FotN: 3 Social Talents For Your Back Pocket

In a [previous post](https://blog.dungeonometry.dev/2024/08/fotn-3-active-talents-for-your-back.html), we went through a few combat talents to keep in mind. Social talents provide a unique twist on this same challenge. So many social talents are dependent upon the details of a character. "Lunging Attack" could be performed by nearly any denizen. But "Acknowledge Me Peasant" makes no sense for a pickpocket. Having "Demand Confession" can make all the difference between a common mercenary and a zealous crusader. These unique talents are great when you have the time and know exactly which one to use. But sometimes, you just need some fallbacks to keep the game moving and social combat interesting. Here are a few you can readily drop-in.
# Will Not Budge
When in doubt, this is about as generically useful a social talent that a character can have. Nearly every social talent has some limitations: social standing, emotional condition, or how the action is performed. Not with this talent. It is a +2 bonus to a social defend action. Whether it's against a Compel, Provoke, or Question attack, it can always be used (and chained). 

I also want to emphasize the importance of giving your Denizens useful social defense talents. In my games, it's the players who want to go about changing the social default of a scene. This puts me on the backfoot at the start. For the conflict to be interesting, it needs to take time to build and have that back-and-forth. While it can be fun to catch someone socially flat-footed once in a while, having all conflict end so unceremoniously gets boring. **Will Not Budge** is never a bad start if you have a stubborn character that will take some time to convince.

Here are a few other generically useful social talents:
- **Get My Way**. The corresponding simple, straightforward power but for social attacks. Though just as versatile as "Will Not Budge", I typically opt for more specialized social attack talents. I like to use social attacks as a basic starting point to demonstrate character motivation.
- **Interrogate**. This talent requires no special situation regarding emotional states or social standings. Just a flat bonus to a Question. It provides a larger bonus than "Get My Way", but still smaller than Question talents that limit scope or approach. Often, we as GMs overlook the utility of Question attacks because we need less information from players than they need from us. But gaining Strings on player characters is a great way to drive your campaign forward.
- **Stay Calm**. This talent only defends against Provoke attacks, but it does work for any Provoke. Many Provoke talents are specific to certain conditions. The bonus it provides is greater than that of "Will Not Budge", and blocking some conditions can be the key to thwarting powerful talent combos.
# Tactfully Deflect
"Tactfully Deflect" defends against Question attacks if the attacker has no String on the defender. While this is technically situational, it is the default state at the opening of social combat. The most common way to get Strings on somebody is to Question them, thus the puzzle this talent provides. It rewards players who work emotionally through Provoke attacks, or who can cleverly use their skills or other abilities to learn about the defender without engaging socially.

This talent makes a lot of sense for characters who are perfectly cordial, but have no interest in helping the Dwellers get what they need. In my games, such characters are abundant. Characters with this talent are likely relatively unknown in their communities. Yes, we know their work and what they offer, but little is known beyond what they want others to know.

Here are a few other talents that are not totally generic, but tend to work by default.
- **Cold Stare**. This talent works for any social attack so long as the attacker is under no emotional condition. They may not be able to use this for the whole social combat, but it should be an effective starter.
- **Oh By the Way**. This is sort of like the "Tactfully Deflect" for Provoke. It only works if the defender is under no emotional condition. Note that blocking Provoke attacks is the most basic way to prevent an emotional condition. Denizens with this talent are best engaged through Question and use of Strings.
- **I Can't**. This is a neat twist on the above. It is a defend against Compel attacks, but it only works if the defender has an emotional condition. Given how difficult Compel attacks are by default, most players will opt to Provoke an emotional condition before going for the final Compel. This helps counter such approaches. Dropping this into an encounter rewards players who like to go straight for that big-ask without beating around the bush.
# Royal Tantrum
As the name suggests, this "Royal Tantrum" cannot be used by just anyone. It can only be used if the attacker has a higher social standing than the defender. If this occurs, the attacker can perform a +4 Provoke to any emotional condition of their choice.

While technically limited in the broad sense of, you know, *everyone*, it is generically useful for those characters that qualify. When choosing talents for your denizens, you know whether or not this talent is useful. And unlike "Tactfully Deflect" that works at a combat's default state only, the social standing will not change over the course of a single social combat. This talent is both a strong choice and entirely reasonable choice for those characters who qualify.

There are many other talents that are specific to comparing the attacker and defender. Here are a few other good examples.
- **You Are Dismissed**. This is another talent for characters with high social standing. This talent Compels rather than Provokes.
- **We Are One**. This is another Provoke to any emotion, but it relies on the attacker and their allies outnumbering the defender's allies. This is nice for a sort of common man's "Royal Tantrum". It's a great choice for swarms. However, unlike "Royal Tantrum" it can lose its applicability over the course of combat.
- **You Are Beneath Me**. This provides a flat bonus to social defend actions when the defender is a higher level than the attacker. This talent, and those in its class, are useful for faction leaders or solitary monsters.