Last one this morning I swear.
Can you guys give me some guidance on social engagements? The last two times my party has run into social interactions with real stakes, we ended up just role-playing it without rolling dice. A lot of that is because I didn’t prepare the conversations in advance, but I couldn’t have because I didn’t know they were going to happen. Are there done good tricks for making social encounters feel as active and risky as combat?
Social actions are the same as any other action in the game. When a player decides to achieve something and change something in the world around them – ask them how they do it (i.e. what Action are they using) then determine Position/Effect. Convincing a Spirit Warden they are a possessed roboton and an antithesis to what they protect? Probably Desperate/Limited at best. Convincing Mylera of the Red Sashes that you can provide a better deal in Crows Foot than Lyssa? Probably Risky.
If it sounds like the player is trying to convince, intimidate, change, or alter someone’s perspective on something – that is probably an action. If they are just discussing the daily events and exploring their connection with a character w/ no knowledge or favors asked – its probably “Free Roleplay”.
If unsure what the players are doing — just ask! “So what are you doing here? What are you trying to accomplish with [NPC Name]?”
Right, I get that in theory. I was hoping you guys could offer some tips for how to do that in practice when I’m improvising. Are clocks the answer?
For what it’s worth, never feel bad about popping in here and asking things. I’ve asked what end up being pretty “Doh!” questions (at least in my mind), but everyone here’s awesome and understanding about helping.
Well, except that John Harper guy. I’m not too sure he knows much about Blades. 😉
It just occurred to me that I’ve run into the same social snags in pretty much any RPG. I’ve noticed a trend in games to let combat be as simple as “I stab him with my knife” but social scenes must be roleplayed. Well, what if a shy person wants to be the group’s face? Should they suffer? I certainly don’t make a bruiser act out his ass-kicking or demand the player of a ninja sneaks around.
This can apply when even the most creative of groups falter in a scene. It’s OK to just say, “Ooh! A three? Hmm, you pissed him off and he draws a knife” or “Your 5 on intimidating him means he agrees to give you the information, but he’s going to remember this”. You don’t need to get into the wordy weeds and figure out what was said, just the result.
Is that even helping or am I not making a lick of sense?
Stepping back from the interactions to the mechanics help me in times like this. “What are you trying to accomplish and how?” usually is followed by them saying something, then you doing the GM thing and saying “That sounds Risky. If you fail, this will happen (or be resisted). If you partially succeed, this will happen (etc.). The mechanics help you by forcing you to come up with the consequences.
Some examples of consequences off the top of my head:
* You owe the person a favor if they agree
* They demand payment to agree to your request
* They are insulted and your position moves down.
* They are confused and agree to something other than what
you want.
* They mistake your casual inquiry for serious romantic
interest (and may like it!)
* They mistake your casual inquiry for serious interest in their
incredibly boring hobby.
* Your blackmail attempt fails because the secret you hold is
actually well-known.
There are examples under Sway and Consort for possible consequences as well. Also read the bit under Sway about leverage. Do the PCs have any?
If you want to use clocks, you could have two – one for the PC moving the NPC to what they want, and another to move the NPC outta there. If the second clock runs out before the first – too bad, so sad. Perhaps another time.
Wrt risk and action: If you have someone who is very good at these things, make sure to look to other members of the crew for those poor choices to keep things exciting and interesting. The Slide is doing his thing, when the Whisper starts screaming at a ghost in the corner, or the Cutter gets into a scrap in the kitchen. Don’t let yourself get locked in to the conversation – spread the spotlight around to increase chances for Bad Things to happen.
Ben Liepis That makes total sense, I’ve seen that a lot as well and its one of those “minor quibbles” that irritates me at the table when it happens. Being able to discuss the conversations as players at the table is a huge thing for me.
Ben Wright , could you elaborate, please? I’m not sure I follow.
Do you guys generally have lots of player conversations about the character action? I’m getting the impression that’s encouraged with this game. It seems like I need to be able to be candid with my players, and expect them to direct their characters according to the character’s actual knowledge/opinions/beliefs. That is, the players themselves are expected to police the player vs character knowledge divide. I like that.
Ben Liepis this part:: “I’ve noticed a trend in games to let combat be as simple as “I stab him with my knife” but social scenes must be roleplayed. Well, what if a shy person wants to be the group’s face? Should they suffer? I certainly don’t make a bruiser act out his ass-kicking or demand the player of a ninja sneaks around.”
When Players either expect to “play out” what they see their character doing – and sometimes being miffed when the roll “goes wrong” or similar things. Its a longer conversation and huge diatribe from this post though. so meh?
Oh, I see and it makes perfect sense. To help stymie those uncomfortable talks I reward silver-tongued players with mechanical bonuses when they come up with nifty dialogue. It keeps it fair but rewarding for everyone, I feel. If the less chatty player articulates a neat explanation, I’ll do the same. I also like giving players small bennies to use later, such as a sweet-ass plan or clutch roll giving the shy player a bonus to later use during a social scene, if wanted. Not hand-holding, just a way to keep it fun for everyone, especially new players.
As an example of a time I bristled at the “Your words are you PC’s” mentality, I was invited to play in a game of a friend’s friend. While chilling they were complaining pretty harshly about an absent player. They kept mentioning how shy he was and a great guy, then griping about how he couldn’t role play well. I suggested letting his character’s stats and the dice determine things, pretty much explaining it as I did above. They had this “Ohhhhhh…” moment and I felt pretty good as they seemed pretty determined to kick him from the game.
I’m not saying I’m some gaming genuis (far from it! lol) but that moment got me thinking a lot more about my own habits and how I could drop the bad and refine the good.
Kyle, as far as your question goes we have a mix of things and adjust the focus and speed as needed. There are times we free-form and just talk it all out, get detailed and crunchy in social and combat scenes, or simply gloss over a moment to get to the meatier parts. It’s hard to nail down how we do things, but I will say that we all consider the rules as pretty solid guidelines to keep us from spinning off course, as it were. It’s a group decision and I ask what they want to do. As I’ve mentioned before my players are fantastic and share and support each other, as well as the game, so shifting gears hasn’t caused friction.
Of course, it also means the lovely and dramatic PvP in Blades probably won’t be a thing. 🙂
I ask a lot of GM-to-player questions that are rather meta, but that really help to keep things on solid footing. A lot can be lost/confusing when full immersion is expected the whole time. Just as John designed the score planning and engagements to reflect the professionalism of the PCs not the players, much of everything else can benefit from that view as well. Besides, spending hours in a fictional headspace and looking through the eyes of a character with no break from immersion can be exhausting.