ASSABIAN RITES

By Jonathan Drake

The Arts of Persuasion

Adapted from Age of Treason: The Iron Simulacrum

Design Notes skills and game system mechanics to achieve

that objective rather than devising a new
This article attempts to adapt for Mythras a subsystem. There’s no assumption here that
chapter I originally wrote for a Legend book conflict is involved at all. It may be the ‘target’
(Age of Treason: The Iron Simulacrum) covering on which a character is using her skills is
the use of persuasion skills. That book is no susceptible or amenable to the attempt, or at
longer generally available, so perhaps a least has no strong reason to be opposed and
conversion to Mythras, which carries a lot of to muster their Willpower against it. But some
Legend’s core design DNA, might be a useful detailed guidelines are provided about when
tool for Mythras GMs and players. Some difficulty grades should be applied. The
additional guidance and thoughts about the Attitudes table provides a way of attributing
use of social skills, adjudicating social conflict the degree of challenge inherent in a
and social ‘combat’ have been added. These persuasion test. And the Task Round system
rules don’t align with the more recent take on found in the Core Rulebook (CRB) under
Social Conflict presented in the Mythras Equipment Manufacturing and Quality is here
Companion, which closely parallels the pressed into service to handle more long
Mythras combat system with Initiative, drawn-out challenges.
Actions, Damage Dice, quasi Hit Points and Social skills are there to anchor the resolution
Locations (Resolution Pools) and even Special of interaction with NPCs in game mechanics
Effects. But the objective is much the same – rather than freeform roleplaying. Some people
to provide more tools to design and resolve find acting out social interaction much easier
social conflict encounters or ‘scenes’ and and enjoyable than others do. But making good
heighten narrative tension and drama. If you use of the excellent Mythras rules helps level
do have the Companion, the section on the playing field for those who enjoy problem-
Framing the Conflict (pp17-18) is good advice solving but don’t want the outcome to be
whichever resolution mechanics you choose. solely dictated by the skill and enthusiasm with
My approach for the Thennla setting in Legend, which they act out their parts. After all the
revisited here for Mythras, sweats the core

© Jonathan Drake 2022

character’s social skills are what are being
tested, not the player’s. It doesn’t matter how
persuasive a speaker you are, the GM should
ultimately listen to you say your piece and then
ask for a skill roll to see how well your player
character delivers it.

The rules here provide a framework to

encourage players to plan their strategy for
some social encounters no less than they
would for a key combat challenge. This speaks
to preparing the ground, finding out more
about your target and what motivates them,
• a character uses their skills to
anticipating potential obstacles, thinking of
indirectly affect the future behaviour,
ways to get around them and how to build the
decisions or choices made by another
chances the dice will fall in your favour
by influencing the opinions and
Social conflict can be a team effort, as different emotional state on which they base
members of a party take on different roles, them.
from spokesperson, to researcher, to back-
The first of these is treats an Influence roll the
channels diplomat, agent provocateur,
same as any other skill-based challenge. You
seducer, or simply lending reputation and
state your case, make your roll. Maybe the roll
status to a cause. These guidelines provide a
is opposed. If the dice fall in your favour then
range of ways in which social interaction and
you get the result you were looking for. But the
social conflict can be just as much an
second takes a little more thinking about. It’s
opportunity for a party of adventurers to work
probabilistic rather than deterministic,
together as combat encounters can be.
because you are using your powers of
I also hope these rules encourage and reward influence and persuasion to increase the
putting character development points into likelihood someone will act the way you want
‘soft’ persuasion skills, and spending them to.
experience rolls or training time making them
An attempt at persuasion may be a one-on-one
better. And also help GMs think in the round
action, for example trying to talk an official into
about the character, emotional state, passions
turning a blind eye to a minor misdemeanour,
and prejudices of their NPCs which can bring
or attempting to seduce someone into sharing
life to an encounter, but can also be rewarding
trust and possible intimacy with you. But it can
as the key motivations behind the plot of a
be one person who attempts to influence
scenario.
many, such as an orator in front of a crowd
Persuasion and Influence encouraging them to march on the town hall, a
captain addressing troops to persuade them to
So what exactly are we talking about? For the stand firm when the monsters come. It can be
purposes of this article, the art of persuasion adversarial, for example when two lawyers
involves any situation in which: compete to make their case in front of a judge
or jury. And it can be a campaign of persuasion,
• the skills of one character are used to intimidation or seduction involving multiple
directly affect a decision or choice encounters and several characters each doing
made by another by persuading them their bit.
to a specific course of action, or

