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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Staffan" data-source="post: 9853633" data-attributes="member: 907">I've run Infinity 2d20, which treats social interaction much the same as combat (just like combat has Physical Damage, which is Soaked by Armor and applied to Vigour, and if you hit hard enough or wear them down you inflict Harm which has actual effects, PsyWar has Mental Damage which is Soaked by Morale and applied to Resolve, and a good enough attack or wearing someone down inflicts Metanoia which literally means "change of mind"), and I found it profoundly unsatisfying. To me, it felt like someone at the top level decided "We're going to have a three-fold battlefield with both physical combat, social combat, and hacking" and then someone else had to squeeze the rules to get that result.Part of the problem is that while combat is usually, on some level, a contest between more-or-less equals where both sides have similar goals, or at least goals in the same domain (survive, get out, disable their foes, etc.), social interaction is usually more lopsided. One side (usually the NPC) has something, and the other (usually the PCs) want it. So trading "attacks" generally isn't a good model for this.While I haven't had the opportunity to try it myself yet, Draw Steel's negotiation model seems to fit better. NPCs start with a certain amount of Patience (how long they're willing to put up with you) and Interest (how much they're willing to help you), as well as certain Motivations and Pitfalls (usually about 2 each, chosen from a common list of 12). Motivations are things the NPC cares about, and appealing to a Motivation will make the argument more effective, while Pitfalls are things the NPC actively dislikes or disdains and trying to appeal to that in an argument will make it automatically fail and lower the NPC's Interest. So a negotiation (and preparing for one) usually involves finding out what things make the NPC tick and then presenting arguments tailored to what you have learned. Usually, making an argument (successful or not) will lower the NPC's Patience – they have things to do, and can't be here talking to you all day, and if they hit 0 you're done. Hopefully the argument will also increase their Interest, which is measured on 0 to 5 where 0 to 2 are "No" with potential "and" or "but", and 3 to 5 are "Yes" with potential "but" or "and". I've seen it described as not so much being about changing the target's mind but about making the target realizing their interests and yours align.</blockquote>

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