Social Dungeon Delving

You are in a maze of twisty little relationships, all alike.

Lament of a Bygone Age

Way way back in high school, I had a brief stint running Traveller for classmates. And the campaign didn't go anywhere because I was just setting up these situations and they didn't know what to shoot. Someone else started running a game which was little more than shooting monsters in a cave from an air raft, and everyone else loved it.

Not to say their style of play was invalid, but there was nothing wrong with my idea either, and I think it's high time I revisited it, flush with the knowledge of decades of travell. [sic]

And a Lament of a Semi-Recent Post

I wrote about my qualms with Traveller in my post The Journey.

Basically, Traveller in its various forms is capable of describing an extremely wide range of potential conflicts, from warring political spheres and their trillion-credit fleets of ships all the way down to using a boot-knife to keep a mean-spirited fuzzy little bastard from chewing off your other boot and the foot inside. Just Add Imagination. The base will lend itself to a great many different styles, but you need to take the details and refine them.

The downside of this promising-looking setup is that some people, well, they Didn't Add Imagination. They didn't want to fuss with the water and eggs and the mixing, and just ate the dry cake mix straight out of the box. Sure, maybe they saved a little to sprinkle on that tub of frosting, but the unmade state of the cake remains a constant.

But I'd hit upon another truth and hadn't realized it. I saw the potential of political and social entanglements separate from, and possibly even to replace, "traditional" physical combat. And in response, I was encouraged to think I was doing it wrong. Not that I'm bitter or anything. (Except that I totally am.)

The point is, it may be an interesting exercise to look at a situation as a web of interconnected social associations as you would some other explorable structure like, say, a dungeon. Thus the name of this piece, which would be properly hyphenated as "Social-Dungeon Delving," not "Social Dungeon-Delving."

Some People Realized This Already

I point to GURPS on this occasion not to call out a crunchy generic suitable for most situations, but to point out that there is a supplement for it, which has won accolades, that tells how to gear it to the very specific situation which I'm discussing here now. Up on Warehouse 23, SJG's shop site, there's an eighty-some page soft supplement titled Social Engineering. It's about the seemingly neglected (and rather un-crunchy) social skills of GURPS and how they can be used to attack, defend, and leverage situations in ways comparable to (and sometimes even better than) the more conventional combat skills.

There are also whole games built around the notion that social relationships can ultimately form complicated arrangements that have to be navigated or searched before you can get to whatever it is that you want. Pelgrane Press's Hillfolk is predicated on this, for instance—the very first sessions are literally about creating the web of interrelationships between the players' characters. And it might be worthwhile to check out Skulduggery while you're at it; if you look at it and cross your eyes just right, you can see a random social dungeon generator.

Certain Margaret Weis games like Smallville (if only Cortex were better consolidated, it could make a fine generic) also start with establishing a tangled web of relationships between PCs, locations, NPCs, and even important concepts.

Let's Build a Dungeon... Of the Mind!

To build this sort of social dungeon, let's think about what goes into a regular dungeon, then mentalize it.

And yeah, moving forward I'm going to use "mentalize" as a verb.

The Map

In a physical dungeon, you have a lot of rooms. You might find hints in some rooms what other rooms contain and whether or not they'll help you or fight you, but sometimes the only way to know whether a room will help you or not is to explore it.

In a social dungeon, you have a lot of people. You might get hints from some people what other peoples' attitudes are and whether or not they'll help you or impede you, but sometimes the only way to know whether someone will help you is to talk to them.

Secret Passages

In a physical dungeon, some rooms hide secrets. You might not know there's a hidden passageway there, but with diligent probing, you can maybe find the catch or switch that opens a way to a place with new treasures—or dangers.

In a social dungeon, some people hide secrets. You might not know there's a secret relationship there, but with enough inveigling, you can maybe find someone new to talk to who can lend new aid—or new threats.

Competition

In a physical dungeon, there might be someone else traversing the same corridors as you, after the same treasure you're seeking, or they're just looking for general treasure too, causing trouble, stirring up the muck, and making it harder for you to conduct your search. They may have to be dealt with in some way before you can proceed.

In a social dungeon, there might be someone else navigating the same web of relationships as you, after the same prize you're seeking or they're just looking for whatever benefits they can find, causing trouble, stirring up the muck, and making it harder for you to conduct your conversations. They may have to be dealt with in some way before you can proceed.

Wandering Monsters

In a physical dungeon, you may find that the domain you're searching is the home to some ugly monsters. Some of them you can see well in advance, but some have a way of springing into your midst and assaulting you. You might do well to avoid a direct confrontation with them, but sometimes that can't be helped as they stand between you and your objectives. You may have to deal with them in some way, either by sneaking past them or by crushing them with your superior weapons.

In a social dungeon, you may find that the domain you're searching is the home to some ugly attitudes. Some of them you can see well in advance, but some have a way of popping up in conversation and surprising you. You might do well to avoid a direct confrontation with them, but sometimes that can't be helped as they stand between you and your objectives. You may have to deal with them in some way, either by avoiding the topics or by crushing them with your superior reasoning.

Damage

In a physical dungeon, it's possible to get hurt. You may sprain or pull something while attempting a daring maneuver, or some bugbear may have snuck up on and gotten the better of you, and as a result you're bleeding or just not acting at full capacity.

In a social dungeon, it's possible to lose standing. You may hurt your credibility or reputation while attempting a daring argument, or some bugaboo may have snuck up on and gotten the better of you, and as a result you're less capable of dealing with people or they're simply not listening.

The Payout

In a physical dungeon, you're looking for the treasure. You may be in it just for the sudden windfall from a newly discovered chest, or you might have a important quest for which an object hidden within the maze of corridors is the ultimate goal.

In a social dungeon, you're looking for the rewards. You may be in it just for the sudden windfall of charity from a newly discovered patron, to you might have an important quest for which an item hidden within the maze of relationships is the ultimate goal.

The Last Refuge of the Incompetent

There's a fair amount of conventional wisdom that suggests that combat and the urge to fight are a failing of civilization, not a cornerstone of it, and certainly not a thing that keeps a functioning society running smoothly. It's almost certainly needed as the last line of defense against unreasonable people and hostile nations, but too often the armed response is first instead.

Will this change minds? Probably not many. There are too many games which go all-in on the standard set-pieces and gloss over or cut out anything that doesn't involve killing things and taking their treasure. But maybe, just maybe, someone will read this and look at their next in-game soirée with a new-found sadistic glee.