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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cwheeler" data-source="post: 4497753" data-attributes="member: 72242">While I haven't tried to tackle the wilderness idea, a little while ago I was designing a social encounter system that would allow for more structured and interesting social encounters than 'roll for a skill challenge', and would also allow social situations to flow into and out of combat ones.Situations where split into 'Beats' (the equivalent of rounds) with each beat representing a variable amount of time depending on the tension and pacing of the moment.Each player acted in initiative order, with enough time to manoeuvre around the space and make one skill check or engage in a minor skill challenge.Skill challenges where split into two categories:Minor skill challenges, which represented minor interactions with NPC's, such as befriending a group of drunkards, or extracting some information for a local merchant (success in minor skill challenges could effect the outcome of major skill challenges). [If you spend a full beat engaged in a minor skill challenge you can make two checks towards that challenge].andMajor Skill Challenges, which represent (oh look, my use of tense has changed!) the primary goals of the PC's or purposes of the scene.NPC's are divided into three levels - General, Minor and Major.General NPC's represent basic groups of people - The aforementioned drunkards, kobold troops, townsfolk, and so forth. General NPC's usually act and react in groups.Minor NPC's provide a bit more texture to the encounter. These may include the barkeep, the merchant or a low-ranking commander.Major NPC's are the big players in an encounter, and are usually pivotal to the action. Their exact identities will vary greatly depending on your story, but they may include: the unknowing target of an assassination, a king or major noble, a general, a brutal murderer... basically any primary protagonist or antagonist in your story.Because this system is being structured around beats, which use variable timing, it can transition very easily into and out of combat. (When transitioning into combat, time is still malleable in the opening round, giving players enough time to get close enough to participate).If you use a system like this, you can, relatively quickly, throw together a detailed, textured encounter that can feel less like a linear conversation or series of dice rolls, which is my main problem with skill challenges.The Social Encounter system is still in design, as I am awaiting a group to be able to playtest it with. (the next few weeks should prove fortuitous).I was also trying to figure out a series of social powers (as opposed to combat powers) that could be used both within this system and in the game in general. These where going to be based of vocations and/or personality, and would provide a variety of potential effects.These powers where divided into three categories: encounter, daily and weekly (I chose to exclude at-wills because I feel that the skill check should be the basic unit of action in a social encounter).I have come to the conclusion that until I playtest some social encounters and observe the types of actions that my pc's are attempting and what gaps should be filled, I won't be able to properly say exactly how these powers should function, or even if they should be included at all.It is nice to see that there are some other people who have had similar problems with the system. I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />.P.S. I would like to make it clear that I am first and foremost a Roleplayer, and rather than limit RP-ing with dice, I simply want a way to facilitate RP-ing with solid rules. (just a pre-emptive clause to prevent any misunderstandings as to my views on the matter <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":P" title="Stick out tongue    :P"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":P" /> )</blockquote>

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