I was watching some Youtube discussion of OSR games versus more modern story-based games and one topic came up regarding games with "social combat" rules.
In a more modern game, a player would be told to, "roll your diplomacy skill to..." or they may have a "social combat" system.
In an OSR or game without social interaction rules, the player would have to roleplay the interaction with the referee.
The social interactions as skill or ability rolls began I would say back in the days of the Charisma ability score modifier. Why have it unless you were going to roll it? If I were back in the day helping design D&D and could look into the future, I might suggest Charisma does not get an ability score modifier because the Charisma score is only there as a guideline for the player and referee.
Should Charisma never be rolled?
I hear the argument that, "Well a character may have a high STR but the player does not, so having a CHR score protects a player who may be shy or reserved in roleplay situations." Well, however a player roleplays that interaction, the referee needs to take into account that CHR score, regardless of the player's roleplaying ability.
If a shy player with a character with CHR 18 walks into the throne room and says, "Um, hello everyone." The room may erupt in applause. I am not going to force someone out of their comfort zone as a referee, and hopefully the player will ease into the high charisma however they feel it should be done. A player could be like Johnny Depp, be a total oddball, socially awkward, and have a CHR 18 and anything they do is loved regardless.
Referee Bias Possible
Otherwise my bias as a referee comes into play, with CHR 18 do I expect the player to talk like Hamlet with flowery language and thees and thous? Um, no, I can't put my expectation of what a high CHR acts like on the player and use that to judge their roleplaying. I feel Charisma is better as a guideline for both the player and the referee. However the player wants to roleplay is their natural charisma, and their ability score modifies how the interaction is ruled by the referee.
Letting the player be themselves and using the ability score to rule the result - without dice rolls - is honestly how I ran games back in the day. If you need a reaction roll because you have no clue of how the encounter is going to begin, that is a possible use of a CHR modifier, but for roleplay reactions I never rolled it.
Rolling a social interaction forces my hand as a referee. If the roleplay was awkward and the character had a high CHR could produce a different result than flowery roleplay and a high CHR. Same thing for low CHR, but I may rule more favorably if the player sweetened up the deal with extra offers. Middling CHR, middling results. If there is something I am unsure of in the interaction I may throw a die to pick among responses or outcomes, but I would still modify the result.
"But you are forcing people to roleplay!"
Um, yeah. That is the game we are playing here and the appeal of taking on a role. But seriously, if you want to play this as a wargame, go right ahead. I was a fan of the early 4th Edition D&D rules for the battle chess elements, so I get the thrill of tabletop play and love that part of the hobby.
But I am forcing them to roleplay however they are comfortable to. Big difference between that and setting an expectation of how a high CHR should act.
High CHR Failures?
Can a high CHR character ever fail at a social interaction? With rolling for them, yes. With interpreting them without a roll it gets fuzzy. As a referee I would say they can fail, someone is just not going to "make me the king" if I ask them. With a high CHR they may laugh. With a low CHR I may be thrown in the dungeon.
With a high CHR a player will feel a bigger sense of disappointment on failed rolls, where if we don't roll and I rule failure - it is on me the referee - and I now need to make some adjustment to the ruling to take some sting off the failure I ruled. With a dice roll, yes, you can do that, but many times the failed roll stops the roleplay and the characters are looking for the next skill they can roll to get what they want.
"Try subtlety! Try deception! Try administration skill!"
A Trust Thing
I suppose as an experienced referee I don't need to roll and I established that trust with my players. With people you don't know, I can see rolling Charisma because it "protects everybody" and ensures games in official situations - like sanctioned play - are handled by the dice. In solo play too, where the outcome needs to be a little more deterministic, I could see rolling CHR as well.
But a part of me feels an important part of roleplaying involves getting you out of that safe zone and exposing yourself to others, and getting to know other players and referees. Even if I started off rolling CHR, as the group got to know each other I may try to do away with the CHR rolls and roleplay it all. But again, just don't do this all of a sudden - talk to your players and align expectations.
I don't always roll CHR, but I default to letting the roleplay speak for itself, and love it when my players are their own quirky selves. The score will modify my ruling, and if a player feels uncomfortable I will let them roll. I won't punish them if they do. But I like it better when there is that connection, when players are out of their comfort zones, and the playing of roles means role playing.
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