Re: On being Feared
 

Yeah, I admit I'm getting a bit tangled up in all the layers here. What I was getting at, though, is that even for people who know and fear something (which I'm presuming for basically all candidates since social regard is meant to be obvious and near universal in the reference culture), there are differences based on general attitude. For example, if I'm a typical thug I might be intimidated by a job interview with a mob boss, but I wouldn't find it inappropriate and I might be psyched to work for them because they have a fearsome reputation. The +3 bonus seems entirely appropriate. On the other hand, if a regular school teacher (like me!) walked into the same interview, they might be more likely to react poorly.

Re: On being Feared
 

I love the idea of this added layer. She'd still inherently scare people because she's a necromancer, but diplomacy would represent her ability to soothe their fears and play against stereotype.

Re: On being Feared
 

Or Savoir-Faire her ability to deal with it politely.

In my Pyramid article on social arts, I noted that Savoir-Faire rolls were made at up to -3 if you were asking someone to do something dangerous, and defined a technique, Dangerous Request, that allowed you to use buy off the penalty by politely hinting that it was more dangerous to disappoint you. Having a point in Intimidation was a prerequisite for learning this. Perhaps Social Regard (Feared) could substitute for the technique. You'd still have to make the roll, but the penalty would be nullified.

Correlated with this is the idea that if you don't use Savoir-Faire (or Diplomacy, or perhaps some other Influence skill), people may really not want to deal with you, even if they comply in the short run. That is, Feared would be good for getting immediate cooperation, but it wouldn't usually result in long-term loyalty; most people would want to do what you were asking for and then never see you again.

Re: On being Feared
 

Not going into too much detail, this is an experience that I have trouble simulating. I am what I am, and some people have trouble processing that. The answer is fear.

Not everyone wants fear. It's a personal choice. You can get what you want, alone.

Re: On being Feared
 

Well, that's the starting point. But I think there are a couple of directions one could go with this:

You change what you are so that people have less reason to be afraid of you.

You develop social skills for dealing with people in a way that sets the fear aside: Fast-Talk to distract them, Savoir-Faire to interact with them on a higher plane where no one would make overt threats, Diplomacy to seek common interests. (Of course, diplomacy is also the art of saying "nice doggie" while you find a rock.)

Maybe there are others. If I confront Nergul with other people being somewhat afraid of her, maybe the player will come up with some.

Re: On being Feared
 

I have only skimmed this thread, but wanted to mention a few things I don't see being discussed.

Reaction rolls indicate a person's response in THAT moment. If you are afraid of me, and I can tell, I might say something like "don't be afraid." At that point, if I make a successful savoir-faire, or fast-talk, or something similar that indicates I was able to convince you there's nothing to be afraid of, there should be another reaction roll with modifiers indicating a better outlook.

In the case of Hirelings... The ones that fear you may work for you only out of fear, they may be too afraid to show up for work, or somewhere in between (this should depend on what exactly the fear is, and how much). Either way, as they get to know you (assuming they give you a chance, and you aren't continually doing scary things), there should be more reaction rolls and the fear should diminish over time.

Unless you are actively intimidating them or otherwise making threats, I would not consider the ones that do show up to work to be unwilling. Whatever they may be imagining is thier disadvantage, not yours.

Re: On being Feared
 

I look forward to reading how Nergul tackles the situation.

Re: On being Feared
 

Well, so far, Nergul decided to look for a local informant who could help her find a house that was for sale. Her roll to search for one was a success, so I put her in touch with Arishat, the mother of another PC, Hanno, and the owner of several residential properties, which meant that she was informed about that market. This wasn't a conflict of interest for Arishat, by the way, because she herself didn't buy properties of the size Nergul was looking for.

So Arishat got a critical success on her roll to locate a suitable property. And that inspired me to get creative: Instead of a house, it was an inn, slightly smaller than the house Nergul had wanted, but conveniently located near one of the city gates (and thus far from the river, which lowered the ground rent), with one large room suited to men or trolls (such as Nergul's friend Sangmu). The owner was ready to sell it, and as it turned out, Nergul thought it was perfect.

