Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
A thought about Social Mechanics
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Squared" data-source="post: 9190859" data-attributes="member: 7042756"><p>I once spent some time writing a rpg that had all rolls be saves. I eventually scrapped it because then the GM was making most of the rolls and I felt that would be less fun for the players. Most people like rolling dice.</p><p></p><p>Your thesis is otherwise well considered except for one central assumption. That is that a failed skill roll represents the PC “sucking”. This is all about framing. Your characters skill represents their ability to mitigate adverse conditions and the dice part of it the randomness in the world that is not represented by a modifier. It is a simplification, it does not represent their skill.</p><p></p><p>So instead of saying, “you missed” you instead say, “the monster parried your blow”. Instead of saying “you trip over your own feet” you say “the floor boards are rotten and one of your feet sinks into the floor, tripping you.” And instead of saying, “ your impassioned speech is delivered via stuttering and incompetence” you say “your impassioned speech falls on deaf ears, the duke is not listening to what you have to say, perhaps there is some reason why he is so set in this course of action?”</p><p></p><p>In general when confronted with this sort of issue I suggest two approaches. The first, and easiest, is to offer advantage for the skill test for a well articulated argument or great roleplay. Even games without it can still make use of this mechanic. I currently use it in my M&M3 game.</p><p></p><p>The second method is what is what I do in mystery games. If the clue is critical the skill check is not about whether you find it but more the factor of success. For instance, how fast you find the clue, additional details, etc.</p><p></p><p>Similarly for a social scene, if the argument put forward by the PC is strong then maybe the result is degrees of success, not success or failure. </p><p></p><p>You ask the Duke for help against the goblin threat and he sends 5 soldiers with you, not the hoped for 20. And the reason could be that he just does not have the soldiers to spare, not that the PC “sucked” at asking for support.</p><p></p><p>^2</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Squared, post: 9190859, member: 7042756"] I once spent some time writing a rpg that had all rolls be saves. I eventually scrapped it because then the GM was making most of the rolls and I felt that would be less fun for the players. Most people like rolling dice. Your thesis is otherwise well considered except for one central assumption. That is that a failed skill roll represents the PC “sucking”. This is all about framing. Your characters skill represents their ability to mitigate adverse conditions and the dice part of it the randomness in the world that is not represented by a modifier. It is a simplification, it does not represent their skill. So instead of saying, “you missed” you instead say, “the monster parried your blow”. Instead of saying “you trip over your own feet” you say “the floor boards are rotten and one of your feet sinks into the floor, tripping you.” And instead of saying, “ your impassioned speech is delivered via stuttering and incompetence” you say “your impassioned speech falls on deaf ears, the duke is not listening to what you have to say, perhaps there is some reason why he is so set in this course of action?” In general when confronted with this sort of issue I suggest two approaches. The first, and easiest, is to offer advantage for the skill test for a well articulated argument or great roleplay. Even games without it can still make use of this mechanic. I currently use it in my M&M3 game. The second method is what is what I do in mystery games. If the clue is critical the skill check is not about whether you find it but more the factor of success. For instance, how fast you find the clue, additional details, etc. Similarly for a social scene, if the argument put forward by the PC is strong then maybe the result is degrees of success, not success or failure. You ask the Duke for help against the goblin threat and he sends 5 soldiers with you, not the hoped for 20. And the reason could be that he just does not have the soldiers to spare, not that the PC “sucked” at asking for support. ^2 [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
A thought about Social Mechanics
Top