Social Skill Checks
During a Social Encounter you are often required to make a Social Skill Check. A Social Skill Check is an Opposed Roll using an Offensive Social Skill versus a Defensive Social Skill. The checks are further modified by NPC Dispositions, Circumstantial Factors, and, in the case of Convince encounters, an Importance Level.
The Offensive Social Skill that you use is always opposed by the same Defensive Social Skill (as shown in the table below). Furthermore, each Offensive Social Skill check is aided or hindered by a set of corresponding Dispositions (i.e. one supporting and two opposing).
| Offensive Skill | Defensive Skill | Aiding Disposition | Hindering Dispositions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charm | Aloofness | Fondness | Fear, Hate |
| Coercion | Bravery | Fear | Fondness, Doubt |
| Deception | Intuition | Doubt | Fear, Trust |
| Manipulation | Tolerance | Hate | Fondness, Trust |
| Persuasion | Suspicion | Trust | Doubt, Hate |
Disposition Modifiers
Dispositions represent an NPC's feelings towards you. When using an Offensive Social Skill, you gain a bonus or penalty based on your opponent’s disposition towards you (i.e. how they feel towards you modifies how easy or hard it is to achieve your objective).
Each Offensive Social Skill is aided by a specific disposition. For each Rank in this aiding disposition, you gain a cumulative +5 bonus to your Offensive Skill Check. Additionally, each Offensive Social Skill is hindered by two opposing dispositions. For each rank in a hindering disposition, you suffer a cumulative -5 penalty to your skill check.
In this way it is easier to Persuade someone who Trusts you, easier to Coerce someone who Fears you, and easier to Charm someone that has Fondness for you. Conversely, it is difficult to Manipulate someone who Trusts you or Persuade someone who Doubts you.
Circumstantial Modifiers
Timing is everything, and at the GM's discretion Circumstantial Modifiers may apply to your roll. Factors such as location and emotional state can have an impact on your Social Skill Check. For example, it may be easier to Coerce someone in a dark alley and easier to to Charm someone after a few drinks. Conversely, someone who is Angry may be difficult to Persuade and a guard who was just reprimanded may be difficult to Deceive.
Regardless of whether they are beneficial or harmful, circumstantial factors are rated from weak to strong, with Weak factors adjusting a check by 5 (plus for beneficial, minus for harmful), Moderate factors by 10, and Strong factors by 15. If the GM thinks that the environment or circumstance could impact the Social Encounter, then a Circumstance Modifier should be applied to the check. However, there are many cases where Circumstantial Modifiers do not apply.