So Nergul asked if the owner was willing to sell. And taking all her modifiers into account, I got a 9 (with the +3) or 5 (with the -1). Then Nergul tried using her body language, and I said that the owner really didn't want to sell but was afraid to say so outright. And then Nergul asked about getting him to be less afraid, and I let her first roll for "cultivating a persona," using Merchant+3 against his IQ, and then, when she won, use Merchant as an Influence skill at +1 rather than dealing with the -1 for inappropriate Influence. In other words, she got him out of "fear the creepy necromancer" mode and into "haggle" mode. And she was then able to get him to sell at a price she was prepared to pay.

Then they went to visit the owner of the ground, who asked Nergul about things like "will you be having an entire tribe of ghouls filling all the rooms and hanging out in the neighborhood?" and "can you keep the grounds clean so it doesn't turn into an unofficial dump?" And when Nergul assured him of this, and with Arishat as a character witness, he accepted 3 1/3 years' rent as advance payment for 3 1/2 years of occupancy, and had his household scribe record the bargain.

Re: On being Feared
 

In further discussion with Nergul's player, she's told me that Nergul would like to find a young ghoul woman and buy her from her mother. I think that lessens the question of the appropriateness of fear and Intimidation. . . .

Re: On being Feared
 

Let's assume that if Nergul randomly showed up to a village and (with poor social skills) attempted to politely request some peasant to enter her service, that it would be a case of involuntary servitude. What the poor, misunderstood necromancer needs to do is find an agent to do initial interviews. Ideally, this agent should fear Nergul, this way the agent can dissuade applicants for the position.

"All I said is I'd ask around for the coin. Personally, even if I was as down on my luck as you, there's no way I'd enter service with a necromancer."

So at this point the applicant has an un-fearfully-influenced choice. Nergul should also do a final interview, mostly to verify that the potential hireling is suitable. This process should take longer, be more expensive, and potentially attract NPCs with interesting disadvantages.

"So, Bob, is there anything else I need to know about you?" Bob then considers the fact that he has been exiled from and hunted by the largest Assassin's Guild for botching a job, decides that this is clearly not relevant, and replies, "No, nothing at all."

Re: On being Feared
 

In the old WFRP they had several levels for a Necromancer (and I believe Demonologist too) what their aura became. Animals stay away, children start to cry when you are near, your flesh begins to smell, you attract flies (lots of them), etc. These are not things you can simply ignore. And Social Regard (Feared) 3 is more than just clothing, I think. But when the player and the GM come in terms on what exactly provides the advantage and if it is or is not swtichable, itn should be prices accordingly.

Re: On being Feared
 

Social Regard isn't Reputation. It isn't something that you get used to over time and can see past. It's also not Dread, not a supernatural force that inspires fear. It's more of a Sociological wall that separates your character from much of the rest of the population. It represents a social institution your character benefits from like being one of The Elders, or A Sacred Virgin, or in this case, a Master of Death. It's nothing to do with the behavior of the character so it cannot be turned on or off short of disguising yourself so your Social Regard isn't obvious to strangers.

The guys who work for your Necromancer aren't necessarily afraid of them. They know what you are and chose to be your droogs because they wanted work for the gal everyone is afraid of, they feel a sense of safety in your employment and they likely get some small social regard from that employment as Servants of the Master of Death. A reaction roll to betray you or jeopardize their employment would likely have that fear bonus because they don't want to be in a position to have to fear you.

Think of social regard like the reputation of a Corporation. Corporately people who work for Microsoft might be feared because of the ruthless actions of that corporation and it's power but Microsoft engineers, aren't afraid of their employer because they're on the right side of that brutal legal team. They believe that their work will make a difference and future employers will value them because of that Social Regard but they're also not likely to try to steal from or betray their company because that fear becomes an issue if you get fired.

Re: On being Feared
 

Sure. The question is how it will operate when Nergul is trying to acquire a NEW hireling. They could react favorably, in the way you suggest, or unfavorably, because they don't want to work for the scary evil woman.