Running social encounters

[G.Cube]

I am Dming my first campaign currently. We are quite a few sessions in, and I've yet to run a social encounter. I've no clue how to add substance and meaning to such a challenge. So far all I imagine a social encounter to consist of is "Dialog.......dialog......dialog......" DIPLOMACY/BLUFF/INTIMIDATE CHECK. So obviously my question is, what does a good social encounter insist of? Is it really all banter that is then resolved by a single skill roll? What really brings these types of situations to life?

[Palanan]

Well, the dialogue shouldn't just be a set piece; ideally, it should develop into the back-and-forth of good roleplaying, which can go anywhere.

That, to me, is the best part of a social encounter--far more flexible, inventive and wide-ranging than just throwing a couple of dice.

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[ddude987]

Social encounters don't just have to be about dice rolling, for example the encounter could be someone challenging the players with a riddle or to a game of chess, or the encounter could be about the players making a contract with someone and they have to outsmart him with the terms and conditions.

[Sir Chuckles]

It depends on what you and your players want.

You shouldn't generally need a check, unless it's just a straight one-liner situation or a blatant lie.
Never, ever end a long role-play encounter with a Diplomacy check, as it defeats the point of the whole conversation.

It'll also avoid the "I have 17 ranks in Diplomacy, and I say 'I'm going to deflower the princess horribly if you let me into the castle', but I rolled a 40 on my check, so it doesn't matter what I say." moments that often can appear.

Dialogue choices are key. "How would I, the Lawful Neutral city guard, at 9pm and I haven't eaten, feel about the man stating he's doing to commit adultery with possibly the greatest person in a 50 mile radius?"

[Duke of Urrel]

Social encounters depend on what the encountering parties want, really. They are good opportunities for DMs to insert some unsolicited plot exposition, adventure hooks, and clues. If PCs sometimes get interesting information from conversations with NPCs, they'll be interested in conversing with NPCs more often. Of course, it's especially interesting if an NPC gives PCs interesting information and then gets killed suddenly...

I have advice on keeping Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate skill separate, but only if you're interested.

I allow both Bluff checks and Sense Motive checks to take 10 by default, except in combat situations. PCs have the option of rolling Sense Motive checks at any time, but they must accept any score lower than 10, and if they fail, they must role-play according to their failure.

When PCs use Gather Information skill, it's not necessary for conversations to include extraneous details, unless you, the DM, really want them to know something that they didn't think to ask about.

[DJroboninja]

Don't be afraid to make a social encounter revolve around something else - some of the best dialogue-heavy scenes from movies have something else going on beyond the conversation.

My current campaign started with a poker game, with the players trying to hustle a man for his ship. They have to talk with the man and his crew (Diplomacy), while also hiding their good hands (Bluff), trying to spot the other guy's tells (Sense Motive), and, obviously, cheating (Sleight of Hand). This took a scene that could've been boring, and spiced it up. It also allowed my players that are not roleplay-centric to contribute.