Variant Rules: I
4 variant rules, from Incremental Alignment to Item Quirks.
Incremental Alignment · Infiltration · Influence · Item Quirks
Incremental Alignment
Changing character alignment can be extremely dramatic under the Core Rulebook rules. Sometimes, this comes as a surprise to the player, as they find out they and the GM had differing ideas on how their acts impact alignment. The incremental alignment variant breaks each axis of alignment into seven steps that reflect how close a character is to shifting alignments.
This lets you and the player better understand where the character falls, and it allows a player who wants to play a character living on the edge between alignments to see that represented in the rules. This is not meant to be a highly granular system or one a player can exploit by repeatedly making trivial gestures toward a given alignment. It's meant to indicate the trends of a character's behavior and foreshadow any alignment change that might occur over time. It's typically harder to reach the ends of the scale through minor acts, especially for the evil versus good axis. A character who commits multiple minor acts toward an alignment might shift one step, but it would take a truly reprehensible act to shift them fully to evil all at once—and to recover it could take a long-term atonement and commitment to good.
If a rule depends on a character's alignment, disregard the "fully" and "somewhat" distinctions. A protection spell keyed against evil works against both somewhat and fully evil characters. However, some spells, like detect alignment, might give more precise information.
Gamemastery Guide, page 184.
Infiltration
Not all elements of an adventure can be resolved with force of arms and the sizzle of deadly magic. Sometimes subtlety is required to circumvent foes or accomplish a goal. When the characters need to rely on improvisation and fast thinking to infiltrate a stronghold or organization to save the day, the infiltration subsystem provides a framework for those adventures.
An infiltration requires the heroes to employ guile and subtlety to achieve one or more objectives without directly confronting their enemies. The PCs' goal might be sneaking into a den of thieves to relieve them of ill-gotten gains, navigating the winding passages of the city watch headquarters to break a friend out of prison, or putting themselves in just the right spot to snatch up the right person or the correct item at just the right time. Whatever the case, the heroes are working to avoid drawing the attention of an opposing party, such as the members of a thieves' guild, the prison guards, or the invited guests at an upscale gala. Should the heroes draw too much attention, they might be attacked, arrested, or thrown out—in any case, blocked from accomplishing their goal.
An infiltration is fundamentally a roleplaying activity. The players narrate their characters' actions in response to the situations around them, and the infiltration subsystem provides a framework to measure incremental success within the overall endeavor. An infiltration takes place over the course of multiple rounds, though it's up to you to determine how long a round is. One round might encompass 10 minutes or 1 hour of in-world time, or something completely different depending on the story and your group's preferences.
Building an Infiltration
When creating an infiltration, you'll want to start with the party's broad goals and an idea of how much time you and your players want to spend. The more complex an infiltration, the longer it will take to play out at the table.
Objective
The first thing you'll need to determine is the party's objective, or broad goal. Maybe the PCs need to find their way into some hidden sanctum, find a particular person within an organization, locate and get away with a bit of treasure, or plant a piece of evidence. An infiltration can consist of a single objective, but a more complex one might include two or more objectives in sequence—the PCs might first need to find a way to enter the cult's sanctum, then open the vault, and then escape with the relic.
To achieve an objective, the PCs must overcome a certain number of obstacles—specific challenges the PCs face, such as getting across a moat or past a nosy butler. For a simple objective, they might need to overcome only one or two obstacles, while a more complex one might require several.
It's a good idea to offer more obstacles as options than the characters need to overcome, and the PCs don't all have to choose the same ones. This represents the fact that there's more than one way into a castle, and allows PCs to choose obstacles that play to their strengths. It also means you have more options you can adapt if the PCs decide on a truly novel way to tackle their objective.
Once a character has overcome the required number of obstacles to reach the objective, they move on to the next objective. This might mean that some characters move on to a second objective and start making progress toward it while other characters are still completing obstacles from the first objective. When all characters have completed the final objective, the infiltration is a success!
While the characters are pursuing their objectives, however, they need to avoid notice. Awareness Points (AP) measure the extent to which an opposing party is aware of the PCs' actions, and apply to the party as a whole. As the PCs' Awareness Points increase, the infiltration becomes more difficult as the opposition shores up its defenses. If the PCs generate too many Awareness Points, they are found out and their infiltration fails altogether!
