Measures and countermeasures

In intrigue-themed games, adversaries engage in clandestine activities and seek to prevent each other’s actions. Just like in the real world, the invention of new measures and countermeasures leads to secretive and escalating clashes that roil under the surface, as each side seeks to exploit the other’s vulnerabilities or shore up its own. In a fantasy world, these advancements can be both magical and mundane, from a new way of encoding information to a spell that bypasses the enemy’s security. In this regard, it can be fun to include new spells, perhaps from an obscure spellbook, or even invented by a PC. After the PCs’ adversaries catch on, though, they eventually devise a counter for it, and the cycle continues.

Be careful when using this element. Ideally, you want to have the PCs’ adversaries participate in this intrigue arms race at about the same pace as the PCs do so that they seem like credible rivals, rather than incompetent pushovers. If the PCs aren’t interested in this Аспект at all, though, don’t have the NPCs keep escalating. This advice is even true for the basic spells from the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. The PCs and the precautions they take and expect are a bellwether of the approximate precautions the NPCs should be taking.

The exception is when trying to introduce the notion of measures and countermeasures to a play group that doesn’t typically Использование them or that consists of new players who aren’t фамильяр with all the spells and tools at their disposal. For such a group, the first Время they learn about using basic countermeasures might be when an NPC has used them. For example, say the PCs begin an investigation of a crime at the request of an NPC; the NPC could start by telling the PCs what investigative measures he has already taken—and thus what countermeasures he suspects the perpetrator might have used. This introduces the PCs to those measures and countermeasures seamlessly as an established element of the game world, rather than an obstacle that comes out of the blue during play. With this sort of introduction planned, you can design a plot revolving around bypassing or exploiting those countermeasures from the outset.

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF APPEARANCES

In some games, success and failure are measured in the court of public opinion, and appearing to be a certain way is often more important than being that way. This leads to plenty of Хитрости and betrayal, and can also lead to wars of popular belief, wherein both sides seek to paint the other as Зло and subjective opinions hold sway over the truth of the matter. In these situations, it is important to be able to keep up appearances, which is a key skill set in an intrigue-focused adventuring party. The necessity of appearances often restricts certain actions a group can take, resulting in indirect, discreet, and unusual tactics, rather than rushing into an adversary’s Домашняя and annihilating everyone with steel and spells. Using social pressure to restrict the actions under consideration is a great way to highСвет the varied Навыки and abilities of each party member, as long as these restrictions make sense and f it into the way the situation is structured. For instance, if the PCs want to help the Зло duke’s younger sister stir up dissent against the duke by proving that the duke was guilty of murdering his majordomo, murdering the duke’s loyal retainers and new majordomo would make the PCs look hypocritical (as well as like desperate maniacs), and so isn’t a wise tactic. Similarly, if a certain type of magic, such as Некромантия or Принуждениеs, is illegal in a society, then it makes sense that the PCs must Использование those Тактики sparingly to avoid their deeds being overshadowed by their unПринципиальность uses of magic.

 

BARGAINS AND COMPROMISE

In a campaign revolving around physical combat between Добро and evil, there’s little room for compromise. But in an intrigue-based game, where each character acts according to her interests and loyalties, there comes a point where the writing is on the wall, at which a reasonable opponent offers a bargain rather than follow the struggle all the way through to Уничтожение. These compromises might even offer the PCs more than they would get for destroying their foe, while allowing the foe to keep what’s most important to her. In most campaigns, the PCs are going to win, but this sort of offer is a great opportunity for the PCs to establish their priorities and make a real decision about how they win. For example, suppose the PCs have a main goal of emancipating enslaved полурослики, and during this Conflict, the pro- Рабство fДействие bribes an influential magistrate to make Жизнь difficult for the PCs. The PCs are able to turn the tables and discover damning evidence that could destroy the magistrate’s career forever, so the magistrate offers the PCs a deal: if they withhold the evidence and allow her to keep her job, she’ll Использование her influence to assist in half ling emancipation and give the PCs a strong advantage. Can the PCs trust her? Which is stronger, their desire to help the полурослики, or their desire to see the magistrate get her just desserts?

