Social Frames

Working doc for how Argue (the social branch of Engage, see Core Resolution) actually functions, and what character creation needs to support it. Social Frames can only last Seven rounds, and is completely team based (Teams take turns, not individuals). Each team gets 2 rolls per round. Whoever makes the argument (or takes the other action) rolls. An argument only affects its target, and the primary target makes the opposing roll.

Starting Premise

Argue reuses the core Actor/Reactor roll from Core Resolution rather than a separate subsystem: see Keywords for the Social Keywords table, but please note that any keyword can be used in a social frame.

When characters Argue, the character has to make a real point, and gains +1 Success when the argument aligns with the target’s Motive or Identity. Remember, there needs to be a real point here, otherwise, a character can’t argue.

Conviction

Argue targets Conviction, the social counterpart to Injury (see Core Resolution). Conviction measures how firmly someone holds against one specific request. If it reaches 0, the target chooses to Yield, Change, or Hold (see Breaking Conviction). If it’s only partly broken, the GM announces which way they lean when the frame ends, based on how much was broken.

Setting Conviction

Conviction is never a standing stat. It belongs to one request in one frame, and it changes with what’s being discussed. When a request is brought up, the target team of the request determines each of its individuals’ Conviction for that request. GMs determine conviction for NPCs, and Players determine conviction for their characters. A frame with several requests to a single team gives each request its own Conviction:

Request	Conviction
Don’t even care to test you and want it	0
They want it and are just testing you	1
Costs something real but aligned with Motive and Identity	2
Costs something real but aligned with Motive or Identity	3
Aligns with Motive or Identity, and then cuts against the other	4
Real cost + cuts against Motive or Identity	5
Real cost + cuts against Motive and Identity	7

Targeting a Motive or Identity: when the request targets a character’s Motive or Identity itself, its Conviction always equals the Rank of that Motive or Identity, instead of coming from the table. Identity’s Rank equals the character’s Realm.

A won Argue roll removes 1 Conviction at base from a specific track unless a keyword comes into play.

Ties go to the reactor. Excess successes become stacks as usual, and [Swayed] turns them into Conviction loss.

Across Frames

Conviction resets at the start of every social frame. One of the main ways you can progress a dialogue is to target the character’s Motive or Identity themselves when those things would fight against you when you make your actual request. Succeeding at targeting those things may cause the target to change their Motive or Identity, and enable you to convince them of something you otherwise wouldn’t, by not trying to have the dialogue for something they’re completely against in one sitting.

Ren in Social Frames

Rennim can use Ren keywords in a social frame. The Engage type decides what happens:

• Condition (F, or C declared as a Condition): allowed. On a win it lands normally. Examples: [Fear], [Misdirected], [Silenced], [Eased], [Illusion]. Beware of applying Conditions: it is rude, and once you’ve applied one, the other side can use [Entrenched] for the rest of the frame.
• Attack (T, or C declared as an Injury): the social frame ends and a combat frame begins.
• [Overwritten]: the target acts as compelled, but no Conviction is removed. When it ends, the argument is [Exposed].

Abilities carry an Awareness state, and that decides who notices:

• Focused, Projected, Extended: every Rennim present notices automatically.
• Suppressed (touch range) or Cloaked (+1 Strain): each Rennim present rolls Sense (see Core Resolution). They notice if their successes meet or beat the higher of the Rank of the keyword you cast, or the Rank of a concealing passive such as [Shrouded].
• Realm 0 people can’t sense Ren at all.

Whether Ren pressure is legal varies by country, and sometimes by territory. Where it’s illegal, getting caught also costs Local Faction Favor (see Favor). At the very least it will be offensive, abd enable the invocation of [Entrenched]

Exposure

An argument is Exposed when:

• the target, or someone they trust who is present, notices a keyword by sensing (to see if something feels weird with someone’s Ren)
• [Overwritten] ends.

During the frame, all broken Conviction returns, plus the keyword’s Rank if Ren pressure was exposed. Narratively speaking, Exposure ends up mostly in either you being thrown out, or even a fight.

Breaking Conviction

PCs have Conviction too, sized with the same table, and NPCs or other PCs can Argue against it. When anyone’s Conviction reaches 0, they choose (the player for a PC, the GM for an NPC):

• Yield: act on the request, or give up on the request you were making. If the request didn’t target your Motive or Identity, Yield is your only option.
• Change: if your Motive or Identity was targeted and that Conviction broke, change it. Experiences assigned to the old Motive become free to spend again, but can’t be put into the new Motive.
• Hold: refuse to change, and take [Shaken] at a Rank equal to the request’s starting Conviction, on whichever of Motive or Identity the request targeted, or both, if both were targeted and broken.

Breaking a PC’s Conviction never decides what the PC believes.

Each time a PC’s Conviction on their Motive or Identity breaks, they gain one Experience, and should consider how their character would or should react.

Social Keywords

[Swayed], [Entrenched], and [Shaken] are in the Social Keywords table in Keywords.