For my Eberron campaign, I've actually been wanting an extra "system" to handle some social encounters. In an intrigue-laden world, information can be more valuable than gold and conversations can be as dangerous as combat.
Unfortunately, it's hard for that to come out in play. See, players interact with the game world much differently than their characters actually would. Too often there are real-life "pauses" in a dramatic situation where players stop and think, discuss amongst themselves out-of-character, and evaluate different reactions.
Basically, I'd like to find a way for characters to be able to gain or lose advantages within social interactions, without relying 100% on the players own acting skills.
Example:
The players need to talk to a local crime boss to get information about another villain they are tracking down. The crime boss doesn't want to give the information, but he will give in if the players can successfully intimidate them, or if they put themselves in his debt.
The players would rather intimidate the boss, but it's tricky... the crime boss will fish for information by talking with the PCs, and attempt to gain some some useful tidbit that he can turn against the PCs (now or later).
The PCs can GAIN the advantage by successfully intimidating the crime boss, or they can LOSE the advantage by giving up a little information of their own.
This happens all the time in books and movies, but I see it rarely happening on the gaming table. As a DM, I have to be SUPER creative ahead of time by laying out specific dialogue traps for my players to fall into... and if they fall into them, I have to get the players to admit that their characters fell into the trap too.
I think it can be done with the current 4e system of social skills and skill challenges. I would just like a template that I could apply to many situations without me having to create a new skill challenge, from scratch ever time.
Unfortunately, it's hard for that to come out in play. See, players interact with the game world much differently than their characters actually would. Too often there are real-life "pauses" in a dramatic situation where players stop and think, discuss amongst themselves out-of-character, and evaluate different reactions.
Basically, I'd like to find a way for characters to be able to gain or lose advantages within social interactions, without relying 100% on the players own acting skills.
Example:
The players need to talk to a local crime boss to get information about another villain they are tracking down. The crime boss doesn't want to give the information, but he will give in if the players can successfully intimidate them, or if they put themselves in his debt.
The players would rather intimidate the boss, but it's tricky... the crime boss will fish for information by talking with the PCs, and attempt to gain some some useful tidbit that he can turn against the PCs (now or later).
The PCs can GAIN the advantage by successfully intimidating the crime boss, or they can LOSE the advantage by giving up a little information of their own.
This happens all the time in books and movies, but I see it rarely happening on the gaming table. As a DM, I have to be SUPER creative ahead of time by laying out specific dialogue traps for my players to fall into... and if they fall into them, I have to get the players to admit that their characters fell into the trap too.
I think it can be done with the current 4e system of social skills and skill challenges. I would just like a template that I could apply to many situations without me having to create a new skill challenge, from scratch ever time.
