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Social Skill

Characters will use the Social Skill when interacting with NPCs and during most social situations.

The Social Skill in the Atomic RPG System is another wide ranging skill that will be used by characters in a variety of situations. It represents how the character interacts with NPC’s during all kinds of situations.

Sample Social Skill Checks

Below is a list of some of the most common uses of the Social Skill. The difficulty of these checks will be determined by the GM. Most checks should follow the Easy/Moderate/Hard rules but the GM may set static numbers as well. Reference the GM guide for Skill Checks for more details.

A character's Spirit Trait determines the base skill bonus.

Player Cooperation - Aid Another

Multiple characters can work together to figure something out. This is called Aiding Another.

To successfully Aid Another character the character helping must make the same check the as the one rolling the Skill Check. If they succeed then the player rolling the Skill Check can add their Character Tier to their roll.

However, if the character helping fails in the check, the player will get a penalty to the roll of their Character Tier. Only one player may Aid another at a time. 

Passive Social Checks

Your Passive Social check is your normal bonus + 10. This is used by the GM to determine things that you may notice or know without having to actively ask to use your skill. This also can determine how easy you are to approach. 

This is a useful tool the GM can use to give out information in the game. Or can even be prompted by the player to see if the GM is willing to give you something for free.

Social Check as an Action

Social as an Action will happen when a player character tries to do something that may require a Social Skill. Examples that would require the use of an Action would include haggling down a price, asking for aid from the mayor, or determining if someone might be lying in a conversation.

Befriending

Characters can us the Social Skill to befriend NPCs.
The Social Skill can be used to befriend a non-player characters and sway the opinions of others. This can be quite handy to stay out of a fight or clear up misunderstandings during gameplay.

Using the Social Skill in this manner can only be done in Turn Time or Real Time.
Difficulty of Checks:
Easy: Such as at a dinner party befriending a stranger.
Moderate: Such as bandits trying to rob them.
Hard: Trying to convince a blood enemy of the character to form a truce.

If the player is successful in their Social Skill Checks they begin to form a friendship with the NPC.

Detect Lies

Characters can detect lies with the Social Skill.
The Social Skill is also a good tool to use to try to detect if a character is lying. Many social clues are given when a character is not telling the truth. The character that is lying in the conversation should roll a Subterfuge Skill or Social Skill if that is higher.

The character trying to detect the lie should roll a Social Skill Check. If the detecting Social Skill Check beats the lying characters' Subterfuge or Social Skill Check (Whichever is higher.), the lie is detected. The truth is not revealed, only that the character has lied.

Determine Intentions

Characters can use the Social Skill to determine the intentions of an NPC.
The Social Skill is used to determine the intention and moods of other characters, including a group or crowd of people. It can be used to determine if a guard may be open to bribery, or it can even be used to read the body language of troopers to determine if they are about to attack.

On a more one on one level, the Social Skill can be used in a conversation to try to "read between the lines"--determining what is going unsaid.

The Social Skill can be used to see if the character is trustworthy, honest, or is setting a trap for the party.

Gathering Information

Characters can use the Social Skill to gather information from a local area.
The Social Skill can be used to gather information from the community. Whether that is asking around town or just the local disco club.

This can be a great way to locate and learn about local NPCs, legends, and rumors.

The GM can even expand this to have the characters learn many rumors and then take time to figure out if they are true or not. This can be a great story telling tool.

Haggle Prices

Characters will want to buy stuff, and they will want to get the best price.
The Social Skill check will be used to haggle over the price of goods and services.

Players will roll a Social Skill Check against a Easy/Moderate/Hard check set by the GM. If the player is successful, they will receive 1/10 their Social Skill Check roll as a discount. This may not seem like much when considering haggling over the price of a dinner; however, it could make a big difference for expensive items.

Example: The character rolls a 30 on their Social Skill Check roll and beats the merchant. This will give them a 3% discount on their purchase. This is only .15 on a meal that costs 5. However, if the same roll was applied to an Advanced Item that costs 100,000 cash, it will save them 3,000 cash.

Persuasion

Characters can us the Social Skill to get NPCs to help them.
NPCs that are being troublesome or may not be willing to help players can be persuaded to help with the Social Skill.

This can be very useful in all manner of thing roleplay scenarios.

Examples: Getting the king to acknowledge a rumored threat, having the guards keep an eye out for an NPC, or even get an opponent to side with you in a political debate.

GMs are encouraged to have players roleplay these situations out as it can add an amazing depth the story, NPCs, and most importantly the characters.
The Social Skill is a versatile and useful skill for players to use. There are many more uses for the Social Skill but the few common examples here should help to illustrate how to use the Social Skill. Few Atomic RPG System Skills have the ability to shape the game with a single roll as much as the Social Skill does. Find more information and ideas on how to apply the Social Skill with this wiki article.

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