A great piece. Not to disparage some of the more recent FF articles, but it's nice to see an article with this much actual Fudge rules/material.
I must also respond to one comment here:
_Player: I convince the guard to let me pass.
GM: Okay. I'll play the guard. Convince me.
versus...
Player: I convince the guard to let me pass.
GM: Roll.
I think I'll be sticking with the traditional (former) method._
You see this kind of thinking WAY too often. If you want to play a character who's stronger than you are in real life, every gamemaster is cool with that. If you want to play someone smarter or more educated than you are, they're with that, too. But if you want to play someone more _socially adept_, then NOOOO, suddenly you're required to have James Bond suaveness _in real life_.
See the problem? Why stop there, why not just ask someone for their GPA or IQ documentation if they want to use a science/knowledge skill? And don't forget to ask for a real life magic demonstration if someone wants to play a wizard.
Ironically, I agree that just saying "(roll) Okay, the guard lets you pass" is bad - for the same reason it's bad when combats are just "(roll) Nuts, I missed. (roll) Yes, I hit! (roll) Dammit, missed again!". Yes, players should act out smooth-talking the guard to keep the game interesting, just like your fights need descriptions of the cool moves, blood, and raw desperation any good fight has.
If your system has social skills, though, a die roll should come into it after the "flavor text".
Skipping the roll punishes shy or uncharismatic players who actually put levels into their social skill (this is particularly heinous to me, as I think it's great when gamers actually try to play personalities different than their own).
Granted, I can see why "(roll) Schwing! The NPC does what I want!" bothers you, but it's possible to meet halfway here. You can require role-playing but allow the roll, giving a bonus if the player's dialog is good (or at least shows effort), or penalizing them if it's really bad. I think many games already handle it somewhat like this.
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Posted by Vivisector 9999 on
http://www.fudgefactor.org/2005/11/fudge-social-combat.html
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