My players find themselves in a tricky situation. They're undercover Rebel operatives who will be having an official dinner with an Imperial Moff. I'm not all that skilled at planning or running social encounters. So this scenario is a tad intimidating to me.

Besides Cool checks to maintain their bearing an avoid suspicion, does anybody have any suggestions what else the player characters could / should roll in this situation?

Thank you in advance for the much needed help!

I also have very little experience with this, but I'd recommend having a look at the social encounter rules in the Genesys sourcebook if you can. There's an earlier version of those rules in Desperate Allies, but they greatly expanded on them in Genesys.

I recently did a two-session social gathering scenario in my game, and it really isn't that difficult, I find. Just make sure you do not limit yourself and the situation too much; instead of having the PCs sit around the table all evening, staring at the Moff and playing with their food (=not particularly dramatic), what about making it more of a party situation? Could there be other guests there too, people that you can use to help steer the drama and action?

Furthermore, try to design encounters in advance that can spice up the evening, and if possible, work some PC backgrounds, motivations, or goals into the mix, somehow. A character has the hots for the local lord's daughter? Well of course she'll attend the dinner along with her Houk chaperone! A character seeks classified information on some Mining Guild operation rumored to employ slaves? Well, they're in luck, 'cause a wealthy astroid-mining magnat will be attending, and she's known for her loose tongue and love of amber wine! A character wants to get their hands on a new experimental starship of which only protoype models currently exist? As it happens, the manager of the ships production plant is a guest of the Moff's estate and is looking for an off-the-books opportunity to invest in to cover his astronomical gambling debts!

Also, you should do some thinking on why the characters attend the dinner and what they can learn/obtain/achieve at the meeting. What is the purpose of this encounter, from a GM perspective? If there aren't one yet, well then you have a perfect opportunity to use this dinner to farward & mold the story/plot/character/themes/miljeu/whatever of your campaign. You're the GM so take this opportunity to shape the story of your game, to put your PC agents on the path to further adventure that you have in mind. There's nothing so satisfying as paying off a plot-point that you've set up in advance, so do a good thinking on the subject and see if there are any uses you can put the dinner to that will tie into future scenarioes. (This is particularly useful when using the odd published scenario, as by introducing a character or conflict prior to running the stand-alone module, you tie it all together that much better and make the NPCs and plots more memorable for the players).

And, as always, have a look at your players' character sheets and see if there are some rarely used skill or talent that you can bring to the fore in this non-typical scenario.

Any droids? Someone confuses them for a server. Or that's a way they can try to infiltrate, by masquerading as a server. Then make a scene of themselves, acting as a dramatic and amusing distraction.

In addition to the Genesys rules, if you can handle the writing style, I strongly suggest giving this a read, especially the part about keeping social score:

https://theangrygm.com/systematic-interaction/

Basically, you have to define what the NPC wants. Why are they having a dinner? What does the Moff want from them? Are they doing a job, negotiating a deal, etc? Is the meeting a one-off or is he sizing them up for future use? Are there weaknesses or subtle things the Moff might reveal that are tangential to his needs but would help resolve the situation in the PC's favour?

I've found once you chart these out it will become a lot simpler. It also works well with the narrative dice because the PCs can inject their own goals for the Moff...it's a simple matter of giving that a score on your chart and having it move the needle.

Well my players are Rebel Operatives and they have to infiltrate Imperial Facilities all the time and deal with social encounters all the time.

Mostly there aren't a lot of rolls to be done.

For a dinner party? Maybe a Cool check to see if they act favorably (or unfavorably) in the presence of their host and guests. Maybe?

Mechaically I'd recommend focusing on the story points that are important to the story.

The PC's are there because they want something. How are they going to get it? Who has what they want? What are ways that they can get what they want?

Also keep in mind that the NPC's (the better developed NPC's) also have wants and desires that they may try to extract from the PC's. (Or other NPC's).

By way of example the session before last involved three 'dinner parties' which were mostly done to provide exposition. No dice rolls necessary, but lots of 'table talk' that helped the players understand what was going on around them. It was a way for me to hand out 'clues' that advanced the story.

The players interacted with the NPC's as their players and because nothing 'awry' occurred at each meal there weren't any dice rolls needed!

I'm not good at social encounters but in this situation I would definitely make them roll a hard Education check, boosts and setbacks according to characters backgroung. Let's see who knows which fork is for wish dish and how to make polite small talk! Etiquette is very important in a high-class event. You can reinforce the snobism of the Moff.

If you have a chance to read Long Arm of the Hutt act 2, there are various social interaction possibilities throughout including a private party (dinner). The last time I ran that, I would move the NPCs around to simulate mingling and a type of "speed dating" method of interaction between them. It rotated who was talking to whom, and gave it an organic feel.

Flesh out the dinner guests a bit for a few types of social encounter, not just the Moff. Include an embarrassingly drunk junior officer, the bored wife of an visiting diplomat, DARTH VADER, an opera virtuoso, etc. Then just map what type of conflict they'll face with each group. You're not stacking weapons and skills, but motivation and backstabbing, on your NPCs.

