Diplomacy

Diplomacy

(Charisma)

Use this skill to persuade the chamberlain to let you see the king, to negotiate peace between feuding barbarian tribes, or to convince the ogre mages that have captured you that they should ransom you back to your friends instead of twisting your limbs off one by one.
Diplomacy includes etiquette, social grace, tact, subtlety, and a way with words. A skilled character knows the formal and informal rules of conduct, social expectations, proper forms of address, and so on. This skill represents the ability to give others the right impression of oneself, to negotiate effectively, and to influence others.

Diplomacy Checks

Check	Action	DC
First Impression	—	10 + Cha or Diplomacy bonus
Convince	1 min+	10 + Disposition + Circumstance
Persuasion	1 min+	15 + Disposition + Favorability
Overcome Aversion	1 min+	15 + HD + Wis + Disposition
Direct Crowds	full-round	15
Gather Information	1d4 hours	10+

Quick Rundown of Mechanics:

• Most diplomacy interactions depend on a character's disposition towards you (something of a replacement for the Hostile-Helpful categories). Disposition is largely based on your personal relationship to the character as well as the greater organizations or allegiences you both belong to.
  
• First Impression: When you first meet an NPC you have no history with (direct or indirect), you can roll a first impression to make a minor shift in their initial disposition towards you
  
• Convince: is like a bluff check for something that's actually true (you can use bluff for this as well, but there's added complications to deceiving someone into believing the truth)
  
• Persuasion: is a combination of asking a favor, making a deal, and suggesting a course of action. The difficulty of the check depends on how favorable or unfavorable the proposition is to the target, and your relationship with them. You can bluff and/or intimidate your way into an easier check, but either action can have consequences. The subject of persuasion rolls Sense Motive to be able to better gauge just how good or bad the deal is for them (or try to spot a bluff attempt as part of it), which may be good or bad (makes the check easier if the deal is in their favor, and harder if it's not).
  
• Overcome Aversion: is needed when someone does not want to engage with you diplomatically on any level. This cannot be used mid-combat without otherwise pausing the fight somehow, but otherwise can be used to bring a hostile party to the negotiating table.
  
• Direct Crowds and Gather Information are unchanged from their previous form.

First Impression

When first meeting a new character, your actions and demeaner can dictate that character's initial impression of you. If you have no previous rapport or relationship with the character, you may attempt to set a first impression to improve their starting disposition towards you, making future diplomacy with them easier.
The base DC of this check is 10 + the creature's Wisdom modifier. This DC may be adjusted based on the circumstances surrounding this first meeting, such the manner in which you are being introduced (DM discretion).
On a success, the character's initial disposition modifer for you is improved by two points. For every 5 points by which you pass or fail this check, their modifier is increased (or decreased in the case of failure) by an additional point (see Table: Example Disposition Modifiers).
Action: Making a first impression takes place as part of your initial interaction with a character, and requries no additional action.
Try Again: You only make one first impression. You cannot attempt it again unless the creature does not remember who you are.

Table: Example Disposition Modifiers

Disposition	DC Mod	Description (Examples)
Intimate	-15	Someone with whom you have an implicit trust (a lover or spouse)
Friend	-10	Someone with whom you have a regularly positive personal relationship (a long-time buddy or sibling)
Ally	-5	Someone on the same team, but with whom you have no personal relationship (a cleric of the same religion or a knight serving the same king)
Acquaintance (Positive)	-2	Someone you've made a good first impression with, or have met several times with no particularly negative experiences (the blacksmith that buys your looted equipment regularly)
Just Met	0	No relationship whatsoever
Acquaintance (Negative)	+2	Someone you've made a poor first impression with, or have met several times with no particularly positive experience (the town guard that has arrested you for drunkenness once or twice)
Enemy	+5	Someone on an opposed team with whom you have no personal relationship (a cleric of an opposed religion or the orc bandit robbing you)
Personal Foe	+10	Someone with whom you have a regularly antagonistic personal relationship (an evil overlord you're trying to thwart or a bounty hunter sworn to track you down)
Nemesis	+15	Someone who has sworn to do you, personally, harm (the brother of a man you murdered in cold blood)

Convince

You can make a diplomacy check to convince someone the truth of a circumstance that you believe to be true yourself. This acts much like a Bluff check to deceive or lie, but is limited to a percieved truth, and cannot be used to lie.
The base DC of the check is 10, and is modified by the subject's disposition towards you (see Table: Example Disposition Modifiers above) as well as the circumstances of the statement itself (see Example Modifiers below for some possible adjustments). If the subject succeeds on a DC 20 Sense Motive check, the DC is further reduced by 5.

