Over a Mug of Ale [For A Better Age]

Archivist, for the record I am perfectly happy with the way you narrated my character. If yuo or anyone else wants to use Four Foot as stunt fodder, or to counterpoint something in a post, please go ahead.
 
I've just noticed that Bjarn may actually be better at persuading people to do things than either of the Eclipses or the Zenith.


Funny how things turn out... :lol:


And suggesting conquest as a prelude to negotiation isn't great for a warrior who' tired of stepping on people and wants to settle down, either...
 
You took charisma out the ass and favored presence, what did you expect :)


Us Eclipse seal deals and negotiate them, we don't force people to agree to anything they don't want to :D
 
Presence and Performance, actually. I've got more charms for both than Flickering Glass. 'Course, she's probably better in a fight...


That's what you get for playing a Social-primary Dawn!
 
MorkaisChosen said:
Presence and Performance, actually. I've got more charms for both than Flickering Glass. 'Course, she's probably better in a fight...
That's what you get for playing a Social-primary Dawn!
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Actually, Social Units would mop the floor with Bjarn. Socialize acts like the War ability against them, capping how much of a social ability you can bring to bear.


This is why Eclipses are considered the be-all end-all of Social Combat. While the Zenith Caste is good at inciting crowds and persuading people one-on-one, the Eclipse Caste restructures entire courts, cities, nations--sometimes just by sending a letter.
 
Ah. That would be where I fall down.


Two ways to avoid that one- Husband-Seducing Demon Dance (won't always work) and Mob-Dispersing Rebuke ("Opposition? What opposition?"), neither of which are that great, to be honest.


Thank the Gods for that, I won't be overshadowing everyone...
 
I have a couple of questions for those of you more familiar with how the Exalted rules work. I was wondering how conducive Social Combat is in the game, specifically for play by post games. It seems to me that the Social Combat rules could really slow things down for a play by post game, and being a little looser with the rules, and not necessarily worrying about counting ticks when determining how a social encounter would go.


That said I think the Social Combat rules are more effective in situations where a roleplay encounter is more antagonistic (and more dramatic). For example, if a Solar and a Abyssal are in the same court of a nation trying to convince King Muckidy Muck that creating an alliance with their nation is in his best interest. In such a situation I would be more prone to breaking out the Social Combat rule rather than in situations where you are dealing with more friendly NPCs or relatively minor situations where I think a single roll is sufficient.


So I was wanting to know what some of you think given you guys have more experience at this then I do. I suppose my biggest worry is building up inertia. But as Tableface brought up, my general rule of just going ahead and making some kind of social roll when you are trying to convince someone to do something in most situations does bring up a couple of issues when it slams into Social Combat. Really I think I am going to announce when we are getting in a Social Combat situation in advance, and you guys can certainly asks if we can go into full on Social Combat when you think it’s appropriate.


I also want to note that I won’t be able to get any posts up tonight. Bit too beat from work, but I should get something up late Friday, or Saturday at the latest. I really don’t want to get sloppy due to fatigue.
 
Actual Social Combat is only really necessary for debates, court proceedings, interrogations, etc. And even then, it's only when you need to do so, from what I've seen.


In other words, unless you really need to, Social Fu rarely uses ticks and stuff. You just call for rolls when you feel they're necessary.
 
As far as I've seen while playing, social 'combat' is mostly only used between PCs, major NPCs, or when the enemy would use charms. The last only because timing matters for charm durations, resets and the such.


Otherwise, its been my experience that simple rolls do well enough.
 
Social Combat is, as mentioned, only necessary when you need to convince someone of something, make them realize something they don't want to, etc.. Alternately, to mind-fuck someone into doing what you want them to.


However, if you want to still have social encounters and rolls outside of a structured debate or hot-headed argument or mega mindscrew, it is highly recommended that you use the base rules of Social Combat to determine roll thresholds and bonuses/penalties, otherwise you risk trivializing characters with a heavy social aspect, as well as their intimacies, motivations, charms, and so on.


EDIT: oh, other thing Social Combat is for: beating down major social systems. Forgot that part.
 
Yea, I was worried there in the morning when the whole pattern spide network was down. Luckily it is back now.


I'll be able to update tomarrow. I've gotten through the busy spell at work, and things hsould be smoother at this point.
 
Got all the threads updated! So game on. Thanks for your patience.


Also it seems that my impression of how Social Combat is used was more or less correct. Good to know.
 
Archivist said:
Got all the threads updated! So game on. Thanks for your patience.
Also it seems that my impression of how Social Combat is used was more or less correct. Good to know.
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Yeah, it reads complicated at first but once you get familiar with it it really just boils down to factoring in the bonus/penalty from Appearance and the bonus/penalty from syncing or opposing a virtue, intimacy, or motivation. Which was the part I was recommending you hold on to, since those are easy numbers to come up with on the fly. Especially Appearance, since it is the ONLY thing the Attribute is used for, mechanically.


Social Units are grueling, though. Morkais, once you grab a few dots of Socialize Bjarn can invoke his position as head of the Fangs of the Gale and lay some almighty smackdown socially on other people's courts and projects and forces. Though doing that risks his command.
 
I didn't know that, I'll have to keep an eye on that one. Priority may have to go to learning to read, though...


Ooh, just thought of something: does an enormous horde of barbarians appearing and needing a rearguard to keep them off count as a Chance to Prove One's Courage? 'Cause if it does, I need to roll Valour for Limit gain- and I reckon it should count, personally.
 
Sorry I haven't posted for two days. Work put me through the wringer this weekend. I'll have something up tonight or tomorrow morning.
 
MorkaisChosen said:
Ooh, just thought of something: does an enormous horde of barbarians appearing and needing a rearguard to keep them off count as a Chance to Prove One's Courage? 'Cause if it does, I need to roll Valour for Limit gain- and I reckon it should count, personally.
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Very much so.


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Just so we are all on the same page. I prefer a more cinemantic style of warfare such as the one we are getting into. So more individual duels, capturing objectives, holding stratgic points, killing or protecting important leaders, and other major acts on the battlefield will be the emphasis for battles such as these. I think this is preferable then acting under the mass combat rules are they are written. Which strikes me more as one big number slamming up against another until the bigger one wins.
 
I have a few questions before too much starts up. One, I assume from here until the end of the fight will be one scene for charm purposes. And second, is Golden Exaltation Forms interaction with Plasma Tongue Repeaters: would the reloading aspect of the charm reload one shot (what I currently think), all shots, not work because it uses alchemical fuel, or something else (perhaps allowing reloading as a reflexive action for 1m; I don't know)?
 
Hey, Archivist, would you believe I didn't read your post before making mine in the IC thread? Because I didn't. We are totally on the same page.


The rules for Mass Combat are (at their base) simplistic. For the most part, it boils down to rolling Charisma + something else. To classify it as nothing but big numbers smashing each other, though, is horribly inaccurate; the actions capable of being taken as well as the potential strategic stunt-fodder make it much more complicated than that, especially when taking into account other variables such as sorcery, artillery, Charms, duels, and Hero- & Sorcerer-designated characters (which allow even those with no War rating or a high one with no army to join the fun). There's a large tactical bend to it.


This and "NPCs will always spend Willpower" are two of the most common misconceptions I see about the game, for some reason. I think it's because Mass Combat is one of the least-read sections and Social Combat is one of the weakest-written.
 
I've read a few articles about social combat which are a very interesing read.


Which detail what would spending willpower entail and at what times they would.


Was very interesting.
 
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