Latest revision as of 08:41, 23 February 2005

Opposition in Detail

Here is a detailed examination of Opposition, within the rules. Opposition, as noted in the Basic Overview of the rules, represents how fervently and totally your mark is opposed to you in particular and what you are specifically saying. Someone who is basically open to what you are saying is Opposition 0, or 1. Someone who has literally no reason to consider anything you say has a Opposition of 5.

Remember that Opposition (or Magnitude, if your using the Opposition Swapping rule below) will not generally more than double the final difficulty.

Individual Opposition Levels

Opposition 0

This is the, in theory, the most common level of opposition. It represents a mark who simply doesn't really care. He isn't particularly against you, and doesn't honestly have any deeply ingrained problems with your arguement, he just doesn't have any reason to care or otherwise do what it is that your asking.

Most Extras will fall into this level of opposition, but usually people with this level of opposition won't even fall into this system. These interactions should usually just be roleplayed out, especially for heroic Exalted games. In these cases, roleplaying should generally include an attempt to get the uninterested character to listen to you and then convince him to do whatever it is your attempting to do. Only bother to actually roll out the appeal if its Magnitude is 3 or higher.

Opposition 1

This is the more practical lower limit of opposition, simply because it represents the first level where you will actually be opposed. People at this opposition level just don't like you, or they don't like what it is your suggesting. They probably don't even trust the words your saying and might very well find this entire appeal somewhat suspect. They don't, however, have any real personal reasons for this. An example would be a haughty noble who considers beggers as beneath him, but doesn't really have anything against this specific begger.

This level of opposition generally just makes things a little harder, but not hugely so. The most notable change over Opposition 0 is that it requires two successes to work minor Magnitude 1 appeals on these individuals.

Opposition 2

With this level of opposition, your not just facing a general dislike. Whomever your mark is generally and specifically doesn't like you, and is notably less likely to do much more than tell you the time of day due to this fact. This is somewhat more than just a general distaste, but not quite up to the level of actual hate, and the reasons for this can often times be somewhat petty or even specific. In particular, its notably difficult to make an appeal over Magnitude 1 at this level of opposition. An example of someone with this level of opposition is an old jilted lover or a long-time sibling with whom you have an antagonistic relationship.

Though its affect on the lowest appeals remains the same, with Magnitude 1 appeals still only requiring two successes, this level of opposition truly shows at the higher levels when you need 4 or five successes to successfully make an impact.

Opposition 3

This is the level of true enmity, not just dislike but an actual persona vendetta. The character personally and intensely dislikes you, but in addition considers your goals and aims to be in opposition to his own. He is, in short, an enemy. These relationships tend to be fairly dry and passionless, and individuals at this level perhaps could get past their issues if the problems that keep them apart could be solved. An example of someone with this level of opposition is a old jaded self-interested Dragon-Blooded, or a long-standing rival with whom you have a long history of bad blood.

This level of opposition makes interactions notably harder, especially if one uses the Opposition Switching rule below (which is recommmended). The character can ignore you simply based on your enmity for the lower Magnitude appeals, and his opposition makes more impressive appeals legendarily difficult.

Opposition 4

This is the most common upper limit of opposition, and represents truly passionate enmity mixed in with a solid level of bitter hate. The mark doesn't just oppose you on general principle or because your goals cross, at this level it's really personal. This is the level of opposition reserved for extremely bad blood, bitter betrayal, and true loathing. Often times Appeals at this level of Opposition are difficult simply because the mark would rather attempt to kill you as opposed to chat. An example of someone with this level of opposition is an idealistic young Dragon-Blooded in the Wyld Hunt, or a ex-lover who deeply hurt and betrayed you during a moment of weakness.

When you reach this level, appeals start off fairly hard and just climb up higher. With a stunt it can require seven successes simply to talk to someone with whom you have this level of opposition, and it just scales up from there!

Opposition 5

This is a truly epic level of opposition, and is rather rare on a personal relationship level. More often a characters level of opposition raises to this level because of his feelings toward a specific arguement that a particularly detested enemy is making. In these cases, even getting the character to listen to you can be a legendary endeavor! There are a few examples of actual long-standing Opposition levels at this level however. Most Immaculate Monks are conditioned to have Opposition 5 with regard to the entreaties of the Anathema, and the Demons of Malfaes are not unlikely to have this level of Opposition with regard to the entreaties of the creatures of Creation, unless those arguements are carefully structured so as to appeal to their specific nature.

In general, this is the opposition level of truly epic social feats. With stunts it can require a maximum of 14 successes to affect an enemy of this level with appeals, and Counter-Arguements can make this even more difficult. With strategic use of Swapping Opposition, the successes required for appeals start at 5 and just get higher and higher.

Complications relating to Opposition

Swapping Opposition:
Sometimes you really don't want to do something for somebody not because of what they are asking but simply because you don't want anything to do with them. If you wish to do so, you can revese the roll of Opposition and Magnitude. Opposition becomes the primary denoter of difficulty, with Magnitude added as a bonus that cannot more than double the final opposition roll. This is most commonly used when people you really hate ask you to do very insignificant (and thus low magnitude) things.

The only drawback to this method is that, for the purposes of computing difficulty, you lower your Magnitude by 1. Thus if you have a Opposition of 5 and a Magnitude of 1, the final roll is requires five successes. This represents a defense based not on what is being said but on who is making the appeal.

Opposition Flux:
Opposition is often fairly stable, simply representing a general level of distaste between two individuals and that is how it is described above. However, it is calculated for each individual appeal based on its circumstances. Certain appeals can cause the Opposition value to flux slightly, though in general this flux will not go beyond a single point or rarely two. Appeals that the character is sympathetic too will lower opposition, while appeals that the character inherently opposes will raise it.