2.21.1 Temptation and seduction

A character can tempt another person into carrying out an action. Examples of temptation include:

A character can successfully tempt another person if he/she makes a dice roll using his/her CH + Influence (including Temptation specialism) and gains a better result than the other person's resistance dice roll.

For example, Ariana has an Influence score of 5 and 2 points of specialism in temptation (giving her a bonus of +1 since temptation is a broad specialism). Her CH score is +2, reflecting her beauty and witty personality. She is travelling with Cogan the barbarian. Seeing a local woman being assaulted by thugs, she suggests to Cogan that he would look really good if he chased off the thugs and rescued the woman. Ariana's basic value is, therefore, 5 + 1 + 2 = 8. She rolls 2D+2 and rolls a 3 and a 2, giving a result of 7. Cogan's Influence score is 1 with a +1 specialism in assertion and his WP is +2 1/2. He has a chivalric attitude towards women (a specific behaviour trait that encourages the action, giving a modifier of -2 to the resistance dice roll), but the referee rules that this offer has a significant potential downside and so gives him a +3 modifier to his resistance dice roll. His basic value for resistance is, therefore, 1 + 1 + 2 1/2 -2 +3 = 5 1/2. He rolls 2D - 1/2 and rolls a 5 and a 2, giving a result of 6 1/2. Since this is less than Ariana's temptation dice roll result, Cogan charges in to the woman's rescue.

For example, at a ball, Ariana flirts with the local lord and then discreetly attempts to seduce him. Ariana's basic value is, therefore, 5 + 1 + 2 + 0 = 8. Her player decides to risk two dice and so rolls 2D+2. She rolls a 4 and a 3, giving a result of 9. Since this is a good dice roll result, the offer is pretty attractive to the lord and so he must get a 9 or better on his resisiting dice roll to avoid the temptation. The lord has an Influence score of 6 and a WP of +1. While promiscuity generally is not common, the referee rules that the lord has relatively little to lose from the offer and so assigns a modifier of +0 to the resistance dice roll, so the lord's basic value for resisting is 6+1 = 7. The referee rolls 2D+1, and gets a 2 and a 5, giving a result of 8, not enough to prevent the lord falling for Ariana's wiles.

Later, when Ariana is firmly in position as the lord's mistress, he discusses his frustration with border raids on his tenants by hill-bandits. Ariana, for her own reasons, wants the lord out of town for a few weeks and so suggests that he would gain a lot of glory by personally leading an assault on the bandits' base. Ariana's basic value is, therefore, 5 + 1 +2 = 8. Her player decides to risk two dice and so rolls 2D+2. She rolls a 4 and a 2, giving a result of 8. The lord by this stage likes and trusts Ariana (giving a modifier of -1 to his resistance dice roll) and he also enjoys combat (a specific behaviour pattern encouraging the action, giving a further modifier of -2 to his resistance dice roll). The referee rules that there is a significant downside to the lord doing this - it would be expensive, he might lose face and there is a small risk of him getting hurt or killed - so gives him a bonus of +3 to the resistance dice roll. His basic value to resist is, therefore, 6 + 1 -1 -2 +3 = 7. The referee rolls 2D+1, gets a 4 and a 5, giving a dice roll of 10. Since this is greater than Ariana's dice roll result, the lord laughs and says it would probably be a wild goose chase. Ariana will need to find another excuse to get him out of the way.