Sample+Social+Conflict

[|Jing-Wei] wants to find out what the goon knows before people start showing up and wondering why all the car windows are broken.
 * System note: Scene refresh. Even though this is the same 'scene' as ambush in the parking lot, it probably counts as a different scene for rules mechanic purposes.
 * One of the best demonstrations of how scene refresh works in FATE is to look at the climax of __White Night__ which, when done in the game would be broken down into several different scenes, with stress refresh between each one. The scenes would break down something like:
 * The Duel
 * Monsters Attack
 * Cavalry Arrives
 * "Kiss me"
 * Of course, part of this is the GM being generous with scene refresh for his wizard star PC; but generally, anything that goes over 6-8 exchanges should probably be a new scene.

The goon's social skills:

Fair: Intimidation Average: Presence, Conviction, Discipline, Deceit Other social skills are Mediocre

The GM says that if Jing-Wei doesn't want to spend time answering questions about all those broken car windows, she'll have to wrap up the social conflict in 3 exchanges or less.

**1st Exchange**

Initiative:

Initiative in social conflicts is based on Empathy.

Jing-Wei: 3 Goon: 0

Jing-Wei moves both of the goons to where she can keep an eye on them. The goon taken out a few moments ago by her tazer ring is still twitching, groaning, and making electrical "pop!" noises. He's in no condition to talk, and other people would show up before he got well enough to be interrogated. Sure, Jing-Wei could throw him in the trunk, drive off to a secluded area, attach him to __Chained lighting__ and open the interrogation with the goon hanging several hundred feet in the air, but she is tired an just wants to go home and get some sleep. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Jing-Wei will try to self compel __Miles to go before I sleep__, she is tired and mostly wants to go home and sleep. She'll limit the conversation with the goon to two exchanges instead of 3. The GM allows the compel, and Jing-Wei picks up another fate point. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">As intimidation isn't Jing-Wei's strong suit, she is going to try to play "good cop" and get details out of the goons using her Great (+4) Rapport skill. As intimidation would normally be the skill used to talk to goons, the GM rules that her Rapport will be //restricted// by her intimidation. What this means is that she'll take a -1 to her Rapport rolls, because her intimidation is lower. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">She'll start by pointing out how both goons are right now, sitting there still breathing with all their bits attached. This is because she is very full of peace and goodwill right now. And since they've just escaped horrible death, they should be feeling some peace and goodwill too. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">She roll rapport (+4) (-1, 1, 0, 1) and takes -1 for being restricted by intimidation; total: +4.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Note that the action constraints in social conflict are much less rigorous than during physical conflict. Stuff that takes a little time to happen can just be declared. So if you want to go get food and continue your argument over dinner (or something) you can do that, and still be in the same social conflict.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">This sort of scene preparation would count as pre-conflict aspect generation, rather like setting up an ambush.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">If you think up a way for your aspects to make your life more difficult, you can offer a 'self compel' to the GM, stating how this would work. If the GM agrees, you get the fate point.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">See the rules for skill modification, restriction, and complementing on P 213-214

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The goon tries to defend with his rapport (+0) (1, 1, -1, 0) and only gets a +1 result.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Instead of doing social stress, Jing-Wei will place the aspect __Feels like talking__ on the goon.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Just like athletics is the standard skill for avoiding physical attacks, rapport is the standard skill for avoiding social attacks. But there are plenty of other defensive options too.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">System highlight: because there are no weapons in social combat, temporary aspects from maneuvers are much more important. That's how you deliver social knock-out blows. Otherwise you have to sit there grinding away at each others social stress bars with stress 1 and 2 hits.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Goon's turn

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The goon tries the old "The syndicate will kill you if anything bad happens to us" line.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">And rolls intimidation (+2) (-1, -1, 1, 1) for a total of +2.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Before the words are even out of the goon's mouth, Jing-Wei replies, "I'm sure they'll //try//, but it wouldn't help you or your friend any."

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Due to her ability to see the future, she can defend against social attacks with Lore too. And very few things short circuit a social attack like having someone reply to your statement //before you've even said it//

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Jing-Wei rolls Lore (+5) (-1, 0, 0, -1) for a total of +3. Still enough to brush off the goon's attempted response.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**2nd Exchange**

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Initiative:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Jing-Wei: 3 <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Goon: 0

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Jing-Wei says, "Now playtime is over, tell me everything"

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">She tags the __Feels like talking__ aspect she put on the goon in the first exchange, and rolls rapport (+4) (1, 0, 0, -1) and -1 for still being restricted by intimidation. Total: +5

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The goon tries to defend with rapport (+0) (0, 0, 1, 0) for a total of +1.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Jing-Wei chooses to inflict social stress with this attack (4 Stress). As the goon only has a social stress track of 3, and isn't the type to take consequences, he's taken out by this attack. He tells Jing-Wei everything, and she can finally go home and get some sleep.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">System highlight: Why the bad guys like to talk, talk, talk. When a wizard is hiding out behind a +8 evocation block, the bad guy may not have a real hope of breaking it. But the wizard probably doesn't have his fingers stuffed into his ears saying "Lalala, I can't hear you." So the bad guy can still try to make social based maneuvers against him (which will place temporary aspects that the bad buy can tag during the combat later). Intimidation and Deceit are generally the two best choices for this sort of attack.