Intimidate
Intimidate
(Charisma)
Use this skill to get a bully to back down, to frighten an opponent, or to make a prisoner give you the information you want. Intimidation includes verbal threats and body language. In most circumstances, using Intimidate on an individual has a lasting negative effect on their disposition towards you and your allies. Repeated uses of it on an individual can eventually turn them into devoted enemies.Influence Attitude
You can change another's behavior with a successful check. The DC of your Intimidate check is equal to 10 + target's level or Hit Dice + target's Wisdom bonus (if any) + target's Modifiers on saves against Fear. If you beat your target's check result, you may treat the target as friendly, but only for the purpose of actions taken while it remains intimidated.
An intimidated target retains its disposition towards you but will give you information when asked, take actions to aid you, and offer other limited assistance while intimidated. The level of risk they are willing to take while intimidated depends on how successful the check was, according to the table below:
| Level of Success | Risk Aversion |
|---|---|
0-4 | Will not take action that may result in punishment or worse |
5-9 | Will not take action that has a significant risk of harm or worse |
10-14 | Will not take life-threatening action or worse |
15+ | Will not take near suicidal action or worse |
The effect lasts as long as the target remains in your presence, and for 1d6 ×10 minutes afterward. After this time, the target's default behavior towards you resumes, and their disposition towards you decreases based on the actions they were forced to take while intimidated (DM discretion). Some targets may become hostile towards you as a result of Intimidation.
Action: Influencing a creature's attitude takes 1 minute of interaction. A rushed intimidate may be made as a Full-Round Action, but you take a -10 penalty to the check.
Try Again: You can attempt to intimidate an opponent again, but each additional check increases the DC by +5. This increase resets after one hour has passed.
Special: If you fail the check by 5 or more, the target provides you with incorrect or useless information, or otherwise frustrates your efforts.
Force Compliance
You can use intimidate as part of a Diplomacy check made for persuasion to push the target into accepting the deal. The DC of your Intimidate check is equal to 10 + target's level or Hit Dice + target's Wisdom bonus (if any) + target's Modifiers on saves against Fear. If successful, you can add the amount by which you succeed to the Diplomacy check to pursuade the target (minimum +4). The bonus provided from force compliance lasts as long as the target remains in your presence, and for 1d6 × 10 minutes afterward. Action: Forcing compliance takes place as part of a persuasion attempt, and similarly takes 1 minute of interaction. Forced compliance cannot be used with a rushed persuasion attempt. Try Again: You cannot attempt to force compliance twice in a single persuasion attempt. Each additional check increases the DC by +5. This increase resets after one hour has passed. Special: If you fail the check by 5 or more, the penalty to disposition from intimidating the target takes effect immediately, increasing the DC for the persuasion attempt.Coerce Opponent
Sometimes you need to cow someone into submission for a longer period of time. By spending more time threatening or harassing a target, you can attempt to force a creature to act friendly toward you for 1d6 hours + 1 hour for every 5 points by which you exceed the DC. If you succeed at such a check against the same target at least once per week for 1d6 weeks (without ever failing any Intimidate checks against the target during that time), the duration of the coercion increases to 2d8 days. Coercion is overt, not subtle, and in most cases using coercion against a creature is an evil act. A coerced target acts as though friendly toward you even when you aren’t around, but the aid offered remains grudging at best. The target’s true attitude is hostile, and if the target believes it can take an action to hinder you that can’t be traced back to it, it’s likely to take such opportunities. Creatures attempting to enlist its aid against you can often do so by convincing the target they are able to protect it from your wrath, using the normal Diplomacy rules. Action: Coercing a target into acting friendly for hours takes 1d4 × 10 minutes. Coercing a target into acting friendly for days requires you to successfully use coercion at least once per week for 1d6 weeks without failing any Intimidate checks against the target during that time. Try Again: You can’t attempt long-term coercion against the same target again for 1 week.Demoralize Opponent
You can also use Intimidate to weaken an opponent's resolve in combat. To do so, make an Intimidate check against the target's DC: 10 + target's level or Hit Dice + target's Wisdom bonus [if any] + target's Modifiers on saves against Fear). If you win, the target becomes Shaken for 1 round. A Shaken character takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls, ability checks, and Saving Throws. You can only intimidate an opponent within 30 feet that can clearly see and hear you. Action: Intimidating an opponent in combat is a Standard Action. Try Again: You can attempt to intimidate an opponent again, but each additional check increases the DC by +5. This increase resets after one hour has passed.Duel of Wills
You can confront a potential enemy in the moments before a fight breaks out and attempt to crush his will, while he does the same to you. Immediately before Initiative is rolled for either side, you can instigate a duel of wills by selecting a single enemy you are aware of within 30 feet. Only characters with Intelligence scores of 3 or higher can engage in a duel of wills, and the participants must be able to see one another. You can't attempt to instigate more than one duel of wills per encounter. When you instigate the duel (usually by fixing a cold, steely stare on your opponent), your adversary can respond in one of three ways.- Submit: The opponent takes a -2 penalty on its Initiative check and a -1 penalty on attack rolls against you on the first round of combat.
- Ignore the Challenge: If your opponent ignores your challenge to engage in a contest of wills, make a DC 15 Intimidate check. If you succeed, you gain a +1 Morale Bonus on attack rolls against that opponent for 1 round, and an additional +1 for every 5 points by which you exceed the DC.
- Participate: Both you and your chosen foe must make an Intimidate check. The character with the higher result gains a +1 Morale Bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls against the loser, and the loser takes a -1 penalty on attack rolls and damage rolls against the winner. If the result is a tie, neither character gains any benefit. These bonuses and penalties last for the duration of the encounter. For every 5 points by which the winner exceeds the loser's check, the bonuses and penalties increase by an additional 1.
Directing Crowds
See the Diplomacy skill for detail. 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. 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.Special
You gain a +4 bonus on your Intimidate check for every size category that you are larger than your target. Conversely, you take a -4 penalty on your Intimidate check for every size category that you are smaller than your target. A character immune to Fear can't be intimidated, nor can nonintelligent creatures.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: If you exceed the DC to demoralize a target by at least 10, it is Frightened for 1 round and Shaken thereafter.* A Will Save (DC = 10 + your number of ranks in Intimidate) negates the Frightened condition, but the target is still Shaken, even if it has the stalwart ability.
- 10 Ranks: If you exceed the DC to demoralize a target by at least 10, it is Panicked for 1 round or Frightened for 1d4 rounds (your choice) and Shaken thereafter.* A Will Save (DC = 10 + your number of ranks in Intimidate) negates the Frightened or Panicked condition, but the target is still Shaken, even if it has the stalwart ability.
- 15 Ranks: If you exceed the DC to demoralize a target by at least 20, it is Cowering for 1 round or Panicked for 1d4 rounds (your choice) and Frightened thereafter.* A Will Save (DC = 10 + your number of ranks in Intimidate) negates the Cowering, Panicked, and Frightened conditions, but the target is still Shaken, even if it has the stalwart ability.
- 20 Ranks: If you exceed the DC to demoralize a target by at least 20, it is Cowering for 1d4 rounds and Panicked thereafter.* A Will Save (DC = 10 + your number of ranks in Intimidate) negates the Cowering and Panicked conditions, but the target is still Shaken, even if it has the stalwart ability.
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