 

THE POWER OF SECRETS

Секреты are powerful in any Pathfinder game, even ones entirely focused on combat, since discovering Секреты enables characters to learn an enemy’s strengths and weaknesses and plan accordingly. However, when you’re using intrigue in your game, Секреты are even more significant. In fact, a truly powerful secret can be a far greater reward than even a dragon’s hoard. Секреты are tied into all the other Стихии of an intrigue-based game. They can destroy relationships and change loyalties, often to the advantage of the one who holds or releases the secret. Disclosing a secret can Разбивающий Звук someone’s false appearance. For instance, no matter how high the PCs roll on Дипломатия, their words alone can’t persuade the kind and faithful queen to help ассасинate or oust her husband, an Зло king who has convinced everyone—even his wife, whom he truly loves—that he is a Добро man. But if the PCs expose the king’s dark Секреты in a convincing way, then Притянуть off a Опытный effort to influence the queen, they just might succeed. Секреты are also part and parcel of blackmail plots, which can lead to fascinating bargains and backroom deals. Of course, though using extortion might earn you an ally of sorts, such alliances are built on ill воля. Because of the dangers of leaked secrets, protecting Секреты is a main impetus of the arms race of measures and countermeasures mentioned earlier. And, of course, sometimes the most dangerous thing a character can do is discover a secret that someone powerful doesn’t want anyone to know.

 

INTRIGUE THEMES

If intrigue Стихии are ingredients, then the following intrigue themes are sample recipes that combine those components in various specific ways, opening the door to adventures and campaigns that delve deeper into the world of intrigue than ones that contain a mere sprinkling of Стихии here and there.

 

A GAME OF NOBLES

Adventuring among the double-dealing and self-serving schemes of the Сфера Благородства combines the Relationships and Loyalty, The Importance of Appearances, Bargains and Compromise, and The Power of Секреты elements. Whether the PCs start off as members of the nobility, guards and servants ищущее to improve their Состояние and fortune, illegitimate children hoping to claim their noble parents’ titles, or simply adventurers hired by the wrong noble house, they quickly become tangled up in a tapestry of power and betrayal. In this theme, since the major players exercise great influence, the stakes are extremely high, allowing even lower-level PCs to become big movers and shakers as long as they are умелецs at playing along. When using this theme, it is understood that everyone has their own agendas and attempts to increase their personal standing, so self-serving actions are the Состояние quo, whereas moments of true Жертвоприношение and loyalty are rare and touching. With the shifting tides of politics, an enemy toДня can be a friend tomorrow, and it’s likely that many characters воля be neutral on the good/Зло axis, or at least only mildly Добро or evil, mudпри смерти the waters and making the choice of whom to support less obvious.

 

THE CRIMINAL UNDERWORLD

Though it can benefit from the Использование of other elements, a campaign set in the criminal underworld is fundamentally built around the tensions from the Relationships and Loyalty, Measures and Countermeasures, and Bargains and Compromise elements. The importance of maintaining a positive public appearance keeps a noble from engaging in too many illicit activities, but a crime boss isn’t limited in this way. In the criminal underworld, the relationships a character builds and her loyalties and reputations are the main things keeping her alive.

Adventures exploring the criminal underworld tend to involve nonДобро PCs with a central goal of acquiring money and power. However, it is certainly possible to have a group of well-intentioned outlaws in the vein of Robin Hood fighting against a corrupt government or trying to Помощь the oppressed. In this case, navigating the criminal underworld is even more challenging and dangerous, as the PCs might find that their moral Сомненияs make bargaining and building trust and reputations among other criminals more difficult.

An engaging criminal campaign often involves heists, cons, and other underhanded antics. In these cases, the Measures and Countermeasures element rises to the forefront, and the PCs must Разведчик adversaries’ defenses and come up with a plan to circumvent them or exploit their f laws and weaknesses.

