Tutorial #16 Social Checks
Like all sentient beings, elohim have the potential to influence the emotional state of others or have their own emotional state influenced. This is handled in Allies of Majesty using Social Checks that reference Social Attribute values.
Once the system for Social Checks is fully understood, it becomes a very versatile system that can encompass any social interaction intended to have an effect on the recipient. These Checks can be used to determine the outcome of attempts to influence not only other elohim, but also humans. It is encouraged to be creative with these interactions and understand that nonverbal interactions can be just as potent as verbal ones. Sometimes just laying a hand on another’s shoulder or giving a silent, cold stare might be more influential than anything that could have been said.
The central concept of Social Interactions is Motives. Motives answer the question, “Is what you are doing or saying trying to increase, decrease, root, or direct something within the Target?” The terms for these Motives respectively are Excite, Soothe or Subdue, Affirm, and Aim. Affirm and Aim are related into the same Skill and Composure.
Social Interactions are a way for the players who really enjoy story and creative interactivity to shine. When declaring a Social Interaction, the player can simply make a general statement of what the character is doing or saying, or they might choose to speak in character or more thoroughly describe the action. The Host will determine what Motive the Social Interaction falls under and then if the player delivered compelling words or description the Host may apply a bonus to the Check. Articulating can be intimidating for some players and there should never be a negative applied for fumbled words or thoughts by a player. Participation should always be encouraged. Instead, let a poor Check roll determine if the represented character struggles or fails to be persuasive.
Like Perception, Skill and Composure values represent a number of offsetting Adjustments. Likewise, any modifiers also affect Adjustments directly rather than being translated into Adjustments as in a Strike roll or Resist Check. The Target’s Composure is compared to the initiating character’s Skill and any modifiers are applied. The character with the higher value is the one who gets to make Adjustments to the Check roll. In the case of an interaction desirable for the Target, Composure can be ignored.
Some common modifiers to Social Interactions are applied for Range, comparative Tier, and additional Targets. If the initiating character and the Target are greater than 7” apart, a 2 Adjustment penalty to is applied. If greater than 14” apart, the Host may decide that influence may not even be possible. 2 Adjustments are gained or lost if the initiating character is higher or lower Tier than the Target. If a Target is within 7” of at least one friendly character of higher Tier, they receive 1 Adjustment in their favor. If an elohim wants to add additional Targets, 1 Adjustment are lost for each additional Target and the best Composure among the Targets is used. When a character Targets themself with a Social Interaction, 2 Adjustments are lost. While a character is Weakened, their Skills and Composures are halved.
When making a Social Check, at least 3 Passes will achieve some measure of desired result. At least 7 Passes will achieve a greater result. At least 12 Passes will have a very substantial result. 1 or 2 Passes will not have a noticeable effect. At least 3 uncanceled Fails will backfire causing the initiating character to be negatively affected. At least 7 uncanceled Fails will leave the character regretting their choice to interact with a moderate negative effect. The exact results of each Social Interaction are determined by the Host based mostly upon context.
This concludes Tutorial #16: Social Checks. In the next Tutorial we will talk about Boon and Bane.