Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - [Social Engineering] "I could bring down your Government with six words."

kdtipa · 12-15-2016, 07:39 AM

Very cool thought exercise. My impulse reaction though is that this is not a case of a character ability specifically, but a case of the player being wonderfully clever. The player knows something useful, and puts it to use extremely well.

I might ask for a roll from any of...

Acting
Carousing
Current Affairs: Politics
Diplomacy
Enthrallment
Fast-Talk
Fortune-Telling (it's about reading people and saying something they might believe right?)
Performance
Philosophy
Politics
Psychology
Public Speaking (since it's a general skill of speaking well, I think this would need to succeed by a lot)
Savoir-Faire (perhaps some custom or another would be enough to make a politician bow-out)
Sex Appeal
Sociology
Strategy (if the situation has military components, this might lead you to something that would depose a politician)
Streetwise

Of course, the skill called for would depend on how the player is trying to play it. And if they can pull off 6 word sentence that makes me as the GM think that the character they're trying to influence would be so significantly affected, then I'd try to find the right skill and ask for a roll (and give them a hefty bonus for the great role-playing).

12-15-2016, 07:39 AM	#3
kdtipa Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Southern New Hampshire	Re: [Social Engineering] "I could bring down your Government with six words." Very cool thought exercise. My impulse reaction though is that this is not a case of a character ability specifically, but a case of the player being wonderfully clever. The player knows something useful, and puts it to use extremely well. I might ask for a roll from any of... Acting Carousing Current Affairs: Politics Diplomacy Enthrallment Fast-Talk Fortune-Telling (it's about reading people and saying something they might believe right?) Performance Philosophy Politics Psychology Public Speaking (since it's a general skill of speaking well, I think this would need to succeed by a lot) Savoir-Faire (perhaps some custom or another would be enough to make a politician bow-out) Sex Appeal Sociology Strategy (if the situation has military components, this might lead you to something that would depose a politician) Streetwise Of course, the skill called for would depend on how the player is trying to play it. And if they can pull off 6 word sentence that makes me as the GM think that the character they're trying to influence would be so significantly affected, then I'd try to find the right skill and ask for a roll (and give them a hefty bonus for the great role-playing).