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Originally Posted by Unwitting Pawn
Can we clarify whether the player(s) decide to use reaction rolls, or the GM does? And are there official distinctions where this differs? Because, if we allow a PC to countermand one Influence attempt with another as the dialogue develops, but never to countermand a Reaction roll, then how many players are ever going to agree to a reaction result? Or are we also saying that officially only one roll (reaction or influence) should govern a whole dialogue, regardless of how the circumstances might change during the interaction?
This also raises a related question in my mind. What happens when the GM hasn't pre-decided on an NPC's attitude to the PC and decides to use a Reaction roll to guide them in this (as per p.B494 it appears to be the GM doing this, not the player)? Does not the official interpretation above imply that the PC should not be allowed to use Influence rolls to change this attitude? And if the GM is rolling for "first impressions" of the NPC in this way, that suggests to me that game-mechanically players must decide how they are going to "influence" an NPC before the PCs themselves have had a chance to get any impression of the NPC. Because, to get a feel for which approach would best work, requires that the GM has already rolled for the general Reaction of the NPC, in order for the PCs to have something to perceive, surely?
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Fundamentally, it's the player's choice. The GM may choose to roll an NPC's reaction and have them take an initial attitude, but that should not be allowed to preempt the player's decision to use an influence skill.
Some reaction roll results allow a further roll, with a bonus or penalty in some cases. I don't see any reason you couldn't substitute an influence roll. And since the outcome of an influence roll is normally a Good or Bad reaction, if that result allows a further reaction roll, you could do a second influence roll instead.
I don't think there's really a "first impressions" roll as such. The roll governs the whole social transaction. Now if you want to ask for a bit more than you originally got, I might sometimes allow that . . . but probably at a penalty, since you're pushing.
Bill Stoddard