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RPGs with good social combat systems?

Started by Archangel Fascist, August 13, 2013, 02:23:59 AM

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RPGPundit

#45
August 23, 2013, 04:05:50 PM
Quote from: fuseboy;683886I agree that it's not a social combat system.

I do think it's an example of taking an activity that might normally be done with informal discussion or collaboration ("Hey, who wants to be the strongest child of Oberon?") and resolves it using a potentially competitive procedure.  (By comparison, Dungeon World suggests that there be only one of each class in each party, which is a similar sort of restriction, it just leaves the group to figure this out using unstructured discussion and expression of preferences.)

I don't see how that's "similar" at all.  What Amber does amounts to "let's make a list of who has the best, second, third-best, etc. Strength attribute", not "only one person can be a cleric!".
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fuseboy

#46
August 23, 2013, 04:45:47 PM
*shrug*  Amber has roles of durable value - who is the peerless swordsman? Who has unmatched psychic powers? That's all I'm talking about.

Justin Alexander

#47
August 24, 2013, 01:11:26 AM
Quote from: Bill;683523I can see that helping to entwine the characters together. However, can't you do that without an auction?

Sure. You can do almost everything an RPG does mechanically without mechanics. But the auction is both fun to play and creates mechanical structures that will continue to influence play throughout

One of my particular memories of Amber is from an online throne war I ran many moons ago. The players wanted to run the auction via e-mail and closed bids. After several debates I convinced them to let me run the auction via mIRC. The result was every player saying, "You were right. That was awesome!"

What the auction mechanic does brilliantly is to create a real world social interaction between the players (the high tension stakes of a real time auction) and use that to fuel the creation of real relationships between the PCs. Like most character creation mechanics it's heavily dissociated, but the pay-off is fantastic and jibbajibba is right about the positive effect it has on Amber. Whenever I get tempted to run an Amber campaign again, it's the auction that I'm primarily thinking of.
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Bill

#48
August 24, 2013, 03:56:41 AM
Quote from: Justin Alexander;684995Sure. You can do almost everything an RPG does mechanically without mechanics. But the auction is both fun to play and creates mechanical structures that will continue to influence play throughout

One of my particular memories of Amber is from an online throne war I ran many moons ago. The players wanted to run the auction via e-mail and closed bids. After several debates I convinced them to let me run the auction via mIRC. The result was every player saying, "You were right. That was awesome!"

What the auction mechanic does brilliantly is to create a real world social interaction between the players (the high tension stakes of a real time auction) and use that to fuel the creation of real relationships between the PCs. Like most character creation mechanics it's heavily dissociated, but the pay-off is fantastic and jibbajibba is right about the positive effect it has on Amber. Whenever I get tempted to run an Amber campaign again, it's the auction that I'm primarily thinking of.

I will have to try it out if I can purge pathfinder and 4e from the death grip it has on them.
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