Interaction
Cost: 3 Character Points; + 1 to roll per + 2 points

Characters with this Interaction Skill can convince, persuade, or influence individuals, or tell believable lies. Typically characters only use Persuasion on NPCs; PCs are usually allowed more latitude with their decisions. However, a successful Persuasion roll should make a PC much more inclined to believe the speaker or do as he requests.

When a character succeeds with a Persuasion roll, typically the target gets to make an EGO Roll in a Skill Versus Skill Contest to resist the suggestion or see through the lie. The GM may modify the Persuasion roll based on the quality of the character’s statements, the believability of what he’s saying, the target’s Psychological Limitations, and other factors. (Alternately, the GM can modify the EGO Roll instead.) Some possible modifiers include:
—the target wants to believe the character: + 3 to the Persuasion roll (or – 3 to the EGO Roll)
—the target is skeptical or suspicious: – 1 to – 5 to the Persuasion roll (or + 1 to + 5 to the EGO Roll)
—the target has Psychological Limitations that agrees/disagrees with the character’s statement: + 1/- 1 to the Persuasion roll for Moderate Psychological Limitations, + 2/- 2 for Strong, + 3/- 3 for Very Strong (reverse the modifiers if they’re applied to the EGO Roll)
—use appropriate modifiers listed under Presence Attacks as a modifier to the Persuasion roll (for example, a + 2d6 modifier would equal a + 2 Persuasion roll modifier [or a – 2 EGO Roll modifier]).

Other factors may also affect the roll. For example, some alien species may be incapable of lying, and, believing others to be the same, be very gullible (thus granting a bonus to the Persuasion roll, or a penalty to the EGO Roll).

The more outrageous and unbelievable the lie or advocated position is, the more negative modifiers the GM should attach to the Persuasion roll (or bonuses to the EGO Roll). Remember, Persuasion isn’t Mind Control — ridiculous suggestions entail enormous penalties to the roll, and the GM should always keep common sense and dramatic sense in mind when adjudicating the results.

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