© Jonathan Drake 2022

There is no reason why Player Characters as Framing the Situation and Setting
well as Non-Player-Characters cannot be
subject to persuasion attempts and be Objectives
required to act accordingly – so long as a
gaming group is comfortable with roleplaying A persuasion attempt may have an immediate
the consequences, for example creating a new pay-off, for example getting someone to agree
Passion or modifying a Passion’s value. to let you in to a restricted area or persuading
a henchman to stand their ground instead of
Summary running away. The GMs job is to make a fair
assessment of whether a roll is needed, if so at
First, frame the situation and objectives, what grade of difficulty. And whether or not
considering the opportunities for different the roll should be contested, perhaps matching
player characters to undertake specific roles or a character’s Influence skill against the target’s
actions, either before, during or in-between Willpower.
attempts to persuade an opponent. This is
especially relevant if using Task Rounds (see Persuasion can also be the key element in a
below) to undertake the influence attempt scenario or session of play and this needs
over hours, days, weeks or longer, rather than framing in a more involved way to feel like a
a single roll. challenge or achievement. Some examples:

Second, consider the Attitude of non-player • Agreeing a peace deal between rival
characters, which modifies relevant skill rolls city states, cults or crime gangs;
depending upon the situation and objectives. • Securing a deal to run trade through a
Consider how the Sympathies, Prejudices or barbarian tribe’s territory;
Mood of key non-player characters can be • Seducing someone of high status or
discovered and influenced by player influence when there are rivals willing
characters, shifting Attitudes to support their to do anything to stop you succeeding;
influence attempt. If there are additional • Stirring up a rebellion;
social, class, cultural or language barriers to • Winning a high-stakes court case;
navigate, how might these be tackled or what • Persuading a powerful supernatural
modifiers might apply? And finally, if ‘honest entity to provide you with magical
persuasion’ looks a little chancy, can a bit of support
bribery swing the balance?
These are all meaty opportunities for play if
Third, review the wide range of social skills that they are used to provide multiple challenges
may be used, and note the circumstances that which can engage more than one PC in
may make then more or less useful to the planning, action and skill rolls as they are
situation and objectives. complex enough to be team efforts. Applying
to be a member of a Brotherhood or Order,
Finally the influence attempt(s) are played out perhaps normally handled in downtime could
(assuming a Bribe hasn’t made this take a similar path. For example to get a place
unnecessary!). This can be a simple skill roll, an at the state-sponsored Sorcery school at
Opposed Roll, or played our using the Task Felsang in Tarsenia might require Bureaucracy
System and Task Rounds, for permanent or augmented by Influence to get on the shortlist;
complex efforts at persuasion. Literacy to pass a basic aptitude test; and a
final Influence to convince the examiner.

When using the Task Rounds (see below) it is

quite possible for each round to make use of a

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different skill, for example: Influence to secure soldier’s morale, calming the anger of a furious
access for the initial conversation; Dance to mob.
impress at the Ball; Courtesy to assure the
We can break these down into three areas:
target’s nearest and dearest that you are the
Mood, Sympathies and Resolve. Individuals
right kind of person to be in their close
can have Attitudes, but so can groups of people
company; and Seduction to close the deal.
like army units, theatre audiences and angry
Attitudes pitchfork-wielding peasant mobs. We also
need to take into account any Passions that are
When framing social interaction, a key thing relevant to the situation.
for the GM to think about is the Attitude of MOOD indicates the target’s emotional state,
those involved. Attitudes stand alongside which affects the type of action they will be
Passions as a handy way to think about the willing to engage in, and potentially their
emotional state of the targets and how that willingness to talk. Mood is the most fickle and
will affect the outcomes of social interaction. changeable of the Attitudes, and can change
An Attitude can be something a character has even within the course of a single encounter.
had drilled into them in their upbringing, but it Efforts to change mood depend heavily on the
can also be a transitory thing resulting from social situation, and what the player-
recent experience, trauma or a joy. Attitude characters know, or have been able to find out,
can help or hinder a situation, so essentially about their target The player should decide
sets the difficult of a task. For example if an how their character is going to attempt to shift
adventurer is trying to provoke someone into a a target’s mood, for example the action could
fight, a target in a cheerful mood is unlikely to involve offering exotic gifts, a performance via
play along so the task is hard, whereas if they suitable Dance, Sing or Musicianship skills, or
are already in an angry mood they could be just flattery using Oratory or Deceit.
much easier to goad.
Mood often applies to reactions where more
Someone with good social skills can use them trivial matters are concerned. Even so, what is
to change or negate the target’s Attitude. trivial for a king could be life-changing (or life-
Comforting a victim of crime, stiffening a threatening) for their subjects.

