Social Interactions

Whenever the PCs encounter another creature, there is possibility for a **Social Interaction**. Sometimes the interaction ends in combat, other times it ends in cooperation, or something else entirely. The rules below help you structure these encounters. Over time, the PCs will gain abilities that interact with and modify these rules. For the rest of this section, the creatures that the PCs are interacting with will be called NPCs, although this can include Cogs and Wrenchmen, who are special types of NPCs.

### **Attitude**

All NPCs have a base Attitude or disposition toward the PCs. This modifies how willing they are to work with the PCs, as shown below.

 Wary
 Neutral
 Friendly

### **Goal**

All NPCs have Goals, which are analogous to the PCs' Quests. These can be short-term (find food) or long-term (find love), and active (build a house) or passive (protect the house). The NPCs can have multiple Goals, but each Goal will always fall into one of these categories:

### **Pressures**

While interacting with the NPCs, there will be some Pressures. These complicate the interaction, and often create challenges for the PCs to overcome. Pressures can be used as Effluents for the purpose of any dice rolls or narrative descriptions.

 *Language Barrier* [-6]
 *Previous Hostility* [-6]
 *Shaky Language* [-2]
 *Time Pressure* [-3]
 *Uncooperative* [-3]
 *Unintelligent* [-6]

## **Running a Social Interaction**

This is a guideline for how to roleplay a social interaction using the rules from Social Interactions.

**The Space**

Like all encounters, the interaction first starts with a description of the area. Then the PCs can begin to interact with the NPCs in the encounter.

**The Trigger**

What is the NPC’s current Goal while they are in this space? How does the PCs’ presence help or hinder this Goal? Consider these factors, as well as the Attitude of the NPC, to get a sense of how the NPC might react to what the PCs are doing. For example, if the NPC is Hostile and Defensive, it might attack on sight. Or, perhaps the NPC is Wary but seeking an Acquisition. It might question the PCs and inquire about the item it’s looking for.

**The Conversation**

If neither of the parties immediately resort to violence, the NPC will likely start a conversation with the PCs. This serves two purposes. First, it introduces the NPC’s interests, but it also lets the players know that this NPC is not immediately hostile and may be friendly, or at least cooperative.

**Trading Requests**

Both the PCs and NPCs have desires from the conversation. The PCs might want information or an item that the NPC has, and the NPC has Goals to define what they want as well. During conversation, roleplay what this sounds like. Speak as the NPC and let the players speak as their characters. Talk in-character about what the NPC wants and why they are willing or unwilling to help. The PCs might make arguments as to why the NPC should help them, and the NPC might make counter-arguments in return.

**The Resolution**

At the end of the conversation, when all requests have been laid out, there is a final decision to be made - how will the NPC respond? Have one player make a Spirit check, whoever was most involved with the conversation. The DL for this check is 7 plus the Level of the NPC, minus the Attitude and any Pressures of the conversation. For example, a Level 3 NPC who is *Wary [-3]* and *Emotional [-4]* will have a DL of 7+3+3+4 = 17. Of course, the player can invoke Tides and Narrative Bonuses and any relevant abilities to this roll. Finally, the interaction will end with one or more of the following Resolutions:

 Complication
 Fight
 Flight
 Partial Assistance
 Wait