Impress (Action)

Heroic Action Role-Play

The ability to dominate socially and establish yourself in a leading role. Used to intimidate, lead, browbeat, and install respect. Typically associated with alpha males and the upper classes, Impress is just as important to a primadonna or dorm matron. Impress can be used to oppress or to encourage others, but in both cases you establish yourself as a superior. Impress skill defaults to Mind and an outcome matching this attribute on a stunt directed against Impress will often result in a Setback. Unskilled bullies can intimidate or threaten, but always do so in an obvious and direct manner; those skilled can Impress subtly and elegantly.

Use in Action

You make others feel frightened, uncomfortable, self-conscious, or inadequate. On a more positive bent you can also inspire, lead, rally, and be a figure of authority and confidence. You may do this by displaying impressive size, great skill, profound intellect, or just with an indefinable quality of superiority. Once you have successfully impressed someone, he is more likely to go along with your suggestions. This does not mean that he will automatically adhere to any request you make, but he will give it much more weight than he otherwise would have.

Knowledge

You know fashions and customs, and what you can do without breaking rules both written and unwritten. You know which clothes to wear for each occasion and how to wear them. You have at least an instinctive understanding of etiquette and how to use social rules to establish superiority, even if you could not put such rules into words. You know of famous leaders past and present and have a mental map of local hierarchies, even ones you have not had any contact with.

Contacts

You know people you have browbeaten in the past, and a few strong individuals who have stood up to you. These people respect you, but might secretly want to get back to you. You know people from the organizations you have been a part of it the past. Depending on your current circumstances, your superiors may still support you or want you dead. Your former underlings will still revere you, even if they've been ordered to smoke you on sight.

Perception

You understand social hierarchies and can pick out the leader of a group even if he hangs back. You can predict how crowds and troops act and move. You can pick the most useful underling for a specific task. You can judge people's confidence and know who to encourage and who to hold back. You notice weaknesses and phobias you can exploit or help to overcome.

Powers

Impress is linked to the forms of Earth, Mind, and Spiritual.

Stunts

Impress stunts are used to slow down and dominate others in and out of combat.

At Weapon Point

Trigger Action (Combo)

When you have the drop on someone, instead of immediately attacking them, you use your advantage to get them to converse with you. Another way to use At Weapon Point is with a hostage. After you successfully use Impress to cow a creature you have the drop on, you can use this stunt to make a Melee or Shoot attack that is normally a Basic Action. This is usually used against creatures that don't obey your instructions, but can be used immediately if desired. If you use Impress against multimple targets, you can still only make one reaction attack. To use this stunt, you have to have an obvious advantage - usually because the target is surprised, but other factors such as a Setback can allow it, at the GM's discretion.

Bad Cop Routine

Finisher

Make an opposed Impress roll against your target. This is generally used against a captive, but can be used anytime you are interrogating someone. If you succeed they spill the beans, answering your questions. Basically, they will do what they have to do to appease you, which means they might give you a plausible lie instead of an uncomfortable truth, especially if you ask leading questions. They also have no qualms about causing you harm as long as it is not obvious, such as by triggering a silent alarm. Combines well with Good Cop Routine.

Browbeat

Basic Action

You try to get an advantage or force someone else to cooperate with you. Make an opposed Impress roll against your target. If you succeed you gain an Advantage. It you score an Outcome matching the target's Mind, you inflict a Setback; the target suffers some direct penalty, as appropriate to the situation and what you did to him. He might cave in to your demands, run off scared, break down babbling, or otherwise lose his cool.

Demoralize

Basic Action

You try to demoralize another into a disadvantage. Make an opposed Impress roll against your target. If you succeed the target is Stymied. It you score an Outcome matching the target's Mind, you inflict a Setback; the target suffers some direct penalty, as appropriate to the situation and what you did to him. He might run off scared, fail to do anything, surrender, or otherwise lose his cool.

Gauge Reaction

Basic Action

This is useful to avoid pitfalls in social situations. You can gauge what another creatures reaction to an order or request would be. Decide on a hypothetical impress stunt and make an opposed Impress roll. On a success you can gauge the targets reaction if you succeeded with the actual stunt. You understand whether the request is reasonable or if the target is uncomfortable or even violently opposed to it, which means the stunt might require a Setback to achieve or even be impossible in extreme cases.

Upstage

Limit Break

You try to establish yourself as a person of prominence worthy of trust and responsibility. You generally only get one chance at this in each scene. Make an opposed Impress roll against the highest skill of those doubting you. On a success, you establish yourself as a person to be respected and not to be crossed. On an outcome matching their Mind you establish yourself in an alpha position, a leader, noble, or otherwise with a very strong authority. This makes it much more likely that they will accord you special privileges, such as accepting a settlement by negotiation or duel, but it does not make them friendly or make them back down from their position.

Scare

Basic action

Use this to scare someone to lay off and let you be for a while; on a success, the target loses three shots and backs off, allowing you to move by or away. If your Outcome matches the target's Mind, he is seriously scared and suffers an appropriate Setback instead.

Stand Up For

Trigger Action (Defense)

When one or more of your friends are the target of an ability where Impress is the difficulty, you can substitute your own Impress for that of your friends for the current shot. Normally, you need to be within Impress meters of them to do this, but if you have some means of communicating and are aware of the situation, you can use this at a longer range.

Terrorize

Limit Break

You make a Browbeat or Scare stunt that affects all enemies present. Roll separately for each. In certain cases, you can do this as a basic action, when you have a good enough stunt or setup in the GMs opinion. This is often the result of threatening hostages or a planned set-up.