Social Exchanges

Social Exchanges are structured confrontations between groups with opposed goals: a negotiation, a debate, a court proceeding, an interrogation. They use the same dice pool and magnitude system as combat, but with different structural rules that reflect how social pressure works.

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Structure

Each team gets 1 Resolution per turn, not each individual. The party acts as a unit, not as separate combatants.

Zones do not factor into social exchanges. Distance and positioning are irrelevant. What matters is who is present, what arguments are being made, and what leverage exists.

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Party Contribution

All party members can contribute to the shared resolution. Contributing means:

• Making an argument relevant to the exchange
• Raising a point that supports the team’s position
• Demonstrating evidence or expertise
• Invoking a relationship or obligation the target has

Each contribution adds dice to the shared pool. Contributions must be narratively justified. Simply saying “I help” is not sufficient. The GM determines whether a contribution is meaningful enough to add dice.

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Success Threshold in Social Exchanges

The opposing party also rolls their own dice when resisting a social action (Convince, Guard, etc.). Their roll result becomes the ST the acting team must beat, the same as in combat.

Magnitude is applied as Strain to the opposing party’s resolve or social position, representing lost ground, concessions, or shifting credibility.

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Favor in Social Exchanges

When it is narratively appropriate, Favor can be spent during an exchange to:

• Add successes directly to the team’s roll
• Reduce the ST of the opposing roll
• Provide goods, access, or leverage that the opposing party needs or values

Favor must be specific to the exchange. Favor with the Eventide Brigade carries no weight in an Imperial court. The GM determines whether a given use of Favor is applicable.

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Tempo in Social Exchanges

Like combat, social exchanges have binary Tempo. The side that initiates the exchange, sets the terms, or controls the venue typically starts with Tempo. The GM may award Tempo based on the fiction.

The Shift Tempo boon applies here as well, representing a sudden reversal of momentum in the conversation.

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Ending a Social Exchange

A social exchange ends when:

• One side concedes
• One side’s resolve or position reaches 0 (treated as the equivalent of dying in combat: they capitulate, break, or withdraw)
• The fiction makes continuation impossible (the target leaves, a fight breaks out, the situation changes)

Unlike combat, both sides losing something is a common outcome. A Magnitude of 0 on both sides across several turns represents a genuine stalemate, which is itself a meaningful result.