I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
Pemerton said:I don't think the analogue of a leader compared to a striker is someone who can't contribute in social situations, though.
Well, no one is arguing for shutting out any character (there shouldn't be any Always Fails results). The argument is for someone that can't contribute as well as another character might be able to.
A leader does contribute. It's just that the contribution is different. Social mechanics (both PC build and encounter designe) should aim for the same thing, in my view.
Sure, but the leader isn't expected to contribute damage.
The analogue is like this:
Damage, healing/buffing, debuffing, and defense all contribute to the resolving of a combat. Every 4e character can do at least a little bit of all four regions: they can roll attacks, have effects, have an AC, and have second winds. The roles, however, help define what the character is good at and what they are not so good at. A leader is very good at healing and buffing. A defender is very good at defense. A striker deals buckets of damage. A leader or a defender isn't expected to contribute damage (they can even get away with NEVER dealing damage), since that's not their job.
Combat, roleplaying, and exploraiton all contribute to the resolving of an adventure. Every 5e character should (IMO) be able to do at least a little bit of all three regions: they can (for example) roll a Charisma check, make attack rolls, and they can notice a secret door. The pillars, however, can help define what a character is good at and what they are not so good at. A Fighter might be very good at fighting. A bard might be a super social skill beast. A thief is probably very good at finding those hidden doors -- and hidden chests, and hidden traps. However, a fighter isn't expected to contribute much to a social setting -- they can get away with not being very good, socially.
Assuming your major events aren't usually hour-long slogfests, but rather 10-15 minute back-and-forth skirmishes, that you give the character who isn't great some way to contribute (let's cut off the Always Fail end of the bell curve that lets lazylords never attack), and that you grant them some way some way to spice it up or gain some sort of edge from smart play (Advantage seems like just that!), you can avoid the "Bob the Fighter goes to play Xbox for the next 45 minutes while everyone else engages this social part of the game" problem deftly. What you're left with is a framework where everyone contributes to major encounters, without forcing everyone to have an equal chance of success in them.