"When Dealing with Other Species, a creature's CHA score is reduced by 10."

[CaptainDFTBA]

Hello! 

I am looking to play a lunarized baboon to replace my now deceased bureaucrat in pro-lunar party set in Lunar Tarsh. This got me looking at the rules for non-human PCs and the titular rule stuck out. 

Does this apply to everything Charisma applies to like Skill Category Modifiers including Speak Language roles or spirit combat? Things that just use raw Charisma, like cult membership? 

I know I can ask my GM how they would handle it, but I am looking for insight to how it is intended to run as well as how people have seen it handled personally to help understand and guide the process. 

Thanks! 

[Squaredeal Sten]

In my opinion it is too much trouble -  and takes too much time -  to re-calculate the skill category modifiers for temporary and situational things like this.

So I would only apply it to rolls against the raw charisma  score.

Edited September 27, 2023 by Squaredeal Sten
retyping

[French Desperate WindChild]

Hello

For me, it is only for any communication activities ( skills and CHA roll if needed) used with other species

there are few in this "rule" that could be challenged but here my reason:

 

art:  picture, sculpture... some may say that once the art piece done, nothing says who (what ?) is the author. But there is a big cultural difference, so for me, I apply the penalty (CHA-10) but, if in the background, something says that the character has some good reason to live in the cultural other specie AND had studied with an artist, well it could be canceled (or ajusted)

- for example a baboon raised since her birth by a painter should have no penalty to paint anything

speak other language (aka language of the other specie): there is accent, intonation, that can be corrected (if > 75% I would say, don't try to speak with me in english, I probably have the same accent that your baboon speaking lunar 😛 ). But... even if the character has no more accent... she has still the same look. So facing other specie-men, they may have some a priori (depending on the habit to deal with the character specie, the character herself, and of course racism counts too).

- example 1 : a baboon trying to organize some farmers to defend their village may use speak language to be well understood. But the farmers never saw baboon before so they may consider that "of course we will not understand" so penalty

- a merchant who deals every week with baboons without any preconception will "accept" the language skill of our baboon without any % (once the 75% reached)

- a merchant who deals every week with baboons but is a racist will notice that our baboon speak very well his language... for a beast. so a penalty may apply

 

[French Desperate WindChild]

10 minutes ago, Squaredeal Sten said:

In my opinion it is too much trouble -  and takes too much time -  to re-calculate the skill category modifiers for temporary and situational things like this.

So I would only apply it to rolls against the raw charisma  score.

for you only, because I like you 😛

communication skill

CHA  < 13 then -10%

CHA = 13 or 14 then -15%

CHA = 15 or 16 then -10%

CHA = 17-18 then -15%

CHA = 19-20 then -10%

or another simple option => -10%

[Akhôrahil]

On 9/27/2023 at 9:42 AM, Squaredeal Sten said:

So I would only apply it to rolls against the raw charisma  score.

Even then, I would probably allow for successful rolls for Customs, Insight, a Passion or the like to avoid this penalty.

Edited September 28, 2023 by Akhôrahil

[g33k]

14 hours ago, CaptainDFTBA said:

Hello! 

I am looking to play a lunarized baboon to replace my now deceased bureaucrat in pro-lunar party set in Lunar Tarsh. This got me looking at the rules for non-human PCs and the titular rule stuck out. 

Does this apply to everything Charisma applies to like Skill Category Modifiers including Speak Language roles or spirit combat? Things that just use raw Charisma, like cult membership? 

I know I can ask my GM how they would handle it, but I am looking for insight to how it is intended to run as well as how people have seen it handled personally to help understand and guide the process. 

Thanks! 

IMO, this rule is -- at least in part -- predicated on both biology & upon rearing, and presumes the nonhuman was raised in their nonhuman culture.

Was your "Lunarized Baboon" raised by humans, raised in a Lunar society?  Then they understand -- and are understood -- much better than (for example) a Praxian baboon who met a 7M priestess at an oasis there, and got converted...

In any case, Spirit Combat isn't affected.

In most cases, social interactions are affected.

YGWV.

[Martin Dick]

IMO, the rule doesn't really make a lot of sense to me. RQG defines it as:

Quote

CHA is the measure of leadership and strength of personality. This is the ability to say "Follow me!" and find oneself leading a charge. It is more than mere appearance and should not be mistaken for beauty.

So why should this be reduced automatically by 10 when dealing with other species? It doesn't make sense that when the SIZ 20 Dark Troll is trying to intimidate (a Comunication skill) a non-troll that there is a penalty instead of a bonus. And if the Dark Troll tries to inspire with Orate the group of mercenaries it has been working with for the last three years and who shares a common Loyalty passion and who has a developed a reasonable Insight (Human), why would there be any need for a penalty?

Now a penalty based on circumstances for social/communication rolls because there is a different species involved and your insight in to that race is low or non-existent is perfectly sensible. Adding on the fact that modifying stats on the fly and then determining the changes to relevant skills is a complete pain, it's a rule that could happily be replaced (YRQGWV) with something like "Communication skills have a default penalty of 25% when dealing with other species unless an Insight (relevant race) roll is made. The GM should modify the penalty or even turn it in to a bonus depending upon the circumstances".

You could even make it more complex (if you really want to 🤨) by having a nice grid for all the common races and putting -50% in the Dragonnewt column!

 

 

[CaptainDFTBA]

I appreciate everyone's feedback, and I can tell it's definitely not handled the same by everyone. Personally, I think running it on a case by case basis is the way to go, if you do it at all, but we will see what the GM says. (Intimidation via veiled threats of political action? Maybe a penalty. Threats of physical violence by the huge monkey standing within arms reach? I'd say not.) 

And to answer the question, the baboon was raised in prax but lost his troop to praxian riders and joined the Lunars as a mercenary and later moves to Lunar Tarsh post-Liberation of Pavis.