Example Circumstances	Check Modifier
The target wants to believe you, or benefits greatly from the circumstances.	+5
The statement is believable and doesn't affect the target much.	+0
The statement is a little hard to believe or puts the target at some risk.	-5
The statement is hard to believe or puts the target at significant risk.	-10
The statement is way out there, almost too incredible to consider.	-20
Target is drunk or impaired	+5
You possess convincing proof, such as a document or credible witness	up to +10

Action: Convincing someone generally takes at least 1 full minute (10 consecutive Full-Round Actions). In some situations, the time requirement may greatly increase. A rushed convince check may be made as a Full-Round Action, but you take a -10 penalty on the check.
Try Again: You cannot attempt to convince someone of the same thing twice unless you significantly alter the conditions of the check (such as presenting new convincing proof), and even then such checks are subject to a cumulative -5 penalty.

Persuasion

If you have an agreement, trade, or proposed course of action for another creature, you can use diplomacy to attempt to convince them to accept it. Either side of the deal may involve money, physical goods, services, promises, or even abstract concepts such as "justice", "revenge", or "duty".
The base DC of the check is 15, and is modified by both the subject's disposition towards you (see Table: Example Disposition Modifiers above), and the favorability of the agreement (see Table: Favorability Modifiers below).

Table: Favorability Modifiers

Favorability	DC Mod	Description (Example)
Fantastic	-15	The reward for accepting the deal is very worthwhile; the risk is either acceptable or extremely unlikely. The best-case scenario is a virtual guarantee. (An offer to pay a lot of gold for information that isn't important to the character)
Good	-10	The reward is good and the risk is minimal. The subject is very likely to proift from the deal. (An offer to pay someone twice their normal daily wage to spend their evening in a seedy tavern with a reputation for vicious brawls and later report on everyone they saw there)
Favorable	-5	The reward is appealing, but there's risk involved. If all goes according to plan, though, the deal will end up benefiting the subject. (A request for a mercenary to aid the party in battle against a weak goblin tribe in return for a cut of the money and first pick of the magic items)
Even	0	The reward and risk more of less even out; or the deal involves neither reward nor risk. (A request for directions to a place that isn't a secret)
Unfavorable	+5	The reward is not enough compared to the risk involved. Even if all goes according to plan, chances are it will end badly for the subject. (A request to free a prisoner the target is guarding for a small amount of money)
Bad	+10	The reward is poor and the risk is high. The subject is very likely to get the raw end of the deal. (A request for a mercenary to aid the party in battle against an ancient red dragon for a small cut of any non-magical treasure)
Terrible	+15	There is no conceivable way that the proposed plan could end up with the subject ahead or the worst-case scenario is guaranteed to occur. (An offer to trade a rusty kitchen knife for a shiny new longsword)

The subject of a persuasion check must make a DC 20 Sense Motive check. A success doubles the favorability modifier to your persuasion check DC.

Using Bluff with persuasion*

You may attempt to Bluff as part of a persuasion attempt in two ways:

• You may attempt to convince the target the agreement is their own idea, negating the disposition modifier to the check DC.
• You may attempt to convince the target that the favorability of the deal is better than it actually is, altering the modifier (the altered modifier is not doubled by the subject's Sense Motive check). when used this way, the Bluff check can be made by another character

Each of these checks are rolled separately, and opposed by the Sense Motive roll made by the subject as part of the persuasion. Any discovered bluffs negate the effect of the bluff and increase the DC of the persuasion check by 20.

