Skill Scale Down 2021

This skill has been impacted by the Skill Scale Down. The impact of this for this skill is as follows:

• This skill remains.

• All knowledge is left as is.

• For how to deal with XP, please see the page Skill Scale Down 2021 for links, information, and a player guide.

• The scope of this skill has not changed. Please ensure that you take this into account going forward.

Overview

Intimidation is a skill that has a variety of applications. It is the art and craft of bringing others into submission, compliance, and/or acquiescence.

This skill is far more than crude bullying, and the finesse of a Master at Intimidation is paramount for those who wish to bend other people to their ambitions, as well as maintain control in leadership during peak moments of conflict. Negotiators and Politicians are as likely to make use of this skill as Thugs and Military Commanders. There are many ways that one can intimidate from the blatantly overt to more subtle mindgames. The different ways to use this skill can be focused through combined use of many other skills.

Overt vs Subtle

Overt Intimidation

Intimidation can be obvious. For any witnesses, these acts of intimidation are either objective or nearly so. This includes direct and obvious threats to a person, their livelihood and/or loved ones. This can depend on the situation but more often than not, overt intimidation is a crude tactic. Pirates and bandits have been known to illustrate overt intimidation. Shouting, name-calling, swearing, threatening harm, blatantly demeaning and denigrating their targets, especially in the company of others or for an audience. Raised fists, rude gestures, pounding on the chest to try and rile a fight are also forms of open intimidation behavior.

Riding in on a dragon, while it breathes fire in a circle around the target(s), is a form of overt intimidation.

Subtle Intimidation

However, intimidation can also be a great deal more subtle. This is the art of the nobles, the merchant classes, and such. Subtle techniques can be employed through the sound of a voice, the pressure of speech, timed interruptions, absurd and challenging questions put forth on the target. Physical behaviors are subtle gestures and body placement to corner the target, block exits, or invade personal space. Polarizing and isolating are key methods of subtle intimidation, to make the target(s) feel vulnerable and easier to bend into compliance.

Mentioning you have to take your dragon out for a ride, while in conversation with the target(s) is a form of subtle intimidation (albeit incredibly obvious).

Combination Intimidation

Intimidation can combine both overt and subtle tactics. Frequent in exchanged intimidation and counter-intimidation scenarios. This is most often used when trying to intimidate beyond individuals, but rather groups themselves. An example of this is subtly isolating key members of the group in divide-and-conquer methods, then pressuring the targets by direct threats or forcing responses to rumors and lies.

Not mentioning the dragon, but having it land nearby while you are in polite conversation with the target(s), before getting on it to ride is a combination form of intimidation.

Intimidation Tactics

Isolate Individuals

Threats to specific individuals helps narrow the focus of the intimidation approach. It is easier to focus on a single person at a time since different techniques can have different results due to individual psychologies, especially for subtle intimidation. Effective isolation, in itself, can act as intimidation due to the vulnerability it causes (think of thieves that corner a target alone in an alley, or the interrogator who sets the target by themselves in a windowless room). This can extend to either established members of factions, businesses, or groups, but also to potential members as well. The purpose of this tactic is to weaken the faction's influence and cast doubt to individual willingness or ability to act.

Counter-Intimidation

Sometimes, intimidation is a two-way street. Most often this is the case in politics and military. Especially in terms of negotiation, subtle intimidation is to be expected as part of political etiquette. Thus, counter-intimidation often involves reducing the opponent's credibility while also validating your own position. It is rare for those already used to intimidation to easily back down from crude tactics, especially when they are able to recognize them as such.

Refuse to Deal with Leaders

Trivializing and demeaning leaders is a designed tactic to reveal vulnerability and isolate the leadership from their faction. Doubt, and seeding paranoia, goes a long way when trying to intimidate beyond the individual and influence groups or even entire towns/cities. Followed by pressured criticism of leadership actions, this keeps members of the faction too busy defending themselves, doubting or fighting each other to accomplish anything productive.

Silent Presentation

Depending on culture and setting, the understanding of what might intimidate through visuals alone is a wonderful subtle tactic. Being impeccably groomed and well-dressed, neutral yet intense in expression (neither warm, receptive, or disapproving) with unwavering eye contact and crossed arms can often silently intimidate most average people. Military uniforms can be designed with this in mind, the way that units are formed and/or appear to the enemies. This is also the initial reason for most public noble attire, as displays of wealth can be used to intimidate those of lesser status within similar classes (such as merchants).

Preparation

Having more information than your target can also create a sense of intimidation. Especially when timed to reveal such information when the target believes they have the upper hand in the exchange. This is key to negotiation, interrogation, and matters of political law. Interrogation especially makes use of this, to the point that an apt interrogator will even pretend to have information they don't actually possess to intimidate the target into compliance.

Related Skills

• Deception
• Socialization
• Psychology
• Writing
• Tactics

Skill Ranks

Novice 0-25

The novice at Intimidation often doesn't realize the techniques they use. They tend to act naturally in intimidation rather than methodically. As such, their methods can be crude and seemingly unskilled. Still, they have a knack for it more so than the average person. Maybe it's their appearance, maybe it's the way they talk to people, maybe it's how they gesture or what they do as a profession. Mages often border on this edge simply by nature of visual mutations that can intimidate non-magical people, same with those obviously marked by Immortals.

Competent: 26-75 (26 - 50 for FT Skill)

At competent Intimidation, the character is able to make individuals timid by a handful of tactics. Depending on the individual, this is likely to be more overt or more subtle rather than a combination of the two. They have started to be able to detect when intimidation is employed by others, and consider counter-tactics to such moments. They only succeed about half the time, and only with individuals or very small groups. However, at this level, they have started to become mindful of when and how to intimidate to achieve the results they want.

Expert: 76-150 (51 - 75 for FT Skill)

An expert, combination tactics are frequent. For the character that also has Competent or Higher in Psychology and Tactics, they are almost always able to succeed when intimidating an individual (as long as that individual doesn't have higher Endurance or Discipline). They are able to extend to tactics with groups of any size, but it is 50/50 whether they succeed and the larger the faction, the less likely they are to accomplish a flawless intimidation. Detection is also important at this level, to recognize others' intimidation attempts and counter them effectively.

Master: 151-250 (76 - 100 for FT Skill)

One might think that a Master at Intimidation would be easy to recognize. In a way, they are. For most people, they get a gut feeling and instinctual sense to be wary around someone at this skill level (unless Stealth and Deception skills are also high). Those characters who specialize in overt intimidation might prefer to use a presentation that is intimidating in itself.

Meanwhile, emotions don't come into the equation of intimidation unless the master wants them to be. They are able to, instead, choose the tactic most aligned to what they are dealing with, what is likely to be the most successful, and by now they have had a great deal of varied interactions to grant them wisdom and experience in the matter of effective intimidation. These are your high-status politicians, military elite, academics, religious superiors, royalty, emissaries, international-based merchants, and other top ranking roles where being able to acquire submission of others is advantageous.

Credit

Many thanks to Llyr for developing this skill.

Progressing Intimidation

• Capstones
• Grandmasters
• Tier 2 PCs

Intimidation Knowledge

The collapsible below has examples of Skill Knowledge for this skill. If you are unsure of what Knowledge is, please check the Knowledge Primer for details. Please remember that our Peer Reviewers will be checking to make sure that your Knowledge claim is appropriate to what you have learned in the thread and ensuring that you are not duplicating knowledge.

A guide to knowledge can be found here (this link takes you to the site) and the person reviewing your thread will do so following the steps laid out in the Peer Reviewer Guide. If you wish to use one of these knowledge in your request, please ensure that it is appropriate to your thread.