In a campaign with this theme, the hidden world of criminals lurks under the surface of even the most Повреждениеless places and people. A benevolent group of лечениеers who cross national borders to help cure Болезнь outСломатьs might contain an element that smuggles in illegal alchemical substances. A sheriff renowned for eliminating most of the gangs in a city might have been working under the patronage and assistance of the gang that stood to gain by taking over its rivals’ territory and operations. The PCs, as people in the know, experience this secret underbelly wherever they go and live in this shadowy realm of murky morals. Even if they start with Добро intentions, it is easy for them to become cynical about the world around them.

 

СФЕРА ВОЙНЫ OF PROPAGANDA

A campaign that features wars of propaganda and public opinion centers on The Importance of Appearance, flavored with the Bargains and Compromise and The Power of Секреты elements. In a game using this theme, the PCs seek to influence public opinion in a particular way. They might be political fixers who seek to improve their clients’ image, or they might be lobbyists for a particular political movement attempting to build and garner support for that movement. Either way, the PCs become involved in managing information (particularly damaging secrets) and forging temporary bargains and alliances in Орден to further their cause. Unlike many other types of adventures that involve PCs discovering a secret and nefarious plot, in a propaganda war, the PCs must uncover and decide how to Использование damaging Секреты about the opposite side. They must also bury their own Секреты and those of their allies. DeОзлобленность being politically damaging, these Секреты usually arise from humanizing f laws or lapses in Приговор in an otherwise respectable ally, rather than from the ally being actively nefarious. However, the PCs might have to make a hard choice if a legitimately despicable character offers them the support they need or retains their services. In a Сфера Войны of propaganda, social Conflict is nearly a given, and since the battlefield is in the court of public opinion, influence and словесный duels are likely to play a part as well.

 

LAW AND ORDER

In a campaign where characters serve as part of the criminal Правосудие system, such as Детективs or lawyers, Measures and Countermeasures and The Power of Секреты are the two most important intrigue elements. Much like investigative or courtroom TV shows, games using this theme tend to be somewhat episodic in nature, with a “Таинство of the week” or “case of the week,” though they still likely carry a significant plotЛиния that keeps popping up over the course of the campaign.

For a group of Детективs, Таинства involve unraveling the holes in the criminals’ countermeasures against detection, mirroring the way criminals seek to deчерта the countermeasures защитное their targets. Each Таинство might draw the Детективs deeper into a Паутина of intrigue and connected plots, and they might be forced to make a hard decision when their investigations unЗемля disturbing truths about those around them.

Lawyer characters often also dip into investigation as well, but they focus on finding the vulnerabilities in their opposition’s case. A court proceeding before a magistrate or jury might involve one or more словесный duels between the attorneys, interspersed with investigation and interactions between the characters involved, with the case itself being a Крупныйr social Conflict.

 

ULTIMATE INTRIGUE

In a campaign that fully embraces all the diverse Стихии of intrigue, all of the above themes come together. On the one side, there are scheming nobles ищущее to gain advantage, and on the other side, the underbelly of the criminal underworld, with people like political fixers, lobbyists, and law enforcement all caught in between—supporting, using, and being used in turn by both sides. The PCs must naviВрата these treacherous worlds, facing difficult decisions about how to deal with their divided loyalties or putting aside their differences to deal with a common threat.

For instance, suppose that an Зло duchess, eager to usurp the throne from her older brother, enlists the Помощь of a major crime family, offering magical assistance to the malefactors so that they can Убийство a series of nobles without leaving evidence. The party might consist of the unlikely alliance of the Детектив assigned to investiВрата the murders, the son of one of the murdered nobles, and the daughter of a rival crime boss. All three of them would be determined to traverse the Паутина of intrigue for their own reasons, but each comes from such a different world that there’s bound to be tension and Conflict when those worlds collide. Each would have a different set of resources and contacts, all of which would be necessary to unЗемля the duchess’s involvement and then cut through her lies and propaganda to prove what she did to the people and to her brother, the king.

