2.1. Social Box

Whenever a social situation arises, you should turn first to the Social Box on your Character Sheet. This box will list your Social Stats, Social Skills, and Social Abilities.

During social situations, the GM may have you roll one of the three Social Stats to determine how well your character performed certain social maneuvers. The Social Stats are named for the role they primarily encompass:

Deception

Lie, mislead, trick, or manipulate someone.
Intimidate someone through secretly empty threats.
Charm someone while pretending to be someone you're not.
Perform faked stage magic, deceptive arts, or pretend to be someone or something you're not.

Insight

Read a person or creature for a peek at their inner thoughts and feelings.
Gain a peek into someone's true respectability or trustworthiness.
Resist the Deception Stat or Sincerity Stat of someone else in a Persuasion Contest.
Gain special insights into the social vulnerabilities of someone and use those vulnerabilities to poignantly apply pressure.
Perform a mentalist act on stage.
Communicate basic ideas to animals and other nature.
Determine if the person you are talking to has more info or other topics of interest. On a good roll, gain clues as to what those topics might be or even what tactics may get you there, like bringing up the importance of family or expressing distrust of a political figure.

Sincerity

Connect honestly or forthrightly with someone.
Intimidate someone through authentic posturing and/or honest threats.
Through authenticity, charm someone into viewing you or someone else as a friend or foe using the truth.
Perform heartfelt music, poetry, etc.

At times, you may need to discuss your character's true intentions with the GM in order to decide on what should be rolled. These discussions help to get a deeper picture of your character's motivations. Did your character mean those threats during that intimidation? If so, the GM may expect you to follow through, provided that you failed to intimidate them. Was your character sincere in flirting just now? If so, your character should be hurt if they failed to charm their target.

Sometimes the GM may ask for a Persuasion roll. In these instances, you will roll with your Sincerity Stat if you are telling the truth and your Deception Stat if you are lying without announcing which of the two you are rolling. You will only share the result of your Test with the GM. The targeted character will then roll Insight as a Contest. If the target character meets or beats your Score, the character will not believe you or will be otherwise unconvinced by your words. If the target character fails to beat your role, they will believe you are telling them the truth. If the target is another Player, the GM may offer that Player Experience for playing along, especially if it is somewhat clear to the Player (but not the Player Character) that it is not in their best interest to do so.

Note: Magical Manipulations

Some magic will attempt to instill fear or other emotions through magical means. These spells work through unnatural means and will not use your Social Stats and may require a Save to be resisted.

Note that some of the situations mentioned above also bring the Social Skills into play. Those will be discussed next.

GM Tip: Passive Insight

It can be helpful to have a Passive Insight that allows you to check a character's insight into the situation for them.

The preferred method below helps to distribute information to the players randomly, giving each a chance to change the course of a conversation throughout the game.

Before playing, prepare an Insight Bag by placing different colored tokens in a bag for each player. Each player should get 6 tokens plus a few tokens equal to their Insight score. During play, you can draw tokens from the bag to determine which player gets to act first on new information. After drawing a token, keep it out of the bag. Doing so will ensure that all players get to interact with the story. A player does not have to act on the information given. If they choose not to act, that information becomes available to everyone else to act on. Remember, the Insight Bag method is more about priority than exclusivity.

If you would like a particular insight Test to be more difficult, draw a token, then ask the player for that token to make a Conscious Skill Test. Preferably, you should provide some information as a set-up to the roll. If the player does not get a full success (8+) while rolling the pertinent Conscious skill, you may want to give them conflicting or partial information. Expressing two possibilities for the truth can be a great way to encourage a player to continue prodding the situation for more info.

Asking for a roll after a passive insight Test should rarely be done. It is often better to hand out information freely, letting the story progress faster.

