonus/penalty for that subject during an ensuing conversation.
Converse
The converse maneuver is the most basic way to initiate a direct social encounter. The maneuver is generally used as the first step of just about every other active social maneuver Nearly all active social encounters (as opposed to passive Watching/Reading) are best initiated with a Converse.
Mechanics
The converse action is resolved as a Charisma roll against the subject’s Grit.
Resolution
The converse maneuver itself doesn’t accomplish anything beyond getting people’s attention (and adding bonuses to further rolls), it’s simply the ice breaker for the majority of social encounters. Net successes from Converse serve as a bonus (or penalty) for the next maneuver performed by the active speaker. Attempting any other maneuver as the start of a conversation with a subject inflicts a -2 penalty to that maneuver (this is sometimes necessary when time is short).
Interrupt
The interrupt maneuver is how a subject overtakes the initiative in the conversation. It is not always explicitly available and it requires an opposed roll to succeed.
Mechanics
Interrupt only becomes available when the active speaker fails to generate 2 or more net successes on their maneuver. When this happens the current subject has the option to attempt an interrupt. The roll is Etiquette and the current speaker gets to also roll Etiquette (and gains bonuses or penalties based on the net successes of the previous roll).
Resolution
This is a straight opposed roll with the active speaker winning in a tie. If the current subject wins the contest they are now the active speaker and carry over a bonus to their next maneuver equal to the net successes from the interrupt (just as with any other social maneuver).
Walk Away
Sometimes a subject has heard enough but can’t get a word in edgewise (the active speaker continues to generate 2 or more successes each roll) and the only option is to just walk away.
Mechanics
To attempt a Walk Away requires an expenditure of a Willpower. The subject rolls Awareness(Introspect): + Grit opposed by the active speaker’s Charisma with a bonus based on their last maneuver’s net successes. There are a host of bonuses a active speaker can get to the Walk Away maneuver depending on the situation (like if they really have to pee). A character can Walk away without a roll if they take a point of Fatigue instead of spending Will.
Resolution
The active speaker wins in a tie (and gets a bonus to their next maneuver equal to net successes). Walk away can be attempted after any resolved maneuver as long as the subject has willpower to spend.
Insult
If the subject just wants out of the conversation and is willing to sacrifice future interactions with the active speaker (and possibly suffer shame, guilt, and acrimony) then they can always resort to an insult. For the maneuver to work the insult/slight has to be strong enough to convince the active speaker to shut up and willfully end the conversation themselves ... otherwise it may simply make them angry.
Mechanics
The subject first makes a free support roll of Etiquette which will provide a bonus to the Deceit roll. The active speaker opposes the Insult with a simple Empathy roll that they can add their previously accumulate net successes to. Roleplaying should play a large factor in any further bonuses/penalties.
Resolution
The active speaker wins in a tie (and gets a bonus to their next maneuver equal to net successes). If the active speaker loses the conversation is over and the subject will receive 2x net successes as a penalty for future social encounters with them. Insult can be attempted after any resolved maneuver.
Punch to the Face
The last resort of the weak minded, or socially inept, sometimes it's the only option a character may have. Like Walk away or Insult it can be used to end a social encounter regardless of successes the active speaker has accumulated.
Mechanics
The current net successes the active speaker has accumulated counts as a penalty to the subject’s initiative roll (the active speaker is controlling the conversation and has all the opportunity to note the rising agitation level of the subject who is about to resort to Punch to the Face).
Resolution
Roll for initiative.
Banter (Active Read, Passive Interrogate, Build Repartee)
The Banter maneuver is the generic maneuver used to “just talk” to a subject. It fits a lot of roles in social encounters but there are three general ways it is resolved mechanically: as an “active read”, as a “passive interrogate”, or as a “build repartee”. If anything else is the goal the active speaker either is ending the social encounter and simply just talking or is likely involved in some other maneuver. By engaging in a Banter the active speaker can either attain a better feel for what the subject is about or is hiding, can get the subject to actually reveal what they know about a specific topic without immediately realizing it, or can build up for a more successful later maneuver.
Mechanics
The Banter maneuver represents the general body of the conversation that occurs before a more specific maneuver is performed and thus performing multiple in a row (to build bonuses) is discouraged. Each additional Banter performed sequentially in a single encounter with the same subject suffers a stacking -2 penalty (-2 for the 2nd, -4 for the 3rd). Banters can follow other maneuvers but doing them sequentially results in a very bored subject.
- Actively Read: Resolved as a Read maneuver (roll Charisma, or another skill of choice), however the roll has a +2 bonus due to the ability to use discourse to enhance the read in addition to any conversation bonuses.
- Passive Interrogate: Resolved as an Interrogate maneuver (roll Deceit). The subject gets to add 2 to their grit.