 

INFLUENCE

Jockeying for position and favor is естественная броня part of human social dynamics, as common in the armies of high-minded crusaders as in the courts of wicked nobles. The resulting Паутина of allegiances lies at the heart of any intrigue-focused campaign, with individuals scheming to gain allies while undermining their enemies’ support. To represent these machinations, this section introduces two influence systems: one for individual influence and one for organizational influence. The first system provides a dynamic framework for social encounters in which the PCs gain or lose the favor of key NPCs, as well as a mechanic for Воззвание in debts. The second system models the way the PCs’ actions affect their clout within allied organizations, and how far organizations at cross-purposes with the PCs воля go to undermine them.

 

INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE

The most common model for social encounters involves a single exchange involving a Блеф, Дипломатия, or Запугивание check. The following influence system serves as a more robust replacement for that basic system. It also encouЯростьs the entire party to participate in a social encounter, and can be used in encounters with multiple NPCs. In the individual influence system, participants try to change the targets’ opinions or court favor by succeeding at a variety of checks unique to each individual target. Known as influence checks, these are usually skill checks, though other types of checks may suffice, as an NPC may be especially impressed by other qualities, such as drinking ability or martial prowess.

In this system, a social encounter is divided into one or more phases. The length of a phase is flexible, and typically lasts 15 minutes to 1 hour—long enough for each PC to выступление several minutes’ worth of actions per phase that are unrelated to influence checks (such as investigating a Убийство scene or surreptitiously defiting an ассасин) without forgoing their chances to participate in the social encounter. GMs should determine beforehand how many phases a social encounter воля last, thus determining how many chances the PCs воля have to influence or learn about their targets—generally two to six. The GM should also determine whether the PCs’ actions can win them additional phases. For example, seducing a baroness or forestalling her carriage may both earn the PCs an extra phase in which to win her favor.

At the beginning of a phase, each PC selects an NPC.

During each phase, a PC can either try to directly influence the NPC via an influence check, or attempt to learn more about that NPC with a Открытие check—a check to learn about an NPC that can help with future influence checks during the same social encounter. The kinds of checks required for an influence check or a Открытие check, known as influence skills, are unique to each individual. The PCs can learn an NPC’s influence Навыки through successful Открытие checks (see Открытие Checks); otherwise, they must guess.

 

ОТКРЫТИЕ CHECKS

Each PC who attempts a Открытие check rolls separately, even if multiple PCs attempt to discover information about the same NPC during the same phase. This represents the PCs forming their own separate opinions and analyses.

At the beginning of the social encounter, each PC can attempt a relevant Знание check to recognize particularly prominent NPCs (see the sidebar on page 104 for DCs). If any PC succeeds at this check for an NPC, then all PCs gain a +4 bonus on their Открытие checks involving that NPC. Before attempting a Открытие check, a PC chooses whether to try to learn the NPC’s strengths, the NPC’s weaknesses, or the Навыки that can be used to influence him. Each type of Открытие check has its own requisite skill and DC. Проницательность often works as a Открытие skill, but it may not be the best choice because it’s so general. When a PC chooses to attempt a Открытие check, the GM should tell the player the possible types of skill checks for each kind of Открытие check (though not the DCs), and let her pick which to attempt. If a Открытие check relies on a Знание skill, it requires observation in the current moment, not static знание.

A PC who succeeds at a Открытие check learns one of the Навыки that can influence the NPC (starting with the skill with the lowest DC), one of his strengths, or one of his weaknesses. For every 5 by which the PC exceeds the DC, she learns an additional influence skill, strength, or weakness. Thus, a withdrawn but observant character can provide allies with a significant bonus (or help them avoid significant penalties) on future influence checks, making her as important to the group’s success as PCs who prefer the spotСвет.

