Performance governs your ability to entertain, inspire, and influence audiences through expressive arts. This includes music, oratory, dance, acting, storytelling, and other creative disciplines. Skilled performers can hold crowds spellbound, win favor with nobles, rally battle-weary allies, or elevate rituals through their artistry.
When You Use It:
Performance applies when:
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Playing music or singing to sway or distract
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Reciting tales or delivering speeches to win favor or inspire
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Acting to convincingly portray personas or roles
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Leading chants or rites to support ceremonies or magical effects
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Entertaining for social or practical rewards (such as free lodging or goodwill)
Stat Used:
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Always Mind.
Untrained Use:
Performance may be attempted untrained using your full Mind %. Most people can carry a tune or tell a story, but consistent or powerful impact requires skill.
Declaring Intent:
Before rolling, the player should always declare the desired outcome of the performance. This focuses the action and allows the GM to determine difficulty and effect.
Typical declared goals include:
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Boosting morale
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Distracting a crowd or guards
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Winning favor or softening attitudes
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Gaining practical rewards (such as free ale or goodwill)
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Supporting a ritual or spiritual effort
Mechanical Effects:
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Success:
You achieve your intended goal to a reasonable degree.
(Examples: Inspiring confidence, charming the audience, gaining minor favors.) -
Critical Success (01):
You exceed expectations and create a powerful impact.
(Examples: Stirring the audience deeply, earning lasting goodwill, or creating supernatural resonance.) -
Failure:
You fail to accomplish your goal.
(Examples: The audience remains indifferent or unimpressed.) -
Critical Failure (00):
You offend or alienate your audience.
(Examples: Creating hostility, damaging your reputation, or provoking backlash.)
Special Considerations:
Performance may be tied to specific forms. Specialization in a performance type (e.g., lute, stage acting, chant) may offer bonuses in familiar contexts and penalties outside them (GM discretion).
Performance is also used to support ritual or magical effects, where success may be necessary to empower supernatural forces.
Situational Modifiers:
Apply the Difficulty Ladder based on venue, audience, and circumstances:
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+50%: Friendly audience or familiar supporters
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+40%: Quiet, relaxed setting
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+30%: Receptive crowd in ideal conditions
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+20%: Moderate distractions or modest venue
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+10%: Audience open but cautious
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0%: Average performance environment
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–10%: Rowdy or inattentive crowd
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–20%: Distracted or skeptical listeners
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–30%: Hostile or biased audience
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–40%: Chaotic environment (battlefield, loud marketplace)
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–50%: Furious mob or extremely antagonistic group
Narrative Examples:
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A bard plays a stirring anthem to embolden allies before a siege.
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A courtier recites a legendary tale to earn favor at a royal banquet.
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A rogue performs a charming tune in a tavern, hoping for free drinks and trust.
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A priest leads a solemn chant to sanctify a battlefield and bolster resolve.
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An actor assumes a noble’s role flawlessly to mislead enemies at court.
Optional Rule — Performance and the Disposition Scale (Audience Reactions)
Performance is often used to entertain or express artistry, but it can also sway public opinion, rally allies, or change hearts. When Performance is used for influence rather than entertainment, it may shift disposition in the same way as Persuasion.
When to Use This Rule:
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When giving a rousing speech to rally townsfolk or soldiers
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When using music to turn a hostile or indifferent crowd to your cause
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When acting or storytelling to win over suspicious strangers
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When seeking to shift emotional states and inspire loyalty or affection
If the performance is purely casual or artistic, this rule does not apply. Use the Disposition Scale only when the performance is intended to change opinions or loyalties.
The Disposition Scale: NPCs and groups can have disposition ranked from 1 to 7:
1 — Hostile:
Violent or dangerous. May attack, riot, or disrupt.
2 — Hateful:
Resentful and prone to sabotage or confrontation.
3 — Unfriendly:
Suspicious or obstructive. Will resist requests. It could reflect a general wariness of armed strangers.
4 — Neutral:
Indifferent and professional. Neither friendly nor hostile.
5 — Friendly:
Polite, cooperative, and receptive to favors.
6 — Supportive:
Personally loyal and eager to assist.
7 — Devoted:
Deeply loyal or affectionate. Will risk themselves or join the cause.
Shifting Disposition with Performance:
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Success: Disposition improves by 1 rank.
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Critical Success (01): Disposition improves by 2 ranks.
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Failure: No change.
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Critical Failure (00): Disposition drops by 1 rank (offense, embarrassment, or alienation).
Crowds and Groups:
When influencing a group, assume the crowd’s general attitude shifts as a whole unless the GM decides to track key individuals separately. Groups may also be subdivided, such as when common folk like the NPCs, but nobles find them base.
Player Note:
Always state your intended goal before rolling Performance. Success is measured by whether you achieve your purpose—not by generic applause. Skilled use of Performance shapes the story, sways hearts, and opens doors through artistry and expression.
GM Note:
Performance resolves audience-facing artistic and social efforts. The player’s declared goal should guide how difficulty and outcomes are handled. In routine situations, success may win minor favors or goodwill. In tense moments, success may inspire, calm, or sway groups. Always use common sense and context to determine what success or failure means. Performance rolls should produce tangible narrative or mechanical results whenever possible, not just polite applause.
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File Created: 05/01/2025 Last Modified: 05/01/2025