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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mustrum_Ridcully" data-source="post: 3949932" data-attributes="member: 710">I think a problem with role-playing in D&D is that (at least in 3rd edition) that combat is detailed in the rules very well, but "role-playing" outside of combat is mostly free-form - or a single diplomacy check.Inside a combat, it does matter whether you swing a sword and wear heavy armor or just protect yourself with a shield and spear. It matters whether you prefer to stay mobile or are the heavy hitter standing in front of the enemies and stopping their movement. It matters whether you focus on evocations or illusions. These are all part of your "role" in combat, and your "combat personality" is well defined.But in a social encounter, how does your personality affect the outcome of a social encounter? You don't have a lot of tools - you can try bluffing, but you can't change the attitude of your opponent. You can use Intimidate, but that works only temporary. There are different tools you can use, but they also achieve different things. The rules don't really support "designing" your characters social personality. There is little in the rules telling you if you are more an aggressive person in a negotiation, if you take a back seat until you find a worthy argument that can persuade the other side. There is no sense of tactics inside the rules (unlike in combat, where you can flank, feint, trip, disarm). It doesn't involve whether you rely more on lying or more on telling the truth (perhaps bluntly so), or if you prefer subtle intimidation. Yes, skills for these parts exist, but they have totally different outcomes and not neccessarily the ones that serve your "end goal" (while regardless whether you use a Dagger, a sword, a maul or a fireball spell, in the end your enemy drops down)I think the two lower degree of granularity hurts the D&D rules in this department. You need to have two different mindsets to cover both - free-form roleplaying social situations, but highly detailed tactical combat on the other side. If the combat system was as free-form and abstract as the social encounter system, it would probably be easier - and if both systems were equally detailed, it would also be easier. I am wondering how the social encounters rules in 4E will change this. (I am optimistic, but we'll have to way and see...)</blockquote>

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