I've been running OSE a bunch lately and decided it might be helpful for my players if there's a codified version of the way I run social encounters for them to consult.* Since I wrote them up anyway, I thought I'd share them here. Link immediately below, brief design notes after the jump.

Click here to see the document!


The core design principles are:
  1. Besides initial reaction rolls, NPC behaviour is determined as much as possible by their disposition and nature.
  2. Rolls only happen when the GM does not know what the NPCs do.
  3. The point of rolls is to determine the affordances and stakes of the social situation.
And, as a side principle:
  • Torture is not fun or interesting to run, and should be possible only as a worst-case option.

This also gets at my ideas on the player skill vs. character skill question with respect to social interaction. Player skill is only meaningful when the player can make informed decisions. Social situations can be deeply ambiguous, making them difficult to engage with skillfully. Procedures can provide clarity where narrative questions are ambiguous. Character skill can play a role in resolving that ambiguity.

Happy to hear your thoughts!

*These thoughts, incidentally, are in large part inspired by the the conversation I had with John B. yesterday for the third episode of Text to Table. I am very excited to get this one online.