Presence

From FFa2Wiki

Social Skill
The Skill of drawing attention to the character and keeping it focussed there, and the knowledge of how to use that attention to the utmost. Presence is more concentrated on dealing with others on a one-on-one manner, while Socialize deals with groups. Presence is the primary skill for making Social Attacks.

Social Attacks - A Warning
Combat is not restricted to weapons, and the results are not always fatal. The royal court is a place where words are weapons and the fatalities could very well be someone’s career and respect. Some players enjoy the intrigue and danger of social combat, but there are just as many who hate the idea of losing control of their character’s actions. Using a Social Skill to attack someone is a deliberate attempt to force the character’s personality and will upon another. When using a Social Attack, as a player against another player, or as a game master on a player, ensure that you know the comfort levels of the person you’re dealing with. Make the Social Attack part of the roleplaying experience, and make it look natural, rather than using it as a club.

Conditioning
The character performs an extended Social Attack on another, conditioning them to act in a certain manner after breaking down the target’s willpower then rebuilding it back up. This is, to put it mildly, torture, and is broken down into sessions. Some Powers and Abilities make a character immune to Conditioning.

Once per day, the character can attempt to break the will of the victim. Each session takes a number of hours without interruption equal to the victim’s Resolve. The character makes a Social + Presence roll against the victim’s Resolve. The target may spend 1 Essence to add their Integrity to their Resolve Trait. For each Success rolled, the character may spend 1 Essence and reduce the target’s Resolve by one. If the character is interrupted at any point, the session is wasted and the character does not get to roll for that day. The victim can heal their Resolve as normal over time if left alone.

Once the target’s Resolve is reduced to 0, their will has been broken. The character can immediately begin the process of rebuilding the victim, restoring the victim’s Resolve as the character places in suggestions or alters the victim’s view on things the character finds important. This process uses the normal conditioning process but increases the victim’s Resolve rather than destroying it. Upon completion, the character makes a Results Roll. The result creates the Potency of the conditioning.

The character can change one facet of the target’s personality per point of Growth the character has. This must be something simple, like ‘you love me’ or ‘you hate the Peace Keepers’ or ‘wine makes you nauseous’. These traits become part of the character’s belief as long as the conditioning holds. Any time the conditioning would take effect, the victim may spend an amount of Essence equal to the Growth of the person who implanted the conditioning. This prevents the character from acting upon the conditioning for the Round. The Potency of the conditioning is then reduced by one. If the Potency is ever reduced to 0, the character has broken free and is once more their own person.

Fast Talk
The character quickly convinces a target to perform a service or to side briefly with the character’s view on things. This is a short-term effect, with the character rolling their Social + Presence against the target’s Resolve. The target may spend an Essence to increase the Difficulty by their Integrity. It takes one minute of interaction to make this roll. The victim is convinced for a number of minutes equal to the Successes rolled, or until someone interferes and helps the victim ‘snap out of it’. The victim does not lose their common sense, but can be temporarily swayed. At the end of the duration, the target may have forgotten about the details of the conversation, or may re-think what happened.

Intimidation
There are a few types of intimidation that a character can use, each one using one of the character’s Attributes. Physical intimidation is violence and harm inflicted on the target. Mental intimidation is using mind games, insinuating what can be done and letting the target’s imagination come up with the results. Social intimidation is threats against the target’s friends or position in society (black mail), while Spiritual intimidation is an attack on the victim’s beliefs.

The character rolls their Presence with the appropriate Attribute against the target’s Resolve Trait. The target may choose to spend 1 Essence to add their Integrity to the Difficulty. For each Success, the target suffers a +1 Difficulty on all actions which are contrary to the wishes of the character. If the character gains more Successes than the target’s Resolve, the target must spend an amount of Essence equal to the character’s Growth, or capitulate and concede to the character’s wishes. This penalty lasts for a Scene. A target who has been intimidated may shake off the effects if they can prove that the character’s threats are hollow. In some cases, this may be as simple as striking out and injuring the character, in other cases, it may be knowing that the target of the character’s threats is safe.

Seduction
Seduction does not always mean ‘sex’. Seduction is the act of having someone do what the character desires by granting a reward or hinting at the promise of a reward. Seduction takes some time, and is an intricate dance, as the character negotiates with the target and slowly weakens the target’s will. A seduction takes a number of minutes equal to the target’s Resolve. After this time, the character makes a roll using their Social + Presence against the target’s Resolve. The target may add their Integrity to their Resolve by spending 1 Essence. If the character succeeds, the target remains interested and compliant, and loses an amount of Resolve equal to the Successes rolled. The character can attempt to continue, and makes another roll against the new Resolve. The victim may wish to make an attempt to break free of the seduction. Doing so requires the victim to spend an amount of Essence equal to the seducer’s Growth if the character had succeeded in their initial roll, or is automatic if the character failed. If the victim breaks free, the seduction fails and can not be attempted on the victim for another Scene.

The goal of the seducer is to gain more Successes than the target’s Resolve. Once the character has done so, they make an immediate Results Roll. The Potency of the roll is used to prevent the victim from shaking off the seduction. The victim is compliant for a number of Scenes equal to the Potency. At the end of this time, the victim must either gain the reward promised, or the character must offer a portion of the reward and make a new seduction attempt. If the victim is not rewarded, or given some reason to expect the reward soon, the seduction ends.

Back to Skills