Presence

Structure

Presence covers leadership, social influence, and battlefield psychology.

Presence uses Charisma. DCs are set by the GM.

Presence Mastery DC: Presence mastery level + Charisma tier. Anyone resisting your disciplines or combat abilities rolls against it. The resisting attribute depends on the effect: Perception to see through a lie or a guarded face, Charisma for compulsion effects, and Wisdom for fear effects.

At each mastery level, you choose one discipline, which grants a combat ability. Some disciplines offer a choice of two, so characters who share the skill can take it in different directions.

Mastery Progression

Bartering

Bartering allows you to try and get a better price for an item or to work trades into the deal that benefit you. The seller rolls a trial against your Presence Mastery DC, using the attribute the GM chooses for your approach, usually Charisma. On a failure, the price moves in your favor, by as much as the GM judges the seller can bear. Bartering counters Bartering.

Choose one of the following combat abilities:

Line in the Sand: Once per encounter, when you Hold for Trigger, your held action can occur even if the trigger happens before your natural phase.

Walk Away: Once per encounter, you can spend 1 AP to move up to your movement speed without provoking Reprisal Attacks.

Deceit

Deceit is your ability to lie, bluff, or mislead others through verbal or behavioral deception. This includes maintaining a false story under pressure, misdirecting attention during conversation, or disguising your true intentions in negotiation or social encounters. Anyone you lie to rolls a Perception trial against your Presence Mastery DC. Alertness (Discernment) counters Deceit. The GM may give them Dominance if the lie is hard to believe, or Impotence if they want to believe it.

Note: Knights cannot choose Deceit. The Knight's Honor code bars deception, and this discipline conflicts with that class identity. See Knightly Code in Core Classes.

Distraction: Declare before making an attack. Your attack has Inferiority. Whether you hit or miss, the next attack against that target from a different source has Superiority. You cannot benefit from your own Distraction.

Etiquette

Etiquette is your ability to abide by specific customs or behaviors of polite society, especially among well-to-do citizens and nobles. Fitting in is a Charisma + Presence trial against a DC the GM sets, by how strict the company is and how foreign its customs are to you.

Challenge: Once per encounter, you may challenge one intelligent creature that has not yet taken damage. The challenge must be declared before the first initiative phase of the second round. If you land the killing blow on the challenged target, you gain Inspired based on the target's Rank: Minion or Adept grants Tier 1 Inspired, Leader or Champion grants Tier 2 Inspired, Master or above grants Tier 3 Inspired. Inspired degrades naturally (1 tier per round).

Interrogation

Interrogation is the skill of acquiring information from an uncooperative, intelligent creature. It may be necessary to wear down your target and the GM may require other trials based on your method of interrogation. The target rolls a Charisma trial against your Presence Mastery DC. On a failure, it gives up what it knows, as the GM decides. Presence (Stoic) counters Interrogation.

Choose one of the following combat abilities:

Provoke: Spend 1 AP to target a creature you have attacked or who has attacked you in the last round. The target makes a Charisma attribute trial against your Presence Mastery DC. If the target fails, they must spend at least 1 AP moving toward you or attacking you on their next turn.

Rebuke: Once per encounter, you gain your Charisma tier as a Bonus to one attack.

Intimidation

Intimidation allows you to suggest physical or verbal threats to enforce your will against weak-willed targets prone to fear. The target rolls a Wisdom trial against your Presence Mastery DC. On a failure, it backs down or does as you demand, as the GM decides. Presence (Stoic) counters Intimidation.

Choose one of the following combat abilities:

War Cry: Spend 2 AP to unleash a war cry affecting all enemies within 30 feet. Enemies who fail their Wisdom trial against your Presence Mastery DC advance Demoralized by 1 tier; those who succeed are immune this encounter.

Death Knell: When you land a killing blow, all enemies within 30 feet must roll a Wisdom trial against your Presence Mastery DC. Enemies who fail advance Demoralized by 1 tier; those who succeed are immune this encounter.

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is your ability to persuade, rally, or compel through speech, including public addresses, rallying cries, persuasive arguments, and personal appeals. Swaying a crowd is a Charisma + Presence trial against a DC the GM sets. A single person you try to persuade rolls a Charisma trial against your Presence Mastery DC instead.

Choose one of the following combat abilities:

Hearten: As a reaction, you may spend 1 AP when an ally makes a trial, attack, or defense roll. You grant a bonus equal to your Charisma tier to that roll.

Inspire: Spend 2 AP to inspire allies within 30 feet. Allies advance Inspired by 1 tier (or degrade Demoralized by 1 tier).

Stoic

Stoic is your ability to maintain composure and guard your true thoughts and emotions from others. This includes resisting interrogation, maintaining a poker face during negotiation, and controlling your reactions in situations where revealing your intentions would put you at a disadvantage. Anyone trying to read you rolls a Perception trial against your Presence Mastery DC. Alertness (Discernment) counters Stoic.

Choose one of the following combat abilities:

Iron Will: You gain Dominance on trials to resist Charmed and Controlled conditions.

Composure: When a Startle trial would impose Tier 3 Impaired, you receive Tier 2 instead.