Roleplay Stats
Roleplay statblocks are use for NPCs or social encounters that are meant to be more immersive than a trip to the shops or getting passing by information from a fellow traveler. Instead, roleplay stat blocks provide traits, triggers, actions, and tactics explaining why the NPC acts a certain way, what will force the creatures hand, what can it do, and how it will attempt to do things. Insight checks can potentially allow players to learn information about these traits.
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Traits
Role playing traits often serve a few purposes
Attitude Traits
These traits "set" what the NPC attitude score represents, determining what "avenue" the players need to pursue to sway a specific NPC during the encounter.
Hungry: A creature with the Hungry trait is motivated by eating, or gaining food. The "friendly" Attitude Threshold is instead "Satiated" and the "Hostile" Threshold is "Starving". Social encounters with a Hungry Npc (Often Animals and Beasts) progress mainly through interactions that convince the animal with food, or where better food is.
Hired: A creature with the Hired trait is motivated by a job or contract which they are or will be paid to do. The "friendly" threshold becomes "Swayed" and the "hostile" threshold is instead "Enlisted". Social encounters with a Hired NPC (often are humanoids such as mercenaries and assassins) must be convinced their "pay" is not worth it, such as buying them out or undermining the credibility of their employer.
Duty: A creature with the Duty trait is motivated by an obligation or task that they are committed to completing. The "Friendly" threshold becomes "Forsaking" and the "Hostile" threshold is instead "Sworn". Social encounters with Duty NPC (often pack creatures, religions, or armies) Must either be convinced to "abandon" their duty if they are an obstacle, or must be convinced that the parties goals are in alignment with their duties.
Modifier Traits
These traits are auxiliary traits that augment or specify how the NPC approaches the main scale.
Loyal: A creature with the Loyal trait cannot be convinced to "turn" on the person linked to their goal
Desperate: A creature with the Desperate trait has a specific problem, always linked to their Attitude trait. Checks that do not "solve" that problem have no effect in raising their attitude score.
Innocent: A creature with the innocent Trait does not factor in a negative "town Attitude" against a party or player. This represents a lack of social awareness or knowledge of a town's prejudices.
Zealot: A creature with the Zealot Trait is not willing to "relinquish" their beliefs/motivation, they can only be convinced that their desire is not in direct conflict or misalignment with their belief.
Skeptical: A creature with the Skeptical trait rolls an opposed insight check against any deception checks the party makes, using its "Passive" insight as the lowest it can roll.
Paranoid: A creature with the Paranoid trait lowers their attitude score towards the whole party as the result of catching them in a lie (failed deception checks). This decrease can result in even a -5 or lower attitude score provoking the npc into attacking them.
Triggers
Triggers are "reactions" to actions that the players take, or certain "beats" in the interaction. They serve to make encounters more dynamic, and more interesting for the players. Having triggers, especially more than one can bog the game down if you aren't careful, so it is recommended to use discretion when adding them.
Broken Trust: The first time you fail a deception check against this NPC, it gains the "Skeptical" Trait.

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