Persuasion
From D20advanced
| PERSUASION | CHA |
|---|
You know how to convince others to see things your way.
Contents |
Use
You can convince an NPC to accept a proposal of yours, depending on just how beneficial (or detrimental) the proposal is for the NPC and how the NPC views you to begin with. The better the proposal and the better your relationship with the NPC, the more likely the NPC is to accept your offer. Make a persuasion check opposed by your opponent’s Perception or Will (whichever is higher). If you succeed, the NPC accepts your offer.
| TABLE 3.24: PERSUASION PROPOSAL MODIFIERS | ||
| Modifier | Proposal | Possible Actions |
| -10 | Horrible | There is no way for the NPC to benefit at all from this offer; Outlandish lie (Dust bunny for a car) |
| -5 | Poor | Too much risk for too little gain; Hard to believe lie (Flirt your way into a secure area) |
| +0 | Even | No real risk or reward; a reasonably believable bluff (Ask for public knowledge) |
| +5 | Good | Good reward, tolerable risk; The target wants to believe your bluff (Offer good money to use the employee bathroom) |
| +10 | Fantastic | Great reward, minimal risk; Very reasonable lie backed up by “evidence” (The keys to your sports car for a candy bar) |
| TABLE 3.25: INTERACTION MODIFIERS | ||
| Modifier | Attitude | Possible Actions |
| -10 | Nemesis | Will do anything to hurt you (Fight to the death or obsess over hurting you) |
| -6 | Hostile | Will take risks to hurt or avoid you (Attack, interfere, berate, flee) |
| -2 | Unfriendly | Wishes you ill (Mislead, gossip, avoid, watch suspiciously, insult) |
| +0 | Indifferent | Doesn’t much care (Act as socially expected) |
| +2 | Friendly | Wishes you well (Chat, advise, offer limited help, advocate) |
| +6 | Helpful | Will take risks to help you (Protect, back up, heal, aid ) |
| +10 | Fanatic | Will do anything for you (Fight to the death under overwhelming odds) |
Bluff
Bluff is opposed by the target’s Perception check when trying to con or mislead. Favorable and unfavorable circumstances weigh heavily on the outcome of a bluff. Two circumstances can work against you: the bluff is hard to believe, or the action the bluff requires goes against the target’s self-interest, nature, personality, orders, or allegiance.
If it’s important, the GM can distinguish between a bluff that fails because the target doesn’t believe it and one that fails because it asks too much. For instance, if the target gets a +10 bonus because the bluff demands something risky, and the Perception check succeeds by 10 or less, then the target didn’t so much see through the bluff as prove reluctant to go along with it. If the target’s Perception check succeeds by 11 or more, he has seen through the bluff, and would have succeeded even if it had not placed unusual demand on him (that is, even without the +10 bonus).
A successful Perception check indicates the target reacts as you want, at least for a short time (usually 1 round or less), or believes what you say.
Diversion
You can use Bluff to help you hide. A successful Persuasion check gives you the momentary diversion needed to attempt an Infiltration check while people are aware of you.
Trick
You can use Bluff to mislead an opponent in combat so he can't avoid your attacks as effectively. If your Persuasion check succeeds, you might be able to Gain Combat Advantage.
Innuendo
You can use Bluff to send secret messages while apparently talking about other things. The DC for a basic message is 10. Complex messages or messages trying to communicate new information have DCs of 15 or 20, respectively. The recipient of the message must make a Perception check against the same DC to understand it. Anyone listening in on a secret message can also attempt a Perception check. If successful, the eavesdropper realizes a secret message is contained in the communication. If the eavesdropper beats the DC by 5 or more, he understands the secret message. Whether trying to send or pick up a message, a failure by 5 or more means the receiver misinterprets the message in some fashion.
Trick
You can use Bluff to mislead an opponent into taking a potentially unwise action, such as trying to hit you while you are standing in front of an electrical junction box or at the edge of a precipice. If your Bluff check succeeds, your opponent is heedless of the potential danger and may hit the junction box or lose his balance and fall, if his attack against you fails. (On the other hand, if the attack succeeds, it might slam you into the junction box or send you flying off the edge.)
