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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GM Lent" data-source="post: 8191429" data-attributes="member: 6798775">An interesting read, if not a surprising one.To my mind, a TTRPG should provide rules for things that require rules; combat and magic need rules because they need a measure of fairness in their adjudication. A character is assumed to be much more skilled with the use of a sword (for example) than a player is. Combat rules provide a framework in which the character can operate in that environment independent of the player's skill.Social situations, on the other hand, can be more easily handled by a player's capabilities. At most, a mechanic can exist that allows for a character to be more socially capable than the player (on the same logic as the combat rules, above), but as players can reasonably be expected to know how to talk and carry on a conversation such interactions just require less rules coverage.Does a game with more detailed combat rules than social rules actually encourage combat over discussions? Only inasmuch as the game relies on dice rolls to function. I've yet to see a rule set with detailed social interaction mechanics that didn't feel like its purpose was to restrict what options I had in social situations rather than accommodate what I might want to do in them.</blockquote>