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Chapter 3-C, Psychology, Social Conflict and Fear

Social Interaction

Most situations in life do not devolve into physical conflict. Hopefully, this will also remain true in your game. When characters interact socially, sometimes there is a free exchange of information, or sometimes the conversation is purely topical. There will be times, however, when one or more characters are attempting to achieve a goal via social conflict.

Game Designer's Note: There are many conventions in social interaction that vary from game table to game table. We recommend that some of this variance be eradicated. Some groups just roleplay the situation, and the GM decides how the NPCs react with no skill roll involved. In a case like this, what is the purpose of social skills? And to go one step further, why would anyone select them at all?

The situation should absolutely be roleplayed, but without the resolution mechanic, not only is the situation arbitrary, but it is also inaccurate. Remember that we are playing Heroes, we are not the Heroes themselves. A suave talker could make a poor argument sound convincing, while a gruff curmudgeon could be quite off-putting even with the smoothest talking points. Let the characters resolve their actions and move the plot based on those resolutions.

Regarding situational bonuses and penalties, these should be utilized but consistent and controlled. Too much granting of adjustments and the actual skill becomes minimized. Remember, when the player created his Hero, he was telling the Master what his Hero would do well, and also what he would do poorly. Too much fiat and this balance becomes disrupted.

Psychological Conflict

Not all social interaction is conflict, and not all social conflict is overt. The goal of the system is not to duplicate realism, instead it is to model an interaction in an interesting way, that allows players to utilize the skills of their character in more ways. In most games, combat is an extensive minigame, while social interaction is little more than a binary resolution. Not so in Future Imperfect. Our goal is that not only is playing a social character more interesting, but it could also be useful in more situations.

During most social interactions, the Master and Crew can converse in character, and the action will progress naturally. Whenever one or more participants wishes to use a social skill, the psychological conflict mechanics become relevant. There are three general classes of social conflict actions: persuasion, argument and coercion. Blather is a special case, covered here as well.

Persuasion

Persuasion is the art of using innuendo, flattery and charm to achieve a social goal. Persuasion is an appeal to the emotion of the target. A successful persuasion generally makes the target willing to act in the best interest of the seducer, at least as long as the emotions remain valid. The defense against persuasion is 3+Essence training, with a bonus of 1 if the Essence die type is d10+.

Argument

An argument is an attempt to use logic and structured reasoning to convince a target of the validity of a point. Targets who are convinced have a change in belief until new facts or circumstances change them. The defense against argument is 3+Knowledge training, with a bonus of 1 if the Knowledge die type is d10+.

Coercion

Coercion is an attempt to force a target to do something they do not wish to do. While the targets are not generally happy doing what they do, coercion works quicker than other types of social conflict. The defense against coercion is 3+Presence training, with a bonus of 1 if the Presence die type is d10+.

Blather

Blather is an attempt to temporarily overwhelm the target to achieve a specific goal. It could be a bluff, an argument that sounds good on the surface but has no actual basis, or an empty promise (among other possibilities). No matter the specific implementation blather is a Bluff task. A successful blather achieves the goal immediately, but as soon as the target has an opportunity to consider the situation he will uncover the ruse. Blathered targets are confused, and require a prepare action before any other action until they recover. Confused targets may attempt an Acuity check TN 5 as a free action to ignore the required prepare. Confusion duration is determined by the Master.

Stakes

Before initiating any social conflict, the initiator must make it clear what he is attempting to accomplish. Once both parties understand what is at stake, each has an opportunity to spend chips or otherwise affect the die roll. The Master must be sure that the player knows the potential consequences of each possibility. All declarations of stake are subject to Master approval.

Antares Darkeye wishes to blather the desk sergeant at the local precinct long enough for Harry to sneak past and get into the jailer’s office. He decides he will tell the sergeant a fictional story about a crime he witnessed last evening, and ensure to keep him engaged and unaware of the surroundings. Matt (the player of Antares) declares that if he can win this task, the sergeant is engaged in his story long enough for Harry to get past. If he is able to get a bump, Harry can get in and out without being seen. If Antares fails, however, the sergeant sees through the ruse and maintains his vigilance, noticing Harry before he can get to the jailer’s office.

Players should be encouraged to develop their entire stake scenario. If they have a good and creative set of circumstances the Master should make every effort to accommodate them. If the player does not have a full idea, or if the Master believes the proposed scenario is inappropriate, he should make a counter declaration to the player. The player should not draw until they know the stakes for all likely possibilities. Once the dice are cast, the action is taking place. There is no way to cancel the action, though if another player (or NPC!) wishes to attempt to interrupt, an opposed Reflexes check may be attempted, as described in the initiative section.

Social Directives

When a character succeeds with a social skill, he accumulates effect which is used to enforce their stake scenario. These effects are called Social Directives. Each level of a social directive is a penalty of 1 for any action which contradicts the stakes. This includes any action, not just social ones.

Example

Fear and Compulsion

The universe is vast. It is also almost completely alien to everyone who lives there. No matter how much you have travelled, you have still experienced an infinitesimal amount of what is there, and even in that most miniscule sliver, some things are so terrifying that even the most hardened traveler is little more than a jellyfish in it's wake. Fear is how we model this. Fear is not common in every game, but we suggest it should be on the table nonetheless.

In Future Imperfect, fear is a passive psychological attack, meaning it does not take an action for the fear causing entity, though in some cases that entity may act in such a way as to magnify the effects with one of their actions. The severity of the fear will be annotated in the same nomenclature as a trait or skill. When a character becomes subject to fear, immediately stop the action and check for effects. This means a character can begin suffering fear effects before they take their action, possibly even losing it.

