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.
I use it all the time, for all kinds of things. It's to judge the general predisposition characters might have.
Well yes, I do. Frequently.
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Quote from: Nerzenjäger;1033494Well yes, I do. Frequently.
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That would be a bit too random for me!
Quote from: RPGPundit;1033790That would be a bit too random for me!
Depending on predisposition, environment, etc. I roll two of them and choose the "angrier" or "happier" result.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1033790That would be a bit too random for me!
I use that die too for NPCs I didn't have planned. AKA, the PCs decide to interact with random people at the inn. The die gives me their moods, or even the general mood of the table.
Pretty much any time the end result is actually in doubt. "Everything always attacks" is, at times, a perfectly reasonable response (e.g. there was no reaction roll for the last encounter of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). I tend to also use a variation of the reaction table as a generalized resolution mechanic.
I use them a lot, especially in conjunction with random encounters. It helps to facilitate one of the things I love about being a DM, those moments when I don't know what's going to happen next, any more than the players do.
A few months back, my players were exploring the ruins of a small city. They had retreated outside the crumbling walls to rest a bit when (rolls dice) two trolls appear. Knowing that this would be a rough fight, as 1) the M-U had already cast her only 3rd level spell (so no Fireball), and 2) the group hadn't bothered carrying oil after the Cleric had cast Continual Light on the inside of a bullseye lantern, they opt to try to talk, if only to stall for time. As it turns out, the trolls (rolls dice) are amazingly chill, and they talk a bit more... and long story short, the PCs team up with the trolls - their names are Zed and Vul, by the way - to take out that beholder who's been such a pain in the ass to everyone and everything else residing in the ruins.
There's *no* way I could have planned that particular chain of events, and I love it when stuff like that happens.
Yep. That's what keeps this game interesting after 46 years.
I dont think I've ever used them. I only came to know of this table in recent years, and was initially very surprised how much of the range is neutral or friendly, but that makes good sense in a deadly game.
Generally speaking, I know what rough attitude the NPC is going to have to begin with, depending on the circumstance. If a PC wants to attempt to influence that, they do some RPing and maybe make a Cha check. And off we go...
Often but not always, for both potential combat systems and many other types of reactions.
If I have an intuition or strong reason for a reaction, I either won't roll, or will roll "to confirm my intuition".
When I have no particular reasoning or intuition about what reaction someone would have, I will roll.
TFT had a one-die reaction roll system with a fairly short list of modifiers which were easy to remember, but 1d6 is a bit of a limited range.
GURPS has a 3d6 system with many possible modifiers, which I tend to use as "here's a big list of modifiers you might want to consider" but it's one of the few cases where I find a rule a bit too complex and time-consuming to use very often during play, so I have a fuzzy fudgy version of it I conjure in my head as need be. I sometimes do use (or consult) the full system between sessions, sometimes in advance of NPCs meeting people (how are these guys liable to react to the PCs when/if they meet them?), or for reactions and feelings I haven't thought about yet (what does the NPC healer think of the NPC hired guide?) or ongoing relationship developments between NPCs of interest (quarrels, friendships, romances, etc).
Quote from: Psikerlord;1034325I dont think I've ever used them. I only came to know of this table in recent years, and was initially very surprised how much of the range is neutral or friendly, but that makes good sense in a deadly game.
It's designed that way to specifically prevent "kill anything that moves."
The Reaction Table is such a great tool, I use the one from OD&D Men & Magic all the time when running OD&D or Barbarians of Lemuria. It's my go-to for social interactions and other non-combat actions where I want to know the degree of success or failure. Talysman's Nine and Thirty Kingdoms blog has been very inspirational in expanding my thinking along these lines:
http://9and30kingdoms.blogspot.com/2014/07/2d6-vs-1d6.html
http://9and30kingdoms.blogspot.com/2011/09/potion-reactions.html
http://9and30kingdoms.blogspot.com/2017/09/lockpicking-reaction-roll.html
etc.
The first die roll of my campaign (not counting character generation): as the adventurers leave the village they are followed by a gaggle of children. The MU with 18 Intelligence slaps one as hard as he can in full sight of the villagers planting crops.
Reaction Roll = Neutral
It could have been a short adventure if they ended up lynched.
Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1034374It's designed that way to specifically prevent "kill anything that moves."
