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

At its very core, leadership is the skill of bringing people together and making them listen to you, whether by fear, greed, inspiration or trust. The despot who rules with an iron fist, threatening all those who dare disobey; the general who rides in the vanguard with her soldiers, the sight of her banner a rallying point; the teacher who keeps order in her classroom with a firm voice and soft hand; the kingpin who promises riches and power to his underlings if they only follow his every order—all these and more, are leaders in their own unique ways. The methods vary from person to person, but the end result does not—people will follow a good leader to the end of the world and beyond.

Great leaders can emerge in any profession—whether they be a foreman commanding workers, a head chef keeping the kitchen running smoothly or a mayor of a town. Great leaders can work towards any goal—noble or cruel or anything in between. Great leaders can be loved, hated, feared, respected—but never, ever ignored.

There is no rank or title or position required to be a leader. All that is required are your orders, and the people to see them through.

Related Skills

Socialization - Often, people are more inclined to follow someone they have built a relationship with, and who is capable of managing relationships between their followers.

Intimidation - Other times, leaders might find obedience in terror, making people follow them through fear of disobeying.

Seduction - No one follows a leader who does not offer them something they want in some way, whether that be approval, belonging, safety, or anything else. Seduction is a skill that is very useful in offering people things they want, and priming them to follow you.

Logistics - Leadership often involves managing a great deal of people performing different tasks all at once, and logistics is very useful in keeping it all straight. High logistics helps in making sure you are making best use of the people at your disposal

Psychology - A firm grasp on how and why people behave the way they do is a good way to understand how to convince them to do what you say, be that on a personal level or a broader scale

Many other skills benefit from Leadership as well, from

A Note

While truly great leaders are capable of asking people to do things against their nature and desires, this is not a magical persuasion skill that can turn anyone to your side. It is entirely within the purview of a master leader to ask their followers to go on a suicide mission, or to fight alongside their hated enemies—it is not within their power to make their own foes change sides. A leader can only command followers who either believe in their cause, or who are neutral to it. Those diametrically opposed to even a master leader will not be swayed from their path.

Skill Ranks

Novice (0-25)

At this low level, a novice leader commands little authority, even from those who like and respect them. People might consider their orders as suggestions, and even if they end up following them, place little stock in the novice’s force of personality. Those few people who do obey the novice’s orders only do so while those orders align with their own thoughts, and will typically not continue to follow them for very long.

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

By competent, a leader has started to gain some respect from those around them. They might have a small group of close companions who are inclined to obey them, though these people will not do anything too outrageous at this level. Strangers who they try to command might obey for a time, especially under extreme circumstances, but are unlikely to stick around afterwards. Leaders that borrow the authority of others, such as sub bosses, lieutenants, or other middle managers, might have more luck, but this is mostly out of respect for the person they represent, not the competent leader themselves. Some leaders at this level will have assistants or lieutenants of their own, but are unable to manage more than one layer of middle management effectively, and sometimes not even that.

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

This is where a leader truly begins to come into their own. A leader at this rank can start to order people to act in ways they normally would not, commanding the fearful to stand fast, the greedy to give generously, the angry to back off. This ability to make people act against their nature cannot be pushed too far, but careful application at the right moment can be incredibly effective. People tend to flock to leaders like this, looking to them for orders. At this level, leaders often have enough manpower to need to delegate to others, creating a chain of command so the leader need not micromanage everything.

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

To the edge of the world, and back again. That’s how far people will follow a leader of this caliber. Able to command vast swathes of people, the master leader calls people to their banner as effortlessly as breathing. People believe in a leader like this, and will do almost anything they command. Their chains of command can be as long as necessary, and their influence will still be felt right at the very bottom,

Progressing Leadership

• Capstones
• Grandmasters
• Tier 2 PCs

Leadership 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 [viewtopic.php?f=242&t=7463 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.

Writeup by Druid and Vulpes Original Writeup by Incubus