Using Intimidate with persuasion*

You may attempt to Intimidate as part of a persuasion attempt to threaten the target into compliance. On a success, you gain a bonus to your diplomacy check equal to the amount by which the Intimidate check exceeded its DC (minimum +4). Doing so can have a lasting negative impact on the target's actual disposition towards you. Intimidate can be used by another character as part of your persuasion attempt, but any impact on disposition from doing so affects you as well.
*You cannot use Bluff to convince a target an agreement is their own idea and Intimidate to threaten them as part of the same persuasion check.

On a success, the target accepts your proposed agreement as is, or with only cosmetic adjustments to the deal. If you fail the check by 5 or less, the agreement is rejected, but the subject may give a counter-offer with more favorable terms to them. If you fail by 10 or more, the diplomacy is over. The target will entertain no other deals, and may become hostile or take other steps to end the conversation.
Action: Persuasion generally takes at least 1 full minute (10 consecutive Full-Round Actions). In some situations, the time requirement may greatly increase. A rushed persuasion check may be made as a Full-Round Action, but you take a -10 penalty on the check.
Try Again: Persuasion checks may be repeated, provided the terms of the agreement are significantly different from a prior failed check and the creature is still willing to entertain deals.
Special: A creature must be willing to engage in diplomacy in order to attempt a persuasion check against them. If they are not willing, you must first succeed on an Overcome Aversion check (see below).

Overcome Aversion

Some creatures simply won't listen to any attempts at diplomacy or agreements. To overcome their intransigence, you can make a Diplomacy check with a DC of 15 + the target's HD + their Wisdom modifier + their disposition modifier towards you. If the check succeeds, you can then make further Diplomacy checks with them as normal.
You cannot attempt to overcome aversion while you or your allies are actively threatening the subject or in active combat with them (though an Intimidate check may be used in such circumstances to achieve similar results).
Action: Overcoming aversion generally takes at least 1 full minute (10 consecutive Full-Round Actions). In some situations, the time requirement may greatly increase. A rushed check can be made as a Full-Round Action, but you take a -10 penalty on the check.
Try Again: You cannot attempt to overcome a creature's aversion more than once in a 24 hour period.
Special: You can substitute a Bluff roll in place of Diplomacy to overcome a creature's aversion, but this is always treated as far-fetched circumstances, resulting in a -10 penalty on the check.

Direct Crowds

It takes a DC 15 Diplomacy check or DC 20 Intimidate check to convince a crowd to move in a particular direction, and the crowd must be able to hear or see the character making the attempt.
Action: It takes a Full-Round Action to make the Diplomacy check, but only a Free Action to make the Intimidate check.
Try Again: You make make repeated attempts to direct a crowd, but each subsequent check is made with a cumulative -10 penalty.
Special: If two or more characters are trying to direct a crowd in different directions, they make opposed Diplomacy or Intimidate checks to determine whom the crowd listens to. The crowd ignores everyone if none of the characters' check results beat the DCs given above.

Gather Information

You can use Diplomacy to gather information about a specific topic or individual. The DC of this check depends on the obscurity of the information sought, but for most commonly known facts or rumors it is 10. For obscure or secret knowledge, the DC might increase to 20 or higher. The DM might rule that some topics are simply unknown to common folk.
Action: To gather information, you must spend at least 1d4 hours canvassing people at local taverns, markets, and gathering places.
Try Again: Diplomacy checks made to gather information can be repeated without penalty.

Skill Unlock

A character who selects this skill for the Signature Skill feat or a Rogue who selects it for their Rogue's Edge class ability gains the following abilities when they reach the designated number of ranks in this skill:

• 5 Ranks: The time required to persuade or gather information is halved.
• 10 Ranks: You can attempt to overcome a creature’s aversion in 1 round by taking a –10 penalty. If you take 1 minute to overcome a creature's aversion, you can make another first impression check against them.
• 15 Ranks: You can attempt to overcome a creature’s aversion in 1 round with no penalty. You can attempt to overcome a creature's aversion while you or your allies are threatening them or in active combat with them by taking a -10 penalty. Any hostile action taken against them after a success will negate it. You can gather information in 10 minutes by taking a –5 penalty.
• 20 Ranks: You no longer take a -10 penalty attempting to overcome a creature's aversion while you or your allies are threatening them or in active combat with them. You can gather information in 1d4 minutes with no penalty.

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