You’ve identified a need behind something you’re saying or something someone else is saying.

At such a time you may roll your Communication or your (in) Over your Head to put that into words.

Here’s what happens.

A matchless “critical failure” means that you fumble. You say something wrong—and can open a Complex Issue.

On failure, you feel an impulse to indicate that you’re paying attention to this/listening (which may wind up overriding the impulse to talk about the need itself.)

On success, you can earn an XP if you:

Paraphrase their needs, and then ask whether you’ve identified those needs correctly, or

Describe the needs behind your feelings, and, then, make a request.

It’s not obligatory, but success motivates your target to respond empathetically—to give you a bit of information, or to seriously consider the request.

On triples, in addition to the XP, there’s an abstract sense (shared by all participants in the conversation) that the needs you’ve articulated are important. You can open an (in) Over your Head Issue. 

Quadruples and quintuples represent a truly insightful moment—in addition to the XP and possible (in) Over your Head,

if you’re identifying someone else’s needs, you can talk to their player for a few minutes about their character’s needs—basically, their player can help you find something really insightful to say. 

if you’re making a request of someone, they probably feel like they really understand you.

Issues