My favourite thing about OSR and PbtA games is the way both of those support me as a GM/Master of Ceremonies with tangible mechanics, lessening the burden and the responsibility of choosing everything myself. Random tables, moves, principles, procedures — they're all incredibly useful when it comes to adjudicating what happens next. With that said, most OSR-leaning games leave a lot to be desired when it comes to diplomacy, negotiations and social interactions in general.
Here's a little something I came up with to help with that.
WORKING ON THAT ATTITUDE
Reaction checks have always been the most important tool for social interactions in the OSR space, as far as I'm aware, and I'm not about to throw away the baby away with the bathwater. Reaction is great, though I feel like there's a lot more that can be done with it — like, say, Diplomacy challenges. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The term Reaction implies something far too immediate and transient, so let's swap it for Attitude, first. I swear it's not a meaningless change, though! Pinky promise.
Now, let's look at a basic Attitude table I put together for our Attitude checks.
It's a lot like a Reaction table, and that's on purpose. Like I said, Reaction is great! Now that we have an Attitude table, though, we can go ahead and talk about Diplomacy challenges.
DIPLOMACY CHALLENGES
Rather than being a fixed, immutable thing, Attitude can be altered by Diplomacy challenges, though the PCs will need to offer a compelling argument, a bribe, a promise or even grovel at the target’s feet — that is, any and all forms of diplomacy can trigger this procedure.
These challenges are comprised of one or more Parley checks. These work like normal Charisma checks, and although I'm partial to roll-under, I'm sure they'd work fine with DCs. Certain NPCs or creatures will react better (or worse) to certain actions, and the GM can apply Advantage or Disadvantage accordingly.
The exact number of Parley checks one can make during a Diplomacy challenge is determined by the target's initial Attitude, which also influences how much you can sway them; see the table below.
No matter how many PCs are involved in a particular Diplomacy challenge, the one with the highest Charisma will always make the checks, although the others may still contribute with modifiers and/or Advantage. It's up to preference.
Keep in mind that Diplomacy challenges are not always a possibility. It’s impossible to be diplomatic against NPCs and creatures that are outright Hostile, but even Adverse, Suspicious and Neutral characters may still prove unreceptive to negotiations, as dictated by their natures and/or their current circumstances.
SOCIAL LINKS BY ANY OTHER NAME
Players will latch on to the most unexpected NPCs, so when that happens, it's good to have a way of tracking where they stand with each other. Cue our next procedure: Bonds. In order to track a Bond, we need to establish an NPC's Likes, Dislikes and Wants — that is, something they approve of, something they disapprove of, and something they desire. You can get as specific or as abstract as you want with these, though specificity makes signaling these to your PCs easier.
Whenever the PCs do something that matches the NPC's likes, you can adjust their Attitude positively. Likewise, when the PCs' actions displease the NPC, you can adjust their Attitude negatively. Helping or hindering them with their wants has an even bigger effect on the NPC's Attitude towards the PCs, naturally. For ease of reference, consult the table below.
It is possible to completely break a Bond with an NPC, though that should only happen through particularly serious actions and events. When a Bond is broken, the NPC’s Attitude is immediately changed to Suspicious, and the party will never be able to increase it past Neutral again.
Some actions may solidify a Bond between the party and an NPC. When a Strong Bond is formed, any and all negative Attitude adjustments are limited to -1. It is up to the Game Master to decide what exactly may lead to the creation of a Strong Bond, but Likes, Dislikes and Wants can act as indicators. Any time a Bond would go above Friendly (that is, over 12), the GM may also decide to turn it into a Strong Bond.
If a Strong Bond is ever broken, it is permanently adjusted to Adverse.
It’s impossible to break a Strong Bond with an Attitude higher than
Neutral, no matter how dire the circumstances. Similarly, if a Strong
Bond’s Attitude ever drops beneath 9 (Neutral), it becomes a normal Bond
instead. It is up to the GM whether it’s possible to turn it into a
Strong Bond again.
PFFT, WHO NEEDS PLAYTESTING
I do. No, seriously, I need to playtest this, because right now, it's just a jumble of ideas that may work beautifully, may turn into a huge chore, or may just end up turning my elfgames into dating sims (which would be a plus in my book, tbh). Once I get some mileage out of these procedures, I'll either update this post with the results, or make a new post altogether on the subject.
Until then, if anyone ends up using any of this, I'd love to hear about it!
And if your campaign becomes a dating sim, please know that I am not sorry.