To determine the fear effect, use the base fear value like a skill or trait, and defend with the character's Nerve trait. The effect level is compared to the Willpower trait of the defending character, and deal one shock for each full multiple of the willpower, with the remainder applied as stress. Astute readers will note this is exactly the same as damage in physical combat.

One way that it is different is that when a single fear causing effect attacks multiple characters it is resolved only a single time: one card, same effects, applied to all. This means that a character with a higher nerve may ignore an effect that paralyzes someone else, or one with better psychological resilience could take a reduced amount of shock.

Ismail and Allison have found themselves in a tight situation on this asteroid. Renfro is sure that beyond the closed doors ahead lie the ForeRunner artifacts they seek, but none of their sensory equipment can tell them anything else about what lies within. They approach the door, and Ismail throws it open while Allison flanks her and Renfro takes cover behind her, peeking his head sheepishly around her waist.

What they see leaves them all slack jawed. Three klackon warriors stand in a triangle formation facing them. As soon as the group hears the unnerving click-clacking of their claws, the Master indicates a fear attack is on the way. Klackons cause fear at 3d8, and Ismail has a Nerve of 5, Allison 4, and Renfro 3. The Master draws and consults the card (9), and finds a 4 in 3d8. Ismail is unaffected, but Allison and Renfro will take shock.

Any character who resists a fear effect is immune to an effect of the same level, from the same source, for the duration of this scene. A character who has recovered from a fear effect (see below) is not immune, and must retest if faced with the same situation again.

Shock

Shock is a social directive derived from fear. Like wounds, shock can have a significant effect on actions the character wishes to perform. Unlike wounds, some actions are immune to this penalty. If a squad of klackon warriors is bearing down on you, jumping a chasm while running full tilt away is not negatively impacted...this is exactly what the fear is causing the character to do!

As soon as shock is dealt the Master will inform the player how the fear manifests. The Master should endeavor to keep it as general as possible, so the player maintains as much freedom as is reasonable. The Master has the final say on which actions will take penalties from shock, and should tell the player before any action is attempted. Some examples of good fear directives: Do not approach X, run away from Y, hold on for your life.

Each shock level is worth -1 to all actions that are not caused by the fear. Note that any character may only be affected by a single "fear directive" at any one time. If a character who is suffering from shock suffers another shock, the levels are added together (like wounds), but the Master will indicate if the fear directive changes. Generally, the one that did the most effect will persist.

The Master tells the Crew that Allison and Renfro have the fear directive of "stay away from those klackons". He then consults the 3d8 and finds 17, Allison has a Willpower of 7, while Renfro is 6. Both take 2 shock, but Allison only takes 3 stress while Renfro takes 5. Each will suffer a penalty of 2 on any action that brings them closer to those klackons, or otherwise engages them, at the Master's discretion.

Game designers note: Most players understand and accept consequences in physical combat. The enemy rolls, they are hit by a specified weapon, the damage is applied: Simple, and without argument. Social combat is another thing entirely. Specify the stakes, such as NPC wants to know where some Hero is hiding. A player may respond, I would not tell them under any circumstances! Yet, a skilled and savvy talker might get the information anyway by paying attention and asking the right questions. They might know when the Hero lies, they could note body language and deduce the truth, there are many possible ways an NPC (or Hero!) could gain information even without cooperation. The stakes are the stakes, and this is not equivalent to losing control of the character, any more than taking damage from a gunshot is. I refuse to take the damage from this blast under any circumstances! Sounds silly, doesn’t it?

The same goes for fear or compulsion. Fire is scary, we know this. Depending on the scope of the game, that might not matter. Players might be free to declare they run into the burning building to look for some dropped item. In a grittier game, a GM might want to use fear rules. A giant monster shows up, here is the fear attack.

Often, social consequences, fears and compulsions could be better handled with the carrot than the stick. Instead of deciding that the mastermind NPC has convinced a Hero to reveal vital information, invoke a sliding scale cost based on the NPC skill task that the player must pay to resist. Pay a chip for each success or reveal the information, your choice. Allow the player freedom to determine his reaction, but no matter what, if the cost is not paid the NPC learns the info (somehow). In other words, the Hero might remain completely silent, but some movement, some tic, some inconsequential movement gave away the vital info.

Some players strongly rebel against what they perceive as losing control of their character, even though functionally it is no different than taking damage from a physical attack. Some players enjoy roleplaying the negative consequences. The best solution is to know your players, and use the method that will work the best for your crew. Give the players the game they want!

Psychological Healing

Recovering from shock is generally simple. Since the shock only affects characters when they act counter to the fear inducing effect, no character is ever forced to suffer a penalty. However, shock itself does heal, and characters may steel their resolve and face that which has previously terrified them. Healing can be accomplished in multiple ways.

Remove the Catalyst

If the source of a fear directive is removed, a klackon warrior could be killed or a character could flee from a burning building, the character removes one shock every round right before resolving their first action. Note that a character who, for some reason, has no cards to play will not recover that round.

In the case of an escape, such as the burning building above, if the character is again subjected to the same effect they must test again, and if they still have remaining shock add the new level to the old. The fear directive will likely be unchanged, but this is Master discretion.

Regroup

A character may take a regroup action if they are (Master's discretion) safe from the fear. For instance, a character who has fled from a burning building, and is sufficiently far from the flames may be considered safe, and could take a regroup action. Regroup actions may also be performed by allies to assist in recovery.

To perform a regroup action, resolve a Bravery test. The effect will be shifted down one row per bump. Recover one shock per 5 points of effect, and one stress for each point of remainder. When performing a regroup action on a colleague, use Leadership instead.