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Old 01-05-2015, 03:24 PM   #1
Aneirin
 
Join Date: May 2012
Default Vapid merchant technique

Hello. I have a player who is playing as intelligent, and wealthy however, she wants to appear as vapid to others.

Rather remarkably this is exactly one of the NPC's has done (before the player started playing and knew this NPC existed) however the NPC gets over appearing as an idiot through the use of a face, people to appear confident for him as he sorts out the details.

I like the concept, and was wondering about making a technique for her.

She has acting and a slew of financial skills and rehearsed roll of appearing vapid very high.

But I wanted to make a technique for the merchant skill, as the topic title says, vapid merchant.

A successful use of this technique would enable someone to conduct a merchant deal whilst still appearing foolish, as if they did it accidentally. I feel it needs to be a different technique as acting an idiot is one thing, but trying to accomplish intelligent things whilst appearing a fool is something different.

What do you think the default should be?

I am guessing it would be a hard technique as if failing with someone it would lead to the deal failing and being thought of as a genuine idiot rather than a lucky idiot.

Maybe the test becomes more difficult the more it is used on one person as they eventually get wise to it. After the second try a person gets +1 to notice and +1 for every additional attempt (let it reduce by 1 after some time has passed)

Last edited by Aneirin; 01-05-2015 at 03:27 PM.
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Old 01-05-2015, 03:35 PM   #2
mr beer
 
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Default Re: Vapid merchant technique

How about simply rolling vs. Merchant to make the deal and another roll vs. Acting to seem like an idiot? If you think the opponent should work out what's going on, make Acting contested vs. Per or Psychology or something.
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Old 01-05-2015, 03:41 PM   #3
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Default Re: Vapid merchant technique

Quote:
Originally Posted by mr beer View Post
How about simply rolling vs. Merchant to make the deal and another roll vs. Acting to seem like an idiot? If you think the opponent should work out what's going on, make Acting contested vs. Per or Psychology or something.
I endorse this approach. Interpersonal abilities are already expensive without making it cost extra to do something like this.
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Old 01-05-2015, 03:49 PM   #4
Sindri
 
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Default Re: Vapid merchant technique

You might find some inspiration with the Elicitation technique from Pyramid #3/54: Social Engineering
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Old 01-05-2015, 04:10 PM   #5
vicky_molokh
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Default Re: Vapid merchant technique

Quote:
Originally Posted by mr beer View Post
How about simply rolling vs. Merchant to make the deal and another roll vs. Acting to seem like an idiot? If you think the opponent should work out what's going on, make Acting contested vs. Per or Psychology or something.
The Manipulation mechanic!
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Old 01-05-2015, 04:35 PM   #6
Aneirin
 
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Default Re: Vapid merchant technique

Quote:
Originally Posted by mr beer View Post
How about simply rolling vs. Merchant to make the deal and another roll vs. Acting to seem like an idiot? If you think the opponent should work out what's going on, make Acting contested vs. Per or Psychology or something.
Thanks for that. I will give the player a choice.

Either roll v merchant and acting (both at -2 due to doing two things that are a little at odds with each other at once)

Or they can buy it as a technique if they choose, at -4 (-2 for the doing two things at once, and -2 as only one skill roll is now necessary)
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Old 01-05-2015, 04:45 PM   #7
fredtheobviouspseudonym
 
Join Date: May 2007
Default This actually worked -- on me.

Many years ago when I was working for the government a new administrator showed up at the office & I introduced myself to him.

He seems so aw-shucks and down-home and bucolic that I wondered how he had ever gotten a position in the government. Made Andy Griffith sound like William F. Buckley.

About twenty minutes after I left I did some remembering and realized that I had told that good-ol' boy everything I knew about that office, how it worked, and how the people related to each other -- including stuff I had had no intention of saying. That simple rural "hick" played me like a cheap octarina. Probably the smartest man I ever met in the USG.

Made me a lot less sure of myself when meeting people who seem foolish.
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Old 01-05-2015, 08:48 PM   #8
Bramble Thorn
 
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Default Re: Vapid merchant technique

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aneirin View Post
Thanks for that. I will give the player a choice.

Either roll v merchant and acting (both at -2 due to doing two things that are a little at odds with each other at once)

Or they can buy it as a technique if they choose, at -4 (-2 for the doing two things at once, and -2 as only one skill roll is now necessary)
You seem to want to make it difficult for the player to succeed, just because. Why?

This is not as hard as you want to make it for the player. In fact this should be at a bonus, as a well practiced and rehearsed roll.

Also, do you plan on giving any mechanical benefits to the "Vapid Merchant Technique"? Does the other person thinking you are a ditz give you any skill roll bonuses?

If not, you should really be be rethinking all the penalties you want to apply here.

I see it as a straight up acting roll. If this is all the acting she routinely does, that skill might be specialized. If she is practiced in the roll, that is some perks like rehearsed roll, and no nuisance rolls.
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Old 01-05-2015, 09:19 PM   #9
Flyndaran
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Default Re: Vapid merchant technique

Anyone can act generic dumb for a short period of time. But going all in on the "con" requires dedication and occasional accusations of BS that I don't think most other accurate false persona suffer.

Normally I would say such accusations mean your cover's blown, but not necessarily in this case.

Sadly, I've met real people that have made me question if they were putting me on, only to later realize that they weren't.

Anna Faris has made a career of acting vapid.
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Old 01-06-2015, 09:38 AM   #10
Kromm
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Default Re: Vapid merchant technique

Sounds like a simple use of Acting as a complementary skill to Merchant. Use the approach in "A Full Complement" (Pyramid #3/65, pp. 32-33): Roll a Quick Contest of Acting vs. you rival's IQ and assess +2 to Merchant for victory by 5+, +1 for victory by 0-4, -1 for loss by 1-4, or -2 for loss by 5+. A lot of other skills could work the same way, and some of the riskier ones may benefit from the higher stakes of the "Double the Fun" or even "Know No Limit" optional rules.
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