“* The lack of social conflict support was the first one. I’ve talked about this at some length, no big surprises here. But it definitely cut the legs out from really pursuing the interesting Ark-internal politicking that I think the game’s setup wants.”

I don’t understand this one.  You’ve said it multiple times, so I made a point in my own prep to look into it…but I’m not seeing it.  Looks perfectly functional to me.

One of the two prerequisites is that you can’t ask for something unreasonable.  Then you have to account for bargaining position, which is where all the fictional factors come in that would make it more or less likely to succeed.

Then there’s a roll.  If its successful, you do what they want…but you get to demand something in return…a deal…a concession in Duel of Wits terms.  If they are willing, then that’s the end of it.

Only if they roll high enough to break your wits do you have to concede with no concessions.

Which part of that didn’t work?  Because it seems completely functional as a social conflict system to me.