T5 Personals

[Hemdian]

I finally got to try the 'Personals' rules in actual play the other day ... and in general, I like them. However, am I missing something 'cos charisma (or Soc) doesn't seem to be a factor and I feel it should be?

 

[robject]

That's interesting -- I think using SOC is perfectly reasonable, even if the rules don't specifically have it.

When would you use it? When would it be a positive DM, and when would it be negative?

 

[Spinward Flow]

One of the few times I've seen social standing factor into things in CT was ironically in LBB7 on p23.

Large Lines and Small Lines: DM +1 if college graduate and not commissioned. DM -1 if Educ 6 -. DM -1 if Social A+. Optional: DM +1 if rank 04+.
Free Traders: DM +1 if Social 5-. Rank O6 may disregard the first roll (if it is not No Business) and roll again.

Most of the time, social standing isn't a "check" in the typical sense involving dice rolls.
Instead, it's more of a "you must be this high to ride this ride" kind of deal with social standing.
Social standing is a case of a simple straight up comparison with a threshold in a (Y/N) sort of way, which then flows through into opening or closing other possibilities during gameplay. People just automatically treat the nobility different from everyone else (in the Imperium), for example ... and depending on what you're trying to do, that can either open doors ... or close them for you, simply based on whether your social standing is high or low.

Given the example from LBB7 where Free Traders with social standing 5- are the only ones eligible for a Piracy assignment (go figure, eh?).
Also, among Large and Small Lines, having "too much" social standing (A+) can harm your opportunities for transfer up to a bigger line or receive Special Duty ... so there are some incentives to not rise "too high" in social standing while enlisted as a merchant under LBB7.

 

[Fovean]

charisma (or Soc) doesn't seem to be a factor and I feel it should be?

Seems like Soc could be a Mod, maybe +/-1 for every three levels of difference?

Or in a Third Imperium context, a high enough Soc (ie, Noble rank) could be an asset that adds/subtracts a die or two.

I don’t know, just spitballing.

 

[robject]

So I thought about it a bit, and SOC could be used similar to how Rank is used.

Like with rank, you were a Sergeant in the Army, and you're talking with an ex-Colonel. He's going to pull rank on you, you just know it, so you're going to have to appeal to something else.

Similarly, say you're middle class, and you're talking with a business factor who's also a Knight. You probably won't try to fake your way into his social graces unless you're out of options.

 

[Hemdian]

What I've come up with so far is something along the lines of ...

When C6 is SOC:

• Similar SOC (+/- 1) for Carousing rolls
• Superior SOC (if noble) for Command rolls

When C6 is CHA:

• Superior CHA for any Personals rolls

(I'm going to have to try it and see how it plays out.)

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

That's interesting -- I think using SOC is perfectly reasonable, even if the rules don't specifically have it.

When would you use it? When would it be a positive DM, and when would it be negative?

It does as I recall the Law of Similarity which is used when the parties have something in common like a Career or Social Standing. Yep, just checked it T5.10, pg. 182, second column.