 

INFLUENCE CHECKS

Without a successful Открытие check, a PC attempting an influence check must guess what an NPC’s influence Навыки are. A PC generally gains no benefit or hindrance when using a skill that cannot influence the NPC, though the GM may rule that multiple fumblings annoy the target and impose penalties on future rolls. Guidelines for setting influence check DCs appear in the sidebar on page 104.

The PCs usually must succeed at more than one influence check to sway an NPC. No matter how many PCs speak to the same NPC, only one check to influence that NPC can be attempted during that phase. Additional checks serve as Помощь another attempts tied to the principal check. Succeeding at an influence check by a substantial margin provides additional benefits. Succeeding at an influence check by 5 or more counts as succeeding at an influence check and a Открытие check (the PC chooses whether to learn one of the Навыки that influences the NPC, one of the NPC’s strengths, or one of the NPC’s weaknesses after the check is rolled instead of before the check, but the check otherwise functions as a successful Открытие check). Succeeding at an influence check by 10 or more allows the PC to choose between gaining the benefit of succeeding at two influence checks or the benefits of an influence check and a Открытие check (as if she had succeeded by only 5 or more).

Failing an influence check by a substantial margin makes it harder to influence the target in the future. If a PC fails an influence check by 5 or more, she cannot attempt to influence that NPC using the same skill for the remainder of that social encounter. A PC who fails an influence check by 10 or more cannot influence that NPC for the rest of the social encounter at all. For example, if the NPC’s influence Навыки are Дипломатия and Знание (магия), a PC who fails a Дипломатия check against that NPC by 5 or more can still attempt to influence the NPC with Знание (магия). These restrictions also apply to Помощьing another—a PC who fails by 10 or more irritates the NPC to the point that the party can no longer take advantage of her assistance.

A PC doesn’t necessarily realize whether or not she has succeeded at an influence check unless she succeeds by at least 5, but a character always knows when she has achieved the maximum possible influence over an NPC. Some NPCs might act as if they were being influenced even if they have no intention of listening to the PCs.

The GM may Желание to limit the number of PCs who can interact with a single NPC during a phase. After all, the NPC can hold a conversation with only so many people at once, and if six characters cluster around, the interДействие may seem more ominous than intended. Limiting the number of PCs who can simultaneously interact with an NPC to two or three (with the other PCs attempting Открытие checks or focusing on other NPCs), helps the encounter f low briskly and prevents a single PC from taking too much of the spotСвет.

Once the PCs succeed at a certain number of influence checks, they gain sway over that NPC, changing his opinion on an issue, earning a favor, or otherwise gaining some benefit or removing an obstacle.

 

BEFORE A SOCIAL EVENT

If the PCs know which NPCs they need to influence in advance, they can seek out information to assist them in doing so aГолова of time, potentially gaining information from the social stat block before the encounter. To represent the results of such preparations, each PC can attempt one Знание-based Открытие check in advance with a –5 penalty. The GM can allow other Открытие Навыки to work, but Проницательность should never work in advance unless the PC is actively stalking the NPC, which might require additional Маскировка or Скрытность checks and could lead to negative consequences. If the PCs attempt a Открытие check against a particularly prominent NPC in advance, the PCs can attempt the Знание check to receive a +4 on the Открытие check in advance, as well (see Открытие Checks on page 103).

 

ACTIVE OPPONENTS

The PCs may not be the only ones ищущее to influence prominent NPCs. An opposing party of NPCs at the same event can place additional pressure on the PCs to complete their task. Once either the PCs or the opposing party gain sway over an NPC (see Benefits of Influence on page 105), the other group can’t attempt further influence checks during that event. If the two groups are actively opposed, one group’s successful check causes the other group to take a cumulative –2 penalty on subsequent influence checks against that NPC, which can change the strategies the PCs might use. For instance, if the PCs notice the other group talking with a particular NPC, they have to decide whether to try to influence that NPC (thus foiling their rivals) or to yield that NPC to the other group and focus on influencing other NPCs.