Folk Magic: The Calm spell will move the

target’s mood one step closer towards
Indifferent. A suitable spell producing the
opposite effect should be allowed.

RESOLVE indicates how motivated a character

or group of people are to stick to their purpose.
For example it may represent how confident
someone is about their opinions on issue they
are being pressed on, or It can represent the
morale of an individual or group of people.
Where Willpower is used to resist a persuasion
attempt, it can be modified by Resolve. Where
there is no resistance roll, Resolve may affect
the difficulty of the roll. Changing a target’s
resolve may be an inspiring speech of
encouragementor weasel words that minimise
the apparent downside of taking a less resolute

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 Attitude Table
Random (D20) Mood Resolve Sympathies Passions Difficulty Modifier
01 Violent Shaken Implacable 91%+ +/- 3 Grades
02-03 Angry Wavering Hostile 76-90% +/- 2 Grades
04-06 Sullen Uncertain Prejudiced 50-75% +/- 1 Grade
07-14 Indifferent Indifferent Indifferent 01-49% None
15-17 Happy Confident Supportive 50-75% +/- 1 Grade
18-19 Cheerful Indomitable Partisan 76-90% +/- 2 Grades
20 Ecstatic Fanatical Fervent 91%+ +/- 3 Grades

approach. Outside of choosing the right words and depending on what the proposed object of
it could involve revealing an uncomfortable Sympathies are then Seduction may prove the
truth, for example showing a magistrate hard ideal skill to use.
evidence that his superiors are corrupt. Or it
Folk Magic: Glamour can be used to ensure a
could involve intimidation, such as making dark
character experiences more positive
threats about the future safety of the target’s
Sympathies from those they encounter. A
loved ones, or even a dramatic gesture, tossing
suitable spell producing the opposite effect
a sack of heads taken from previous opponents
should be allowed.
at the feet of the persuasion target!
PASSIONS can affect persuasion attempts in
Folk Magic: as an alternative mechanism
either direction. It is easier to provoke
Demoralise or Fanaticism spells can drive an
someone to fight for the liege lord towards
Indifferent target’s Resolve two steps towards
whom they have a Loyalty passion or to defend
the relevant extreme instead of inducing a
the family they love, than it is to challenge that
temporary Passion.
loyalty or to persuade them to abandon those
SYMPATHIES indicates whether a target has they love. Modifiers should apply if the
existing opinions and prejudices that affect persuasion attempt conflicts with or takes
how receptive they are to what someone else advantage of a Passion held by the target,
has to say. Sympathies (which when negative through the rules for Augmenting skill rolls.
include prejudices) often derive from deeply
Passions may serve as a modifier to the target’s
ingrained world view and take time or a
skill in an Opposed contest, or Passion may be
dramatic moment that forces a rethink of that
used as an opposing roll rather than as a
world view to change. The GM should decide if
passive modifier.
Sympathies are a factor in any situation. They
should always reflect the way the target thinks Attempts to alter or suppress a target’s Passion
about a person, whether this is the accused in will have an effect lasting CHA hours. Passions
murder trial, the lawyer or advocate, or even are an ingrained, deep-seated emotional
the witness. Sympathies are something people phenomenon. A target’s Passions can be
can choose to have or to set aside, or to be affected using the Seduction skill.
aware of and consciously attempt to rise
above. They are more malleable than Passions, CHANGING ATTITUDES
and it is a reasonable objective to shift, deflect Usually a successful skill roll appropriately
or redirect a target’s Sympathies. Detecting a deployed will move a target’s Attitude one step
target’s Sympathies may be a use for Insight, or in a direction desired by the character, and a
perhaps simply a Customs or Culture roll. Critical roll will result in a two step change. A
Winning hearts and minds or stirring them up failure has no effect and a fumble can result in
can be a job for Influence, Deceit or Oratory,
but a shared Passion could also be called upon

