Idea for social encounters in RPGs

[Ravilah]

This reminds me of a time several years ago when our group started arguing about whether Charisma automatically includes attractiveness. We started tinkering with a system that divided Charisma into multiple facets, much like Frostmarrow's categories. I think we had Beauty, Charm, Savvy, Reputation, and Poker Face (there might have been more).

We never used the mechanic, but it involved being able to choose a facet for every point of Cha bonus. A player could choose to use a particular facet of his/her Charisma to gain an advantage in a given situation. To make things more 4e, perhaps players can use a Cha facet as a daily or encounter power which simply reduces the difficultly level of a social skill check. I mean, being preternaturally handsome doesn't automatically get the Baroness' to spill her secrets, but it makes it a whole lot easier!

Of course, there can be unforeseen downsides to certain types of Charisma. If the Baroness is a half-ogress she may prefer trollish men.

All we ended up doing in the end was requiring players to define the...well...the power source of their Charisma. Then they had to roleplay Cha check with that in mind.

 

[Umbran]

The issue I see here is that the "special attention" should not be random unless the encounter is also random. If they are going in to negotiate the release of the Bard's younger sister who has been taken hostage, they shouldn't be trying to strike a deal with the party wizard based upon a card draw.

Social encounters should depend upon the situation - analogous to how combat encounters depend upon the terrain.

 

[Stalker0]

My favorite mechanic for this kind of thing is the "drama point" system.

Basically, a character can spend points to affect the scene beyond just his character's reactions. A player might spend a point to have a woman be particularly attracted to him, or spend a point to have his best buddy and contact appear at just the right time to have him apply some pressure to the guy your interrogating.

Basically it provides a way for the players to use their imagination to enhance the story while maintaining a certain mechanical framework to ensure the power isn't abused.

And of course you can make the system as detailed as you want. For example, you could have social and combat type drama points. High charisma characters get lots of social points or something I that note.

 

[satin]

Is it just me? I prefer to ad-lib the social encounters and make appropriate adjustments to NPCs' reactions based on the characters' stats and abilities. Sprinkled in with the odd roll here and there. Yes, it's DM's discretion, but I find it gives me more flexibility to make the social encounters fun and challenging.

Or maybe I just haven't found the right mechanics that work consistently for me...