Using Prestige involves Prestige checks, which is simply 1d20 + the character’s Prestige modifier against a DC set by the Game Master. Prestige checks are useful mostly in social encounters, but famous samurai have been known to subjugate an opponent by sheer personality and reputation.
A character can make a Prestige check in the following situations.
First Impression: When introducing himself to a new group of people, a character can make a Prestige check to see whether his name and bearing make a good first impression. The DC for this check depends
3
on the size of the group and how well-informed it’s likely to be.
The DC for the check can be lowered by one or two steps if the character is a native of a given region. Success means the target group recognizes the character’s name and reputation. The group’s reaction is dependent on the specific circumstances of the characters known reputation, how the character’s fame has led him to be viewed, and so on.
Staredowns: Nobles, merchants, and even peasants practice the fine art of the staredown as an alternative to duels. People make use of their reputation as well as their strength of personality to impress others and force them to back down. Both contestants must be willing to enter a staredown, which usually happens after negotiations begin to turn sour. The challenger must state that he stares deeply into his opponent’s eyes and projects his presence forward. The chal-lenged can accept the staredown and force his gaze back at the challenger, or simply avert his eyes and concede. (A successful DC 25 Bluff check allows the character to save face by pretending he didn’t notice his opponent initiate a staredown.)
Both contestants make opposed Prestige checks, adding their Charisma modifier and ranks in Intimidate to their rolls. The loser is forced to avert his eyes and loses the staredown. Both contestants make a separate Prestige check after the winner is established to see if he gains or loses face by the staredown’s outcome (see Prestige Fluctuation, below). Additionally, the loser suffers a –2 penalty to Will saves against the victor;
the loser suffers the same penalty on Charisma-based skill checks against the victor as well as against any witness to the staredown’s outcome. This penalty lasts for one minute per the victor’s character level.
Courtly Ways: Manners and etiquette are very impor-tant not only in the secluded halls of mansions and
palaces but also in the streets of towns and villages. Of course, the rules of behavior change in each environment, growing more
compli-cated the higher one moves up the social ladder. A person can navigate through the ways and manners of any given group by relying on his Prestige, letting his reputation and natural grace guide him through the attendant social complications. Whenever a character is faced with a group that has a hostile, unfriendly, or indifferent attitude to him, he can make a Prestige check, adding his Diplomacy modifier to the roll. A successful check means that he’s able to behave in a manner consistent with his station and still command the respect of the group he’s interacting with.. The DC for this check depends on the complexities of the target group’s etiquette.
Success means that the character presents himself correctly in the environment, and the attitude of the target group improves by one step.
Pulling Rank: Besides the official ranks found in armies, bureaucracies, guilds, and other organizations, there are more informal markers of personal author-ity and position, as reflected by Prestige. A person of low official rank but high Prestige is much safer in his position than an immediate superior with lower DC Example
5 The court at a capital city, where news and gossip travels quickly
10 The halls of a government offi ce or a popular tavern in a small city
15 The streets or the marketplace of a small city 20 A checkpoint outpost with heavy traffi c 25 The streets of a large town
30 A small-town gossip
DC Complexity
5
Simple; there are only a few customs to keep track of, and a good reputation is more important than observing them precisely (examples: a group of friends , an army unit, a small village)
15
Moderate; a few unspoken rules govern social interactions, but they’re fairly easy to pick up (examples: a tavern full of regulars, a small guild, the staff of a large household)
25
Complex; although there are many rituals and set rules of conduct, they’re documented and widely accepted (examples: the halls of a samurai (or ninja) clan household, a large guild, the staff of a castle)
35
Byzantine; the already complicated rules of interaction and allegiance are made still more diffi cult to negotiate by secret deals, ambiguous intentions, and festering plots (examples: the courts of provincial lords and the kingdom itself )
Prestige, for example, and many governors seek the favor of low-ranking but highly reputed members of their court. To attempt to pull rank on a superior or someone in authority through Prestige, a charac-ter makes a Prestige check, adding in his Charisma modifier, against a DC equal to 10 + his target’s Will save bonus + his target’s Prestige. Success means that the character has successfully pulled rank on his target, impressing him with his Prestige. The character can give one command that involves his target’s official duties or capabilities, and the target must obey it to the best of his ability. This command can’t cause the target to lose face or put himself at obvious risk, although the fact of being cowed into submission in public may be enough to cause the target to lose face.
Though this effect is nonmagical, the limitations on the kinds of commands that a character can issue are similar to those imposed on the suggestion spell.
Leadership: Characters who have the Leadership feat add their Prestige modifier to their Leadership score.
