Re: [DL] persuading against the odds

[Lord Jobe <lordjobe@newsources.net>]

The Baron Samedi wrote:
> 
> My sole problem here is this:
> 
> Player 1 draws a hand. he has one d4 stat. he puts it in, say, smarts.
> 
> Player 2 has same hand. he puts his d4 in Mien.
> 
> Now, if you role for every non-social occurrence, and just RP all
> interactions and such, what about the PCs social stats?  As a player, I put
> several points into Persuade, Ridicule, ect for some PCs, and while I agree
> just saying"I smooth talk him" is boring, it really hurts a socially built
> character to always RP out what you say, (so a glib player with Persuasion
> 0, 1d4 Mien, and Ugly as Sin, Mean as a Rattler, Habit, and squeaky can get
> more out of a situation then a player who's PC has  with 3d12+10 Mien, 8
> Persuade, and The Voice: Soothing and Purty if the latter player is
> quieter).  I just know I have seen games where characters with no social
> skills (as in no points put there) have gotten by on the players
> personality, while those with social stats get (points put in those skills)
> ridiculed for trying to roll.
> 
> where do you find the balance there.
> 
> TBS

You have 2 choices:
1. Base all social interactions on the player's social skills.  This will make ALL of that player's
characters very socially adept whether the character is or not.
2. Base all social interactions on the character's social skills.  This will mean the same player may have
characters that run the gamut of eloquence to complete incompetence in social situations.  Thus all
characters will be unique in this aspect.

Now, while I will not require the player to say EXACTLY what his character said, I do require the gist of
what the character is trying to get across.

I myself occasionally play social machines.  In AD&D, I play Trellon, a grey elven swashbuckler, that the
other PCs rarely get to see the eloquent side of (since they infuriate him so much on a regular basis). 
When new NPCs are encountered though, Trellon will suck it up and turn that 18 Charisma and all that
eloquence on for effect.
Anyone that has met me can confirm that I myself have a VERY abrasive personality.  If Trellon's charisma
was based on mine, it would be non-existant.

In short, don't penalize a player for playing a character he isn't.  If that's the case, what is the point
of playing?
Role-playing is great, but if you penalize players' characters because they aren't socially adept, they will
never play characters that are socially adept.

-- 
"Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves
  on a rainy Sunday afternoon"
   -Susan Ertz

Lord Jobe, God of Psiberspace (The Landscape of My Mind)
"Universes Exist in My Mind."
ICQ# 17774785