Pathfinder Cards: "Social Combat" [RPG]

 I've used the Social Combat deck in a couple of key encounters in my Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign.  The idea with "social combat" is that it turns persuading someone (an NPC, a crowd, whatever) into a skills challenge the whole party can participate in instead of just having the party "face" making a single Diplomacy (or Bluff or Intimidate or whatever) check.  The GM creates a grid of the cards and, in a sort of mini-game similar to the Chase rules, the PCs need to succeed on one of two options on a card in order to move on to the next one.  There's some strategy involved in deciding which of the checks to attempt and which card to move to, with the goal of getting to the opposite corner to win before a certain number of failed checks mean a loss.  For example, one card is "Higher Power" and allows the PCs to proceed with either a DC 15 Diplomacy check or a DC 20 Knowledge (religion) check, and presumably the GM would expect the player to role-play something in relation to their deity.  Many cards have a traditional social skill and one that's a bit more unusual (like Appraise, Perception, or Linguistics) so that a wide variety of characters can still help the team.

The deck comes with clear instructions and a couple of alternative rules.  I've actually used a homemade variation when the PCs aren't just trying to persuade a passive audience but are instead competing with another NPC who is trying to persuade that same audience (like in a courtroom)--the competing NPC is on the same grid, and whoever gets to the end first wins the argument!  It's important for the GM to remember that they don't have to lay down the cards completely at random from the whole deck, but can instead prune the deck down to just the cards that make sense in the particular social situation the PCs are facing.  

It may sound a bit artificial, but my players and I have really enjoyed the results when we've used the deck.  It makes what would otherwise be a single d20 roll into a memorable, special event where the stakes seem higher and the thrill of victory sweeter because it was achieved with real teamwork.  I honestly wasn't expecting to enjoy the deck as much as I have, and I'll definitely bring it out again for important social challenges.