Relationships

Ripped & adapted from the Smallville RPG (with a little Dragon Age 2 mixed in):

New Perk: Relationship

Essentially, a limited-use, leveled Higher Purpose (B59) conceptually based on Personal Loyalty (SE39). Each Relationship Perk applies to only one subject (an individual PC or NPC), but may be taken multiple times for different subjects.

Relationship Statements

Your statement for each subject you have an active Relationship with defines your opinion of that character. Your statement should be one short sentence that sums it all up: The love of my life. I can’t stand him. She frightens me. I would follow him anywhere. He is reckless. I don’t trust her. The Relationship can be positive or negative, a "friendship" or "rivalry," independent of its strength. As you play through the campaign, your experiences and impressions of the subject will grow and change. You will be able to challenge your Relationships and alter your statement for these characters to reflect those experiences.

Relationship Statement Examples

• I can barely tolerate him.
• She used to be so nice.
• I must make it up to him.
• She’s my best friend.
• He deserves my support.
• She’s just a silly rich girl.
• He must pay for his crimes.
• She has gone too far.
• He needs me to take care of him.
• She is stone cold.
• He’s easy to manipulate.
• I like her more now…
• He doesn’t understand my vision of the world.
• She needs to get her head in the game.
• I wouldn’t let anything hurt him.
• She’s someone I can trust.
• He’ll never change.
• If this keeps up, I’m going to kill her!
• He’s about the dumbest person I’ve ever met.
• She has a good head on her shoulders.

Using Relationships

Any (non-damage) die roll that can be justified according to a given Relationship Statement (subject to GM's approval, as per Higher Purpose (B59)) is assessed a +1 bonus to that check per level of the Perk, usable once per game session per Perk level; individual uses may also be combined for a single check. This bonus may be claimed after a roll has been made. Usage must be justified according to the Relationship Statement; describe how your character’s Relationship drives his dramatic action.

Challenging Relationships

Relationships are not stagnant; they can radically change in an instant or gradually morph into something new. An action may be taken that’s in conflict with the Relationship Statement for its subject; that Relationship has been challenged. Instead of the above bonus(es), the action benefits from the use of a standard Plot Point (see associated rules for usage); this counts as all Relationship uses for the game session. At the end of the session where the Relationship is challenged, the Relationship Statement must be redefined and rewritten accordingly to reflect a new perspective (subject to GM's approval; ideally, this should be somehow related to the events surrounding its use), or the level of the Perk is reduced permanently by one.

Example: The PC requires the aid of his Ally, an old friend, for an upcoming adventure. Rather than rely on the standard flat-rate bonus, the Player decides to challenge the relationship, “He's too reckless,” by giving him some serious responsibility. By challenging the Relationship, the Player can use the bonus Plot Point to force a success on the Ally's Frequency check, and at the end of the session, the Statement is rewritten (perhaps dependent on the results of the adventure), “He's trying to be responsible.”

Improving or Changing Relationships

A Relationship Perk may be upgraded between sessions by spending awarded CPs. Strengthening a Relationship takes work. The expenditure of CPs to upgrade the Relationship in this manner should be justified by in-game actions. A Relationship being upgraded by CP expenditure may only be adjusted one step per game-session. Without CP expenditure, a Relationship Statement may be redefined and rewritten at any sensible point in a campaign (like the end of an adventure).