Intimidation

Key facts

Category

social

Overview

Intimidation is making someone do what you want because they are afraid of what happens if they do not. It runs from a physical threat to a quiet sentence delivered without any threat in it at all, which is often worse. Interrogation lives here, and so does the moment a vampire stops pretending to be a person. Kindred have an unfair advantage and pay for it. You are a predator, and mortals feel that before you say a word. The cost is that fear is a blunt tool: frightened people lie, run, call the police, and remember. Storytellers tend to attach Masquerade consequences to Intimidation more often than to any other social skill.

How it works

Common Rolls:

• Strength + Intimidation: Physical threats
• Charisma + Intimidation: Commanding fear
• Manipulation + Intimidation: Subtle menace Resisted By: Composure plus Resolve for a target holding their nerve, which is also how Willpower is calculated in this system, so tough targets are genuinely hard to break. Specialties: Physical Threats, Staredowns, Veiled Threats, Interrogation, Kindred, Mortals

Tips and playstyle

Character Concepts: Enforcer, interrogator, debt collector, drill instructor, a Nosferatu who has stopped apologizing for how they look. Synergies: Presence supplies supernatural dread where Intimidation supplies the credible threat, Potence makes the threat obviously real, and a high Strength rating makes the physical version work without much argument. Worth Knowing: Fear is loud. Storytellers attach Masquerade and Humanity consequences to this skill more readily than to any other social one, so use it when speed is worth the mess.

Frequently asked questions