- Build Repartee: Resolved as a Converse (Charm vs Grit).
Resolution
The “active read” functions as a Read maneuver. The “passive interrogate” functions as an Interrogate except as long as the net successes are positive the subject is actually unaware of the interrogation. The “build repartee” simply adds successes to the next roll just like Converse.
Interrogate
The Interrogate maneuver is how an active speaker pries information from a subject. While rarely as direct as an open question usually the maneuver requires an exchange of pleasantries and the foundation of a prior repartee. In game terms Interrogate can and usually should involve multiple questions and answers, ending only when the subject either reveals all they know about a single topic or comes to the limit of what they are willing or able to reveal (without further negotiation or intimidation). That said it may be easier to simply resolve one Interrogate per question.
Mechanics
Interrogate is resolved by rolling Deceit and is resisted by Grit. Before the roll the GM should decide what the subject knows and assign a bonus Grit value for each item depending on how private/important the information is.
Resolution
To get the subject to reveal the information requires the active speaker to exceed the grit + bonus value for each piece of information relevant to the topic (Only 1 net success required). Follow up maneuvers receive a bonus or penalty equal to the lowest net successes scored.
Influence
The Influence maneuver is perhaps the most nuanced maneuver in the system. The goal isn’t so much to solicit information as much as it is to inform the subject’s behavior or mood, or to otherwise manipulate them in some fashion. Influence won’t necessarily get a subject to kill their friend but it may make them suspicious (or possibly believe if they already suspected) that their friend is cheating with their spouse. The Influence maneuver can be used for a wide range of purposes.
Mechanics
Influence is resolved as a Deceit roll and is resisted by Grit. As with most maneuvers, successes or penalties from previous rolls in the conversation apply. The GM should also assign a variable bonus/penalty to the subject’s grit based on the audacity and scope of the influence attempt. (-3 for something that makes perfect sense or is easy to comprehend to +3 for something that’s antithetical to their current state of mind or almost impossible for them to believe/accomplish)
Resolution
Negative successes means the subject is aware of the attempted influence. 0 or 1 means they are simply unaffected. 2 successes are needed for partial success (the subject is considering it) and 5 for total success (the subject believes the active speaker)
Deceive
The Deceive maneuver is in a way a specialized form of Influence but it has the explicit goal of making someone believe an explicit falsehood whereas Influence requires at least some degree of truth. Additionally deceive is less about activity or action and more about the idea of truth. A successful deceive convinces the subject that what was said IS true. Deceive should also generally be roleplayed BEFORE the roll to allow the player to setup the lie and possibly gain bonuses to their roll for strong roleplaying.
Mechanics
Deceive is one of the few contested rolls in social encounters. The lie generally requires some forethought and therefore the active speaker gets to roll Focus(Relevant Skill) as a background skill for free (No will expenditure required). The roll itself is simply Deceit, carrying over any bonuses from prior conversation as well as extra dice from the background roll. The subject rolls Awareness(Deceit): +Grit, gaining additional bonuses/penalties based on the measure and verifiability of the lie.
Resolution
Negative successes means the subject notices the active deception. 0 or 1 means the subject simply doesn’t believe the active speaker. 2 successes means the subject believes the deception has some grain of truth to it. 5 successes means they completely believe the lie.
Impress
Impress is another specialized form of Influence with regards to making the subject either aware of some aspect of personality they previously didn’t notice or straight up revealing something completely new. It is important to note Impress is NOT about explicit deception, it’s strictly in regards to things the active speaker either has actually or can actually do. Impress can be a very powerful maneuver when successful, or a very punishing one when failed.
Mechanics
The roll is a basic Charisma roll, however the active speaker suffers their Blend value as a penalty to the Impress roll (normal people are not impressive). A background roll can often apply to the impress roll as well to help “sell the story”. Successes are compared to the subject’s Grit.
Resolution
Negative successes backfire and will inflict their penalty on all following rolls against this subject for the rest of the encounter. 0 or 1 successes means the subject is not impressed and will inflict a -1 penalty on the next maneuver the active speaker attempts (or yield +1 to an interrupt attempt by the subject). 2 or more successes will yield (Successes + 2) bonus on the next maneuver. Additionally 5 or more successes with yield a flat +2 to all maneuvers for the rest of the encounter.
Intimidate
Intimidate is a specialized form of Impress that is highly useful for extracting information from a subject (bonus to Interrogate), but at the expense of penalties for the more nuanced social maneuvers (Influence, Seduce, Impress). Intimidate can be a powerful social maneuver but the consequences will last for the rest of the encounter (and likely in any additional encounters in the near future).
