Im very interested in the New edition of WHF RPG, played the former edition by Black Library, do still wonder though how much focus there is on social skills etc. Something that uses cards is somehow associated with the new D&D "Boardgame"/HackSlash that I dread.

So my question, how much of the system or skills or classes actually encompass social interaction and not just combat abilities?

Brence said:

Short answer: As much as you put into it.

Longer answer: The mechanics of social interaction are pretty much the same as combat, with the exception of wounds, I point this out as this is not the case with D&D (one of the biggest flaws in that system IMO). That means that this game is not a set of combat-rules with tacked on skills, but currently the system could use more social manouvers to give more variety without resorting to stunts. There are some social manouvers and talents that can be used for inspiration, but I guess it's easier to come up with "cool" combat-stuff resulting in an abundance of combat-related manouvers compared to social ones. Even the mechanical side (tracking progress and so on) is more amenable to free-forming than D&Ds "Skill challenges", and the system does not reward killing every creature you meet as they don't give you XP. For these reasons you will rarely encounter the same "hack & slash"-mentality in WFRP in my experience.

Well said nifoc.

I'd like to add that there ARE quite a few neat social action cards used for intimidating, manipulating and charming NPCs. Beyond just abstract skill checks.

Some of them stack up very well- I've had a very manipulative character play one card after another to great effect (they were used to supplement my roleplaying). In the end, thanks to these stacked up actions, there were actual in-game mechanical effects for how much my PC had won over this NPC to his side.

What I'm getting at is that in most systems a GM will have to wing it, giving out abstract narrative "bonuses" to successful social feats. That's okay: a GM does that kind of thing all of the time, but before WFRP 3rd edition came along I never felt that these social events had as much tactile effect on the game world as say, combat or crafting skills.

After having run several game sessions with the new 3rd ed, I'd have to say that I've never had a mechanical game system lend itself so well to narrative development.

In most game systems, you hit or miss, pass or fail. With the bane/boon, comet/star effects generated in WRP 3rd, even in combat, I've been able to add all sorts of narrative flare to combat descriptions. This spills over into social interaction as well...lots of good spontaneous narrative surprises when running this game.

Actually...quite a lot and it's integrated very well.

Social actions are useful, and give a mechanical bolstering to good roleplaying.

A lot of the Warhammer Careers are not combat focused...if you don't get good at talking your way out of things you will not last long. Unintuitively given the "Warhammer" mythos and gritty tone, killing everything that gets in your way is not really an option...mostly because most Warhammer characters are woefully incapable of it. The balance of power encourages players to be resourceful and find another way to problem solve.

The dice mechanic and the "Power of Yes" allows the GM to easily react to players roleplaying or lack thereof by adding fortune and misfortune dice. The boon / bane concept allows the interpretation of checks in various clever ways to be reflective of events in play. It rewards story engagement.

The heavy use of the three act structure and principles of plot design grants the published adventures a cohesive structure, and are very story focused. The only real flaw in the storylines is the classic Warhammer trope of chaos cults...you have to be willing to accept that there really are people stupid enough to worship chaos or to a lesser extent the other evil powers even though it is obviously not condusive to their long term survival or continued lack of freakish deformities, diseases, and mutations. If you're willing to suspend disbelief on that point, the stories hang together pretty well.

So...all in all, I'd say that while ultimately its up to the GM and players to inject the RP into their own games, WHFRP3 is very conducive to doing so.

Plus you also have the party card, which acts as another incentive to roleplay - partly be constantly reminding the players of how you as characters came together and relate to each other, and partly by emphasising the growing tension as things get ugly.