Not every conflict in Rhuna is settled with steel.
Heroes negotiate, persuade, threaten, reassure, deceive, inspire, and stand against the influence of others long before violence becomes necessary. Social Conflict represents the pressure created when people want different things and words, reputation, belief, or emotional control determine what happens next.
Every Hero possesses three Social Attributes: Status, Conviction, and Composure.
Status is the social attack baseline, much as Weapon is used in Physical Conflict. It may reflect how the world initially perceives you. Conviction represents how firmly you hold to your beliefs. Composure represents how well you maintain control when those beliefs or emotions are challenged.
Together, these Attributes shape how a Hero enters social situations and how difficult they are to influence once the conversation begins.
STATUS Copy link
How the World Sees You Copy link
Status is your Hero’s social attack baseline. Its narrative sources may include social standing, authority, and recognition. Position alone tracks advantage, pressure, and control.
It reflects reputation, lineage, profession, wealth, institutional connections, and the expectations society places upon them. Status does not measure intelligence, morality, or personal worth. It measures recognition and social weight.
A Hero with high Status may receive easier access to influential people, organizations, or places, but their actions are also more likely to be noticed and remembered. A Hero with little Status may struggle to command immediate respect, yet can often move through the world without the same scrutiny.
Status establishes the first impression. What the Hero does afterward determines whether that impression survives.
Calculating Status Copy link
Status is established during Hero Creation through Origin, Lineage, Access, and Profession.
Origin Copy link
Starting Status | |
|---|---|
Astralkin | 2 |
Vathian | 1 |
Nuhlrin | 0 |
Orvah | 0 |
Astralkin carry immediate recognition through their divine nature, while Vathians possess greater cultural visibility. Nuhlrin and Orvah generally begin without inherent social distinction.
Lineage Copy link
Lineage | Adjustment |
|---|---|
Common | +0 |
Notable | +1 |
Legendary | +2* |
Origin + Lineage may never exceed 2.
Lineage represents the reputation a Hero inherits before their own deeds are considered. Legendary Lineage generally requires WorldKeeper approval.
Access Copy link
Access | Status |
|---|---|
Unseen | +0 |
Attached | +0 |
Familiar | +1 |
Connected | +1 |
Influential | +2* |
Embedded | +2* |
Access represents the people, institutions, and organizations that already recognize or support the Hero. Influential and Embedded Access typically require WorldKeeper approval.
Profession Copy link
Profession | Status |
|---|---|
Marginal | +0 |
Common | +0 |
Recognized | +1 |
Authority | +2* |
Profession represents the social authority naturally associated with the Hero’s role. Authority professions generally require WorldKeeper approval.
Final Status Copy link
Status = Origin + Lineage (maximum 2) + Access + Profession
Record the final value on the Hero Sheet.
Status is not necessarily permanent. Reputation, disgrace, titles, alliances, achievements, and major events may alter how the world perceives a Hero during the campaign.
CONVICTION Copy link
What You Believe Copy link
Conviction represents the strength of a Hero’s inner resolve.
It measures how firmly they hold to their principles, loyalties, beliefs, and sense of self when confronted by manipulation, intimidation, temptation, doubt, or ideological pressure.
High Conviction does not mean the Hero is correct. A Hero may be deeply mistaken and still possess tremendous certainty.
Conviction instead answers a simpler question:
How difficult is it to make this Hero abandon what they believe?
Calculating Conviction Copy link
Conviction is established through Personality during Hero Creation.
The Hero’s Temperament and Inclination contribute to their final Conviction value, reflecting the emotional and intellectual qualities that reinforce their beliefs.
Record the final value on the Hero Sheet after completing Personality.
Conviction During Play Copy link
Conviction is used when another character, circumstance, or effect challenges the Hero’s beliefs, loyalties, judgment, or willingness to remain true to themselves.
It may come into play when resisting coercion, manipulation, temptation, intimidation, ideological pressure, or other attempts to make the Hero surrender something they genuinely believe.
Conviction measures internal resistance.
COMPOSURE Copy link
How You Carry Yourself Copy link
Composure represents a Hero’s outward control.
It reflects confidence, emotional discipline, social presence, and the ability to remain collected while under pressure.
A Hero with strong Conviction may know exactly what they believe but still become visibly frightened, angry, embarrassed, or overwhelmed. A Hero with strong Composure may conceal those emotions entirely.
Composure does not mean a Hero feels nothing.
It measures how well they control what others are allowed to see.
Calculating Composure Copy link
Composure is established through Personality during Hero Creation.
Demeanor provides the primary foundation for Composure, while certain Temperament and Inclination Traits may also contribute to it.
Record the final value on the Hero Sheet after completing Personality.
Composure During Play Copy link
Composure is used when a Hero must maintain confidence, conceal emotion, withstand social pressure, or remain controlled during stressful interactions.
It may determine whether fear becomes visible, anger overwhelms restraint, confidence falters under scrutiny, or a Hero maintains their presence while someone deliberately attempts to unsettle them.
Composure measures external control.
THE THREE SOCIAL ATTRIBUTES Copy link
Status, Conviction, and Composure measure different parts of the same interaction.
Status supplies baseline Power when a Hero applies social pressure; it never changes or tracks Position.
Conviction determines how firmly the Hero holds to what they believe.
Composure determines how effectively the Hero maintains control while those beliefs and emotions are tested.
A respected Hero may possess little inner certainty. A socially insignificant Hero may be nearly impossible to intimidate. A deeply principled Hero may wear every emotion openly, while a deceptive or distant Hero may remain unreadable even when internally shaken.
Social Conflict emerges from the interaction between these qualities rather than from any single Attribute alone.
A Short Social ExchangeCopy link
The current WorldKeeper and Solo practice tools use a brief NPC Social Conflict procedure. State the request and approach, then oppose the resolved Hero total with the NPC’s Resolve or Intuition. Resolve resists pressure and challenges to conviction; Intuition reads intentions and deception. These NPC ratings do not replace the Hero’s Status, Conviction or Composure and are not resources that decrease.
A drawn Momentum Social Break trigger can create an Opening, even without winning the comparison; an applicable ★ ability may resist or change it. An Opening is a temporary chance to listen, compromise or reveal something, not mind control. Accept Opening ends the encounter with the agreed opportunity. Press Further risks that Opening for one additional exchange: success allows a greater reasonable concession, while failure or a tie loses it and applies the agreed complication. Do not repeat checks until the NPC agrees.