 

INFLUENCE AND MAGIC

PCs can also Использование Магия to assist in gaining influence over key NPCs. In most cases, caЖало Разум or other intrusive spells is socially unacceptable or even criminal, so PCs who Желание to Использование such Магия should Использование discretion. Whenever a PC (or NPC) casts a spell, NPCs with the Колдовство skill attempt to Опознание that spell. Even NPCs unфамильяр with Магия are likely to assume that spells are intended for mischief, unестественная броня control, or other selfish ends. The most common schools of Магия used in social situations are Прорицание, Очарование, and Иллюзия.

Прорицание spells can assist the PCs in similar ways to a Открытие check. Spells such as Обнаружение Магии and Опознание reveal active spells and Магия items. Spells and items far beyond the reasonable means of an NPC may indicate that NPC is hiding something, or is more than she seems. Alignment- detecting spells reveal whether someone has an unusually strong or unexpected aura. Other Прорицание spells, such as Чтение Мыслей, pry directly into a target’s mind, and can provide valuable clues at the GM’s discretion, most commonly replicating a successful Открытие check.

 

 

Открытие and Influence Check DCs

The appropriate DC for an influence check depends upon several factors. The table of standard influence DCs listed below provides a baseЛиния for DCs for each Average party level (APL). These DCs should be relatively easy for the PCs as a group (particularly those with access to Помощь another and the benefits from Открытие), and they are generally appropriate for the skill that is most effective at influencing an NPC. To generate a typical influence check DC, add 5 to the base DC; add 10 to generate a difficult influence check DC. The DCs for Навыки in which many PCs have extremely high bonuses, such as Дипломатия and Внимание, should be increased further to compensate. An NPC who is hard to influence might Использование the typical and difficult DCs for her influence skills, or possibly even higher DCs.

If a major event takes place during the social encounter, consider whether any of the NPCs’ influence DCs should change in response to the event. For example, if someone Сломатьs into a sealed vault containing priceless treasures during the social encounter, law-abiding NPCs who suspect the PCs committed that crime become harder to influence.

 

APL	Base DC	APL	Base DC
1	11	11	26

 2 13 12 27

 3 14 13 28

 4 15 14 30

 5 16 15 31

 6 18 16 33

 7 19 17 34

 8 20 18 36

 9 22 19 38

10 24 20 40

 

Очарование spells and effects are extremely effective tools for increasing influence, but their Использование is dangerous. When cast during a social encounter, spells such as Приворот (Гуманоид) grant a +5 ситуативный бонус on influence checks in place of their normal spell effects, as long as the target fails the saving throw and remains unaware that she is under an Очарование effect. More powerful Очарованиеs such as Внушение are unhelpful for gaining influence, since they compel limited actions for a Время and then stop. Spells such as Гейс/Миссия or Подчинение Гуманоида might obviate the need to sway an NPC, but the magical influence is obvious to many people interacting with the NPC. People typically react poorly to realizing that Очарование Магия has been used on them. The consequences of getting caught range from the offending PC being unable to attempt further influence checks against that NPC at that social event, to the whole party being unable to attempt further influence checks against that NPC during that event, up to the party being kicked out of the event entirely or charged with a crime.

From innocuous glamers—such as Магия that sustains illusory Finery—to spells disguising an individual as a different person, Иллюзия spells are versatile tools of Хитрости. Many Иллюзияs that allow a saving throw require the viewers to study the Иллюзия carefully or interact with it before they attempt a saving throw. In the context of the influence system, the first Время a PC interacts with an NPC during a phase, the PC and the NPC each receive a saving throw against the other’s relevant Иллюзияs, as they are assumed to be изучение each other carefully at some point during the first exchange. After that, participants generally become more complacent in the way they examine each other, so they receive испытания against only Иллюзияs dealing with particularly specific aspects of their interaction. For example, a Морок to make a dress look nicer would grant a saving throw during the first phase of interaction, but it usually wouldn’t recur in later phases unless the topic of the dress came up in conversation.