The Social Network

Social interaction is one of the fundamental pillars of roleplaying. And indeed civilized life itself, but this is a tabletop game, you’re here to read about social skill checks and gambits where social encounters are concerned.

As even a casual reader of Homestuck will be aware (if such a thing exists), conversations and speeches and other words for gabbing away with words beige and purple form a massive part of Sburb, and the same is true in RPGStuck.

Social Checks

A check is used when there is uncertainty about the outcome of an action. A social check, therefore, is used when there’s uncertainty about the outcome of a social interaction, how the other side will react in response to something you said.

The typical skills used in a social check is the triad of Deception, Intimidation, and Persuasion. These are different approaches, whether you lie, bully, or charm to get your way. Performance is also a way to sway others. Occasionally, the SM may decide actions speak louder than words and let you check some other skill; this is uncommon and is purely at SM discretion.

On the other side, Insight is used to discern someone’s intentions. If you try to deceive someone, and they are actively anticipating it, this would see an opposed check, Deception versus Insight, to see if the target of your deception falls for it. You might also do this if you suspect the NPC is lying to you and want to get a read on them.

Insight is not used to resist, say, Persuasion. Insight gives you, well, an insight, into someone’s words and actions. It has no bearing on changing someone’s mind by itself. In that vein, the SM does not make checks for NPCs to interact with you, the player. You have autonomy in this regard, where your character cannot be made to believe something solely because the dice said so, you must do it of your own volition.

Examples

Let’s look over some samples to get a feel for this. Your mileage may vary, depending on your SM and the way they like to run their sessions.

• Example Checks:
  • Regular: Ask a consort to do you a favor, scaring a child into brushing their teeth.
  • Opposed: Convince a cop your story is valid and that carapacian’s is not, explain to your mother the magazines are not what it looks like.
• Example Gambits:
  • Regular: Persuade a horrorterror to grant you a boon, intimidate an arms dealer into refunding and fleeing town, play the lead role in a stage performance.
  • Opposed: Compete on Alternia’s Got Talent, debate the merits of monarchism in front of a crowd.
• Example DCs:
  • DC 10: Convincing a child to go to somewhere they don’t want to, or lying to said child that you did not eat their snacks when you totally did.
    • Alternately, a total bonus of +0, for opposed checks.
  • DC 15: Lying to a detective, or performing for snooty art critics. Convincing an underling to leave you alone.
    • Alternately, a total bonus of +5, for opposed checks.
  • DC 20: Convincing a cop to let you out of a misdemeanor, instilling fear into a jaded warrior, or convincing an underling to do you a favor.
    • Alternately, a total bonus of +10, for opposed checks.
  • DC 25: The DC 20 situations, but noticeably more severe. Say, convincing an irate denizen to do you a favor.
    • Alternately, a total bonus of +15, for opposed checks.
• Example Stakes and Flaws:
  • 1 Stakes Die: Chocolates and flowers, promises of wealth or power, a budding reputation. A gift. Playing to one’s traits. A favorable air.
  • 2 Stakes Dice: Blackmail, a gunblade in their face. Something with gravity, or urgency.
  • 1 Flaws Die: Social stigma, a rotten stench, pronouncing GIF incorrectly. An unfavorable air. Something that invites scorn. A social faux pas.
  • 2 Flaws Dice: Misanthropic personality, vicious rumors about you, an order from above. Intractable disposition. A severely unfavorable air. An outside influence.

Tie-Ins

Decors are often the go-to for Stakes dice. More specifically, the Persona and Direction groups.

Snooping around for some sort of hook on an NPC could serve as leverage. Witty repartee might impress them. Enlisting another NPC’s aid is another. Social gambits are the most common, and fittingly, there is no end to the ways one might get Stakes. Or Flaws.

Alchemy geared towards social encounters typically boils down to information gathering. A way to read someone’s mood, or glean surface thoughts akin to psionics. A device that reads personality traits and provides psych profiles.

Speaking of which, psionics, especially Dominating and Empathic Mind Controls, can greatly expand the dimensions for a social gambit, when one might be required at all. Remember, gambits are to resolve uncertainty: brief bouts of total mind control might bypass this, depending on the context.