Examples

The following is an example of the Passive Insight Bag and how it can help distribute roleplay screen time. (This is a more concentrated example. In reality, you should separate each draw from the bag with more time):

The campaign notes several Passive Insight Tests suggested as a part of a conversation:
- Passive Insights:
  - The Baron hears the name 'Carmilla': The player notices the Baron get uncomfortable. [8..] The player notices that the Baron has a twinge of anger (as if there is bad blood between them.)
  - The Players ask for more money: The player notices that the Baron looks saddened and worried, as though he may not have much more to offer. (Proceeding may remove any friendly affiliations with the Baron.)
  - The Baron sees a player in a dress: The player notices that he looks fondly at the dress, lost in thought for a moment. (See 'Thoughts of Daughter' below.)
#Alice approaches the Baron. She speaks to the Baron about the recent quest and how they completed all requirements. The Baron thanks the players and gives them some money.
#Bob chimes in to request more money, saying the fight was hard.
The GM draws from the Passive Insight bag, getting one of #Alice's tokens. The GM notes to #Alice that the Baron looks saddened and worried, as though he may not have much more to offer.
#Alice chooses to do nothing with the information. The other players also choose to do nothing.
The Baron relents a bit more money. He looks disheartened and seems to think less of the adventuring team now.
#Carol interjects, noting to the party that they still need to see Carmilla about the crate they found.
The GM draws from the Passive Insight bag, getting one of #Bob's tokens. The GM notes to #Bob that the Baron looks tense and uncomfortable upon hearing Carmilla's name.
The GM asks #Bob to make an Insight Test.
#Bob rolls a dPow and adds his Insight Modifier, resulting in a 9, which is a Success.
The GM relays that the Baron looks angry at the name 'Carmilla,' as if there may be some bad blood there.

Don't draw for Passive Insight Tests or ask for social rolls too frequently. When overdone, this will interrupt the flow and bog down social interactions. Consider drawing or asking for rolls:

When each of the outcomes could lead to interesting results.
When a roll will add suspense or lend weight to a heroic (or tragic) player moment.
When the outcome will offer a chance to distribute roleplaying opportunities to other players. For example, if a player speaks too long and has lost some direction. A draw from the bag at this time could help by injecting a new player with new information and direction.

Ask your GM how they want to generate stats. There are two primary methods:

Stat Gen Method: Point-Roll

Start with each stat equal to -1. Perform a Test with a +0 Modifier five times. Your Score determines which Social Stat you gain:

Score:

[0!] Critical Failure. No Stat increase.
[1..3] Deception Stat +1.
[4..6] Insight Stat +1.
[7..9] Sincerity Stat +1.
[10!] Critical Success. Your lowest Social Stat gets +1. (Choose in the case of a tie.)

Example:

#Carol rolls 5d10 and gets 1, 3, 4, 5, 9.

Using the chart above, #Carol determines her stats are Deception 1, Insight of 1, and Sincerity 0.

Stat Gen Method: Point-Buy

Start with each Social Stat equal to -1. Assign 5 points to any stats you choose.

Example:

#Alice assigns 2 points to Sincerity and 3 to Insight.

#Alice's stats are Deception -1, Insight of 2, and Sincerity 1.

The Social Skills represent more difficult social maneuvers that attempt to sway a target in a more drastic manner. In those instances, the Social Stats will be paired with a Social Skill. The Social Skills are:

Acting, Charm, Diplomacy, Intimidation, Performance, and Language.

When a situation arises where your character is attempting to use one of the above Social Skills, you will be required to roll with a Disadvantage if your character does not have that Social Skill.

Veteran Note: Social Skills are not tied to any one Social Stat. Instead, they are mixed and matched with each Social Stat, though they are often not needed.

Below is the list of each Social Skill and an example of its uses:

Acting

Embody someone or something you are not.
Mimic the voice, mannerisms, etc. of a specific person.
Perform a dramatic reenactment or scene.
Fit in with local customs and etiquette.
Express basic ideas to a creature with whom you do not share a language.

Charm

Attempt to impress with flattery, flirting, a show of toughness.
Convince someone to look favorably upon someone or something other than yourself.

Diplomacy

Temporarily stop a fight to negotiate something.
Barter when trading goods.
Get a better reward when accepting a quest.
Calm or soothe a creature or animal (often with Insight.)

Intimidation

Make a show of presence and posturing to illicit a response.
Threaten someone in some way.
Get someone to fear someone or something other than you.
Attempt to force a flight, fight, or freeze response.

Performance

Your ability to perform for a crowd in order to draw attention, get across a message, impress a crowd, etc.
Drawing a crowds attention does not have to be done through a positive experience. You can deliver a performance that makes them mad, annoyed, etc.
The blank line after the Performance Skill is for recording which types of performance you are skilled at. See the section on Performance Types below.

