Intimacies

An Intimacy is a belief or attachment that your character possesses. It is a codified element of your personality: a statement you believe in or a social connection that matters to you.

Every character has Intimacies. Even animals have Intimacies.

Intimacies are the heart of social influence. You convince people to act by leveraging their Intimacies. You convince people to believe new things – that is, develop new Intimacies – by connecting them to their existing beliefs.

Principles

A Principle is a statement you believe in. For example, “Steal from the rich and give to the poor” is one of Robin Hood’s Principles. “Everybody lies” is one of Gregory House’s Principles. “I will not kill” is one of Batman’s.

Ties

A Tie is an attachment or connection. Ties always have a target – a noun – and a context that describes how you feel. For example, “Dr. John Watson (Slightly Homoerotic Affection)” is one of Sherlock Holmes’ Ties. “Scooby-Doo (My best buddy)” is one of Shaggy’s.

Intensity

Every Intimacy has one of three intensities: Minor, Major, or Defining.

• DEFINING: A Defining Intimacy is the very core of your being. It is one of your strongest and most important beliefs. Changing one of your Defining Intimacies would result in changing your whole personality.
• MAJOR: A Major Intimacy holds influence over you in many parts of your life. It makes itself known even if it is only tangentially related. If your friends were asked to define you on the spot, they’d probably list several of your Major Intimacies.
• MINOR: A Minor Intimacy is a notable but minor part of your personality. It drives and compels you when it is relevant. Your friends could identify your Minor Intimacies when asked, but probably couldn’t name them off the top of their heads.

Here are some examples for me:

• Defining: My rigid, inflexible system of morals.
• Major: My political beliefs.
• Minor: My relationship to my grandmother.

Resolve Bonuses and Penalties

Your Resolve is modified by the strength of your Intimacies. This represents how it is easy to convince someone of something that aligns with their beliefs, and very difficult to convince someone of something that contradicts their beliefs.