Social Conflict

In Starfleet, an officer's ability to deal with people is every bit as important as their ability to fight. Social conflict covers disputes resolved through persuasion, deception, intimidation, negotiation, and other social skills — and in Star Trek, these encounters are often more common than phaser fire.

Yield vs. Resist

At the heart of every social conflict is a request — one character wants something from another. The response falls into two categories:

• Yield: The target agrees to the request and grants it as far as reasonably possible. This is automatic and requires no roll.
• Resist: The target refuses. This triggers an opposed task.

If a character resists, the same request cannot be made again without a change in circumstances.

Resisting Persuasion

When a character resists, the interaction becomes an opposed task:

1. The asking character rolls an appropriate Attribute + Discipline to set the Difficulty. Factors like evidence, deception, intimidation, or negotiation traits may modify this.
2. The resisting character rolls their own Attribute + Discipline in response.
3. If the asking character wins, the resisting character may either yield or resist by suffering Stress — the cost equals the asking character's successes (increased by 1 per 2 Momentum spent).
4. If the resisting character wins, the request is denied with no further effect.

Social Tools

Social tools alter the context of a social conflict. Each is an action, and they can be used individually or collectively.

Deception

Lies and deceit can make a request seem more reasonable. Deception is always an opposed task:

• The deceiver rolls to set the Difficulty (their successes become the target number).
• The target rolls to see through the lie.
• If the deceiver wins, the target believes the lie — a trait is created representing what they now believe.

Risks: If the target discovers the deception, they lose trust. Any complications during the lie may reveal flaws. Each successful lie adds +1 Difficulty to a subsequent Persuasion task, but also +1 to the deceiver's complication range.

Evidence

Evidence provides proof and certainty. Each relevant piece of evidence is a trait that either allows a Persuasion task or reduces Difficulty by 1. Evidence can be used alongside any other social tool.

Intimidation

Threats and coercion inspire fear to compel action. Intimidation is an opposed task:

• Success imposes a trait representing the target's fear.
• Failure makes future intimidation attempts harder.

Drawback: Intimidation is inherently hostile — it creates antagonistic tension that can worsen other interactions.

Negotiation

Compensation in exchange for granting a request. Negotiation creates a trait for what you're offering and a complication for the cost. Each new offer is a new change of circumstances for the Persuasion task.

Drawback: You may end up offering more than you wanted, or obtaining less than you paid for.

Social Conflict in Combat

Social conflict and combat aren't mutually exclusive. As long as characters can communicate, they can engage in social conflict. A disruptor fired as a warning shot is a threat. Hidden troops or a feigned retreat are deceptions. Actions can convey ideas as effectively as words.

Tips for Players

• Break big requests into smaller ones. A series of small successes can achieve what one impossible request cannot.
• Use social tools together. Evidence strengthens intimidation. Deception sets up persuasion. Negotiation combined with evidence is powerful.
• Play your Values. When a social conflict tests your character's beliefs, that's a chance to gain Determination.
• Remember the stakes. Social conflict uses Stress as a cost — pushing too hard can break someone.