| From: | The Deb Decker <RJR96326@****.UTULSA.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | SkillSofts |
| Date: | Sat, 4 Sep 1993 14:35:50 -0500 |
>"Social Skills concern the interaction of the player characters and non
>player characters. For interaction among player characters, the players
>should rely on their real social skills, though they can request, or the
>gamemaster insist, that the actual interaction be backed up with a skill test"
Just out of curiosity, why did you quote this section of the rules? This
applies to the interaction of real-life players, so that some fool doesn't
say "I have Negotiate 6, and Thag has Willpower 2; I roll my dice against
him to convince him to give me his share."
>while i think it is feasible to have a KnowSoft that might contain
>information on a street gang (who the leader is, what are the gang colors,
>where is their operating area, what is their M.O., etc), i don't believe
>that there is a soft for interacting with the gang members...i don't allow
>social skillsofts in my game...
Think of it this way. . .the etiquette soft gives you the current jive,
what words are hot, etc. This is true whether it's Street, Matrix, Corp,
or Finland etiquette. If you expand it as an Activesoft as well, it also
helps you gesticulate appropriately in. In all cases, however, they must
be updated periodically (GM discretion); like datasofts, their usefulness
degrades over time as the inmformation becomes outdated.
>another example: how would you justify a skillsoft that helps you in the
>leadership skill? do you mean to tell me that i can pop in a chip and
>become another Patton, or Hitler, or Alexander the Great??? this is not a
>skillsoft, but closer to those chips in Dreamchipper...which i believe
>eventually drove the people insane...
No. A leadership skillsoft will give you the teachable, learnable skill
taught by the military, management training courses, and self-motivation
seminars. You learn how to motivate people, keep them on task, and keep
control. Hitler had Charisma-people followed him because they loved him,
not because he was good at motivating them, staying organized, etc. The
average officer has Leadership; Jim Jones (or David Koresh, for a more
recent example) had Charisma.
>you could get a KnowSoft for Sociology, Psychology (group behavior),
>etc...but it will only give you insights on why people may do things, it
>won't necessarily make you a better or charismatic leader...
Correct. Sociology will let you see the forces affecting a group's
behavior. Psychology allows you to deduce the internal forces motivating
an individual. These won't let you lead them. But a Leadership skillsoft
would, because it tells you how to motivate people and keep them working.
But it won't make you charismatic; plenty of people obey the orders of
someone they don't like, because their leader has Leadership, if not
Charisma.
J Roberson
The Lord loveth a wealthy Giver
