Reaction modifiers and reaction skill rolls.

[Skavra]

I think I understand how reaction rolls work. You figure out what your modifier is, based on appearance and social modifiers, roll 3d, add your modifier, and higher is better. This determined how an NPC will react to you, unless the GM has other ideas.
I know that you can roll a reaction skill in place of a reaction roll, like Acting, Fast Talk, Diplomacy, Sex Appeal, and the rest. The basic set seems to be saying that reaction modifiers apply to this roll, too! I'm not sure how this is supposed to work, so I was hoping that some forum-goers might share their wisdom with me and explain. I could probably use an example or two as well.

- /'skav.ɾa/

[Gollum]

Yes, a lot of reaction modifiers are also added to social skills like Diplomacy, Sex appeal, Fast talk, etc. This is clearly explained in the description of each one of these skills, in the Basic Set.

Just consider them like ordinary bonuses (added to the skill and not the dice roll, this time).

Note:
Personally, I handle things like that...
The reaction roll is the non-player reaction when the PC does nothing. It shows how the non-player character feel the character, his very first impression.
Then, the character can modify this first impression by using an appropriate skill. If he doesn't do anything else than smiling and being polite, the reaction result remains. If he tries something more sophisticated, the skill result replace the reaction result...
But this is not rules as they are written. Rules only says that the player choose between the reaction roll and a skill use.

[Gollum]

Here is an example, to be more clear...

Samantha is Handsome. She wants to go far away from a town. But she has no car and no money. In a cafeteria, she see a lorry driver...

If she just asks him, while smiling, I just do a reaction roll. Because she is handsome, and because the lorry driver is attracted by women, she has got a +4 to the reaction roll.

If she tries to captivate him, she will use his Sex appeal skill: a success roll instead of the reaction roll - which can give her better odds if she has a good skill level. But, here again, she is handsome; so she will also have a +4 bonus to this roll.

In the reaction roll, the +4 applies to the die result. In the Sex Appeal roll, it applies to the skill level (and not the dice roll). But it is still a bonus.

[Skavra]

Thank you, Gollum, for the reply.

This would seem to make it very easy to be disturbingly good ad social interaction rolls. It's not too expensive to increase you reaction modifier, and it's much cheaper than improving each reaction skill individually. How is the GM supposed to deal with people who have interaction skills which end up modified over 20?

The reaction roll section has a table which rates how good your reaction was. Is there an easy way to map this to the reaction skills? How much better is it to succeed by 6 than by 2?

How do people resist social manipulation? I seem to recall Will came into this, but that would suggest that most people are much better at manipulating than resisting manipulation.

- /'skav.ɾa/

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Skavra

Thank you, Gollum, for the reply.

This would seem to make it very easy to be disturbingly good ad social interaction rolls. It's not too expensive to increase you reaction modifier, and it's much cheaper than improving each reaction skill individually. How is the GM supposed to deal with people who have interaction skills which end up modified over 20?

The effects of influence skills are somewhat limited in magnitude. It's actually a larger problem that you can just get a +10 reaction modifier for 50 points and get an 'excellent' response 75% of the time.

[B9anders]

Originally Posted by Anthony

The effects of influence skills are somewhat limited in magnitude. It's actually a larger problem that you can just get a +10 reaction modifier for 50 points and get an 'excellent' response 75% of the time.

50 points will also buy you mind control(!).

I don't think there is any problem with balance here.

Also, that +10 reaction modifier will leave you standing out very clearly. The gal with the transcendent universal apperance and 5 levels of charisma can not know the perks of anonymity or discrete action. She'll stand out like a beacon where she shows her face.

[B9anders]

Originally Posted by Skavra

How is the GM supposed to deal with people who have interaction skills which end up modified over 20?

As charmeurs par excellence. There's a reason why having fast-talk or diplomacy at level 20 gives an automatic +2 reaction modifier (note that only Voice adds to skill level for the purpose of calculating this).

Using skill is not always the way to go. Except for sex appeal, you can only ever get a 'good reaction'. And some situations might require you to get more if you need to sway a person for more.

For the suave with high reaction modifiers, social skills are often only better to use when you face heavy situational modifiers. In which case, your 20+ skill will come in handy to soak up some of those but might well end up with a situation of fairly even odds.

[Gollum]

Originally Posted by B9anders

Also, that +10 reaction modifier will leave you standing out very clearly. The gal with the transcendent universal apperance and 5 levels of charisma can not know the perks of anonymity or discrete action. She'll stand out like a beacon where she shows her face.

Exactly. Suppose that the reaction roll for Samantha results in an excellent reaction. The lorry driver could become a nuisance for her...

Having a very good reaction bonus also have some disadvantages... And playing with it can sometimes be playing with fire...

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Gollum

Exactly. Suppose that the reaction roll for Samantha results in an excellent reaction. The lorry driver could become a nuisance for her.

Please, let's not mix the two different aspects of appearances and reaction rolls.

Yes, appearance causes trouble with jealous people (at least by RAW, even though the pricing doesn't seem to account for that). No, it shouldn't result in people who didn't have a truly bad reaction to have a de facto bad reaction.

[teviet]

Originally Posted by Skavra

This would seem to make it very easy to be disturbingly good ad social interaction rolls. It's not too expensive to increase you reaction modifier, and it's much cheaper than improving each reaction skill individually. How is the GM supposed to deal with people who have interaction skills which end up modified over 20?

Well, many have pointed out that 5 points/level for Charisma (or unmodified Reputation, etc.) is a pretty sweet deal, but not horribly unbalanced against things like Talents. Although Talents are capped at 4 levels, as are appearance and reputation; a similar cap for things like Charisma would not be unreasonable.

The main way to keep reaction rolls under control is not to overinterpret their results. E.g. for the truck driver, a Neutral reaction means you can tag along wherever he's going. Good means he'll drop you off at your house if it's near his route. Very Good means he will go a few miles out of his way. Excellent means he might offer to take the afternoon off to help you find a place. But an ordinary reaction roll is not going to make him your full-time chauffeur and bodyguard, not without some extra incentives or a serious penalty.

Originally Posted by Skavra

The reaction roll section has a table which rates how good your reaction was. Is there an easy way to map this to the reaction skills? How much better is it to succeed by 6 than by 2?

Not per the rules; a successful roll just gives you Good or Very Good reaction (depending on the skill).

TeV