tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3221587901988152582.post4893339449459152737..comments2024-03-26T11:29:49.858-04:00Comments on Panda Gaming Grove: Earthdawn: Part 20 - Social InteractionsMorgan Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14510056783865452328noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3221587901988152582.post-2852127230148841872012-12-12T15:43:50.549-05:002012-12-12T15:43:50.549-05:00Virtually all of the actual applications that skil...Virtually all of the actual applications that skills cover in most other games are just Interaction Tests with a required Result Level; the GM's Guide actually has all of that information. The way it works means there doesn't need to be a skill to cover every situation, Intimidation is actually strange in that regard - you could always intimidate, there just happens to be the skill to be extra good at it.<br /><br />On the whole, I would rather have a system that gives a general idea of how to go about this whole interaction thing, than a discrete social combat system. Because that is how I role play and I don't care to have an interaction bog down trying to figure out if someone has the right skill or what they right skill is for the job. If you have a skill that can benefit you, trot it out and stage the interaction around that. If you can spend Karma on Charisma tests, that is going to be a big deal, but that is a part of what those Disciplines do.<br /><br />It has some issues, without a doubt, but I actually think the biggest one is not really explaining what it is about in the first place and where it is coming from. Which is a general accusation that can be directed at Earthdawn in the first place, but Interactions deserve special mention. That and trying to figure out how to use the social abilities and what the framework that exists is for. It's not terribly friendly to just pick up and go with.Morgan Weekshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14510056783865452328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3221587901988152582.post-16241431478070074842012-12-12T15:26:54.569-05:002012-12-12T15:26:54.569-05:00I find ED's social interaction system badly ou...I find ED's social interaction system badly outdated and inadequate. It's not really defined in places (before Kratas there was no Intimidation, there still are no skills like Con from Shadowrun), and most of the talents and skills do exactly the same. That, and the fact that at low levels (4-7) they're almost useless, and using them (the greeting ritual for example) can be more trouble than it's worth, or even screw up the whole game session (your character critically fumbles his ritual, and gets exiled/lynched, and then you spend the rest of the game doing nothing...).<br />It's a part of Earthdawn that needs a complete, coherent rewrite in a modern way.Kothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11413150069269439282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3221587901988152582.post-85006839958753399792012-12-12T11:55:42.653-05:002012-12-12T11:55:42.653-05:00I like that the Earthdawn social system is very ro...I like that the Earthdawn social system is very robust. The wealth of social talent options for players is especially nice. Unfortunately (like most RPG social systems) the risks and rewards of any given social challenge are determined by the GM, and this can create situation where it's hard to gauge the value of certain talents. The wide variety of social talents and the intricate way they interact can also make it hard to dabble to any level of effectiveness, though it does open up opportunities for social-secondary characters to employ teamwork (if the GM is flexible on letting certain accrued bonuses apply to the group, not just the character who employed the talent). It is also worth mentioning that the Talents (being modifiers to a certain types of action) do not restrict a character from attempting the action in question. You can make a street urchin go "wow" with a display of your martial prowess without having the Impress or First Impression talents. ANd you can negotiate a peace treaty between two groups of Scorchers without needing the Etiquette and Diplomacy talents. Having those talents are huge benefits, but they are not "yes/no" activators like Read/Write Language, or Great Leap.<br /><br />At the end of the day it's a good system for representing those interactions that are not interesting enough to roleplay out, or adding drama and tension to those interactions that are. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15691048715175108028noreply@blogger.com