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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    California, USA
    Gender
    Male

    Default What are the best systems that focus on social interaction?

    I am looking for game systems recommendations that focus primarily on social interaction. Supporting combat or magic as well is fine, but I'm interested in systems that want to tell a story like a Jane Austin novel, or The West Wing, or To Kill a Mockingbird.

    Long Live the Queen is an excellent example of the level of mechanical focus on social abilities vs martial abilities I'm interested in, with bonus points if it's even more heavily weighted towards social!

    If nothing else, I'd love to hear about specific mechanics from games that you found useful, nuanced, or well developed for social interaction.

    Thank you for all your suggestions!

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Barbarian in the Playground
    Join Date
    Aug 2013

    Default Re: What are the best systems that focus on social interaction?

    Hmm...one of the more interesting mechanics for social interactions I like was in Legend of the 5 Rings 5th Edition. The different rings along with the Shuji abilities made conversations an interesting and deadly affair. Not familiar with prior editions but I assume this is them as well. Though I didn't care for Vampire the Masqurade 5th edition, I did like the idea of social interactions wreching carnage to one's Willpower which for this game has been a very crucial stat for characters.

    Anything else tends to fall to the rules light games like Fate where social interaction is more pronounced than the nitty gritty of mechanics.
    Last edited by GentlemanVoodoo; 2020-08-12 at 01:23 AM.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Barbarian in the Playground
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Slovakia
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: What are the best systems that focus on social interaction?

    FATE Core has a unified resolution mechanics where you can use same system of turns, attacks and defenses for conversation, or any conflict really, as you do for combat. Tried it a few times myself, and it works pretty well if you have a final confrontation with the bad guys that is about politicking or proving something.

    Because of the unified resolution system, you can also reduce combat to a few skill checks, the way we do it with social skills usually, and you can make Stunts (essentially perks) that affect social stuff in interesting ways.

    Quote Originally Posted by GentlemanVoodoo View Post
    Anything else tends to fall to the rules light games like Fate where social interaction is more pronounced than the nitty gritty of mechanics.
    FATE Core has 300-page rulebook, it's not exactly rules-light. Some other FATE versions can be (Accelerated, for one), but Core isn't, especially once you start to add in optional rules for magic.
    That which does not kill you made a tactical error.

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    May 2013

    Default Re: What are the best systems that focus on social interaction?

    Quote Originally Posted by Martin Greywolf View Post
    FATE Core has 300-page rulebook, it's not exactly rules-light. Some other FATE versions can be (Accelerated, for one), but Core isn't, especially once you start to add in optional rules for magic.
    Page count isn't everything. Those 300 pages include both the player and GM rules, including hefty examples of play, and all of it is in a huge font size. It's not the lightest game out there but I'd definitely say it's towards that end of the spectrum.

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