Obstacles
Each obstacle has certain statistics that define how it works in play. Infiltration Points (IP) represent a character's progress toward overcoming an obstacle. Each obstacle requires gaining a certain number of Infiltration Points to overcome—typically 1 or 2, but some challenging obstacles might require more. PCs can gain Infiltration Points in multiple ways—usually through a skill or Perception check, but sometimes another roll or even the use of a spell or item. These methods are listed in the obstacle's Overcome entry. Unlike obstacles for chases, these use a difficulty band for the PCs' level, rather than using set DCs.
The Overcome entry also lists whether the PCs need to overcome an object individually or as a group. For individual obstacles, each PC needs to earn the required number of Infiltration Points themself, while for group obstacles, all PCs working toward that obstacle pool their Infiltration Points toward it together. For example, each PC trying to scale a wall needs to earn points on their own, but the PCs could work together to search a guildhall for clues, and once one PC has picked a lock, everyone can enter.
A particular PC can overcome an individual obstacle only once during an objective; likewise, the party can overcome a group obstacle only once.
Obstacles in Play
On a character's turn, the character describes what they do to get past the obstacle. They then attempt any required check (or perform the required action, if their choice doesn't require a check). The result of the check determines how many Infiltration Points the character gains toward overcoming that obstacle—or whether they instead raise suspicions and accrue Awareness Points!
Critical Success The PC gains 2 Infiltration Points.Success The PC gains 1 Infiltration Point.Failure The PCs accrue 1 Awareness Point.Critical Failure The PCs accrue 2 Awareness Points.If the character's actions automatically help without requiring a check, like using a spell, they usually gain 1 IP, but you can award 2 for particularly helpful actions.
Sometimes a PC might become stuck on an individual obstacle. Some opportunities (page 162) allow PCs to spend their turn helping others overcome a tricky obstacle.
Pacing
The number of obstacles to require the PCs to overcome for an objective depends partly on the complexity of the infiltration. For shorter infiltrations, use fewer and lower-IP obstacles; for a longer, more complex heist, you can add more obstacles with greater complexity. Also, bear in mind how many checks the PCs will need to attempt to complete their obstacles. An objective with mostly low-IP group obstacles will move quickly because only a few rolls are required, compared to one with mostly individual obstacles that each PC needs to roll separately for.
Sample Obstacles
While you'll want to create custom obstacles to suit the details of your infiltration, the following examples can be used directly in many infiltrations, or as inspiration for your own creations. You can also use the sample chase obstacles on page 159 as starting points.
Infiltration Points 2 (individual); Overcome standard, hard, or very hard Deception, Diplomacy, or Stealth
Guards cluster at a checkpoint, alert for unusual activity.
Infiltration Points 1 (group); Overcome hard or very hard Athletics or Thievery
A locked door separates the heroes from their target.
Infiltration Points 3 (group); Overcome hard or very hard Thievery
A trap bars the characters' passage. This obstacle follows the normal degrees of success for an obstacle, with the following modification for critical failure.
Critical Failure The PCs accrue 2 AP as normal, and the PC who critically fails the Thievery check also triggers the trap.
Many of the sample infiltration activities and events give a DC range instead of a fixed DC. Set the DCs based on the standard DC of the party level using the table on page 503 of the Core Rulebook, and adjust them using Table 10–6: DC Adjustments on page 504. When given a range of skills for an activity or event, you should vary the difficulty based on the needs of the story. For instance, if a PC is Scouting a Location, you might want to use a low DC for Stealth (because it's easier to scout when unnoticed), a hard one for Perception (because while the PC might see the enemy, the enemy might also see them), and a very hard DC for Society (because walking in like you belong is difficult if you don't have an invitation or the right uniform). This not only adds a certain degree of plausibility, but by planning for and allowing a broad range of skills as means to complete the activity, you also become better prepared for when your players improvise.
Awareness Points
The trick of any infiltration is to get it done before anyone notices. Awareness Points measure the opposition's awareness of the PCs' efforts, helping you keep the pressure on and ramp up the urgency. While Infiltration Points are specific to a given obstacle, Awareness Points are a single pool spanning the entire infiltration and all participants.
Awareness Points increase in three different ways. When a PC fails a check to overcome an obstacle, they incur 1 Awareness Point (or 2 on a critical failure) Other failed checks during the infiltration typically don't increase the Awareness Point total unless the failure would reasonably cause a disruption. Awareness Points also increase by 1 at the end of each round of the infiltration, as the passage of time makes it more likely that the PCs will be discovered. Finally, the PCs earn Awareness Points whenever their activities are disruptive enough to draw attention to the infiltration, subject to GM discretion.
