Debate, Argue, Intimidate, & Negotiate

Prose

When an avatar must get into a debate, argument or negotiation (rather than direct and unclouded intimidation) and you wish for the game mechanics to add some flavour and suspense, you can use the social battle system. When conducting social battles, it’s important that the players and the AI really roleplay what is said, and not just roll the dice.

The actual system works as following: each avatar/NPA has their Clout times three (Clout x 3) worth of credibility. The party with the highest Clout is the one that goes first. If both parties’ credibility is equal, roll a die and add Clout; the one with the highest result goes first. The Abilities at work (or those that appear to be) can give an extra +1 to +4 in temporary credibility. It helps to do some research and lay some groundwork before entering court or an important debate or negotiation.


Staging: By spending a point worth of credibility before the roll, the opponent will lose two extra points of credibility in addition to any successes scored.

Cheap Shots: These can be useful in a tight spot, but they can also backfire. On a success, the opponent loses another 3 points of credibility beyond the rolled successes. However, if the roll is unsuccessful, the aggressor loses 3 points.

Looming: By adding an aggressive demeanour (one acceptable to the social situation in question), you can take your opponent by surprise. All the subtleties of discourse are lost, which results in a -2 modifier. With a success, the opposing party has to skip his next roll. If the looming fails, you lose 3 points of credibility, since you’ve lost some ground. Each time this manoeuvre is used consecutively, another cumulative -1 penalty applies. The opposing side must be able to make a roll in-between looming attempts before the modifiers can be “reset”.

Intimidation

Intimidation is basically a contested roll. The intimidator makes the appropriate roll (an Ability or Aptitude roll, depending on the situation). The one on the receiving end makes the same roll, only substituting whatever Aptitude is involved with Cool. Intimidation is often about leverage, and in some situations it’s impossible to use certain types of intimidation. Threatening a gang of street thugs that you can kill them would be quite impossible if you are a lone preppy delegate, while two GIC marines with their emblems showing would stand a very good chance of succeeding with such an intimidation. If the threatening party wins, he has successfully intimidated the victim. Very good leverage can give a +1 to +3 modifier to the roll, while bad leverage gives negative modifiers.

Slam someone against a wall: Brawn + Close Combat.
Threaten legal procedures: Clout + Administration
Discouraging by showing 'fancy moves': Quickness + Close Combat/Shooting
Explain how it's a 'bad idea': Clout + First Aid.