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a two step change in the opposite direction to rather than their true self. Where Sympathies
that desired. are concerned, people will now react to the
actor in accordance with how they feel about
A target character whose Attitude is affected in
the role she is playing, not her true self. It can
a way that sends them ‘off the scale’ will turn
be used to blend in or to stand out, to deflect
their Attitude into an appropriate course of
the attentions of others (whether friendly or
action immediately. For example a Wavering
hostile) or invite them.
soldier whose Resolve is affected by two steps
will at once take to their heels. A Fanatical one An Acting roll may be effective in eliciting
who is further fired up becomes immediately emotional responses from an audience, and a
impetuous and will launch a potentially suicidal successful roll can shift the audience mood by
attack. one grade in the direction desired by the actor,
or two in the case of a Critical roll.
The duration of a change of Attitude can vary a
great deal with the circumstances, however as A successful Acting roll can also prepare the
a rule of thumb a change in MOOD lasts for the ground for a deception, meaning that a
duration of the situation or scene (equivalent subsequent attempt at Deceit will be
to Folk Magic). A change in RESOLVE lasts for unopposed.
hours or days, while a change in SYMPATHIES
COURTESY
can last for years or even for a lifetime.
Where this skill is available it can be used to fit
Persuasion Skills in to the manners and expectations of a certain
social class. A successful roll can prevent a
Mythras provides the Standard skill of difficult grade being applied to the use of a
Influence and the Professional skills of Oratory social skill for not being ‘one of us’, and a
and Seduction. One of these – Seduction – is critical roll can even make skill rolls for
here given a wider range of applications than subsequent interactions a grade easier.
provided in the CRB. And as described in Courtesy can only work in this way if the
Mythras and expanded upon here, successful character is operating within a shared culture.
rolls in many other skills can be deployed to The skill doesn’t get much use in the Thennla
increase the chance of success. GM and players setting but it can be usefully pressed into
are encouraged to look at how other character service. In Korantia for example there are
actions and skills used to gain intelligence, networks of aristocrats across city-state state
deceive, impress, charm and intimidate, will lines, that indulge in connecting through social
affect the chances of success and failure. gatherings, sporting events and marriage
With team play it is possible to allocate roles arrangements. Like many such networks they
and tasks to soften up the target by fair means use manners both as a common language and
or foul, remove obstacles to success, or as a barrier to entry. Successfully breaking into
perhaps step in to speak on a friend’s behalf at these circles might require Courtesy skill.
the right moment. DANCE
ACTING In the right circumstances and where it plays a
Acting is pretending to be someone (or prominent cultural role, similar results can be
something) you are not. It’s much more than achieved using the Dance skill as with Acting,
disguise – a successful use of Acting should but it’s usually rather more limited in its
elicit emotional reactions from those who possible applications. However Dance can be
watch and observe the actor in their role. The used to act either on a dance partner or on an
audience reacts to their adopted persona audience, depending on the context.