The effects of Awareness Points occur when the PCs reach certain thresholds. The specific effects and thresholds are up to you and your story, but typically for every 5 AP the PCs accrue, the challenges become harder, and if the PCs accrue enough Awareness Points (usually equal to twice the number of Infiltration Points necessary for the party as a whole to overcome all necessary obstacles), the infiltration fails.
Each threshold should have an effect. It might increase the DCs for obstacles, introduce a complication, spark a combat encounter, or have other effects. Reaching the highest tier of Awareness Points means that the PCs fail, but that doesn't have to be the end of the story! Failed infiltrations are an opportunity to introduce new challenges and move the story forward in a different way.
This basic Awareness Point scheme for an infiltration requiring the PCs to earn 10 IP can be used as is or tailored to your game.
5 Awareness Points: Suspicions are raised. Increase the DCs for obstacles by 1. The first time the PCs reach this tier, a complication occurs.
10 Awareness Points: The first time the PCs reach this tier, a complication occurs.
15 Awareness Points: Increase the DCs for obstacles by a total of 2, and the first time the PCs reach this tier, a complication occurs.
20 Awareness Points: The infiltration fails.
Complications
Sometimes when a plan goes sour and seems like it can't get worse, it does. Complications are unexpected problems that compound the difficulty of a challenge. The party might trigger a complication by critically failing a check to overcome a challenge, by reaching a certain threshold of Awareness Points, if you need to spice up the infiltration, or through their own decisions—maybe the wizard's castle has various wards, each triggered when a PC attempts to use a different kind of magic.
Many complications increase Awareness Points or otherwise make infiltration more difficult. A common form of complication is attracting the attention of guards who try to stop, capture, or even kill the PCs. When this happens, the infiltration may briefly shift into encounter mode as the PCs attempt to defeat their assailants—hopefully taking care not to arouse more suspicions. The sounds of battle are loud, so unless combat occurs in an isolated area or the PCs take precautions, each round of unmitigated combat noise causes them to gain Awareness Points, at the very least.
When you create a complication, decide on the details of how it will play out. Each complication has a trigger that determines when it occurs. It might affect only a single character, or it might affect everyone in a certain area, and you'll need to determine whether multiple PCs can work together to overcome it or whether only one can. Complications must be overcome before the characters involved can overcome other obstacles, and attempting to overcome a complication takes a character's turn just like trying to overcome an obstacle. Many complications are one-off events and are overcome automatically, even on a failure, though not without a cost. If a complication requires PCs to gain Infiltration Points to clear it, it has an Infiltration Points entry, just like an obstacle.
Don't overwhelm the characters with complications. Typically, you'll want to aim for two complications per AP threshold. Otherwise, the PCs may end up spending more time on the complications than on the heist itself, and the chance of failure may be too high.
The following example is a common complication that could occur in almost any infiltration.
Trigger The PCs reach 5 Awareness Points for the first time.
Overcome standard, hard, or very hard Deception, Diplomacy, Performance, or Stealth
Someone thinks they recognize you, and you must either convince them otherwise before slipping away or find a way to dodge the person entirely.
Success You convince or otherwise dodge the person.Failure You are recognized, and the party accrues 1 AP.Critical Failure As failure, but the party accrues 2 AP.
Opportunities
Not everything that happens during an infiltration is a challenge that must be solved—sometimes PCs can use their turns to aid the group in some way. Opportunities are very similar to obstacles, but they don't provide Infiltration Points or count toward the objective. They instead provide some kind of benefit, such as a magical password to disable security features further along, reducing the party's Awareness Points, or lowering the DC for a later challenge. But opportunities sometimes come with risks—failing can increase the PCs' Awareness Points or trigger complications. You'll need to decide what opportunities are available and when, and whether they can be completed multiple times or only once. For example, the PCs can steal the guard's keys only once, but can cause a distraction several times.
Some opportunities might be available at almost any time in any infiltration, like this example.
Requirements The PC has successfully completed an individual objective and some other PCs have not.
Having completed your objective, you help an ally who is still trying to reach that goal. Describe how you are helping. This gives the ally the benefits of Following the Expert. In unusual cases, the GM might allow you to attempt a relevant skill check to overcome the obstacle on behalf of the other PC instead.
PC Preparations
Sometimes the party has a chance to prepare before conducting their infiltration, by scouting a location, bribing officials, and so on. This takes the form of special downtime activities that can give the PCs Edge Points (EP): resources and advantages they can bring to bear during their infiltration, such as stolen uniforms, forged documents, and the like. As with infiltration opportunities, careless work runs the risk of increasing Awareness Points—but in this case, before the infiltration even begins!
