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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Guest&nbsp; 85555" data-source="post: 8143737">Absolutely. If I feel an NPC would respond negatively to something a player said, then that NPC will respond negatively and there is no need to roll. I only roll when the player says something and I genuinely don't know how the NPC would react. I think framing it as yes or no is part of the problem here. These are conversations. Most conversations are not a simple yes and no issue. But lets say the player is going to the king to request something, I don't know he wants a ton of chocolate to feed to a bunch of owl bears that are threatening the city. In my opinion the players agency in that moment is all about what he chooses to say, how he makes his case. And if I don't honor that, by giving it a fair evaluation and having the king respond to what he says both as a logical outcome of what the player stated and as an honest appraisal of the kings motives and goals on my part, I would feel I am not giving the player agency. Agency to me is about what choices the players are able to make in the game and that should include the ability to make bad choices that anger the king or cause the king to refuse a request. I don't feel that I usually need dice or a mechanic to handle that. This isn't about the GM simply saying yes this works or no this doesn't. It is about recognizing the value of having a human mind adjudicate something as nuanced and complicated as a conversation. I think that is a pretty good system personally. If that doesn't work for you, that is fine, but try to understand why some of us really love this approach (and it isn't about the GMing doing what he or she wants, or denying the player agency-----it is about empowering the players to interact with the setting fully and in a way that feels organic and real). This is particularly true around things like social rules. It took me a very long time to find a way to use social mechanics that didn't trip up my style of play. And for those interested in this approach (and not everyone is) it definitely works. Because it gets around the problem of the dice undoing what the player said but gives you a tool to use when you don't have a clear sense of how an NPC might respond. Now in terms of reaction rolls. I don't mind those. Those are usually based on stats that reflect a character's appearance, charisma, persuasiveness. And, importantly, they don't undermine what the character says. They are also pretty plausible. I think we all have reactions to people we first meet, and all produce reactions, before a word is even spoken.</blockquote>

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