Folks talk about how #dnd5e is combat focused because of the rules, but I think the social and exploration shortcomings come from scenario design, not weak rules. “3 bugbears in a room” instantly refers you to 100s of pages of combat rules, but social/expl relies on the scenario.

RP design often boils down to a couple of charisma rolls or a quick chat. Same with stealth, one group check, good to go. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Well, what if sneaking past the guards meant you had to enter the sewer and monitor your torch supply and the route because if you don’t sneak through before your torches runout, the shadows come to get you? Or the hostage dies? Or anything else?

So I think people lean into combat because they feel like they get less game otherwise. It feels dumb to get past the guard with a charisma check. Compare the number of rolls in combat.

I acknowledge that there are games with far more robust social mechanics than D&D. D&D’s strength has always been it adaptability. It’s pretty good at most things, and where it’s not, players are encouraged to make their own judgements and house rules (at least in AD&D and 5e).

I personally don’t think it needs more social rules. It benefits from them, sure. The audience rules in Adventures in Middle-Earth (5e) are really nice. And some people really want and enjoy social mechanics to augment or replace role play. That’s fine, really.

But D&D has room for a wide range of engagement with role play. You have players who just say, “I negotiate with the goblin,” others that speak for their character but don’t voices, and then ones that do voices and costumes and the works. And all three can work at the same table

The point I’m trying to make is that if you have the first player (“I negotiate with the goblin”), that’s really efficient in game time. Saying that and having one roll to resolve the situation whisks you along to the next potential combat.

But more robust scenario design would say, ok, the goblin lets you by under the condition that you fetch him a ham from the larder, and If you don’t, he’ll come looking for you later or raise the alarm, and you might get caught by the bugbear kitchen master.

The same with stealth/exploration. A well-designed infiltration through the sewers should take as long and feel like it has the same stakes as the combat you avoided. Not just a group stealth check.

5e does it’s best to spoil these things early with spells and backgrounds for light and feeding everyone. But I imagine that was a distinctive design choice, and it can be retroactively worked back in by people who enjoy the resource management game.

In conclusion, you can have great social/exploration focused games if the adventures have robust scenario design without predetermined methods of resolution. Brilliant examples are the 2018 Open or Moon 12-2 by @JustineVanderm1 , some of the best D&D games I’ve ever played.

But I could be wrong about everything
I’m curious what you all think.
Thread largely inspired by a recent @MerricB tweet.