VERS:Social Conflict

VERS -> Gameplay -> VERS:Social Conflict

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Much like mental attacks, not all social skill rolls should use the social conflict rules. Attempting to simply convince a character to let you in, or to trick a character into attacking an enemy are not inherently social combat. The attacker has to intend to actually harm the Morale of the target for it to qualify, such as attempting to anger, frighten, sadden, or embarrass, or for the action to inadvertently cause such emotional harm. This is up to the GM’s final say, however.

The social conditions are, in order from least to greatest, unnerved, shaken, disheartened, and demoralized. Unnerved and Shaken both have two slots, while disheartened and demoralized each only have one. For a better description for roleplaying these conditions, see below.

• Unnerved: The unnerved condition applies if the net EV is between 0 and 2. This is the equivalent of feeling slightly nervous or agitated, such as when hearing a noise at midnight when you are supposed to be home alone or getting called on in class while daydreaming. That feeling of butterflies in your stomach. Conditions at this level do not impose a penalty on recovery actions.

• Shaken: The shaken condition applies when the net EV is between 3 and 5. This is the shock of something serious, like getting a glimpse of something waiting in the shadows, your crush blabbing your secrets to the school bully and his friends. The feeling of your heart skipping a beat. Characters take a -1 penalty to all Skills for each condition at this level until the condition is recovered. Recovery Actions take a -1 penalty if this is the highest level Morale condition the character has.

• Disheartened: The disheartened condition applies when the net EV is between 6 and 8. This is the equivalent of being surrounded and outnumbered by enemies, or your best friend telling you that he was only using you to get help with his homework. Horror but not yet despair. In addition, due to the trauma, any use of skills takes an additional -2 penalty until the condition is recovered. Recovery Actions take a -2 penalty if this is the highest level Morale condition the character has.

• Demoralized: This condition applies when the net EV is greater than 9. A character whose Morale is so afflicted is essentially disabled, being too terrified or otherwise overcome to function, overwhelmed by the awesome events transpiring around them. A character with the demoralized condition can still make actions, although they are restricted to a single action per turn, take a -4 penalty to the action, and must make a Discipline roll to stay conscious. Recovery Actions take a -4 penalty if this is the highest level Morale condition the character has.

VERS Playtest v20.7 - Online Rule Reference
General Rules	Basics
	Making a Character	Character Profile - Mechanical Aspects (Attributes - Skills - Abilities - Gear)
	Gameplay	Mental Conflict - Physical Conflict - Social Conflict - Stunts
GM Info	NPCs
	Optional Rules	Not Yet Complete
	Gamemastering	Not Yet Complete
	Storytelling and Drama	Not Yet Complete
	Advanced Techniques	Not Yet Complete
Appendices	Example Abilities	Fantasy - Psionics - Superheroes
	Example Gear	Prehistoric to Dark Ages - Medieval to Renaissance - Modern - Sci-Fi
	Example NPCs	Animals - People - Fantasy - Horror - Sci-Fi