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What is a Social challenge, anyways?
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<blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 8949604" data-attributes="member: 82106"><p>My answer, one of them, is to simply point at the SC system in 4e. If something isn't significant enough to trigger such an encounter (which in and of itself defines the basic elements of structure) then there isn't a social conflict, and I see no reason to engage a set of mechanics in order to simply deal with an INTERACTION where nothing is at stake. So, the PCs need to deal with the Residuum Traders of Ohm because they need a significant quantity of pure residuum in order to build the Device of Qa'al. The dramatic question here being "Is the wizard Cantose going to have to give up the money he had put aside to join the Guild of The Orb in order to help his friend Jantos construct the Device so he can rescue his girlfriend?" Well, is he? Is he going to DO it if it comes to that or not? Those are interesting questions, and if he can successfully negotiate with the Traders, he might still have enough cash for the membership fee. In that case he can have his cake and eat it too, so to speak, but otherwise he'll have a tough choice to make. The GM is going to put the paint on that, as 4e gives him the freedom to set the complexity, and probably the level of the challenge (it might be argued it falls at the level of the Quest all this is adjudicating). The GM will also set the specific primary and secondary skills, although that generally comes down to "the ones that obviously fit with the fiction in this situation." To be honest I've pretty much ditched the idea of specific primary and secondary skills, though as a GM I will usually call out things that I think will be apparent uses in each situation.</p><p></p><p>Another answer is more the PbtA type of answer, which is there simply are no such things as 'combat' and 'social' (or whatever, non-combat) as mechanical categories within these games. PCs do things, the GM responds with new fiction/move/question, or declares that the PC has made a basic or playbook move, and it is resolved. So in this case you could swing at a guy, you could talk to the guy, you could run from the guy, you could ignore the guy, and each one will simply lead to more fiction and moves, some of which may indeed be social interaction. Again, if the action has essentially no stakes, then its either just narrative, or it MIGHT trigger a 'special move', say like in Dungeon World where a PC might trigger 'Carouse' or something like that (DW has several 'down time' moves you can trigger).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="AbdulAlhazred, post: 8949604, member: 82106"] My answer, one of them, is to simply point at the SC system in 4e. If something isn't significant enough to trigger such an encounter (which in and of itself defines the basic elements of structure) then there isn't a social conflict, and I see no reason to engage a set of mechanics in order to simply deal with an INTERACTION where nothing is at stake. So, the PCs need to deal with the Residuum Traders of Ohm because they need a significant quantity of pure residuum in order to build the Device of Qa'al. The dramatic question here being "Is the wizard Cantose going to have to give up the money he had put aside to join the Guild of The Orb in order to help his friend Jantos construct the Device so he can rescue his girlfriend?" Well, is he? Is he going to DO it if it comes to that or not? Those are interesting questions, and if he can successfully negotiate with the Traders, he might still have enough cash for the membership fee. In that case he can have his cake and eat it too, so to speak, but otherwise he'll have a tough choice to make. The GM is going to put the paint on that, as 4e gives him the freedom to set the complexity, and probably the level of the challenge (it might be argued it falls at the level of the Quest all this is adjudicating). The GM will also set the specific primary and secondary skills, although that generally comes down to "the ones that obviously fit with the fiction in this situation." To be honest I've pretty much ditched the idea of specific primary and secondary skills, though as a GM I will usually call out things that I think will be apparent uses in each situation. Another answer is more the PbtA type of answer, which is there simply are no such things as 'combat' and 'social' (or whatever, non-combat) as mechanical categories within these games. PCs do things, the GM responds with new fiction/move/question, or declares that the PC has made a basic or playbook move, and it is resolved. So in this case you could swing at a guy, you could talk to the guy, you could run from the guy, you could ignore the guy, and each one will simply lead to more fiction and moves, some of which may indeed be social interaction. Again, if the action has essentially no stakes, then its either just narrative, or it MIGHT trigger a 'special move', say like in Dungeon World where a PC might trigger 'Carouse' or something like that (DW has several 'down time' moves you can trigger). [/QUOTE]
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