Impress Stunts (Action)

Heroic Action Role-Play

Main article: Action

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

At Weapon Point

Basic Action (Surprise only)

When you have the drop on someone, instead of immediately attacking them, you use your obvious advantage to get them to converse with you.

To use this stunt, you have to have an obvious advantage - usually because the target is surprised, but sometimes other factors can allow it, at the GM's discretion. Another way to use At Weapon Point is with a hostage.

You must have a clear shot at your opponent or hostage with something he considers dangerous, generally a Melee or Shoot attack. You can use this against several creatures at once, but you can only attack once (see below).

Make an opposed Impress check, on a success you gain an advantage and can take a trigger action to attack the target or execute your threat if he takes any physical action. You also gain the effect of Browbeat, Scare, or in certain situations even Terrorize.

Bad Cop Routine

Finisher

Make an opposed Impress roll against your target. If you succeed, they give up, spill the beans, and give in to your demands. Basically, they will do anything to momentarily please and 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. The roll will be heavily modified depending on how well you describe your stunt and use the situation and available props.

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.

First Impression

Basic Action

You try to establish yourself as a person of prominence worthy of trust and responsibility. You generally only get one chance at this, but can make up for a failed first impression over time as people really get to know you. This need not be the first thing you do on meeting someone, but it should be your first serious interaction with them.

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.

Using this on enemies establishes you as a respectable and noteworthy opponent, not to be taken lightly. It 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.

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 be impossible or require a Setback to achieve).

Impress Defense

Trigger Action (Defense)

When put under pressure, you can adopt a sullen attitude and actively defend yourself. This gives you a +3 bonus to your Impress for any task where your Impress skill sets the difficulty.

Upstage

Limit Break

You attract attention. Make an Impress roll against everyone present; if you succeed, you make a strong impression and they will focus their attention on you. If their next action does not include you as a target, it suffers a -2 penalty until the end of the next round. On an Outcome matching the target's Mind the effect lasts the rest of the scene. This works both is social situations and in battle. If you are performing on a stage, presiding in a court, or otherwise the center of attention this is a Basic Action.

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 Your Friends

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 a planned set-up or threatening hostages.