© Jonathan Drake 2022

DECEIT that helps a character choose the right strategy
and weigh up their chances of success. It may
This skill can be used to oppose Insight rolls.
reveal something about the target’s Attitudes,
Something player characters may find useful.
provide a big clue about what buttons to press,
After all, there will be times when the target of
negating a potential penalty or providing an
their persuasion attempts will be trying to find
advantage, or simply allowing them to set an
out whether or not they are genuine. Deceit is
achievable objective for their persuasion
always opposed unless bribery or some other
attempt (see below).
means assures the target is more than willing
to believe the lies they are being told. Insight isn’t a magical innate ability. To get the
chance for an Insight role, a character must
INFLUENCE
have the chance to read a room, observe
This is the core skill of persuasion, a Standard behaviour in a group, or question an individual
Skill that everyone can try. A character in a to get some measure of their character, in
situation that calls upon a professional skill which case it may be opposed by the target’s
such as Seduction or Oratory can attempt to Deceit skill, should they deliberately be trying
achieve their objective using Influence but with to hide their feelings or opinions.
limitations on how they go about it. For
ORATORY
example the GM could rule that if attempting
to address a group of people using Influence A successful Oratory roll steers the Attitudes of
instead of Oratory there is a difficulty grade an audience to a purpose. For example an
applied if the number of people exceeds their orator who brings a crowd onside during an
CHA, and another if the crowd is of greater size election can use the Mood, Resolve or
again. Sympathies of the crowd to affect the outcome
of the subsequent vote by raising or lowering
Other uses of Influence where a Professional
those emotions, or perhaps ensuring they are
Skill would be more appropriate could involve
attached to a specific person, party or issue.
a contested roll, or an extended task where
otherwise a single roll would apply. The Voice Folk Magic Spell can be used to make
sure you get everyone’s attention, or perhaps
to negate a difficulty grade caused by
confusion and commotion, background noise
or rival voices.

Oratory takes time to deliver, requiring a

minimum of 30-CHA minutes attention from
the audience. An audience can be any group of
three or more people, but despite the
feedback loop of cheers, applause, heckling
and booing, oratory is not a conversation. The
audience must be prepared to listen to the
orator. Oratory can take three forms according
to its purpose:

• Rabble Rousing (Mood) is used to

INSIGHT whip up or calm down a mob of
people, manipulating their Mood. The
This Standard Skill is perhaps the most
orator must have an issue, person,
important in the art of persuasion. An Insight
product or situation about which he
role should result in information from the GM

© Jonathan Drake 2022

 intends to make the crowd feel happy
or angry. If a mob turns violent it must
be given a target for their violence or
will turn on whatever is conveniently
close to hand – smashing up and
looting local shops, picking on
outsiders or anyone else they imagine
a reason to dislike and beating them
up or worse. So long as the shift in
mood is not the result of a fumble, the
orator can control such a mob for a
number of minutes equal to his
charisma, after which they will start to
lose direction and find their own.
• Harangue (Resolve) is a short and
simple speech designed to encourage
or admonish a crowd of followers.
Raising or lowering their Resolve. Very
much a required performance for
generals about to lead their men into
battle, or for a priestess who wants to
instil the fear of the gods in her flock.
The effect of a Harangue lasts for a
number of hours equal to the Orator’s A successful Seduction roll may mean being
CHA. treated like family when you have no blood
• Rhetoric (Sympathies) is deployed at relation, becoming a trusted member at the
court, in political assemblies and in the heart of a crime gang, or securing the
courtroom to make a case as part of a influential spot behind the throne from where
formal procedure for deliberation and private counsel can be whispered into the
decision. A successful Oratory roll ruler’s ear. It can also be used to entice or
shifts the listeners’ Sympathies in recruit someone into an intimate circle such as
respect of the subject of the speech in a cult or brotherhood where confidences,
the direction desired by the orator. secrets and trusts are held close.
The use of Rhetoric can be supported
by application of the Forensics skill Seduction can sometimes take place over the
(see Shores of Korantia). course of a single encounter, but needs hours
rather than minutes to work, access to get
SEDUCTION inside the personal space of the target, and the
Seducing someone doesn’t need to be about results are temporary, typically lasting for the
provoking sexual or erotic desire or romantic seducer’s CHA in hours.
love. A successful Seduction attempt can But Seduction can also take place over multiple
simply mean that the target takes the seducer Task Rounds with the intention of instilling a
into their heart – and into their confidence. Passion in the target – usually Love or Loyalty
Seduction offers promises of desires and – at its base level, or removing completely one
ambitions fulfilled, perhaps a touch of glamour they already have. The GM and player should
and excitement, or simply plays to the personal agree duration of these Task Rounds, but each
insecurities or vanities of the target. should be a separate encounter between the

© Jonathan Drake 2022

 ideas calls for Opposed Rolls. And in any
situation in which a character is using Deceit,
then the target should have the opportunity of
a passive opposing roll to see through the
deception, perhaps using Insight.

