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You might remember that a couple months ago I showed off the new version of motivations and pitfalls in negotiation. A lot of you were asking, “Okay but how does the REST of the system work?” Before I could dive into that, we had to describe the power roll core mechanic and how tests and skills work since those are a big part of negotiation. Now that you’re up to speed, let me (the James) show you how power rolls play into negotiation, complete with an example. We think that the new motivations and pitfalls combined with the power roll rules and more advice for running negotiation has made it far more flexible for Directors. A lot of the changes are based on insights we received from the first Patreon survey about the game.

But you know what? It’s a busy week. We’ve got a lot of fish to fry right now as we work on some revisions to the game and build out character creation. I can’t make this a super long post … instead, why don’t I attach the almost 9,000 words of the current negotiation rules, advice, and example to this post and let you see what we’ve done for yourselves!

As usual, the attached rules are still playtesting and haven’t been edited yet. If you want to talk about them, head on over to the MCDM Discord and connect your Patreon account to your Discord account to get access to our Patron channels.

Thank you so much for supporting us!

—James

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Comments

SneakySly

I found the example negotiation pretty compelling! Could definitely see using this at the table.

Patreon Yeeter

Haven't even read the rules yet but I LOVE that art! Can't wait to dig into the new rules

Argonautica

I *really* like this as NPC information to see at a glance, what they want, don't like, etc. The actual making an argument system I can see just kind of glossing over though. All that stuff just reads as "an then everyone role plays" to me that I don't necessarily need all the systematization or terminology to use or for the players to use i.e. "see if I can discern any other pitfalls." Which probably just means the full implementation of that feature isn't for me, but I do love it as a thing I can take ideas from or skeletonize!

Kane Sweeney

The rules themselves are among the best I’ve seen at imposing mechanics to social interactions, but the most exciting part of this was the clear, evocative in game example. I read it and thought “that was impressive and would be fun at the table” and “with these rules, I could do that” simultaneously. Great example of how the future core books will show, not just tell the rules.

Tab

Oooh, I'm quite liking this. I like the interplay of discovering motivations/pitfalls (and the limitations of once per argument, to keep the stakes up), and the interest/patience mechanic seems simple enough to keep track of while being *just* crunchy enough to give me narrative direction without getting in my way. I especially like that even minmaxed negotiators can't just press the "I Win" button and max out every interaction - every move loses patience *unless* you get a great success on the first appeal to a given motivation, of which they usually have only 2.

ChatN

Very cool! I'm liking it.

Eugene Cheney

Love the new à la carte system of motivations! it makes it so approachable for a Director to prep negotiation or even come up with one on the spot! I can totally see those being listed on the back of the Director screen as really useful information! And it’s just as approachable for players as well knowing that they’re trying to appeal to one of 12 broad options versus something specific. Very easy to use figure out both in negotiation and intrigue before hand. And then the pitfalls being tied to the way players make their argument is absolutely genius! Now they only need to worry about one specific thing and how they’re presenting it. Not two specific things and how they’re presenting it. Definitely lessons player load, and again easy for the dm to grasp. This new iteration seems to maintain all the best parts of negotiation and streamline it so it actually feels narrative and less gamey!

Alisa Heletka

Looks much better then old version! More usable and easier to digest, sample negotiation also helps a lot. Didn't had a lot of succes with running old version, party was not interested.

Kapton the Architect

I like the direction of this system so far, but I still can't see me using it 1 to 1 in play. I think my biggest hangup is tracking interest and patience. Although we haven't played it, my group and I feel it will make RP more clunky for us. I could see myself using parts of this system though. Pitfalls, and especially tying skills to them, sounds great and easy to integrate into RP. The negotiation stats are what I needed though :) I have an NPC template and including sections for pitfalls and motivations will be easy and super beneficial when making NPCs. I also love the default tables for pitfalls and motivations which I can reference at a glance when making NPCs on the spot.

thc1967

Loving the clear mechanics behind more than just combat. ...but... ...time to ROLL INITIATIVE? huh?

Kyman201

So I have to say, this may be a very close second to my favorite Social System in a TTRPG I've seen, and it's probably one of the best ones I've seen for a game of the MCDM game's genre. It legit makes me want to try and backhack versions of it for games like Icon, that's how much I like it.

Dogsarethebestpeople

Very easy to understand, I like the clear guidelines (I am quite inexperienced). I can’t wait to test this!

alon yairi

I really like how the list of motivations is framed. It makes it really easy for me to imagine how NPCs might behave in a negotiation. I also think that because this is aimed to be read by Directors and Players alike, it will also help Players understand what to expect from a negotiation. Overall this system seems really robust im excited to try it

Mitchell Stevenson

What system holds the top spot for you in regards to Social Systems? I always like learning about more systems

Kyman201

So my favorite social system is probably the Social Influence system from Exalted 3rd Edition. To REALLY simplify it, characters have three levels of emotional Intimacies (Minor, Major, Defining), which can be ties to other characters (Like love towards your spouse or hatred towards the necromancer that destroyed your home) or Principles (like a belief that all people should be free). The intensity of these Intimacies can adjust a character's base Resolve, and you convince people to do tasks by leveraging relevant Intimacies. If you have an NPC with a Major Intimacy of friendship towards you, you can ask them to do more for you than you would if they don't have feelings towards you. This also adds levels on adjusting the Intimacies. You can weaken or strengthen existing Intimacies, or instill new ones with social actions.

Cody Rapai

Something I feel like these rules would be steering directors and groups toward is the assumption that most negotiations will be approached with little to no preparation by the players. I can see most groups looking at these rules and assuming it's normal and intended to negotiate with a NPC they've never met and know nothing about. With the amount of text in the uncovering motivation section dedicated to sussing out the NPC on the fly I think it will be read as the normal method. There's only a couple sentences that mention being able to gather information beforehand. To me it would feel odd to basically wing-it on such campaign altering conversations and would assume that uncovering motivation AT the negotiation would be a fallback option. Accidentally offended the Bishop? Didn't arrive in time to save the General out in the field? Couldn't bribe the royal chef? Well I guess we have to try to figure out the Queen's character at the negotiation. Maybe there needs to be more guidance on sprinkling motivations and pitfalls of characters through the adventure.

Kevin

The sample negotiation is GREAT and so helpful! Thank you for including a long form example scenario :)