Ok, yeah. I know. This topic has been probably beaten to death. But I feel like taking another swing at it and throwing a couple of ideas out into the ether. Generally, when you start talking about social skills in RPG’ there are two camps. One, you must role play it out. And the other, just roll.

I’m a weirdo. I sort of fall some where in the middle. I want the player to role play it out and well say the things that the character is saying. If it’s creative enough or right no the spot then there isn’t a need to roll or they get a bonus. And sure there are times when they roll but it’s not just “I roll Persuasion.” They still have to do something. Yes, player skill. The roll and the character skill come in for those things that are hard to simulate at the table. Whether it be body language, intonation, timing, or possibly even eye contact.

And let’s face it. Gamers have reputation of not having the best people skills. Heck, you can see in that most online RPG Groups. But what about that low Charisma player with a high Charisma character. Well, those same ideas above still apply. Sure the way the player says it, it sounds don’t right creepy but the character may be a smooth talker. I view it as way to strike that happy medium between player skills and abilities and character skills and abilities.

This isn’t a super crunchy rules because it can basically work with any game system. But a down side may be what if the GM is totally lacking in people skills? Yeah, there’s a chance for that too. But if the GM lacks those skills then chances are the gaming group is going to have bigger problems than how to run social encounters.

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