TASK ROUNDS

An attempt to influence a target’s Attitudes is

usually a single skill roll, although the effect
may be temporary. But to permanently affect
change, to engender a Passion in the target, or
to get a target to make a complex decision to
the player’s advantage can be a multi-stage
quest, taking place in Local Time or even
Strategic Time. It may, for example, take
seducer and target. As usual, a final total of several encounters before the object of your
100% or greater is required to achieve the affections agrees to go out with you on a date.
desired effect. It could take several dates before you get to
move the relationship on to the next stage.
SING
To represent these situations I have made use
Along with Musicianship, Sing can be used to of the Task Rounds system found in the CRB
perform to work on an audience’s Mood to under Equipment Manufacturing and Quality
much the same end as Acting or Dance. It can in the Economics and Equipment chapter. It’s a
be a step on the road to seduction, and with system for processes where you will ‘get there
the right choice of song it could be used to raise in the end’ if you keep working at something
or lower the Mood of an audience, or even and have the tools, time and resources
raise Resolve by getting a crowd, or a band of available. In which if you rush things you may
soldiers, to join in a war song or anthem with increase the difficulty, but taking extra time
gusto. and care can bring advantages. It’s a mechanic
OPPOSED ROLLS that can apply to tasks of persuasion as much
as making wine or forging a weapon – except
If in doubt over a straight roll or an opposed that in the case of persuasion there is usually
roll contest, consider whether the target is another human being (or even supernatural
actively disagreeing or not. If it’s a simple case entity) involved who may keep frustrating your
of making an argument and the target taking in best efforts (via Opposed Rolls or simply
what the character has to say and deciding refusing to engage) and you may not have the
whether to go along with it or not, there’s no opportunity to engineer sufficient encounters
reason to assume the roll should be opposed. – or Task Rounds – to be successful. A fumble
Many times the target simply won’t have on the way probably dooms the endeavour,
thought about what they are being asked to because the target is likely to break off all
believe or to agree with before, and if there is contact. But otherwise persistence may
no obvious bad outcome for them they don’t eventually pay off. It’s possible the Task Round
have a resistance that needs to be overcome. approach can be used even if each round may
In this case a simple unopposed roll is enough, have a different skill that applies. If mixing
perhaps modified for difficulty using Attitudes things up this way there should be one key skill
and other factors. However a debate in which that has to be succeeded in at least once for
two characters actively promote opposing any kind of success.

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ENHANCEMENTS • It can short-cut what might otherwise
be an extended task: rather than
The Item Quality rules (see CRB) could equally
gently persuading or subverting the
apply to the product of social interaction. A
target over time, a single opposed roll
final results to a Task of less than 100% perhaps
is made
results in a shoddy agreement that the ruling
• It can make the roll one grade easier
council refuses to ratify, or that causes
confusion, resentment and conflict when These effects are stackable, but each
people try to implement it or a relationship additional advantage being sought doubles the
that doesn’t last or is ill-fated. Results greater cost.
than 100% allow Enhancements to be applied:
use the Enhancements Table as a guide. No A failed Influence roll supported by a bribe has
persuasion outcome come benefit from more no effect – the bribe is declined and the
than two Enhancements of the same type character keeps his money. The roll can be
retried if time and circumstances permit and
Bribery the initial bribe is at least doubled.

Influence rolls can often be augmented by a With a critical success the target not only
bribe. Even where corruption is frowned on accepts the bribe and does what is asked, but
there is always the chance you will find an will provide additional help and make very
individual prepared to look the other way or clear they are open for further business in the
agree to something they otherwise wouldn’t future – perhaps even an ongoing retainer.
for financial gain. Bribery can be part of an Rarely the target may do what is asked but
Influence, Commerce or Oratory roll, and in have an attack of conscience and decline the
certain circumstances can be used with a money.
Deceit or Seduction roll.
A fumble results in the target swiping the
Offering the right bribe can do one of the money and not even trying to deliver; or
following, and the player whose character is perhaps refusing the bribe and calling out the
attempting the bribe must choose what the attempted dishonesty for all to hear, or
intended effect of the bribe is before making reporting the attempt to their superiors.
the Influence roll: Perhaps they are merely insulted by the
clumsy, low-ball offer. Such things can end
• It can remove any opposed roll to the
badly, even in bloodshed.
Influence attempt

