Running a Social Encounter

At its heart, a social encounter constitutes any social interaction between an NPC and a PC. Sometimes that social interaction may have a specific purpose, but other times it simply allows the players a chance to Roleplay their characters and explore their personality. Usually, a social encounter is pretty freeform, with the players speaking for their characters and the Gamemaster speaking for the NPCs. In this vain, the Gamemaster decides how the NPC reacts to things that the PCs say, using the character's dispositions to help determine how the NPC interacts.

Dispositions

Dispositions represent an NPC's feelings toward a character or group of characters, and can be used to determine how a NPC will respond in a roleplay scenario. For example, a creature with ranks in Fondness will likely act friendly and courteous, while a creature with ranks in Hate will likely act unfriendly and treat the NPC with scorn. Likewise a creature with Trust may treat the PC as a confidant, while a creature with Doubt will act with derision and treat the PC as untrustworthy.

These dispositions are formed by the PCs prior words and actions, but can also be results of the Prejudices that an NPC has towards a particular group. Prejudices are essentially preexisting dispositions that describe the PCs feelings about a particular Race or organization that the PCs identify with. For example, an NPC may have a Fear of Greenbloods which transfers to any characters of Half-Orc race. Alternatively, the NPC may have Fondness for members of a particular religious order, which would transfer to any Clerics or Paladins that bear that deity's symbol.

If it is the first time that the NPC has had contact with the PCs, let his or her prejudices help to determine how they interact with the group. As the PCs build a relationship with the NPC (good or bad), they will establish their own dispositions with the NPC that will influence roleplay and overwrite any existing prejudices. See Dispositions for more details.

Portraying NPCs

As the Gamemaster, you are responsible for portraying and roleplaying NPCs within the scope of the Social Encounter. As such, you are not only responsible for determining what they say and do, but also should strive to give them a personality and distinctive mannerisms to set them apart from other NPCs. Ideally you can make each NPC (or at least the important ones) distinct enough that the PCs can recognize them from your speech and mannerisms. As you roleplay different characters, experiment with different voices and gestures to make NPCs unique. Don't be afraid to overexaggerate the NPCs quirks, this helps to make them more memorable and makes sure that they stand out.

In addition to speaking for the NPC, you should be describing how the NPC looks and acts. An NPCs body language can be important and a specific description of their posture, habits, and quirks can say a lot. Is the NPCs posture relaxed or tense? Does the NPC seem focused on the conversation, or does he constantly look over his shoulder in obvious distraction? You can also give an indication of the NPCs disposition with these mannerisms. Is he sneering or smiling?

Do you need to act out each NPC in such extravagant detail? No, but you will certainly want to do it with those that are most important to your story. Also remember that the more that you put into your NPCs, the more fun the players will have interacting with them, and the more likely you will get good quality roleplay from your players.

Influence & Convince

Many Social Encounters can naturally progress without the need for any kind of die roll or rules, unless the PCs are trying to gain some particular benefit from the conversation. This is usually done through the use of the Influence or Convince social actions. An Influence Action allows the PCs to attempt to change an NPCs disposition towards them, though only in minor ways. Checks for Influence are usually made at the end of an interaction and essentially serve as an indication of how impactful the interaction was to the NPC. See Influence for more details.

A Convince Action allows the PCs to convince an NPC to do something that they wouldn't otherwise do, such as to complete a favor or give them information. When running a Convince Action, social skill checks are usually required after each argument is made, with each successful check dealing damage to the NPC's composure. You will need to determine the Importance of the subject for the NPC, which will modify the NPCs defensive checks (the higher the importance to the NPC, the less likely they will be to comply with the convince attempt). For example, convincing a merchant to give you a discount may be of low importance, while convincing them to give you an item for free may be of high importance (especially if that would threaten the NPC's livelihood). When the NPCs composure has been reduced to 0 or lower, the PC is considered to have convinced the NPC, and they should act accordingly. See Convince for more details.

Rewarding Roleplay

Some Social Encounters engender their own rewards, such as the benefit granted from a successful Convince or the disposition change granted from a successful Influence. Other times you'll want to reward roleplay with Experience or Karma. If the interaction was essential to the story, it should provide some sort of Experience. You can also reward players for exemplary role play by granting them a Karma, whether or not the roleplay was essential to the story. Try to reward players that go above and beyond for roleplay, especially if they push their normal boundaries or step out of their comfort zone.

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