I've been a big proponent these last several years of using the Reaction Roll table as the exclusive complement to actually roleplaying out social situations.  That is to say, not just using it to see if a monster/animal will attack right away, but for all kinds of social situations.

Do you do that? If not, do you use reaction rolls at all?

I pretty much always roll the 2d6 for initial disposition, certainly in my 5e D&D games. I don't reroll it subsequently, mood shifts are by roleplayed interaction, persuasion rolls etc.

We used it extensively in BX D&D and to a lesser degree in AD&D and eventually just ported over the BX version as it was easier.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1033235I've been a big proponent these last several years of using the Reaction Roll table as the exclusive complement to actually roleplaying out social situations.  That is to say, not just using it to see if a monster/animal will attack right away, but for all kinds of social situations.

Do you do that?

Same here.

I have been using it more recently and finding it fun to use.

All the time.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1033235I've been a big proponent these last several years of using the Reaction Roll table as the exclusive complement to actually roleplaying out social situations.  That is to say, not just using it to see if a monster/animal will attack right away, but for all kinds of social situations.

Do you do that? If not, do you use reaction rolls at all?

I use a variant of it on 3d6 which I first encountered in Traveller. Seems to work just fine as a GMing rule of thumb, since it's basically "disposition levels".

Too much mechanical resolution for social systems for me.

Reaction rolls are kinda like running a dungeon by making random rolls for rooms and their contents (there's a Elder Red Dragon hidden in this 10' x 10' room... roll your Perception checks).

If you've taken the time to write up a proper dungeon you should also have already figured out the default dispositions of the critters living in it to your PCs entering their territory as a matter of course. Then I just make common sense judgement calls based on the PCs actual approach.

To me, the trick is to use the rolls as a guideline/tool, not a set-in-stone mechanism. And you need to take the circumstances into account. I don't see it as a case of common sense vs. random rolls, but common sense combined with random rolls. Sometimes a roll simply isn't necessary, sometimes it make sense. I see the rolls as another tool in the DM's toolbox, but you don't need to use it every time, and when you do use it, it doesn't need to be applied in exactly the same way each time.

Jesus, yes.  Sadly, "everything always attacks" was an early, easy default.  No wonder people bitched about OD&D.  Of course, ignoring reaction means also ignoring the fact that Charisma gets way more of a writeup than any other stat, but hey, most people are booger-eating morons.

For significant NPCs I'll write down general notes about their personality, but the die roll is also there to reflect how they're feeling at that particular moment... happy?  Frustrated?  People's moods vary and I roll the die to give me an idea of their mood at that moment.

It also requires a bit of that rarest of elements, common sense.  I don't come up with a personality for every blacksmith in every town, but they are tradesmen.  If a PC starts talking to a random blacksmith and I roll a low reaction roll, "Sorry, master, very busy here, he says to you as he swings a piece of hot iron out of the forge and lays it on the anvil."  The town blacksmith isn't going to say 'Go fuck yourself, asswipe' to a potential customer.

Quote from: Philotomy Jurament;1033290To me, the trick is to use the rolls as a guideline/tool, not a set-in-stone mechanism. And you need to take the circumstances into account. I don't see it as a case of common sense vs. random rolls, but common sense combined with random rolls. Sometimes a roll simply isn't necessary, sometimes it does. I see the rolls as another tool in the DM's toolbox, but you don't need to use it every time, and when you do use it, it doesn't need to be applied in exactly the same way each time.

People are creatures of emotion.  The random roll is a useful adjunct to help decide what mood this particular person is in at this particular moment.

I do use Reaction rolls all the time for all kind of interactions if I have no pre-set guideline.
After the roll, the way the encounter goes depends only on how the players role-play it (more or less, morale/loyalty checks can be a factor too).

Quote from: RPGPundit;1033235I've been a big proponent these last several years of using the Reaction Roll table as the exclusive complement to actually roleplaying out social situations.  That is to say, not just using it to see if a monster/animal will attack right away, but for all kinds of social situations.

Do you do that? If not, do you use reaction rolls at all?

My old group always used the Mentzer Monster Reaction table for stuff like intimidation and diplomacy.

I use reaction rolls all the time -- I always have.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1033235I've been a big proponent these last several years of using the Reaction Roll table as the exclusive complement to actually roleplaying out social situations.  That is to say, not just using it to see if a monster/animal will attack right away, but for all kinds of social situations.

Do you do that? If not, do you use reaction rolls at all?

Not as a rule. I do allow some checks if players attempt diplomacy, modified by situational factors, like monster's disposition.