Enhancements Table
Enhancement Effect
Affecting The target’s Attitude moves one step in the
direction desired by the player
Inspiring A relevant Passion is permanently increased by
1d6+6
Enduring The duration of the effect of the persuasion skill
is increased by one step: minutes become
hours, hours becomes days etc
Productive The value to be gained from a transaction or
encounter is increased by 50%, or its cost is
halved
Disheartening A relevant Passion is permanently decreased by
1d6+6

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 Bribery Table
Bribery Objective Typical Base Cost of
Difficulty Bribe (Silver
Grade Dinars)
Getting past a doorman and into an exclusive establishment Standard 1
Getting an official or guard to look the other way when a minor crime Standard 5
or fraud is in process
Getting an official to effect a meeting or audience with an important Standard 15
person
Persuading an official to lose, alter or create an official document Hard 50
Influencing a judge in a court case Hard 100
Corrupting a judge to avoid conviction on a serious charge for which Formidable 1,000
exile or execution is the penalty
Securing the desertion of a mercenary captain with his 100 men Formidable 4,000

The Bribery table provides a few examples of and the bribe cannot be used to negate the
suitable bribes for a variety of situations. opposing roll.
Depending on the situation and the skills of the
Of course some individuals are easier to turn
character a Commerce, Culture, Custom,
than others. If the target can be engaged in
Insight, Streetwise or in some cases even
conversation or observed over time an Insight
Courtesy roll may provide a guide to what the
roll will give clues as to whether personal
right size bribe should be. In practice
principles, weaknesses or even financial
the cost of a bribe is dependent on the status hardship may make them more or less
of the person you are trying to bribe, how susceptible than others in similar positions.
much they need the money, the likelihood of
them getting found out, the consequences to Handling Social and Cultural
themselves if they are – and of course the
Barriers
trouble they have to go to.

Corruption runs deep in many societies, and a As a GM it’s easy to overplay social divisions.
bribe can be a requirement to doing business. The advice here is to think about many
In places such as Djesmirket bribery can be an different aspects and angles of social
accepted part of life, priced in to everyday interaction and mine it for material to play
transactions, in which case the only likely with, rather than rubbing players’ noses in the
opposing roll is Commerce. social divisions that affect their characters’
lives. Hard social divides – between lord and
Some jobs are very poorly paid – or not at all – commoner, free and slave, between castes,
because they bring with them the chance to age classes or perhaps between genders can
make money in bribes. Even so, failure to offer present any number of challenges to be
a bribe of sufficient value is taken as an insult. overcome especially when these differences
Custom and Culture are useful skills in finding are institutionalised or systemic. But in the end
out whether a bribe is likely to be culturally always remember people are people. They can
acceptable. relate to one another as human beings, not
In the Taskan Empire offering a bribe to a state only as cyphers.
official amounts to treason, and the roll is On a practical level different cultures have
always opposed by the target’s Willpower, or different mannerisms as well as a host of other
their Loyalty (Emperor) whichever is higher, signals in speech and action that can be hard to
read and even unfathomable for others.

© Jonathan Drake 2022

 Thennla setting cultural prejudice and
antipathy abounds. But race in terms of skin
colour or physiognomy is pretty much
irrelevant to the world’s inhabitants. This is
even true when considering the tribes of the
far West and South: the Orcs; the Tribes of
Jandekot, who can be oversized, undersized,
scarlet or blue-skinned, hairless and even 4-
breasted; and the Uxmali, who come in two
distinct strains one of which feeds on the
other. No matter how ‘different’ they are
physiologically and even psychologically, they
remain ‘human’. There are no ‘non-human’
races, and this is a deliberate design choice of
the setting to step away from the clichés of
fantasy races in RPG settings and literature. On
the other hand characters who do bump into
elves or goblins in the setting will soon discover
they are magical-supernatural beings rather
than humanoid races.

