Social Stats in the World of Darkness

[faraday]

@misadventure said in Social Stats in the World of Darkness:

Let alone defining moderate.

Well a good system will do that, but whether you bring numbers or words into the equation, there will always be debate about what it actually means. Unless it's a pretty unequivocal state. It's hard to argue with: <<AngelOfDeath>> Walsh breathes his last...

@thenomain said in Social Stats in the World of Darkness:

As someone I know regularly says, "No system is going to make everyone happy."

Absolutely true.

@ganymede said in Social Stats in the World of Darkness:

And now I am sad and missing BSG:U.

Although, looking at this, I can't even imagine what the heck Cate and Erin were trying to do, yeah? Is Cate trying to hide from Erin's attempt to explode her?

...

Actually, that's probably the best way to look at it.

LOL. Trash panda wins.

[Jennkryst]

I regret not replying to this sooner, because this is one of my mini-crusades.

Someone mentioned some number of pages and/or days ago about how dice are abstractions. I will further this. Just as everyone does not mention weaver stance and breathing whatsit for their gun fights, people also don't mention, like... body language clues, or facial ticks, or tone of voice.

You know... that whole... 'communication is only 30% verbal' thing (which I'm probably wrong on the 30% figure).

Like, I personally don't know about the whole body language, glance to the left and you're lying methodology. Even if I did, the other player would have to drop hints in their pose. However. Nobody wants to wait 30 minutes while I google psychology and body language things to do this in my poses.

Going back father, there is the whole... mix up self with character mindset. We should maybe develop the mindset that we are not our characters. We are watching characters do things. We can influence, like a choose your own adventure, but ultimately the dice/system dictate things.

I would also like to discuss policy limits of things. But that is it's own post I have been meaning to write but have been lazy about. SOON.

[Tinuviel]

@jennkryst said in Social Stats in the World of Darkness:

We are watching characters do things

No, we are making characters do things. The dice assist in many situations, but everything our character does from 'birth' onwards is our responsibility. It's very much unlike a choose-your-own-adventure in that the words do not exist until we type them.

[Jennkryst]

@tinuviel I am extra rambly at the moment. AHEM. You choose what they DO, but not the success or outcome of their actions - that's up to the dice (or the sytem itself allowing you to handwave things).

It's also a proposal for a new way to look at it. Yes, you type the words. You set up the character from birth onwards. But you also need to accept the outcome that the system spits out for you.

I should probably sleep and come back to this with better brainpower.

[Tinuviel]

@jennkryst said in Social Stats in the World of Darkness:

You set up the character from birth onwards. But you also need to accept the outcome that the system spits out for you.

Yeah, just like real life. Shit happens, you work with it. It doesn't mean at all that I'm simply an observer. I determine my reaction, just as I determine a fictional character's. I can't change the system's result, but I can determine what my character does about it.

If someone threatens me, I don't determine if I'm scared or not. I determine what I do about being scared if that's the result.

[Thenomain]

Play to find out what happens.

If people were more willing to fail,
and if people were more willing to let others fail interestingly,
this would be a much easier discussion.