Social Combat Guide 

Social Combat arises when two Kindred can no longer resolve their differences amicably, and decide a winner must be determined. The number of situations where this could happen are plentiful and diverse, but share the similarity of one Kindred needing to prove their superiority over another, either to humiliate, shame or teach them a lesson, or to functionally get some type of concession from the other. The players and ST will set the stakes ahead of time; what happens to the winner of the social conflict and what happens to the loser. This could be as simple as humiliation but could also include boons, or other concessions as agreed. 

Social combat is needed for a character to definitively say that they’ve won an exchange. Two Kindred who hurl insults, and walk away is not social combat. However, if the insults rise to the level of one needing to crush the other emotionally, social combat can be engaged.

Here are a few examples of situations where social combat may be needed to adjudicate a winner in social conflict. 

• Two Toreadors trying to establish whose art is superior.
• Rival Anarch Gangs trying to sway uncommitted Movement members to their philosophy.
• Loyalists before the Harpy arguing over the correct size of a Prestation debt.
• Unseen Members arguing over what is to be done with a particular section of the underground before the Council of Three.
• Clan members competing for the good favor of their Primogen.
• Sirens seeing who can get the most phone numbers by the end of the night.

Situations where a PC is trying to convince unnamed or minor SPC of their position are resolved using the normal rules for social contests. 

Initiating Social Combat

To initiate social combat between two playable characters, obtain consent in RP-Coordination form both parties, and then ping a harpy to supervise and set the terms of engagement, as with physical combat. Players can decide if it makes more sense for one character to go first, or can roll initiative using Manipulation/Wits + Etiquette/Politics. Ties are rerolled.  Agreeing to social combat means you accept all consequences of the combat, which includes willpower damage, but could also result in lost status points, temporary flaws, and in some extreme cases fury frenzy checks, as determined by the ST running the combat. 

Social Combat Pools

The appropriate pool for social combat depends heavily on the social situation. When developing a pool for social combat, players will make suggestions based on their character’s intention and methods. Storytellers may adjust pools if they feel another skill or attribute is more appropriate to the intent of the action. Here are some sample pools based on the above social situations. 

• The Toreadors competing for whose art is superior may roll Charisma + Performance, or Intel + Craft, depending on the type of art they are showcasing.
• The Anarch gangs might roll Manipulation + Persuasion to bring people to their side, or Wits + Politics to quickly rebut the opposing argument with Anarch history.
• Arguing over prestation debt could be Composure + Etiquette to calmly explain the differences between boon sizes, or Resolve + Persuasion to implore the harpy to see the debt as unfair.
• The Unseen members arguing over the underground may roll Intel + Streetwise to talk about the connections between the underground and criminal elements, while the other could roll Charisma + Academics to enthusiastically explain the many uses of the underground based on city planning.
• Sirens trying to get the most phone numbers from mortals could roll Charisma + Subterfuge to feign interest, while another siren might go with Dexterity + Performance to show off their physique and attract a crowd.

The final pool is always determined by the supervising ST, and a player can repeat their pool, or change their approach, in between rounds. Specialties, Looks Merits, Influence, and Status and loresheet specific bonuses can be added if relevant to the situation.  If the supervising ST does not believe that the pool matches the writing, then the player may be asked to rewrite or reroll with a more appropriate pool.

Disciplines can be used in social combat, but still carry penalties for using in spaces where they are prohibited. Entrancing a foe could make sense, but doing so in Elysium would carry consequences. Disciplines should be discussed during the obtaining of consent as with physical combat. 

Resolving Social Combat

Social combat between two PC’s uses the three rounds and out system, with the winner being either the player with the highest number of total successes, or the winner of two out of three rounds, whichever the players involved decide prior to the start of combat. A character can concede social combat at any time before the three rounds are complete, declaring so before the next round is rolled. Conceding the social combat means the other PC can declare victory. 

Each round the total number of successes of both parties are totaled up and the loser of the round takes the difference in margin in superficial willpower damage, following all other rules for superficial damage including halving. Characters who go beyond impaired will take the rest as Aggravated willpower damage.

Unlike physical combat, the actual dialogue MUST be written between rounds, as the words may effect the reply and dictate the flow of the scene. The order of operations is as follows: Declare, roll, write, check for errors, apply damage, and then move on to the next round.

Depending on the size of the audience, and importance of the conflict, WP damage modifiers may be applied before halving. Here are some sample situations. 

0 Private spat between two Kindred.

+ 1 In front of the Kindred’s coterie. 

+2 Kindred whom your character deeply values, including lovers and Mawlas, Adversaries, etc. 

+ 3 High ranking SPC’s of your faction, or Domain, such as Faction Leaders, Primogen, the Sheriff, etc. 

+ 4 The Prince, all of Domain at Court. 

These modifiers are determined generally based on the above samples, but may be adjusted by the supervising ST. While the corebook suggests social combat can happen over a longer time period, on server social combat is resolved within the scene it begins, adhering to the three rounds and out rule having one round represent one back and forth of dialogue. 

Claiming Victory

A character may claim victory in the following ways. 

The opposing character concedes defeat.

The opposing character suffers a mental breakdown when all boxes of aggravated WP are filled.

Your character wins two out of three rounds, or has a higher number of total successes across three rounds, whichever the parties agreed to prior to the start of social combat.

Claiming Victory means you won the exchange, and written RP should reflect the results, with the WP damage serving as what the combat took out of your character. Please do not write your character standing tall and unaffected after taking such damage, as it is writing around the results. If you are both rolling intimidation and your character loses, your character is intimidated by the winning character, not secretly still in control. Onlookers are advised to shape their RP with this in mind. You can have your PC cheer up a losing party saying they did their best, but denying their victory outright defies the purpose of social combat. 

If a character engages in deception over facts that observers might know, the observing parties may be given a roll to sus out the lie, with a penalty to the margin of success if discovered. This will be determined by the supervising ST.

Social Combat and SPC’S

Social combat may be initiated by SPCs against playable characters if the character disrespects, offends, or sufficiently annoys the SPC, or if the character breaches the rules of Domain, such as in Elysium. Players may not revoke consent in a situation like this, which represents earned consequences for actions taken in play. These contests will take place over a single round, but otherwise follow the rules as above. Characters who wish to initiate social combat with an SPC in a scene can ask to do so, but be aware that even if your character wins the contest they may face other consequences for their victory. Getting on powerful people’s bad sides comes with risks.