Page 51 - World of Darkness

leaders, enforcers, interrogators, models, politicians and
salespeople.
Note that attractiveness alone is represented by the
Striking Looks Merit (p. 117), which grants bonus dice to
Presence rolls.

Manipulation

“What the fuck am I doing?” Joshed wondered as he
picked his way down the trash-strewn hallway. “This is
exactly where I didn’t want to go.”
He had evaded the homeless people in the alley, but then
had nowhere to go except into one of the old tenements. His
leg burned from the long scratches the fence left him. He
hoped his tetanus shot was up to date; he couldn’t remember.
The place smelled like piss. He could hear music blaring
somewhere, and a baby crying. “Who could raise a kid
here?” he wondered.
He didn’t have time to think about the answer, though.
His eyes were suddenly drawn from the stained carpet to the
light at the end of the hall. Three shapes filled it. Two more
turned the corner behind him. They were the people from
outside. Maybe they weren’t so homeless, after all.
On the verge of panic once again, Josh recognized one
of the men. “Hey, Eddy, it’s me, Josh. What’s going on?”
The five dirty, disheveled men stopped a few feet away,
with menacing looks on their faces. “What are you doing
here, Josh?” Eddy asked.
“I was looking for somethi— a guy. I thought I saw him
go in here. Maybe you could help me find him? I think I got
a couple bucks….”
“We don’t want your fucking money.”
For a second, Josh wondered if he saw that same bestial
look that he’d seen earlier that day — but this time in Eddy’s
eyes.
Charm. Persuasiveness. Charisma. The capacity to
play upon the desires, hopes and needs of others to influ-
ence them. Manipulation reflects your character’s finesse
in social situations. How well he can appeal to, gain the
favor of and generally coerce others. Manipulation is ap-
plied to win smiles, to put people at ease or to gain favors.
Where Presence deals in social force, Manipulation fo-
cuses on social subtlety. It’s the tool and trade of
businesspeople, politicians, salesfolk and publicists. Your
character may be a wallflower, he could frequently make
off-color statements, he might have a winning smile and
a hardy handshake, or he may be able to sell sand in the
desert.

Composure
“Do you understand now?” the priest asked.
Becky was in shock. Moments before, she’d stormed to
her door, ready to unleash her frustration on whomever had
dared to interrupt her. Her research had not gone well. The

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Chapter 2- ATTRIBUTES