Presence (mechanic)
Lots of people are naturally charismatic people, well versed with the social graces and skilled in the art of manipulation. But some people have centered their entire careers on their ability to win others over. These people are often celebrities living firmly in the public eye, prominent businessmen, philanthropists and politicians, and even film and music stars. Such people possess something more significant that just strength of personality. Stardom, personal fame, bureaucratic leverage, aristocratic ties — all indicate an ability to attract attention, to lead nations, elicit favors, and seduce and manipulate those who are vulnerable to such manipulation.
In game terms, this ability is called presence — a combination of the character’s personal charisma, public reputation, sense of style, social grace, and sex appeal. Presence is the outward projection of an character’s refinement and sophistication, and shows others that he isn’t just a person worth paying attention to, but a figure of notoriety and social importance in the world.
Using Presence
In game terms, presence is used to influence people with your celebrity and charisma. In order to use the presence system, an character must have the Jet Setter feat.
There is no inherent DC when making a presence check. To make a presence check, the character must spend one hero point and devote one or more standard or move invoking their reputation, either by speaking, staging a live performance of some kind, or otherwise acquiring his target’s attention. The character names their target and the effect they are trying to achieve (see Presence Actions, below), then they roll a d20, adding their Charisma modifier and any applicable bonuses from feats, talents, as well as modifiers from the table Presence Modifiers, and consults the table Presence Bonuses, to determine the resulting presence bonus. This bonus is applied differently for each of the options described under Presence Actions — see each description for details.
You may spend an additional hero point to increase your d20 roll, as usual.
Presence Modifiers
| Condition | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Character has had recent public exposure | +1-4* |
| Character is trained in Deception or Knowledge [Bureaucracy] | +2 |
| Character is trained in Knowledge [Social Sciences] or Persuasion | +2 |
| Character has the Musician feat | +2 |
| Target’s current disposition toward the character is helpful or better | +2 |
| Target’s current disposition toward the character is hostile or worse | –2 |
| Target has a bonus to Will Defense vs mind-affecting effects | –Bonus |
- Character has had recent public exposure: Characters currently in the limelight — from a political campaign, album or film release, novel debut, or any of a host of other public events — have a much easier time leveraging their celebrity. See the table below for details of how much of a bonus Exposure provides.
| Exposure | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Light (local ad campaign, televised interview) | +1 |
| Medium (album release, national tour) | +2 |
| Heavy (film release, election campaign) | +3 |
| Saturation (world tour, global ad campaign) | +4 |
Presence Bonuses
| Character Level | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Check Result | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 1–10 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +5 |
| 11–15 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +7 |
| 16–20 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +9 |
| 21–25 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +7 | +7 | +8 | +8 | +9 | +9 | +10 | +10 | +11 | +11 | +12 | +12 | +13 |
| 26–35 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +7 | +8 | +8 | +9 | +9 | +10 | +11 | +11 | +12 | +13 | +14 | +14 | +15 | +16 | +16 | +17 |
| 36+ | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +7 | +8 | +9 | +10 | +11 | +12 | +13 | +14 | +15 | +16 | +17 | +18 | +19 | +20 | +21 | +22 | +23 | +24 | +25 |
Presence Actions
Each presence action may only be attempted only once per day (whether successful or not). The character must always declare which option he wishes to pursue — and which character(s) he’s targeting, up to a number equal to the maximum number of targets listed in the desired action’s description — before making the presence check. Further, the character must spend the entire time designated in the desired presence action’s description engaged in an activity the GM determines will fulfill the option’s needs (i.e. singing on stage for a dazzle effect or giving an impassioned speech for an inspire effect); if the character is attacked or otherwise distracted in any way during this time, the presence attempt fails and may not be attempted again until the following week.
Note: Unless the GM determines otherwise, these presence actions may only be used against NPCs.
Dazzle
Some people have a way with words that captures the hearts and minds of their audiences. When making a speech, performance, or other public display, the character may make a presence check normally to distract some or all of his audience.
Time Required: 1 minute.
Maximum Number of Targets: 5 × your character level
Modifiers: This presence action requires the targets be able to clearly hear and see the character — if the character is in a noisy or hostile environment without the necessary equipment to facilitate this (i.e. a stage, microphone, etc.), then he suffers a –4 circumstance penalty with his presence check.
Presence Check: If your presence check beats the Will defense of any designated target, that target suffers a penalty with all Initiative and Perception checks for the duration of the performance equal to the characters Charisma modifier. If any target is threatened while distracted in this manner (i.e. a weapon is drawn on them, they’re flanked by the character’s allies, etc.), the character must make another presence check. With success, the dazzle effect continues. If the GM determines that the target is aware that they were duped by the performing character, then their disposition toward that character is worsened by two grades. If this results in a disposition toward the character of hostile or worse, the target may attack the character and their allies (again, per the GM’s discretion).