Typically, you'll limit the preparation phase in some way, such as by setting a number of days the PCs have to prepare and by constraining how many preparation activities are available to make sure the PCs aren't entering the infiltration with so many Edge Points that the infiltration is no longer suspenseful. The more opportunities for Edge Points you give, the lower you should set the Awareness Point thresholds for complications and failure. Also decide how many times the characters can benefit from each preparation activity—most activities should grant their benefits only once.
You can use the activities below for your infiltration by adjusting the details, but you should also create custom activities that link directly to your story.
Edge Points
Edge Points (EP) represent advantages the party gains by proper planning, quick thinking, the intervention of an ally, or some other benefit. They are typically gained by pursuing opportunities in previous infiltrations or through preparation before the infiltration. When a PC fails or critically fails a check to overcome an obstacle or a complication, they can spend an Edge Point to succeed instead. Some Edge Points can be spent only during particular circumstances—for instance, no matter how well you forge documents, it won't help you unlock a door—so consider using unique tokens to represent such Edge Points.
Preparation Activities
Bribe Contact
Cost A bribe worth at least one-tenth of the Currency per Additional PC listed on Table 10–9: Party Treasure by Level. Doubling this amount grants a +2 circumstance bonus to the check.
Requirements You've successfully Gained a Contact.
You offer a bribe to your contact to help the heist in some way. Attempt a hard or very hard Deception or Diplomacy check.
Success The contact accepts the bribe and you gain 1 EP.Failure You believe you successfully Bribed your Contact and gained 1 EP, but in fact the contact informs the opposition of the attempted bribery, adding 1 AP to the infiltration. The GM can reveal that this Edge Point grants no benefit at any point during the infiltration, as befits the story.Critical Failure As failure, but adding 2 AP to the infiltration.Forge Documents
You prepare forgeries that might serve as convincing props. Attempt a hard or very hard Society check.
Success You create convincing forgeries and gain 1 EP you can use only when presenting some form of paperwork.Failure You create unconvincing documents. You gain 1 EP that (unknown to you) grants no benefit when used.Critical Failure As a failure, but a PC who tries to use the Edge Point gets a critical failure, even if they use the Edge Point after rolling a failure.Gain Contact
You try to make contact with an individual who can aid you in the infiltration. Attempt a normal, hard, or very hard DC Diplomacy or Society check, or a check using a Lore skill appropriate to your prospective contact.
Success You make contact and gain 1 EP.Failure You fail to make contact.Critical Failure You insult or spook the contact in some way. Future attempts take a –2 circumstance penalty.Special Multiple critical failures might cause the contact to work against the PCs in some way, likely increasing the party's Awareness Points.
Gossip
You seek out rumors about the infiltration's target. Attempt a normal, hard, or very hard Diplomacy check.
Critical Success You gain inside information about the location or group you're trying to infiltrate. This grants you a +2 circumstance bonus to future checks you attempt for preparation activities for this infiltration. If you share this information, those you share it with also gain this bonus.Success You gain inside information about the place or group you're attempting to infiltrate that aids your planning.Failure You learn nothing.Critical Failure You hear a few mistaken rumors and take a –2 circumstance penalty to your next check for a preparation activity. Word spreads around that you're asking after that group or individual, increasing your Awareness Points by 1.Scout Location
You spend time observing the place or group you wish to infiltrate. Attempt a normal, hard, or very hard DC Perception, Society or Stealth check.
Success You make observations that provide 1 EP.Failure You learn nothing particularly noteworthy.Critical Failure You misjudge some aspect of what you observed, gaining 1 EP that results in a critical failure instead of a success when used, even if a PC uses the Edge Point after rolling a failure.Secure Disguises
You seek to procure or create disguises. Attempt a normal, hard, or very hard Crafting, Deception, Performance, or Society check.
Success You procure or creates disguises, gaining 1 EP that can be used only to maintain a cover identity.Failure Your efforts result in an unusable disguise.For most infiltrations, you'll want to detail the site or group the PCs are trying to infiltrate. This might involve mapping a building or fleshing out NPCs within the organization—or, most likely, both. You likely need to know the party's objectives before you can decide on these details, but knowing this information can help you brainstorm the obstacles, opportunities, and complications of the infiltration itself. Also, with details on the site and its adversaries, you can more confidently improvise when the PCs do something unexpected!
Gamemastery Guide, page 160.
