Viability of what I am attempting: Primarily social stat RPG

[Grand_Commander13]

Well, backing up never hurts, really.

The goal for the game is to focus mostly on social interaction, having skills for persuasion, lying, calming people down, inciting them to great deeds, etcs...  As I said, I've thought of fourteen different skills in the social realm.

So, "social" means mostly the persuading, negotiating, etc... business.  Also, I'm going to put in more general stats for marking how much people like you.

I want to map out stuff like "you are a well-known privateer who harrasses *X PLANET*'s shipping, so their enemies all react to you with a +2 bonus" kind of thing.  "The chancellor is a staunch conservative while you are a moderate, so difficulty on all political-based Persuade checks are at +2 difficulty level, IF THEY ARE INNOCUOUS-SEEMING."  Of course, if you advocated something he would be opposed to, the difficulty would already be set high or impossible.

All that stuff.  This transfers over to the army situation so long as the players and GM know that the primary part of the game will be dealing with dissent in the ranks, interrogating enemy prisoners, and trying to convince the brass that they don't have a clue.  A situation like in Starship Troopers 2 (minus the sex and aliens, but WITH turncoats and tough decisions to be made) would be ideal.

So...  Now do I seem more coherent?

[timfire]

So, "social" means mostly the persuading, negotiating, etc... business.  Also, I'm going to put in more general stats for marking how much people like you.

I want to map out stuff like "you are a well-known privateer who harrasses *X PLANET*'s shipping, so their enemies all react to you with a +2 bonus" kind of thing.  "The chancellor is a staunch conservative while you are a moderate, so difficulty on all political-based Persuade checks are at +2 difficulty level, IF THEY ARE INNOCUOUS-SEEMING."  Of course, if you advocated something he would be opposed to, the difficulty would already be set high or impossible.

Hmm, that's interesting. You first say that that it involve personal skill (like negoiating). Then, you mention the "privateer who harasses planet X", which sounds like a relationship thing. Then you mention the politician, which may be another relationship or may be a more general "trait".

I'm not trying to be a hardass, I'm just trying to get you to think. How is all this going to work together? I just want you recognize that they aren't inherently the same thing. Just because you have an "intimidate" or "negoiate" or "influence" skill doesn't mean that you will end up with stuff like "privateer that harrasses planet X".

Also, you should think about whether you want one of these things (skill, trait, relationship, etc) to be more important or more mechanically influencial than the others. Also, without bringing mechanics into the discussion, how are they going to work together generally-speaking, and how are they going to work with non-"social" stuff? Are some going to add bonuses while others add penalties? Or will they have some other type of effect?

Just for comparison, I would recommend checking out 2 recent games. One is "Dogs in the Vineyard."  While the game technically differentiates relationships, traits/skills, and items, mechanically they all do the same thing -- if invoked in a conflict, they give the player more dice to roll.  The other is my own game "The Mountain Witch." In my game, character skill is meaningless. If players want to win a Conflict, they must grant other players "trust points", trusting that the character will actually use the points to help them and not betray them. My game is all about social interaction.

[Grand_Commander13]

Well, the privateer example was something you either decided you wanted in your character's past, or something you decided to do in play.  Logically, people would react differently towards you because of it.

Aside from that, the general idea, like I said, is to quantify a bunch of what is hand-waved normally.  The only skills you have will be social skills, and the rest of your character will be those motivations, and a collection of people's opinions of your character after meeting or having heard of you.  These will interact with your other social skills, and add a roll to determine random NPC's reactions to your presence (since they are no longer initially neutral).

Aside from that...  Yeah, let me know if my thought process is still muddled.

[xenopulse]

GC, (Did you ever mention your name? I'm Christian :)

I think what could really help you at this point is to write out how play would go, blow by blow. That means, write what the GM would say, what the players would say, and how you see the mechanics work in that particular instance. Think about how you *want* it to work out, and make up a fake transcript of a perfect little tidbit of playing your game. That will help you immensely in figuring out how everything fits together.

[TonyLB]

What Christian said, plus my own response:

Logically, people would react differently towards you because of it.

I think that when you stop imagining that there's a single, unambiguous answer to what "would" happen, you'll find that you have a lot more freedom and power to decide and define the sorts of things your rules system will encourage.

[Grand_Commander13]

GC, (Did you ever mention your name? I'm Christian :)

My name is Chris, but it just feels more natural to go by my screenname (GC13 being the preferred abbreviation).

Anyway, yes, when my classes today are over and I'm back home, I'll get right to that.  Example play...  Yes...  That will help a lot.

[Grand_Commander13]

Okay, so I dawdled a bit.  But here it is.

There are two players, who for the sake of simplicity will be RALPH (Mr. Smith) and JOSH (Mr. Jones).

