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<blockquote data-quote="Ovinomancer" data-source="post: 8324112" data-attributes="member: 16814">Here's the problem I have with going with &quot;most encounters should be handled by [freeform] roleplay:&quot;&nbsp; there's no teeth to trying to portray a different person altogether.&nbsp; Ultimately, you're dressing up your own decision making with a funny voice and some mannerisms.&nbsp; And, again, this is hella entertaining, and I enjoy doing it, but it doesn't really get to doing anything authentically as a starting point.&nbsp; It's just a preference, and one that can't be defended well when put forth as a &quot;best&quot; or &quot;better&quot; was to approach social interaction.&nbsp; I mean, I'm pretty good with words, and personable in person (tone doesn't translate here, so either I'm paying attention and sound dry because I'm avoiding it, or my natural light sarcasm bleeds through and I come off abrasive), so I do well with freeform roleplay.&nbsp; I also do funny voices and get into it, so that helps as well.&nbsp; But, ultimately, I'm putting on a show to entertain, not connect with my character, because I'm still me and I'm making choices that are heavily constrained by the social space that I'm in.&nbsp; I push harder with some groups, and very lightly with others, because that's the social space.&nbsp; And none of that has anything to do with who my character is, what my character wants, or what situation my character is in.Mechanics can put in a firebreak here, so that I can push hard all the time and rely on the mechanics rather than consensus seeking with other players (which is what freeform roleplay does&nbsp; -- you reach a group consensus on what will happen next, usually informally, but definitely negotiated).&nbsp; This actually puts me closer to my character, especially characters that are not like me or that are not particularly likeable.&nbsp; Mechanics here aren't a way to get what I want (most of the games I do this in decidedly lean towards not getting what you want) but rather to provide a framework where pushing hard is always expected and okay.Finally, on a different note, the social pillar mechanics in 5e are actually much better than people usually note -- there's a whole subsystem about BIFTs and leveraging them and initial dispositions and what those mean.&nbsp; If you lean into this, it works really well, and you can do quite a lot of roleplaying while doing so.&nbsp; You just have to let go of the idea that your special amateur thespian skills are there to get what you want and instead act with what's actually happening in the game.&nbsp; I mean, here's a thought -- why is it better to roleplay in a way that's aimed at what you want to happen rather than roleplay what does happen?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ovinomancer, post: 8324112, member: 16814"] Here's the problem I have with going with "most encounters should be handled by [freeform] roleplay:" there's no teeth to trying to portray a different person altogether. Ultimately, you're dressing up your own decision making with a funny voice and some mannerisms. And, again, this is hella entertaining, and I enjoy doing it, but it doesn't really get to doing anything authentically as a starting point. It's just a preference, and one that can't be defended well when put forth as a "best" or "better" was to approach social interaction. I mean, I'm pretty good with words, and personable in person (tone doesn't translate here, so either I'm paying attention and sound dry because I'm avoiding it, or my natural light sarcasm bleeds through and I come off abrasive), so I do well with freeform roleplay. I also do funny voices and get into it, so that helps as well. But, ultimately, I'm putting on a show to entertain, not connect with my character, because I'm still me and I'm making choices that are heavily constrained by the social space that I'm in. I push harder with some groups, and very lightly with others, because that's the social space. And none of that has anything to do with who my character is, what my character wants, or what situation my character is in. Mechanics can put in a firebreak here, so that I can push hard all the time and rely on the mechanics rather than consensus seeking with other players (which is what freeform roleplay does -- you reach a group consensus on what will happen next, usually informally, but definitely negotiated). This actually puts me closer to my character, especially characters that are not like me or that are not particularly likeable. Mechanics here aren't a way to get what I want (most of the games I do this in decidedly lean towards not getting what you want) but rather to provide a framework where pushing hard is always expected and okay. Finally, on a different note, the social pillar mechanics in 5e are actually much better than people usually note -- there's a whole subsystem about BIFTs and leveraging them and initial dispositions and what those mean. If you lean into this, it works really well, and you can do quite a lot of roleplaying while doing so. You just have to let go of the idea that your special amateur thespian skills are there to get what you want and instead act with what's actually happening in the game. I mean, here's a thought -- why is it better to roleplay in a way that's aimed at what you want to happen rather than roleplay what does happen? [/QUOTE]

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