By Nathan Dowdell, 2d20 System Developer
Art by Carlos Cabrera
In previous weeks, we delved into the social conflict rules found in the second edition core rulebook (page 279) and provided additional guidelines and suggestions for how to use them in general as well as how to include challenges as part of a social conflict. Now let’s talk about using extended tasks in conjunction with social conflict.
Extended Tasks in Social Conflicts
Another natural way to expand a social conflict is by using extended tasks. This is a little trickier than using a challenge, as extended tasks work best when there is a significant underlying risk, peril, or tension in a scene: extended tasks add to the tension by making it uncertain how quickly a situation can be resolved.
The best use of extended tasks in social conflict is in a situation where it will take serious protracted effort to persuade the target. In these cases, each Persuade task marks Impact on the extended task’s Progress track, but the target is only persuaded if/when the Progress track is full. In these cases, the length of the Progress track should be equal to one of your target’s attributes, depending on how they’re resisting being convinced: Control can represent the target’s discipline, Daring to represent their drive and bravado, Insight to represent their wariness and instincts, or Reason to represent their logic. For a more difficult obstacle, increase the Progress track by an amount equal to one of their departments, and/or add some Resistance based on how they regard you: 0 for friendly, 1 for neutral or indifferent, 2 for unfriendly, and 3 for actively hostile.
During this, breakthroughs may represent the target conceding points the characters have made, or changes in the situation surrounding the characters.
As with any Persuade tasks, the ones used in this extended task can be affected and influenced by various social tools, but the social tools themselves won’t add Impact to the extended task’s Progress track. Further, if a Persuade task is failed, then that argument can’t be used again during the extended task: you need to find a different approach, perhaps using a different social tool to change the context.
EXAMPLE: Michael Burnham and Emperor Phillipa Georgiou—the exiled ruler of the Mirror Universe’s Terran Empire—are in a cave deep within Qo’noS, where a bomb has been planted that will devastate the planet. Georgiou has the bomb’s detonator coded to her biometric signature. She plans to use the bomb to end the Federation-Klingon War by slaughtering the population of the Klingon homeworld. Burnham is trying to stop her so the war can be ended peacefully. This is an extended task, with a Progress track equal to Georgiou’s Control and Security, for a total of 14. It has a Resistance of 1, as Georgiou is ruthless and indifferent to any life that isn’t hers.
At the first breakthrough (at 7 points of progress), Georgiou concedes that she does like Michael (reducing her Resistance to 0), and begins trying to persuade Michael to join her. At the second breakthrough (at 11 points of progress), Georgiou pulls a phaser on Michael and threatens to shoot her.
We hope you’ve found this series of articles on social conflict useful. How are you using the social conflict rules in your missions and campaigns? Share your insights with fellow players on Modiphius’s Discord server!
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