Call of Cthulhu - Thoughts on Social Skills

Who's On First - Fast Talk

There's four social skills (plus one) in CoC 7th in order to get a NPC to give up information or do something for the PC in a short time frame:

• Fast Talk (lying)
• “My cousin is the Head Librarian and he said it was ok for me to get into the restricted stacks because I’m an eminent and respected scholar. (All lies).”
• Persuade (telling the truth, appealing to logic)
• “Lives depend on us getting this information. Do you want to be the guy who caused thousands of people to die? You can come with us and watch us if you’re afraid we’re going to steal your books. We're honest citizens: an antiquarian, a private eye, and a librarian. You can check our references. (All true).”
• Charm (seduction or friendliness, appealing to emotion)
• "You know when I first saw you, I knew you could be trusted. I'm in a bind here. Can you be a pal and just let us in?"
• Intimidate (threatening harm or torturing)
• "Look we're getting in no matter what. We can do this the easy way or the hard way." Crowbar slaps into palm of hand.
• Credit Rating (bribing)
• "Is this enough to buy access to the restricted stacks?"

Most players spend build points in Fast Talk and Persuade because they can be used in most situations; Charm and Intimidate are the ugly step children because they apply in fewer situations.

I GM social skills in one of two ways: either see what tact the PC uses and then ask them to roll the specific skill, or just have them declare "I'm going to use my charm and charm them into helping me look up stuff in the library." Sometimes the player suddenly says, "Oh shit, my Fast Talk is 5%, can I use my 50% Persuade instead?" I generally give them one Mulligan, but I won't let them do that repeatedly. This generally happens with a new PC (where the player is not familiar with the PC's skills) and early in an investigation.

Also if they can't roleplay Charm (and don't feel like doing a meta by saying "I'm going to use my charm") or rather roleplay Fast Talk or Persuade, I'd let them move the skill % (amount above the skill default) to the other social skill permanently.

There's always this argument as to whether:

• (A) a Player with good social skills playing a PC with lousy social skills be allowed to roleplay out of bad situations

or

• (B) a Player with bad social skills playing a PC with good social skills be allowed to just roll dice to get out of a bad situation (or get a NPC to react in a specific way).

The problem is that if you allow (A) then for that Player those skills become dump scores because they know they can role play out of any situation no matter what skill % they have. So, I generally force the Player to roll their social skill % no matter how great an argument they present. e.g. if for instance the PC has a 5% in Fast Talk and when we play, the lie sounds very convincing from the Player, I still make the Player roll their Fast Talk, because if they don't make their 5%, the lie sounds unconvincing, the PC is not convincing because the PC's a lousy liar and is stuttering, staring at his feet, shuffling them, hemming and hawing, not looking at the NPC in the eye, hiding a smirk, etc..

For (B), if the Player knows he can't role play the social skill, I'll let them just say "I use my [Fast Talk, Persuade, Charm, Intimidate] skill to convince them to help us." I'm actually good with that (and after the skill roll, I would tell the Player what they did that would have worked, making it a learning experience for the Player), but if the Player actually tries to role play first and says some horrible whopper or something the NPC knows isn't true, I have the PC roll their skill, but I would now require a hard or extreme result (depending on how bad that gaff was) to succeed.

Also, I consider the skill roll not just an indication of how well the PC used the social skill but also a measure of factors outside of the PC's control. For example, a PC makes a very convincing argument to a NPC (Persuade skill 65%). On a success, the NPC was convinced and does as the PC wants. On a failure, maybe the argument was completely rational, but due to reasons out of the PC's control, for instance the NPC is angry about his wife leaving him and just doesn't want to do anything for anybody at the moment, so the persuasive argument fails.

Fast Talk failure: NPC sees through the con or bad lie or bad delivery. "Yeah, that's the ticket. My cousin, I mean my brother, now I remember, it was my father's best friend's twice removed's cat. I get so confused these days. Anyway, I need to get into the restricted section because I saw the cat slip into an open window in the reserve section and I need to get in there and get the cat before it uses your books as toilet paper. Oh shit, that sounded so much smoother in my head. Did I just say that out loud? That didn't work, huh?"