Influence
When the PCs need to gain favor with or sway over an NPC to achieve their goals, sometimes a Deception, Diplomacy, or Intimidation check isn't enough to get the job done. In these cases, you can implement the influence subsystem in a social encounter.
Influence is a short-term subsystem wherein the PCs accumulate Influence Points during a social encounter with an NPC to represent their increasing influence.
These encounters are a race against the clock to reach Influence Point thresholds in order to sway the NPC. It's perfect for a single social gathering—whether it's a party, a treaty negotiation, or even an attempt to persuade various members of a panel of judges. Because of the variety of Influence skill options and the ability to use Perception to uncover more information, every character has something important to contribute in the influence subsystem, as opposed to situations where only one character has Diplomacy.
The influence subsystem divides a social encounter into rounds, with the number of rounds representing the length of the social event. Rounds last any amount of time that you determine, depending on the needs of the narrative, though somewhere between 15 minutes and an hour is typical. During each round, each PC can act once to either Influence or Discover.
You attempt to make a favorable impression on an NPC to convince the NPC to support your cause. Choose an NPC, and attempt a skill check to impress that NPC. The DC, and whether success is possible, depend on the NPC's preferences (typically found in the NPC's influence stat block).
Critical Success You gain 2 Influence Points with the chosen NPC.Success You gain 1 Influence Point with the chosen NPC.Failure You gain no Influence Points with the chosen NPC.Critical Failure You lose 1 Influence Point with the chosen NPC.
You watch or study an NPC to learn more about that NPC's preferences. Choose an NPC and attempt a Perception check or an appropriate skill check determined by the GM. The DC is typically found in the NPC's influence stat block.
Critical Success Choose two of the options detailed in Success below; you can choose the same option twice to learn two pieces of information from the same category.Success Choose one of the following: You learn which skill that can Influence the NPC has the lowest DC (skipping any skills that you already know), one of the NPC's personal biases, one of the NPC's resistances, or one of the NPC's weaknesses.Failure You learn no information.Critical Failure Choose a piece of information to learn about, as success, but the information is incorrect. For instance, you might think the NPC is susceptible to flattery when actually the NPC is resistant to flattery.
Influence Stat Blocks
NPCs in the influence subsystem have little need for many of the statistics you'll find in an ordinary creature stat block. However, it might help you to prepare for the social encounter by creating an influence stat block for each prominent NPC. These are optional; if you can keep most information straight in your head, you might skip this step or just write down the first three categories to keep the numbers straight.
Influence stat blocks are flexible and contain only the stats that you are essential to running the NPC during a social encounter, leaving the rest out. The main stats that matter are the NPC's Perception and Will modifiers.
After the influence stat block, you might want to list important information to help you roleplay the NPC and incorporate the NPC into your influence encounter. You can list any of the following details that are relevant to your NPC: their background (a brief bio focusing on information relevant to the encounter), appearance, personality (this can just be a list of adjectives), affiliations, public goals, hidden agendas, or the penalty for antagonizing the NPC (or possibly for failing to Influence the NPC, depending on the way you structure the encounter)
A succinct description of the NPC, such as "Famous musician" or "Popular baron."
Perception The NPC's Perception modifier, plus potentially relevant spells such as true sight.
Will The NPC's Will modifier, plus any special adjustments.
Discovery The Perception DC to Discover information about the NPC, as well as any skill checks to Discover their DCs.
Influence Skills The skills the PCs can use to Influence the NPC are listed here with their DCs, in order from the lowest DC (the skill that works best) to the highest DC. If a skill isn't listed but a player gives a strong narrative explanation for using it, you can add it as an appropriate DC (usually the highest listed DC). Diplomacy should usually be on this list, but should rarely be the best skill to Influence an NPC, in order to encourage and reward using Discover to learn and cater to an NPC's interests.
Influence Thresholds The number of Influence Points required to Influence the PC, and the benefits for meeting them. Some NPCs might have multiple influence thresholds, granting the PCs additional benefits or favors as they cross more thresholds.
Resistances Some NPCs are resistant to certain tactics, biased against certain types of people, or may get defensive when a certain topic comes up. Any of these makes it harder for a PC to convince them. For instance, an NPC might find flattery inane, dislike wizards, or bristle at any mention of their ex-spouse. Typically, an NPC's resistance increases the DC of the associated check to Influence by 2 (or 5 for stronger resistances), but it could have farther-ranging consequences, such as losing Influence Points or angering the NPC enough that attempting to Influence them again is impossible.
