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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Saeviomagy" data-source="post: 1701742" data-attributes="member: 5890">Gather information:Player:"I want to know about X".GM: "Roll."Good resultGM: "OK. You hear about Y, who supposedly has info on what you want".Now there's two ways that this will go. Either the info is unimportant, and Y is a nameless, faceless NPC who is just there to hand out info, or he'll be someone who's going to really contribute to the story.If he's nameless and faceless, I just tell the player what he wanted to know.If, on the other hand, the info was important, then Y is a real character with real motives. Visiting Y might be dangerous - Y himself might not like visitors. Y might be being watched. Y might have something he needs taken care of. Y might even be dead.Take special note - gather information got me past all the boring stuff - following a train of unimportant NPCs to get me to a SCENE.Also note: The SCENE is NOT essential to the game. It's a scene that gives you bonus points - info to make an encounter easier, to find more treasure, to beat the opposition somewhere etc. If it was essential to the game, then I'd be handing out NO REWARD to the player with a good gather information skill, because the PC's would find their way to the scene regardless of what they did, or the campaign would collapse.A failed gather information roll means the PC's do not find what they're after.As to social skills?Start - NPC has a particular attitude ranging from hostile to helpful.The PC decides what to ask. He even decides how to ask it. The diplomacy/bluff/sense motive roll just says how the NPC reacts, and what info the PC gleans outside of what is actually said.Roleplaying still happens. Skills still matter. 3 hours of smalltalk is avoided.</blockquote>

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