Language

Your ability to communicate with a native speaker of a language.
Your ability to speak to communicate basic ideas to someone that speaks a language similar to one you know.
Your ability to pick up on speech in languages you are less familiar with.
The blank line after the Language Skill is for recording which languages you know and are fluent in. See the section on Known Languages below for more.

Be aware that most Social Skill rolls will have higher stakes. You will likely face more dire circumstances if you fail, but a success may also lead to greater rewards and longer-term benefits.

GM Note: Use Social Skills sparingly.

For most circumstances, you can simply use a Social Stat to resolve things. Try to reserve the use of Social Skills for situations that require greater skill and consequences.

As an example, if someone has just murdered all but one target, any intimidation attempt on that target would likely not require much skill in Intimidation, and may therefore just use a base Social Stat instead, if you even ask a roll at all.

Performance Types

The blank space following the Performance Skill is for noting which performative skills you are best at. Here is where you will note what instruments you can play or the fact that you are good at sermons or giving psychic readings. There is no core list of what types of performances there are. Rather, you should try to pick one that would be interesting, fun, and fairly niche. Consider what your character might choose at a talent show or if they had to create an attention-grabbing distraction. It should be something they are good at. Discuss your performance ideas with your GM to ensure that it will work well in the world and story you are playing in.

Performance types also do not have to be based on one of the Social Stats, but can instead use one of the Exploration Skills as its main inspiration. For example, an 'acrobatics' or 'dance' performance may be rolled with your Athletics Skill as its Modifier if your character relies more on physicality than inherent charisma.

Known Languages

The blank line after the Language Skill on your Character Sheet is for recording which languages you are fluent in. Unless your GM states otherwise, all Player Characters are fluent in the Common Tongue and one other language of their choice.

All languages (apart from the Common Tongue) are sorted into three Language Families. When adding a language to your Character Sheet, you should also write its Language Family. For example, if you knew the Elvish language, you'd write 'Organic/Elvish'.

When you know a Language, you can speak with anyone else that also knows that Language.

When you don't know a language, you can still attempt to communicate very basic messages, relying on body language and expressions. Each of these simple messages will likely require a Test to be made to determine how well you communicated. Fail the Test and you may receive a bad interpretation. Furthermore, if your language skills don't include a language with the same Language Family, you must make the Test with a Disadvantage.

Below is each of the core Language Families and some of the languages found in each:

Primordial Languages

Primordial Languages are rare languages that pre-date the the second creation (or are descended from such languages.) Attempting to communicate in one of these languages without knowing that exact language may put you at risk of incurring a Status Condition, like becoming Charmed or Frightened. Prolonged exposure could even lead to insanity.

Angel Tongue
Daemon Tongue
Deep Tongue
Dragon Tongue
Void Tongue

Organic Languages

Organic Languages are languages that are often inherent to the song of creation and often flow and drift, much like nature itself. This makes them difficult to keep up with for non-native speakers.

Animal Tongue
Elf Tongue
Fairy Tongue
Gnome Tongue
Goblin Tongue
Plant Tongue (Most plants can only communicate in 1 or 2-word thoughts using simpler words.)

Mechanical Languages

Mechanical Languages are languages that came to be out of order and logic or were placed or programmed in by a creator. These languages lead to more strict and linear thinking toward a given life goal, (though for some that causality may be flipped. It's hard to say.)

Construct Tongue
Dwarf Tongue
Giant Tongue
Orc Tongue
Gem Tongue (Gemstones can communicate and do so in 1 or 2-word thoughts using larger, more complex words.)

At Level 1 you get:

2 starting Social Skills
1 Performance Skill
1 Language Skill (from the Language List)

Your Social Abilities are tracked at the bottom of the Social box.

Each Social Ability provides provides you with unique ways of expanding your character and connecting with the world around you. When choosing your Social Abilities, try to choose Abilities that represent your character's concept and what goals you have for them.

You will start with 1 Social Ability and will gain a second at Level 7 and a third at Level 14. Social Abilities can be Upgraded through Level Perks.

Social Abilities are found in the Appendix - Social Features.

Next Up: 2.2. Exploration Box