Mechanics
Intimidate is not affected by any bonuses/penalties from previous rolls, nor is it penalized for not opening with a Converse. For Intimidate the active speaker can opt to use Prowess instead of Awareness and/or Strength instead of Deceit. The roll is Deceit(Intimidate) and is resisted by Grit. Each additional intimidate roll suffers a stacking -2 penalty (the threats become hollow) although if the active speaker is willing to inflict physical violence upon the subject they can cancel these penalties and even gain bonuses to the roll. (this may require a combat interlude).
Resolution
Regardless of the result of the roll, all maneuvers besides Interrogate and Negotiate are at a -2 penalty for the rest of the social encounter (A well executed influence maneuver can possibly counteract this) for each Intimidate executed. It’s safe to say if physical violence is used to assist coercion this penalty will be higher. Negative successes backfire and will inflict their penalty on all following rolls against this subject for the rest of the encounter. 0 or 1 successes means the subject is not intimidated and will inflict a -2 penalty on the next maneuver the active speaker attempts (in addition to the -2 for having attempted intimidate in the first place). 2 or more successes will yield Successes x2 bonus dice the active speaker can add to any Negotiate or Interrogate maneuvers (or can add to their Grit or Blend to assist a resistance roll) that follow. These bonus dice can only be used once but can be spread between multiple maneuvers.
Negotiate
The negotiate maneuver is specialized around an exchange of some kind. It is one of the most basic methods of acquiring information without outright deception (though make no mistake, negotiation often involves some tacit level of deception).
Mechanics
Negotiate is usually resolved by rolling either Charm or Deceit and is opposed by the exact same roll. All kinds of bonuses or penalties based on the implicit “fairness” of the offer as well as additional skills can usually be weaved into a proper negotiate. Regardless of the outcome of the Negotiate maneuver, no bonuses or penalties will carry over to follow up rolls with the exception of additional Negotiate maneuvers.
Resolution
Negative successes means the negotiation results heavily against the active speaker. 0 or 1 results in a neutral negotiation. 2 or more results in a favorable negotiation.
Seduce
Seduce is possibly the most specific of all the social maneuvers but as a result one of the most powerful. It is a highly effective form of Impress mixed with a side of Influence. A seduced subject is quite often putty in the active speaker’s hands to use as they will.
Mechanics
Charm or Deceit is typically the roll for a Seduce maneuver and it goes against the subject’s Grit. Depending on the subject’s current sexual/personal circumstances there are various bonuses or penalties that can apply to the roll.
Resolution
Negative successes on a Seduce roll result in a double penalty on any follow up maneuvers, and triple penalty for any further Seduce attempts. 0 or 1 simply result in no interest (Successes -2 penalty to further Seduce maneuvers), but otherwise have no effect on follow up maneuvers. 2 or more successes yields double successes bonus to any follow up Seduce, Influence, Impress, or Banter rolls, otherwise it yields a normal bonus to any other follow up maneuvers. 5 successes or more yields complete seduction, the active speaker can now undress the subject without protest.
Additional Social Systems
Not all social encounters are resolved through an extended dialogue. The following rules cover alternative scenarios as well as other skills/systems that can affect the variables of a social encounter.
Time Sensitive Maneuvers
Sometimes a character simply needs to execute a maneuver on their feet, such as running up to a guard and executing an Influence or Deceive to confuse them into chasing someone else (toss on a quick disguise and say “officer they went that way!”). These maneuvers resolve as quickly as necessary but are simply subject to the -2 penalty for not having an active conversation.
Building a Relationship
It is quite likely that extended social encounters can result in the foundation for a new Relationship that the PC can then invest Story Points into. Depending on how significant the result of the encounter the GM and Player should consider working out the foundation for the Relationship which can then reflect on future interactions (through Relationship Disposition bonuses/penalties)
Disguise and Acting
Disguise and Acting are both very useful skills when it comes to Social Maneuvers. Disguise can be used to modifying one’s Blend (in any direction) and Acting can be used to modify one’s disposition (more appropriately Acting can mitigate one’s Disposition).
Oration
Oration is a special kind of wide-audience Influence maneuver. The player should break up the Oratory into several sections (minimum of 3), each for a separate point/goal as well as one for introduction and one for conclusion. They then get to make a roll for each section of their Oration (roll is Oration against the crowd’s average Grit). Carry over bonuses from each section to the next and assign specific bonuses/penalties to each section. Base success is achieving 2 + number of sections. Total success is 2 + (number of sections x2). Upon success, oration … like … does stuff … man.
Situational Modifiers
More than any other type of encounter, social encounters are heavily dependent on their environment. The difference between being in a Bar or being in a Prison or being in the Royal court can be staggering. For this reason an in-depth and crunchy environment section will be forthcoming. ;)
