Interesting... that's definitely walking down the path I was envisioning. In a certain way it doesn't go far enough, still leaving some hope for actually roleplaying, rather than distilling things down to min-maxing "gamist" purity.
Social "hit points" and mental attributes used for "social combat?"
- Thread starter harpy
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Interesting... that's definitely walking down the path I was envisioning. In a certain way it doesn't go far enough, still leaving some hope for actually roleplaying, rather than distilling things down to min-maxing "gamist" purity.
Exalted has a social combat system of that general nature. I have not played it myself, but friends who normally like White Wolf games and liked the rest of Exalted tried it out spoke unfavorably of it.
Burning Wheel also has a social combat system that is similar to the normal combat system. It uses a variety of maneuvers and the results depend on how the character's social maneuvers and skill levels match up. I have not had a chance to try it out, but it seemed interesting.
Burning Wheel also has a social combat system that is similar to the normal combat system. It uses a variety of maneuvers and the results depend on how the character's social maneuvers and skill levels match up. I have not had a chance to try it out, but it seemed interesting.
I played several sessions of Exalted, but using these rules instead of the original ones. They use the exactly same structure for social and physical combat and encourages roleplaying/descriptions in both. It plays great, giving important negotiations or other social conflicts as much tension and dynamism as combat has. It also gives socially or mentally focused characters as many tools and options as physical ones, without crearting any king od imbalance.
Theo R Cwithin
I cast "Baconstorm!"
As a full on combat-like mechanic, it seems a little odd, except maybe in a few case where there's a definite quantifiable result resulting from an inherently uninteresting exchange (eg, haggling for a good price). But there's already Skills for that sort of thing.
As a guide for role players-- especially those weaker on the improv-- it might be useful: roll the dice, get an idea of the character's current standing in the in-game debate/argument/oration/etc in an abstract way, and roleplay to that. In a way, it's letting the roleplay follow the dice, rather than the other way around, which might help some players get into it a bit easier. If nothing else, I can certainly see something like this as helpful for a DM to diversify his schtick if he finds himself in a rut.
Imho, it would certainly be interesting to try, though.
As a guide for role players-- especially those weaker on the improv-- it might be useful: roll the dice, get an idea of the character's current standing in the in-game debate/argument/oration/etc in an abstract way, and roleplay to that. In a way, it's letting the roleplay follow the dice, rather than the other way around, which might help some players get into it a bit easier. If nothing else, I can certainly see something like this as helpful for a DM to diversify his schtick if he finds himself in a rut.
Imho, it would certainly be interesting to try, though.
1Mac
First Post
Spycraft 2.0 has a bunch of subsystems for social combat based on the chase mechanic they developed in Spycraft 1.0. I haven't tried them, but they seem a little too mini-game-y to me.
My impression is that a lot of indie games blur the distinction between physical combat and other kinds of challenges, including social encounters. Risus is a pretty simple implementation of this idea.
Speaking of Burning Wheel, you can check out the Duel of Wits rules for free here, though they only make a little sense to me, since I don't know the basic rules.
In general defense of social encounter rules: I GM'd a game with a great social roleplayer. The final encounter of the campaign involved a trial wherein the PCs accused an important noble of treason, and the back and forth between us was excellent. I realized, though, that I needed to wrap the encounter up or it would go on forever, so I called for a Diplomacy check. All that, leading to a single die roll, was very anticlimactic (and reminded me of this). Maybe I could have handled it better, but I thought that some sort of mechanical support that would divide the encounter into discreet, intuitive, testable checks would have made the encounter better, without losing the great roleplaying that happened.
My impression is that a lot of indie games blur the distinction between physical combat and other kinds of challenges, including social encounters. Risus is a pretty simple implementation of this idea.
Speaking of Burning Wheel, you can check out the Duel of Wits rules for free here, though they only make a little sense to me, since I don't know the basic rules.
In general defense of social encounter rules: I GM'd a game with a great social roleplayer. The final encounter of the campaign involved a trial wherein the PCs accused an important noble of treason, and the back and forth between us was excellent. I realized, though, that I needed to wrap the encounter up or it would go on forever, so I called for a Diplomacy check. All that, leading to a single die roll, was very anticlimactic (and reminded me of this). Maybe I could have handled it better, but I thought that some sort of mechanical support that would divide the encounter into discreet, intuitive, testable checks would have made the encounter better, without losing the great roleplaying that happened.
jdrakeh
Front Range Warlock
Both Exalted 2e and Burning Wheel have explicit mechanics for 'social combat' (i.e., arguments and other contests treated like combats, with one side vying against the other for a win). It's a neat idea, but I've yet to see a system that handles it to my liking (including Exalted and Burning Wheel).
[Edit: I see that somebody beat me to mentioning Burning Wheel.]
[Edit: I see that somebody beat me to mentioning Burning Wheel.]
jdrakeh
Front Range Warlock
MichaelSomething
Legend
The Song of Ice and Fire RPG has a social combat system of some kind.
The thing is, isn't on the complaints about 4E is that it's all about combat? That it doesn't have enough material devoted to roleplaying? Wouldn't a social combat system be a good thing for 4E since it would help bring focus to roleplaying?
The thing is, isn't on the complaints about 4E is that it's all about combat? That it doesn't have enough material devoted to roleplaying? Wouldn't a social combat system be a good thing for 4E since it would help bring focus to roleplaying?
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