SOCIAL STATUS

In the Legend book Age of Treason, Social

Status was an additional Characteristic rolled
on 3d6 that was used to calculate certain skills

Something as simple as a smile can have

different subtexts and meaning from one
culture to another. The GM should apply a
difficulty modifier of one or more grades to
Insight rolls and/or to persuasion rolls where
the people involved are from cultures that are
very different. One way to address these
challenges is that having any score in the
relevant Culture skill negates a level of
difficulty, and a successful roll for the skill can
negate a second, if required.

There’s nothing said here about racial

divisions. In the ancient-world inspired

© Jonathan Drake 2022

and attributes. Mythras has a straightforward
percentage roll to determine a character’s
social status at creation stage, but it isn’t very
much referenced from that point on within the
rules system and of course it’s potentially a
very setting-specific question. It’s suggested
here that the GM should take note of the
relative social status of influencer and target,
and if there is a significant gulf between them
that’s relevant to the situation, apply modifiers
to skill rolls accordingly.

How you handle it is a question of what kind of

game and what kind of setting you like to work
with, but these status barriers are very much
part of most historical cultures even if they are
very differently drawn. As Thennla takes its
inspiration for the way people and cultures
behave from real world history it works well as If reduced to non-verbal communication
a setting in which to think about social barriers. because influencer and target have no
language in common it is still possible to get a
It is also worth considering status within and message across with patience and persistence.
between the cults and brotherhoods that are The attempt can be handled using Task
present in your setting. Some will have Rounds, and depending on the message that’s
egalitarian ideals where all ranks are being attempted a task round could be
encouraged to speak freely, others revel in measured in combat rounds of frantic
enforcing a strict hierarchy and rule and create gesturing or days of careful attempts to
a mystique around senior ranks. For example achieve mutual understanding.
the beggars of Sorandib may all just be beggars
to everyone else, but among themselves they The Language Barrier may mean it’s better for
have a very rigid hierarchy. Some of these the PC with the best language skill rather than
organisational cultures may be felt just as the one with the best persuasion skill to lead
strongly as the social divisions within the wider the effort. But it may still be possible for
community, and in some settings social class another character who doesn’t have the
and rank within Cults and Brotherhoods as language to augment the roll by providing
described in the CRB are one and the same. advice along the way.

LANGUAGE BARRIERS CLASS BARRIERS

Verbal communication is a key part of People of a more elevated social class may
persuasion and so not being able to fluently write you off as a dull-witted country bumpkin
communicate in the language of your target is because you come from the wrong family, the
a serious problem. But it’s not totally wrong village, or even the wrong city. They
insurmountable. As persuasion is a two-way may like you well enough but know that
process, the GM should use the lower of the associating with you, or giving you a break,
influencer or the target’s Language skill as a brings no social benefits and you are certainly
cap on the Persuasion skill being used. not the calibre of person to consider marriage
Exceptions can be made for interactions where to. In some situations this will result in
the GM can judge that the verbal part of the difficulty grades being applied to skill rolls
communication is of limited relevance. when you are dealing with them.

© Jonathan Drake 2022

People of humbler backgrounds may have a
culturally ingrained sense of respect for
hierarchy, and attribute their social superiors
with greater intelligence and authority than
they really have, be wowed by the glamour of
wealth and position, and this can bring easier
skill roll grades to interactions for a character
of higher social status.

For example if you are trying to secure a bride

of a different social rank than your own, for
every step by which the suitor and target differ
in Social Class, the task is one grade easier or
more difficult.

Conversely people can show inverse snobbery:

perhaps a deep-seated distrust and dismissal
of the wealthy, aristocrats, celebrities,
politicians, intellectuals and others they
consider social parasites, show-offs, toffs and
chinless wonders. Unless you are dealing with
a culture or social group where these attitudes
are commonplace or have been mobilised by
crafty politicians and orators, inverse snobbery
tends to be an individual character trait.

Whenever a character is in a situation where

their social class might be a problem, a
successful Acting roll can hide it, a Courtesy roll
may help use the right tone to get the ear of a
‘high-up’, or a Customs (perhaps even
Streetwise) roll can be used to negate such a
penalty for someone trying to be relatable to
people below their social rank.

THANKS TO: JOHN HOLMES aka @Antalon

for his insights, comments and improvements
on the original draft

© Jonathan Drake 2022