The schmoozing activity is more than just random carousing, chatting people up at society parties, or pumping strangers for information over copious drinks. (Full disclosure: copious drinks are often still a part of the bigger schmoozing picture.) For characters in an Acquisitions Incorporated campaign, schmoozing is a carefully focused engagement of bargaining and influence, designed to harvest contacts important to a franchise's interests. ***Resources.*** Schmoozing covers at least one workweek of interactions. Characters or staff members undertaking this activity must look and play the part of the confident franchisee—dressing well, spending money, giving gifts to new friends, and so forth. Schmoozing with laborers and other working-class folk might incur expenses of 10 gp per franchise rank, with expenses escalating to 100 gp or more per franchise rank for schmoozing professionals and business rivals. Schmoozing at the highest level with nobles or ranking members of a faction might incur expenses of 250 gp or more per franchise rank as the character or staff member attempts to put on an impressive social display. ***Resolution.*** The character or staff member engaging in schmoozing determines whether they want to establish relations with specific NPCs or with any general representative of a group. The character makes a Charisma (Persuasion) check to determine the effectiveness of their schmoozing, as noted on the Schmoozing table. A character with the obviator position gains a +1 bonus to the check. A character with a background related to those they attempt to schmooze gains a +1 bonus to the check (a criminal schmoozing other criminals, a guild artisan schmoozing a guild master, and so forth). ##### Schmoozing | Check Total | Result | |:-----------:|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1–5 | The character's failed schmoozing brings the franchise into disrepute. Any further checks made for the franchise to schmooze NPCs from the same group or organization are made with disadvantage. | | 6–10 | The character becomes known to those they schmooze, but gains no immediate benefit. If the character undertakes this activity again within the same group or social circle, the next check to schmooze is made with advantage. | | 11–15 | The character successfully establishes the desired contacts, and is treated as a confidante of those they schmoozed. | | 16–20 | The character establishes the desired contacts and is treated as a trusted friend. | | 21+ | The character establishes the desired contacts and gains a favor as a result of their schmoozing skill. | If contacts are successfully made, the DM determines which NPCs the franchise is able to ingratiate itself with, how long those relationships last, and what kinds of benefits the franchise might gain. Some schmoozed NPCs might provide only a single minor benefit to the franchise before realizing the one-sided nature of the relationship. Others might hang around wanting to help the franchise for years—whether the characters want them to or not. ***Complications.*** A check of 5 or lower made to schmooze automatically triggers a complication. Because the stakes of schmoozing are often high, the DM might decide to have any successful schmooze attempt come with a potential downside. The DM can choose a complication or roll on the Schmoozing Complications table. ##### Schmoozing Complications | d6 | Complication | |:---:|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1 | A different group notices the character's schmoozing attempts. Agents threaten to expose the franchise's ulterior motives unless the characters perform a favor or pay a bribe.* | | 2 | To win over a potential contact, the schmoozing character or staff member swore to participate in an initiation ritual from the contact's group... without first learning the nature of that ritual. | | 3 | A contact becomes convinced that the schmoozing character or staff member intends to leave the franchise and join the contact's organization. It's clear that they'll become hurt or angry when they learn the truth. | | 4 | In the attempt to win over a contact, it was necessary to reveal one of the franchise's secrets.* | | 5 | The character or staff member regrets giving a contact a personal item, a drop of blood, or a lock of hair. It seemed like a great idea at the time.* | | 6 | Shortly after schmoozing, the character or staff member receives a love letter from a contact—whether that interest is reciprocated or not.* | *Might involve a rival