Yes I agree. It goes hand in hand with the general deadliness of death at zero hp, and the early retreat rules. In combination the 3 elements promote that dangerous, independent world vibe (the opposite being a safe, predictable world, where threats routinely scale to match the party level). Rules that are sadly lacking in more modern dnd iterations.
Quote from: Sailing Scavenger;1034448The first die roll of my campaign (not counting character generation): as the adventurers leave the village they are followed by a gaggle of children. The MU with 18 Intelligence slaps one as hard as he can in full sight of the villagers planting crops.
Reaction Roll = Neutral
It could have been a short adventure if they ended up lynched.
How big of a penalty did you add to the reaction roll for his, ahem, roleplaying;)?
First and Second edition D&D for many years. Next to Robotech it was the gateway rpg to the hobby. I took break away from it many years as I became tired of the rules. For a few years played other rpgs and 3E brought me back into the D&D fold.
Guys, Pundit asked you pretty explicitly not to list new editions of older games:).
Quote from: AsenRG;1034515How big of a penalty did you add to the reaction roll for his, ahem, roleplaying;)?
-1 for the characters Charisma score. Both me and the villagers deemed it perfectly in character coming from an arrogant and surly mage.
Quote from: Sailing Scavenger;1034803-1 for the characters Charisma score. Both me and the villagers deemed it perfectly in character coming from an arrogant and surly mage.
Most parents, if some stranger walked up and smacked their kid, would go Librarian-poo on them.
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?
Yes, I use them every time when I run Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. I'm actually surprised it's not in the DCC corebook to be honest.
Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1034810Most parents, if some stranger walked up and smacked their kid, would go Librarian-poo on them.
If my kid bothered a strange and foreign band of mercenaries in the year 1,000 and got away with a slap I'd count that as a lesson well learned.
Quote from: Sailing Scavenger;1034913If my kid bothered a strange and foreign band of mercenaries in the year 1,000 and got away with a slap I'd count that as a lesson well learned.
I'd have demanded they take the kid with them, and bring 'em back when they are a proper sellsword themselves. :D
Quote from: Sailing Scavenger;1034803-1 for the characters Charisma score. Both me and the villagers deemed it perfectly in character coming from an arrogant and surly mage.
Well, your game, your call. I'd have gone for -(3+|charisma modifier|) penalty, but that's why different Referees make for different games:).
Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1034810Most parents, if some stranger walked up and smacked their kid, would go Librarian-poo on them.
True, that;).
I don't know that I have the reaction table. Where is it printed? Is it online any where? Could someone link it?
I have a wide range of encounters, I just don't roll for them.
Quote from: Headless;1035031I don't know that I have the reaction table. Where is it printed? Is it online any where? Could someone link it?
I have a wide range of encounters, I just don't roll for them.
It's an old concept that goes more or less like this. Roll 2d6 and add Charisma modifier, the results determine initial character or monster disposition.
Roll Result
2 Immediate attack
3-5 Hostile
6-8 Uncertain, confused
9-11 No attack, monster leaves
12 Enthusiastic friendship
Quote from: Headless;1035031I don't know that I have the reaction table. Where is it printed? Is it online any where? Could someone link it?
I have a wide range of encounters, I just don't roll for them.
What Asen said. It is a minimalist social-skill mechanics system which not-so-subtly encourages non-violence resolutions to situations.
Not rolling, but instead DM doing the arbitration, is another solution. Like all other situations, the dice only exist in the game for places where the outcome is uncertain, and the DM might have trouble arbitrating the outcome.
Quote from: Headless;1035031I don't know that I have the reaction table. Where is it printed? Is it online any where? Could someone link it?
I have a wide range of encounters, I just don't roll for them.
I Rambled On (https://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?36881-Adapting-the-Mentzer-Monster-Reaction-Chart-for-5e) about it a while back. This (http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp233/KrimsonGray/reaction_zpsgrg5mijh.png) is what it looked like. It's fun to play with. You can totally condense the three tiered complexity of the table to one tier and maintain the exact same probabilities or you can have fun and change around the other tiers a bit to get different results. I was revisiting it while I was reading through Cepheus Engine.
Quote from: Headless;1035031I don't know that I have the reaction table. Where is it printed? Is it online any where? Could someone link it?
Page 12 of Volume 1 of the Little Brown Books.
Yes, but mostly for random encounters.
Quote from: Nihilistic Mind;1034867Yes, I use them every time when I run Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. I'm actually surprised it's not in the DCC corebook to be honest.
It is a glaring omission, yes.