Weaknesses Most NPCs have at least one weakness that clever and observant PCs can use to their advantage, whether it's a deep-seated insecurity, a desire for power, a favorite hobby, a bias toward a certain group, or a hidden secret the PCs could threaten to expose. When a PC incorporates an NPC's weakness, it typically decreases the associated Influence check's DC by 2 (or 5 for stronger weaknesses), but it could have farther-ranging effects, such as gaining automatic Influence Points or even automatically influencing the NPC regardless of how many Influence Points the PCs have achieved so far.
Setting Dcs
When setting DCs, it's often good to start with a "social level" for the NPC and set their DCs accordingly.
Use the DC adjustments from page 504 of the Core Rulebook just like you normally would. A good starting place is setting the NPC's Will modifier, then taking that DC and adjusting it for skills that are more or less likely to work.
For instance, for a 3rd-level challenge, you might give an NPC a +12 Will modifier and use 22 as the base DC. You might say that's the DC for Diplomacy but then determine that the NPC is difficult to intimidate, and so you apply the hard DC adjustment to make the Intimidation DC 24. Maybe you also determine that she loves different varieties of wine, resulting in an incredibly easy DC adjustment to get DC 12 for Alcohol Lore.
In this example, the PCs try to convince a grizzled landlord to not evict a theatrical troupe from a dilapidated building he owns. It's a 3rd-level challenge. He is a busy, practical man and gives the PCs only 45 minutes (3 rounds) to make their case.
Penny-pinching landlord
Perception +9
Will +11
Discovery DC 13 Mercantile Lore, DC 18 Perception, DC 16 Society
Influence Skills DC 16 Accounting Lore (noting how the theater could be made profitable), DC 16 Crafting (volunteering to repair the building), DC 20 Intimidation, DC 20 Performance, DC 22 Diplomacy, DC 24 Deception
Influence 4: Mr. Triazoux gives the troupe 1 week to get him his back rent, with interest, before evicting them.
Influence 6: Mr. Triazoux gives the troupe 1 month to get him his back rent before evicting them.
Influence 8: Mr. Triazoux allows the troupe to stay, reduces their rent, and forgives half their debt.
Resistances The landlord thinks in practical terms, with little patience for the "good-for-nothings" of the troupe. Appeals directed at sympathy alone increase the check's DC by 2.
Weaknesses Mr. Triazoux used to visit the theater often as a small child, and performing one of his favorite old songs or plays brings tears to his eyes and reduces the Performance DC by 2.
Background Triazoux was raised by wealthy parents who loved the arts and took him to the theater often. A scandal left the family broke, and Shovreim clawed his way back up to a decent living. Becoming something of a slumlord, he owns several properties now and still feels he must exploit others to survive.
Appearance An elderly man in cheap dress clothes, Mr. Triazoux looks like he's never felt a moment of love for anyone in his whole life.
Personality Impatient, crotchety, skeptical
Penalty Antagonizing Mr. Triazoux by "sermonizing" or "wasting his time" causes him to cut the meeting short, reducing it to 2 rounds instead of 3.
Running an Influence Encounter
When running an influence encounter, let the PCs be creative and use a diverse set of skills whenever possible. Be open to improvisation, and change the structure of the encounter if something interesting presents itself. The PCs set the pace and choose with whom they interact. It's up to you to make sure every NPC is distinct, react to the PCs' interactions with the NPCs, and lend overall structure to the encounter by making sure it feels like a living, breathing event rather than just a series of skill checks.
Think about how the number of rounds of a social encounter relate to the overall event. For instance, if you have a four-course banquet and 6 rounds, you could have 1 round for introductions before the food arrives, 1 round for each of the courses, and 1 last round of conversations after the final course. NPCs might filter in and out or become unavailable for conversations as they are occupied by various tasks, or become particularly eager to engage a PC. That sort of change help makes the NPC feel a bit more real and helps break up any repetition in your encounter.
Gamemastery Guide, page 151.
Item Quirks
You can use the table found here to quickly apply a quirk to any item, such as items found as treasure or new items that a PC creates. Rather than rolling, you can instead choose one yourself or invent a new quirk. Item quirks don't normally have any mechanical effect, since their only purpose is to be colorful and further flesh out the world, though you can add one if you so choose. Such effects should never grant more than a +1 item bonus or –1 item penalty, and even then the statistic or check it applies to should be narrow. For a quirk that grants an item the ability to speak, you choose the language based on the history of the item, or your best guess of what that history might be. It's typically a language spoken by the item's creator.
Gamemastery Guide, page 86.