As to Big Daddy DV, you could totally pull that cameo off in this dinner. Make him the special surprise guest that drops in fashionably late during the fourth course, and leaves before dessert. Just to mess with the party's equilibrium and give a "wow" moment. If you have Force users in the party, have him stare at them menacingly with the imperial march playing in the background as he leaves. Make them stealth or deceive to miss his glare. Use that Fear/Discipline check here. Go #HOGWILD with the Strain affliction. This is stressful stuff, and should reflect it.

Edit - I'm stealing all of these ideas back for future use. I gotta drop DV in a social combat encounter now.

1 hour ago, Fistofpaper said:

As to Big Daddy DV, you could totally pull that cameo off in this dinner. Make him the special surprise guest that drops in fashionably late during the fourth course, and leaves before dessert. Just to mess with the party's equilibrium and give a "wow" moment. If you have Force users in the party, have him stare at them menacingly with the imperial march playing in the background as he leaves. Make them stealth or deceive to miss his glare. Use that Fear/Discipline check here. Go #HOGWILD with the Strain affliction. This is stressful stuff, and should reflect it.

Edit - I'm stealing all of these ideas back for future use. I gotta drop DV in a social combat encounter now.

I love all of this! I cannot for the life of me justify to myself why Darth Vader (Tarkin and Palpatine's pitbul) would attend a random social gathering, but MAN is that some effective stuff you've got there! This is so great the idea of it makes me laugh with joy Damned be reason! I can see it now, Vader moving about, chatting up the ladies and discussing pod racing with the hotshot pilot at the party, and exchanging in small talk with the wealthy business magnat considering funding the latest Imperial R&D facility, all the while throwing murderous glances at the force Force Sensitive Emergant PC 😁

True, segueing it in might trainwreck if it isn't done with care. There's no reason to reach for the left side of the Hot 🔥 Ones board straight away, but it would be awesome. The ideas and mechanics for play are sound though Force Exile would be just as tense lol.

I like to run down the skill list and let the PC's make the most of what they have (or don't have!). A variety of skills can come into play. (BTW, I also like the Genesys social skill rules.)

Astrogation or Piloting-Space : The Moff, or another, is talking at the table about blazing a new hyperspace route to benefit the Empire or trade in a remote sector. The player can notice an error in the theory or suggest a better way of going about it.

Charm : flat-out flattery....

Coercion: intimidate another person at the table when they make a borderline odd remark. Impress the Moff with your cruelty!!!

Computers : quickly examine an unattended datapad or digital guest book. Get in a Tech discussion and impress others.

Cool: "resist efforts to hide the truth among overt niceties" , it says. Detect lies people tell. Keep your cool when pressured. I'd suggest a Fear or Cool check when they first sit at the table. Failure means they knock over a drink or drop a spoon.

Deceit: all day long, but Moff's have high Discipline. Most PC's won't even try it. All the more reason to use different skills!

Discipline: "resist a tempting deal that is too good to be true!", it says. Double agents at the party are rooting out spies. A PC is approached by someone who has a valuable Imperial secret or battle plans. How can a rebel turn down such an opportunity?!?! "All too easy...."

Leadership: "sway a crowd in public to take action, usually political", it says. Discuss a course of action at the table: ship food to a starving colony, make a suggestion for Governor of a new territory, support this or that cause.... Persuade them that the action is in the best interests of the Empire.

Mechanics or Education: schematics for a new Cruiser is discussed. Make a suggestion for an improvement.

Negotiate: "participate in skill-based gambling", it says. maybe there's some light gambling for recreation? Wager on how long it'll take for the Rebellion to fall!!!

Perception: all day long....details, details, details....

Skullduggery : pick pocket? "ID the most vulnerable aspects of a security scheme" . Know how you can slip away for a minute or gain access to a secure area.

Streetwise: pick up on rumors. Locate a particular arms dealer, or someone.

Survival: identify safe food. Poison, anyone? Save the Moff!

Vigilance: missing gear or being prepared. A PC wishing they had brought that holorecorder with them.

Lore: discuss rare artwork or a transcription on display. Get noticed.

Xenology: know the Falleen arms dealer is using pheromones for an unfair advantage.

O-Rim/Core Worlds : Where is the Moff from? Know a little something to impress.

Underworld: know of some criminal activity going on during the dinner. Pick up on the hints and clues. A wink or nod between two seemingly unattached individuals.

They'll think twice about what they 'don't have' and maybe put more xp into skills if they haven't already done so.

The ideal situation for a group of undercover rebels might be to get a mission from the Moff that they can do without compromising the Rebellion... and use that for cover as they also carry out a mission for the Rebellion. As long as no one is able to put the two and two together they could play that relationship for a while.

The Moff's individual attitude will matter too, of course. In particular, if they're one of the light-touch types then the rebels might want to quietly support (or at least not destabilize) their position since if they're seen as failing then their replacement would almost certainly be from among the worst of the iron-fist set. The social gatherings could actually be rather relaxed ones in this case but navigating the resulting political minefield will be another matter entirely.

This would be a good time blow the dust off of your Sean Connery era James Bond DVDs for inspiration.

Also, don't forget the robbery/heist that interrupts the shindig.