The Old World - Grim and Perilous Beta v3

live outside the law, not restricted by the customs
of the common folk.
Using Social Status
Belonging to a particular social group affects
your character's entire life. How much respect
they enjoy, how high the discount they receive
at the inn, or how high the sentence in a court,
and even whether they will be admitted to certain
places depends largely on who they were
born or how high a status they managed to earn.
Initial Social Group
Your character's social group depends on their
initial specialization. If it happens that during
the character creation process you chose more
than one specialization for your character,
pick whichever seems more appropriate (however,
your GM is the final arbiter).
Maintaining Social Status
Maintaining your character's current social
status is fairly simple - all they need to do is
to eat, wear, sleep and behave like one of their
kind. Keep in mind that it is much easier and
far cheaper for commoner than for elite or even
middle class characters. As a commoner a few
shillings on simple food and dormitory is all you
need, while as a member of the elite you will always
need the best meal, the most comfortable
room and other luxuries that can cost far more.
Changing Social Status
Your character may move to another social group
mostly due to one of the following reasons:
1. Failing to maintain your character's current
social status. If your character is unable
to maintain their status financially,
your GM may decide to decrease their social
status to a more appropriate one. In most
cases, the lowest social class they can fall is
commoner. Your character must be heavily
in debt to become an Outcast this way.
2. In-game events. Nobility, promotion in
the structure of a guild or church, being
convicted of serious crimes and many other
things may move your character to another
social group.
3. Purchase of new specialization. Starting
a new specialization that has a different
social status that your current one, may require
your character to change their status
before they are eligible to buy the new specialization.
For example, your character
may need to become a member of the elite
(nobility to be precise) to start the Knight
specialization. On the other hand, your
character may not have to change their social
group from Elite to Middle Class when
they become, for example, a physician or
academic because these specializations,
although less popular, are also practiced by
the nobility. Keep in mind that it's usually
much easier to lower your character's social
status than do the opposite. In either
case, your GM is the final arbiter.
Hiding Social Status
Your character may attempt to hide their social
status and pretend to be a member of another
social group. Your character may make an opposed
Deception vs Vigilance check targeting
character that is not aware of your character's
social status. Add j to the check for each tier
of difference in social status between your
character's real status and the status they attempt
to portray (Outcasts should be treated
as Commoners for the purpose of this check).
If the check is successful, until the end of the
encounter or scene, your character modifies
their social skill checks against the target
character as if they were member of that social
group. Your GM may spend hhh or d from
your character's check to blow their cover.
Social Skill Checks
Modifiers
When a character of Aristocracy, Elite or Middle
Class social status makes a social skill check
targeting a character with a lower social status
(excluding Outcasts), they add j to Charm, Coercion
and Leadership checks for each tier of difference
in social status.
When a character of Commoner, Middle Class
or Elite social status makes a social skill check
targeting a character with a higher social status,
they add j to Charm, Coercion and Leadership
checks for each tier of difference in social status.
Characters of Outcast social status add j to Coercion
and j to Charm checks when targeting
a character from another social group. Note
that checks targeting Outcasts are not modified
in any way.
120 The Old World: Grim and Perilous