Background: Ralph and Josh's characters are relatively important diplomats for their home planet of Hithia.  They are sent to the nearby neutral planet of Plen to patch up relations that have been less than warm, lately.  The last game session ended with their shuttle landing in the space port in Plen's capital, and they are ready to get to work.

GM: Okay, you and your security detail have landed.  As you exit the shuttle, the Vice President is there to greet you.  "Hello, hello, Mr. Jones and Mr. Smith.  Welcome to Plen," he says in an amicable voice.

RALPH: I use Empathy.  *rolls dice*  With my bonus, I got a 14.

GM: *rolls dice for the VP's Forge Emotion check* He's obviously faking it.

RALPH: Okay.  I extend my hand.

JOSH: So do I.

GM: He shakes both your hands.

RALPH: As we're shaking, I say "Well thank you for the warm welcome Mr. Williams, but I believe we have work to do."

GM: He seems relieved that he no longer has to appear happy to see you, but maintains a neutral disposition.  He says "That is true, that is true.  Come, walk with me."  As you walk, he puts his arms behind his back and talks some more.  "I believe you will find the accomodations we have prepared for you quite comfortable.  There will be a dinner tonight where you will be introduced to everybody, and we will get right to work first thing in the morning."

JOSH: "Excellent.  I look forward to working with you all."  *rolls*  I got a 10 for my Lie check.

GM: *rolls* If he notices, he doesn't give you any indication.

RALPH: "I, too, look forward to patching up relations."  No lie check there.

GM: Alright then.  He takes you to your suites.  They're quite nice, and all that.  Later that night, you are driven in a limosine to the presidential mansion for the dinner party.  The President, Vice President, and the entire cabinet are there, as well as some assorted senators and representatives.  *looks right at Josh*  Senator Perkins is there.

JOSH: Oh jeez, not him.  I hope we won't have to work with him.

RALPH: He's the head of their foreign relations committee; I think it's time to make nice.

JOSH: Yeah.  Okay, I grit my teeth, straighten my collar, and approach Senator Perkins.

GM: He's currently talking with a few of his party's officials who are also attending the party.  He notices you, and you can clearly see how annoyed he is..  "Ah.  Hello, Mr. Jones," he says tersely.

JOSH: *rolls*  Ouch.  I only got a 7 for my Presence roll.

GM: That's not going to cut it.  After your previous dealings with him, you need at least a 15 to impress him.

JOSH: I know, I know.  Fine.  I extend my hand.  "Hey there, Senator Perkins.  I'm just...  Hoping you're not still upset about the wheat tariff, are you?"  (GC13's note: He's playing according to the roll.)

GM: He extends a deliberately limp hand and briefly shakes yours.  "Not at all," he says coldly.  *the GM slides Josh a story token for roleplaying his terrible failure well*  (GC13's note: Story tokens are something you get for roleplaying a poor roll well, and you redeem them for +1 on a roll, after you see your roll.  They do not carry over from session to session.)

RALPH: Don't worry Josh, I have your back.  I'm making a Presence roll too.  *rolls*  11.

GM: Okay.  You've made him think you're worth your salt.  Go.

RALPH: (GC13's note: Now roleplaying his Presence roll.) "Excuse me Senator Perkins, but I believe it's been awhile since we've last talked."  I extend my hand.

GM: He gives you a good, firm handshake and remarks, "So do they still have you babysitting Jones here?" he asks with a bit of a chuckle.

RALPH: I chuckle politely.  "Did you think they'd let him out on his own?"

GM: He laughs.

JOSH: Very funny.

RALPH: Don't worry, I've got this.  (To GM) I roll a Perusade check to make him not think Josh isn't so bad.

GM: Okay.  Base DC is 10, +5 for Josh's deep-sixing of Perkins' free trade pact, +2 because of Josh's personal insults in the process of doing it.

JOSH: Okay, in my defense, I DID get Mo re-elected with those speeches.

RALPH: Yeah, I know.  Anyway, I roll an 18.

JOSH: You could sell ice to an eskimo, I swear...

RALPH: But this is working out for you.  "Now don't be too hard on Jones.  He knows how to learn from his mistakes.  And between you and me, I think his new medication is working," I add with a chuckle.

GM: Alright.  Josh, Perkins is only at -4 for you now, instead of -7.  He chuckles at the joke.  "Well, everybody does deserve a second chance.  I'll tell you what.  Get those government food subsidies of yours cut back, and we're square.  Sound good?"

JOSH: *rolls* I roll a 16 for my Negotiate check.  "Would you be willing to drop the titanium tariff in return?"

GM: 16, huh?  He doesn't want to tangle with you right now.  "Well, maybe.  But what are we talking about business so much for anyway?  There will be plenty of that tomorrow.  Now, I have some more people to talk to."  With that, he leaves.

You know, I could write out the whole session of them hobnobbing with Plen's politicos, but I think you get the point.