Prestige Fluctuation: The last and most important application of the Prestige check is to determine whether a character’s Prestige score goes up or down due to circumstances. Whenever a character is in a situation that could gain or lose him Prestige, he makes a Prestige check, with the DC equal to his current Prestige score. Success on the check yields the most favorable outcome possible: if the character had risked losing Prestige, he instead saves face and doesn’t lose Prestige; if he had a chance to increase Prestige, he bolstered his standing and his Prestige score. With each Prestige check, a character always gains or loses just one point. See below for the circumstances that can occasion this sort of Prestige check.
Prestige is based on subjective values held dear by society, and thus a character gains and loses Prestige as a function of his interaction with other people. A character increases his Prestige when his deeds and his behavior make others regard him with higher esteem and respect, but he may lose it when things happen that make him look bad in his own and others’
eyes.
In the human society of Yonhosu Valley, Prestige translates as face and honor. A samurai may be a
coward and a spineless manipulator, but if he manages to keep a respectable facade and no one witnesses his true nature, he may have a high Prestige and a false reputation. Of course, by behaving in an honorable manner, a samurai is much more likely to increase or maintain his Prestige.
Basing her decision on the character concept and the social environment, the Game Master decides when social interactions cause a character to potentially gain or lose Prestige, At that point, the player makes a Prestige check (see above). Most of these situations will have to do with choices the character faces between acting honorably or dishonorably in the eyes of others, regardless of his true intentions. The Game Master decides whether the Prestige check must be made to try to gain Prestige or to prevent losing it.
The presence of witnesses may influence whether a Prestige check is necessary, as news of the character’s actions can spread and affect his Prestige. However, the Game Master can call for a Prestige check even when no one sees the character act, as Prestige is also a function of the character’s bearing and presence, but this should be limited only to extreme circumstances.
Examples of events that would cause a Prestige check to gain or lose Prestige are provided next.
Characters who have very high personal standards, such as samurai and priests, are subject to Prestige checks more often than are commoners. For all their infamy, shinobi, too, are accountable to their clan and follow their own set of rules.
Situations that call for a Prestige check are not always clear cut, and some can pose choices between two wrong decisions or two right ones, the only difference being that one may be worse or better than the other. The random element built into the Prestige check takes this ambiguity into account, allowing a character to sometimes keep his Prestige even when he does something apparently dishonorable and vice versa.
Kitsune don’t adhere to the mores of human society;
however, they, too, have Prestige to maintain among their peers. The foxes are at some disadvantage when mingling in human society, for they generally have no Prestige among humans since they usually assume a
new identity with each foray into human settlements.
As a result, a kitsune typically can’t use a Prestige check with humans to make a good first impression, pull rank, and so on unless she’s taken care to create a stable human identity, in which case her Prestige applies to interactions with humans as normal. (See the myobu class for more on kitsune that develop long-term roles in human society.)
Kitsune make Prestige checks as normal to increase or avoid losing their Prestige score, but (except as noted above) only when their actions involve kitsune society.
They can lie, cheat, betray, and cajole humans without any dent to their Prestige. On the contrary, many of the
tasks appointed by Inari or undertaken at their own whim involve lying, cheating, betraying, and cajoling humans.
However, all Prestige rules may apply when kitsune deal with others of their kind as well as with other supernatural races, such as the tanuki and the tengu (see Chapter VII: Forest Denizens for more information on the tanuki and tengu).
The character can gain Prestige when he … The character can lose Prestige when he …
spares an enemy’s life. kills an enemy who’s surrendered.
gives to another something that he obviously needs himself. refuses to offer aid when it would cost him nothing to give it.
swallows his pride when he’s obviously right but his superior
is wrong (samurai). rebukes his immediate superior harshly and openly.
stands in harm’s way to protect another. uses others as a shield.
tells the truth even if it’s harmful to him. is caught in a lie.
displays generosity by giving money to the less fortunate. is caught stealing or possessing stolen property.
defeats an enemy stronger than him. uses his strongest attack against a weak target.
stays behind to cover his allies’ retreat. runs away fi rst when circumstances don’t require him to go fi rst.
gives a moving speech or performance. is publicly ridiculed.
completes a mission against incredible odds. fails an easy mission.
survives a suicidal mission. survives a mission that was supposed to be suicidal by betraying comrades.
renders judgment fairly on a contested issue. demonstrates an unfair and unreasonable bias.
creates an outstanding item with his craftsmanship skills. creates a mediocre or poor item even though his skill is great.
upholds the interests of his family, clan, or guild above his own.
Lets his personal interests come between his duties to lord, clan and family.