Persuade failure: NPC not convinced or still has doubts or has another reason to not comply (see above example). "Just go away and leave me alone. I don't gotta do nothing for nobody."

Charm failure: NPC sees through your charm offensive or has another reason to not comply. "You're such a snake charmer. I bet you say that to all the gals."

Intimidate failure: NPC doesn't feel threatened or think PC is bluffing or has another reason to not comply. "Go ahead, do your worst. I'll never talk."

Credit Rating failure: NPC wants more money or not bribable or has another reason to not comply. "Sir? Who do you think I am? I cannot be bought."

Also a good Fast Talker can spot another Fast Talker (e.g. a bullshitter can always spot another bullshitter), so a Fast Talker skill roll is against the target's Psychology or Fast Talk skill, whichever is higher. Actually a rule on p.64 Keeper Rulebook.

Same for Charm and Intimidate. Charm is against the target's Psychology or Charm skill, whichever is higher (p.59 Keeper Rulebook). Intimidate is against the target's Psychology or Intimidate skill, whichever is higher (p.66 Keeper Rulebook).

This doesn't seem to apply to Persuade though (p.71 Keeper Rulebook). No other opposing skill is explicitly called out as in the other 3 social skills. Actually no opposing skill is called out at all, but under Psychology (p.73 Keeper Rulebook), Persuade is explicitly called out, so Persuade is against the target's Psychology.

Note that on p.71 Keeper Rulebook, that "Persuade may be employed without reference to truth." e.g. you can persuade someone to act against their own best interests by convincing them of some falsehood. "The world is better off without you." "I'm the best person to be the executor of your will." But this requires long term manipulation and consistent arguments. A very different use of the Persuade skill than running into a NPC and getting them to do something in a short time frame. I assume this is used multiple times over long time periods to adjust a NPC's frame of mind by building up a framework of faulty logic or feeding the NPC consistent lies that are hard to discredit.

So, that's my take on social skills.

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Q: If a Player switches skills after a failure is it a Pushed roll? For example a PC tries Charm and then switches to Persuade?

A: If the goal is still the same, such as gaining info or a clue, any switch in tactics or rerolls are Pushed rolls.

For social skills: Intimidate, Charm, Persuade, Fast Talk. Any switch in tactics or rerolls are Pushed rolls, even by a different PC. This prevents Players from doing the following: PC 1 tries Charm, failed. PC 2 tries Fast Talk, failed. PC 3 tries Persuade, failed. PC 4 tries Intimidate, failed. Then PC with highest social skill tries a Pushed roll. Yeah, this is an extreme example, but I think you get why this shouldn't be allowed.

I consider any re-try even with a different social skill a Pushed roll because it's really fishy if someone tried to Charm you to get past the door, then moments later, either the same person or their friend tries to Fast Talk through the door. I tell the players that if you do that, that's a Push and if you fail, the doorman gets pissed off and decides to teach you a lesson. e.g. it'll be a combat situation. Of course, if they beat him down, they'll get past him.

As an aside, if you fail a Locksmith (lock pick) and then kick the door in, the STR test for kicking in the door is NOT a Pushed roll as the consequence is that it's noisy and obvious someone broke in. And the original point of trying Locksmith was to quietly and unobtrusively get through the door.

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Q: It seems overpowerful that a PC who makes their social skill roll can make a NPC do anything.

A: I think within reason.

Trying to persuade an NPC you've just met to shoot themselves in the head won't work, even if you rolled an 01, a Critical Success.

In my games, the Player has an idea as to what the PC wants the NPC to do. Generally, the Player would say, "I want the NPC to let me in his house, so I can search it. I ask them if I can use the bathroom." Even if the Fast Talk works, there could be strings attached such as "You can, but the NPC's butler or thug will keep an eye on you, so there's no funny business." Then the PC would need to Stealth out of the bathroom to do a Spot Hidden.

If it's to borrow the MacGuffin, which is the key to the whole scenario, I wouldn't just hand it to the PCs. If it's important, there should be strings attached such as they might have to leave a hostage in exchange or there's threat of violence if the McGuffin isn't returned or they can't have it, but they can see it (then they'd have to steal it or fight for it).