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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 5810119" data-attributes="member: 22779">I disagree with the idea that talking is the thing you need to simulate least.  But move on.Yup, and, believe it or not, we've learned a couple of things in the 40 years of game development since.And, you tangentially hit on the need for social mechanics here.  One, it's cumbersome to try to just "talk it out" every single time.  Two, it becomes a problem to constantly keep it fresh.  And, the big one for me, the advantage here varies very largely from group to group.  While one group enjoys puzzles, the next group finds it intensely boring and watching the game grind to a halt while we pixel bitch our way through the trap du jour is not why we sit at the table.The same thing can (not necessarily does, but can) apply to social encounters as well.  While talking it out can be great fun, it can also drag and be incredibly boring, particularly if it takes significant time and only engages one player.  Watching someone role play talking it out with the gate guard for half an hour when the session is only three hours long isn't my idea of fun.  And, BEING that guy who talks to the guard for half an hour because I can't find the right phrase to convince the DM to let me pass is also not my idea of fun.Yup.  I will agree with that.  When it works, it's fine.  But, again, that line between a feeling of accomplishment and that feeling of frustration is very, very narrow.We're talking about D&D players.  This is a game with THOUSANDS of pages of rules.  Presuming that a D&D player has a basic grasp of math isn't exactly a stretch.  In fact, I'd say its a safer assumption to think that a D&D gamer has some grasp on mechanical systems.  It's not like social mechanics are all that complicated.  Heck, again, as I mentioned before, when the rules for initiative are more complicated than the rules for diplomacy, I'm thinking that the advantage isn't all that great.</blockquote>

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