Skill Roll Made By... Effect
0 (exactly) Target will go along with suggestions he’s inclined
to accept anyway (i.e., against which he has no Psychological Limitations and which don’t seem likely to contradict his self-interest)
Target believes any statement that doesn’t contra- dict prior knowledge or direct observation and which seems plausible or accurate
1-2 Target will go along with suggestions he’s neutral
about (e.g., which he’s neither in favor of nor opposed to and which don’t seem likely to contra- dict his self-interest)
Target will believe any statement that doesn’t con- tradict prior knowledge or direct observation, even if it seems somewhat implausible or inaccurate
3-5 Target will go along with suggestions he’s mildly
opposed to (e.g., which he’s somewhat opposed to or has a Moderate Psychological Limitation against, or which might contradict his self-interest) Target will believe any statement that doesn’t contra- dict prior knowledge or direct observation, even if it definitely seems implausible or inaccurate
6-9 Target will go along with suggestions he’s opposed
to (e.g., which he’s somewhat opposed to or has a Strong Psychological Limitation against, or which are likely to contradict his self-interest)
Target will believe any statement that doesn’t contradict prior knowledge or direct observation, even if it seems highly implausible or inaccurate 10 or more; Critical Success Target will go along with suggestions he’s strongly
opposed to (e.g., against which he has a Total Psychological Limitation — a nun gives in to a Seduction attempt, a miser makes a really bad deal using Trading)
Target will believe patent untruths (“Are you going to believe me or your own eyes?”, “The Emperor is wearing new clothes.”)
Duration Of Effect
Third, how long do the effects of an Interaction Skill roll last? For example, if Kozar the Dark Mage successfully uses Seduction to sweep the Princess Hallea off her feet, will she always be infatuated with him and/or susceptible to his blan- dishments, or will she come to her senses sooner or later?
In some cases, the resolution of this issue depends on the circumstances, what the victim has been made to do or believe, or the conduct of the character using the Inter- action Skill. When Randall Irons uses Acting to feign an injury and lure Dr. Fang in close, Dr. Fang realizes he was tricked as soon as Randall springs his surprise attack. When Kozar betrays Princess Hallea, she discovers he was just toying with her affections to get what he wanted. When the mob has time to calm down, its members come to under- stand they gave in to someone’s Oratory roll.
In other situations, the exact duration of an Interaction Skill’s effects may be a crucial factor in the adventure. For exam- ple, a thief’s con job using Acting and Persuasion has to hold up long enough for him to get away with the loot. In this situ- ation the final determination depends on the GM, but he should consider the fol- lowing factors:
■ Is the character still in the presence of
the victim “maintaining” the effects of the Interaction Skill? Usually an Interac- tion Skill remains in effect as long as the character takes steps to “maintain” it and nothing occurs to make the victim ques- tion things. Sooner or later, though, even the cleverest story or most charming manner tends to wear thin. Conversely, if the character does nothing to “maintain” the Interaction Skill’s effects, it’s likely the character will realize he’s been tricked or “played” much sooner.
■ Have the events of the adventure or the
information available to the victim caused him to question the effects of the Inter- action Skill? For example, if a character successfully uses Bureaucratics on a low- level bureaucrat, and while doing the task the victim is confronted by his boss, the victim may very well change his mind and stop helping the character.
■ If the victim failed a roll to resist the
Interaction Skill’s effects (see below) but only by a little (say, 1-2), he’s more likely to shake off the Skill’s effects (or at least question them) than someone who fails by a greater degree.
■ How “outrageous” was the initial effect?
The more the character asks of the victim, the sooner the victim’s likely to realize he’s being manipulated.
As a good rule of thumb, the GM should establish a Base Time for the effects of an Interac- tion Skill to last in a give situation (such as 1 Turn, 1 Minute, 1 Hour, or 1 Day). For every point the Skill Roll succeeds by, add +1 increment (or some fraction thereof). For example, in many cases 1 Hour makes a good Base Time for the duration of an Interaction Skill’s effects; in that case, a character whose roll succeeded by 2 would cause effects last- ing (1 + 2 =) 3 hours.
Related to the “duration” of an Interaction Skill is the issue of when, if ever, the victim of an Inter- action Skill realizes what’s happened to him. With some Skills (such as Interrogation) this is immedi- ately obvious, and in most cases once the effects of an Interaction Skill fade the victim is aware he was manipulated (assuming he even cares). But some- times, as with some uses of Conversation or High Society, a character who’s fallen prey to an Interac- tion Skill may never know what was done to him.
Resisting Interaction Skills
Fourth, how can characters resist Interaction Skills used against them? In meta-game terms, the target of an Interaction Skill isn’t going to meekly comply with what his “attacker” wants. At the most basic level, the character has to succeed with his Interaction Skill roll before he has any chance of getting what he wants. But that’s not necessarily the end of the story.
Because Interaction Skills can directly or indirectly dictate a character’s actions, usually to his detriment, most GMs won’t allow a character to succeed in using one with just a single Skill Roll. Instead, the target has a chance to resist. Usually this takes the form of a countervailing roll against the “attacker’s’ Interaction Skill roll in a Skill Versus Skill Contest. In most cases the “resistance roll” is an EGO Roll, but it could be a PRE Roll, a roll with an appropriate Skill, a PER Roll, or the like. The modifiers for Interaction Skills (pages 37-39) can apply to either roll, as the GM sees fit. For example, if the target of an Interaction Skill roll has a Strong Psychological Limitation opposed to the Interac- tion Skill, the GM could apply the modifier listed on page 38 as a penalty to the Interaction Skill roll or a bonus to the resistance roll. Modifiers from the Talent Resistance and its kin also apply.
Other factors may also affect the roll. For example, in a Star Hero campaign, some alien spe- cies may be incapable of lying, and, believing others to be the same, be very gullible (thus granting a bonus to others’ Persuasion rolls, or a penalty to their own EGO Rolls to resist).
Typically a character only gets to make one roll to resist an Interaction Skill. However, if the effects of the Skill last for a long time (see above), the GM might allow additional rolls, perhaps at a cumulative penalty similar to that for Breakout Rolls versus Mental Powers.
If the target of an Interaction Skill roll suc- ceeds in resisting the Skill, it means not only that the Interaction Skill failed, but usually that the target realizes the other character was trying to use an Interaction Skill on him (if it isn’t already obvi- ous). That could color his reaction to the character,
leading to a humiliating incident, a fight, penalties on the character’s future attempts to use Interaction Skills on that person, or the like.
Finally, in some cases, such as Trading, the rules specifically note that any person can “resist” them by removing himself from the situation or refusing to interact with the character using the Skill any further.