---
key: mechanic/dialogue--family-groups
type: mechanic
id: dialogue--family-groups
lang: en
title: Group conversations
summary: >-
  Several speakers exchange lines, form alliances and react to how attention is
  distributed.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/dialogue--family-groups/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/dialogue--family-groups.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/dialogue--family-groups.md
aliases: []
tags:
  - Dialogue
  - Game rules
sourceIds:
  - source-61bf1085758a8075
sources:
  - id: source-61bf1085758a8075
    title: Pentiment
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1205520/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: dialogue
    id: family-groups
    title: Dialogue
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/dialogue/#family-groups'
    categoryIds:
      - section-2
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Group conversations
    description: >-
      Several speakers exchange lines, form alliances and react to how attention
      is distributed.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/dialogue-pentiment-02.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: Pentiment
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1205520/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1205520/ss_d6e8594853dc8a16033c3644a0fbb05909f2848b.1920x1080.jpg?t=1759874806
      credit: Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed
        Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: Several characters respond to the same event
      alt: Several characters respond to the same event
      markers:
        - x: 18
          'y': 29
          label: A speaker’s name identifies the source of a line
        - x: 80
          'y': 50
          label: Another participant responds with their own line
    tips:
      - 'Keep the speaker, line and intended listener easy to identify.'
    examples:
      - title: Pentiment
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1205520/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on
  2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are
  preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire
  classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and
  editorial review.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/dialogue
---
# Group conversations

id: dialogue--family-groups
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/dialogue--family-groups
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/dialogue--family-groups/

Several speakers exchange lines, form alliances and react to how attention is distributed.

## At a glance

![Several characters respond to the same event](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/dialogue-pentiment-02.webp)

[Pentiment](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1205520/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. A speaker’s name identifies the source of a line
2. Another participant responds with their own line

- Keep the speaker, line and intended listener easy to identify.

- [Pentiment](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1205520/)

## How it works

Several interlocutors exchange remarks, form coalitions and react to the distribution of attention.

## Variants

### Variants and applications

<a id="family-groups-variants"></a>

- Relationship triangle. Rule: A response to one participant simultaneously changes the attitude of another. <a id="variant-groups-01"></a>
- Satellite intervention. Rule: A team member adds an argument, argues, or reveals his or her own position. <a id="variant-groups-02"></a>
- Selecting a representative. Rule: The player nominates a speaker with suitable knowledge, status or relationships. <a id="variant-groups-03"></a>
- Coalition of participants. Rule: Several interlocutors unite to support a position or put pressure on an opponent. <a id="variant-groups-04"></a>
- Mediation in conflict. Rule: The player helps the two parties hear each other and agree on terms. <a id="variant-groups-05"></a>
- NPC council and voting. Rule: The outcome is determined by the individual positions of the participants and the decision rule. <a id="variant-groups-06"></a>
- Public and private response. Rule: Words in front of witnesses have a different effect than the same answer in private. <a id="variant-groups-07"></a>
- Conversation between NPCs. Rule: Characters exchange opinions autonomously, while the player observes or intervenes. <a id="variant-groups-08"></a>

## Context and limits

Author's working taxonomy compiled for this request. Titles are descriptive; sources confirm individual principles and examples, and not the entire list.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on 2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and editorial review.

- [Pentiment](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1205520/) (id: source-61bf1085758a8075)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors