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<blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 5966486" data-attributes="member: 996"><p>This gets down to a very basic question of what an RPG is.&nbsp; Is it a game that models what a player's /character/ can do, or is it a game in which the player places /himself/ a role?&nbsp;&nbsp; If the former, yes, the game needs mechanical resolution systems to help determine what they character can achieve in a social situation.&nbsp; If a character is a 'silver tongued bard,' he'll do better in social situations than a character conceived and modeled as an 'uncouth barbarian.'&nbsp; In the latter case, there's no need for a system, regardless of the character, it's the ability of the player to convince the DM that matters in a social situation.&nbsp; So, if the player of the 'uncouth barbarian' happens to be much better at mediating a treaty negotiation (in the eyes of the DM) than the player of the 'silver tongued bard,' then the uncouth barbarian save the day at the negotiating table - as well as kicking ass on the battlefield.</p></blockquote><p></p>

[QUOTE="Tony Vargas, post: 5966486, member: 996"] This gets down to a very basic question of what an RPG is. Is it a game that models what a player's /character/ can do, or is it a game in which the player places /himself/ a role? If the former, yes, the game needs mechanical resolution systems to help determine what they character can achieve in a social situation. If a character is a 'silver tongued bard,' he'll do better in social situations than a character conceived and modeled as an 'uncouth barbarian.' In the latter case, there's no need for a system, regardless of the character, it's the ability of the player to convince the DM that matters in a social situation. So, if the player of the 'uncouth barbarian' happens to be much better at mediating a treaty negotiation (in the eyes of the DM) than the player of the 'silver tongued bard,' then the uncouth barbarian save the day at the negotiating table - as well as kicking ass on the battlefield. [/QUOTE]

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