Intimidate
Make an Intimidate check, opposed by the target’s Perception check or Will saving throw (whichever has the highest bonus). If your check succeeds, you may treat the target as friendly, but only for actions taken in your presence. (That is, the target retains his normal attitude, but will talk, advise, offer limited help, or advocate on your behalf while intimidated.) The target cooperates, but won’t necessarily obey your every command or do anything that would directly endanger him. If you perform some action that makes you more imposing, you gain a +2 bonus on your Persuasion check. If your target clearly has a superior position, you suffer a –2 penalty on your Intimidate check. Fanatics get a +20 bonus on checks to resist being intimidated. If your Intimidate check fails by 5 or more, the target may actually do the opposite of what you want.
Demoralizing in Combat
You can use Intimidate in combat to demoralize an opponent, shaking their confidence. Make an Intimidate check as one action. If it succeeds, your target is shaken (–2 on all attack rolls and checks) for one round.
Interrogation
You can use Intimidate to get people to tell you things. If your check succeeds, the target spills the information.
Intimidating Groups
You can intimidate a group of people—who can all see and hear you—with a single check. If the group clearly has you at a disadvantage, you suffer the usual –2 penalty on your Persuasion check. Each member of the group rolls separately, although the GM may choose to roll once for groups of minions. Compare your check result against each check result from the group. You cannot demoralize a group.
Try Again
Generally, trying again doesn’t work. Even if the initial check succeeds, the other character can only be persuaded so far. If the initial check fails, the other character has probably become more firmly committed to his position, and trying again is futile. At the GM’s discretion, you can try again when the situation changes in some way: you find a new approach to your argument, new evidence appears, the circumstances change in your favor and so forth.
When feinting or tricking in combat, you can try again freely, but targets get a cumulative +1 bonus to resist each time you try to bluff them in combat after the first. You can Intimidate in combat freely until you fail, after which the target is no longer intimidated by you. Each time you demoralize an opponent in combat, he gains a +1 bonus to resist additional attempts in that encounter.
Action
Persuading is usually at least two actions. The GM may determine some negotiations require longer (perhaps much longer). A bluff normally takes at least two actions but can take longer if you try something elaborate. Using Bluff to feint or trick in combat is a standard action, as is using Bluff to create a diversion to hide. You can feint, trick, or create a diversion as a move action by taking a –5 penalty on your check. Intimidate is two actions. Demoralizing in combat is one action.
Special
You add a +2 bonus to Intimidate for every size category you are larger than your target. Conversely, you take a –2 penalty to your check for every size category you are smaller than your target (see Size).
Extended
The GM might simulate long and involved negotiations for an extended period of time with an extended Persuade check. Almost all uses of Bluff require only a single check to indicate success or failure. However, in certain complex situations, the GM might want to use an extended Bluff check in place of several simple checks. For example, a hero spends several days undercover trying to infiltrate a criminal gang. Rather than play out the entire series of interactions, the GM decides to use an extended Persuade check to bluff, setting the DC at 25 and requiring five successful rolls before rolling three failures. This is sufficient for the hero to infiltrate the gang, but the GM decides to play out the hero’s meeting with the gang leader, since he’s a more important character.
Challenges
The following Challenges are appropriate for Persuade checks:
Combat Diplomacy
You can make a Diplomacy check in combat as a full-round action by accepting a +10 modifier to the Difficulty Class. Opponents in combat with you are considered at least hostile. An unfriendly opponent doesn’t attack you unless you give him reason to do so. An indifferent foe stops fighting altogether, while a helpful one actually joins your side, even turning against former allies.
Conversational Paralysis
In return for a –5 penalty to your Bluff check, a successful check dazes your target for one round. Your claims are so strange or outlandish that the target can do nothing but sputter or reel in confusion. This skill challenge does not work in combat situations (for that, see the Distract feat). Each additional –5 check penalty you accept increases the duration of the effect by one round.
Durable Lie
In return for a –5 penalty on your check, your target believes your bluff longer than usual. The target continues to act as you wish for an additional round. You can apply another –5 penalty to extend this to two rounds. This skill challenge does not work with the feint use of Bluff.
Forceful Intimidation
By taking a –5 penalty on your Intimidate check, you can force your subject to take an action that is against his interests (but not life threatening).
Mass Intimidation
You can attempt to intimidate more than one subject at a time. You suffer a –2 penalty to your check per opponent beyond the first (instead of the usual -5 penalty for a skill challenge).
Powerful Intimidation
In return for a –5 penalty to your Intimidate check, you can either increase the penalty you inflict for demoralizing a foe by –1. You can take this challenge multiple times to increase the demoralize penalty.
