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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 8597962" data-attributes="member: 42582">And just in case anyone thinks I'm a free-thinking hippy . . . My personal preference in RPGing is that establishing the NPC (who is no more a &quot;quantum&quot; contact then every other part of the fiction which is authored when it becomes relevant, which is most of the fiction in RPGing) the players have to engage with the system in some fashion, spending a resource (eg a Plot Point in MHRP/Cortex+ Heroic, or paying for a Relationship out of starting build points in Burning Wheel, or having to write a relationship into your starting 100 word description in HeroWars/Quest) or making a check, which brings with it the risk of the adverse consequences of failure (eg Circle in Burning Wheel and Torchbearer, or Streetwise in 4e D&amp;D or Classic Traveller).The reason for that is it gives the whole social/relationship dynamic of the game a bit more &quot;teeth&quot;.That said, and to stick my hippy wig back on: if the system we're playing doesn't have that sort of thing in it, and so we have to resort to negotiation and consensus in order to resolve these questions about &quot;Do I know someone who works at . . .&quot;, well so be it. I can't see any reason why the answer should default to, or even typically be, No. Let's just frame a scene where the PC calls in their favour from the person whom they know, and see what happens next!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 8597962, member: 42582"] And just in case anyone thinks I'm a free-thinking hippy . . . My personal preference in RPGing is that establishing the NPC (who is no more a "quantum" contact then every other part of the fiction which is authored when it becomes relevant, which is most of the fiction in RPGing) the players have to engage with the system in some fashion, spending a resource (eg a Plot Point in MHRP/Cortex+ Heroic, or paying for a Relationship out of starting build points in Burning Wheel, or having to write a relationship into your starting 100 word description in HeroWars/Quest) or making a check, which brings with it the risk of the adverse consequences of failure (eg Circle in Burning Wheel and Torchbearer, or Streetwise in 4e D&D or Classic Traveller). The reason for that is it gives the whole social/relationship dynamic of the game a bit more "teeth". That said, and to stick my hippy wig back on: if the system we're playing doesn't have that sort of thing in it, and so we have to resort to negotiation and consensus in order to resolve these questions about "Do I know someone who works at . . .", well so be it. I can't see any reason why the answer should default to, or even typically be, No. Let's just frame a scene where the PC calls in their favour from the person whom they know, and see what happens next! [/QUOTE]

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