Prepare for a LONG post!
Okay, I really got to thinking, and now I've totally overhauled this skill. Hopefully you'll like it
. My thought process and layout has been heavily influenced by
Rich Burlew's Diplomacy Rules, but the actual mechanics are quite different. I'm still not entirely sure about my rules for intimidation during combat, however.
Everything below is also attatched to this post in .rtf format, with better formatting for easier reading.
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Surveying the Rule
Here are my problems with the current skill description:
1) The level of the intimidator isn't taken into consideration. Currently the DC depends on the target's level check, but what if the target and the intimidator are equal level? A dragon trying to intimidate a dragon should require the same DC as a commoner trying to intimidate a commoner.
2) It is too easy for a trained intimidator to succeed against an equal level opponent. Assuming max ranks in the skill, and equal wisdom and charisma bonuses between the target and intimidator, the intimidator is always going to have at least +3 more of a bonus to his roll than the opponent. Assuming that the average roll for both were a 10, this would give the intimidator over a 60% chance to succeed.
3) What exactly you are trying to intimidate someone into doing isn't taken into account. Extracting information from an orc who doesn't really care about his companions is just as easy as extracting information from a samurai who would kill himself if his lord asked him to.
4) Similarly, the target's attitude towards you isn't taken into account. Trying to intimidate a shopkeeper into letting you into his back room is always the same DC, no matter if the shopkeeper has never met you before, or if he's pissed at you for sleeping with his daughter. Someone with adrenaline coursing thru their veins should be harder to intimidate.
5) It isn't really clear WHAT exactly occurs when you succeed on a check. Currently the rules state that "you may treat the target as friendly", but it doesn't really explains what that means, other than "offering limited help". Just what is meant by "limited help"?
6) The skill seems limited in what it can do. That is, the description seems to imply that this skill is simply "making a prisoner do or tell you what you want". I want the skill to be "convincing someone to do what you want, because they are afraid of what would happen if they didn't do it".
7) The 'demoralize opponent' action is a creative use of the skill during combat, but it seems severly limited. Sacrificing an attack to possibly give the opponent a -2 on his next turn doesn't seem like a worthwhile trade.
Building the Foundation
Here are a couple of factors that I'm using as a baseline for the new rule:
1) Differences in power should affect the check. A powerful character should have an easier time intimidating a weaker one; likewise, a weaker character should have a harder time intimidating a stronger one. This is before factoring in the intimidator's skill. Currently, the DC depends only on the power of the target, NOT the difference in power between target and intimidator.
2) Creature size should not be a factor in the check. Larger creatures generally have more HD already, so giving them further bonuses would be redundant.
3) As a character's intimidate skill increases, they should have an increasing chance to intimidate someone equally powerful to themselves. Currently, the chance stays the same, because as the character's skill increases, so does the power of his opponents, and thus the DC.
4) The more the target doesn't want to do something, the higher the DC should be. Also, the more the target dislikes you, the harder they should be to intimidate.
5) The DC's should be geared towards characters that invest in the skill. However, characters without the skill should still be able to use their level difference to intimidate creatures much weaker than themselves.
6) Someone with no skill, trying to intimidate someone of equal power, into doing something that doesn't really bother them (like getting out of a stranger's way), should need to roll a 10 or more to succeed. This is my numerical starting point.
Below is my revised skill description:
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INTIMIDATE (CHA)
Use this skill to frighten an opponent in combat, to get a bully to back down, to make a crowd to part for you, or to otherwise 'convince' someone to do something they don't want to do. Intimidation includes verbal threats and body language.
Check: You can forcibly persuade a target to do an action they wouldn't normally want to do. An "action" could be anything from answering certain questions, to giving up possessions, to helping the PC's fight, to standing by while their house is burned down, and so on. The base DC for such a check is:
10 + (your level or HD) - (target's level or HD + target's Wisdom bonus)
This DC is then modified depending on how much the target doesn't want to do the proposed action. This modifier can range from +0 to +10, using the below as guidelines:
+0: The target doesn't really care either way; they just wouldn't do the action without being asked to do so. Example: Telling a stranger to get out of your way in a crowded street.
+2: The target would rather not take the action, although they wouldn't want to get into a fight to prevent it. Example: Bullying a farmer into saying humiliating things about himself.
+4: The target would risk getting into a non-lethal fight to not take the action, but only if they had a decent chance of winning. Example: Making a farmer stand idly by while you grope at his wife.
+6: The target would risk serious injury, rather than take the action. Example: The evil warlord's guards scaring a rancher into standing by while they steal his herd of cows.
+8: The target would rather endure serious injury, reasonably risk death, or lose significant wealth, instead of taking the action. Example: The evil warlord's guards yelling at a farmer to give up his daughter.
+10: The target would rather die than do the action. Or at least, that's what they have told themselves... Example: Getting a cultist to reveal the secret entrance to the cult's temple.
The DC is further modified by the target's attitude towards you (see PHB pg 72 for information on what each attitude means). A target that wants to do you harm will be harder to intimidate than one who has never seen you before:
Helpful, Friendly: +0 (although it isn't a good idea to intimidate such targets, since they might resent being bullied)
Indifferent: +0
Unfriendly: +2
Hostile: +4
Hostile & Attacking: +6
Bear in mind that these modifiers usually (but not always) stack on a sliding scale. That is to say, if the target really doesn't want to do something, they are usually going to be hostile (or at least unfriendly) towards you when you try and bully them into doing it. However, the target might not really care one way or the other about the action, but they still might be hostile towards you anyway.
Success on the skill check means that the target will do the proposed action, at least as long as they still feel threatened by the intimidator. They won't like the fact that they have been bullied into it, but their attitude towards the intimidator will remain roughly the same. Failure means the target refuses to perform the proposed action, and will mildly resent the bullying attempt. Failure on the check by 5 or more means the attempt has angered the target, and his attitude shifts one increment towards hostile (i.e. Helpful to Friendly, Indifferent to Unfriendly, etc). If the target was already hostile, then they are likely to simply attack the intimidator (if the target thinks they can win).
Passive Intimidation: You can also use this skill to carry or present yourself in such a manner that will intimidate those around you, without specifically trying to get a certain target to perform some action. To use the skill in this way, the DM secretly makes intimidation checks against different targetsas the character comes within view of them. For large groups of similar creatures, such as commoners on a crowded street, the DM might make a single roll against the average DC of the group, and use the result for everyone. The base DC for such a check is:
20 + (your level or HD) - (target's level or HD + target's Wisdom bonus)
This DC is further modified by the target's attitude towards you, as above. There is no modifier for the proposed action, since there is no proposed action. If the target specifically knows the intimidator and wishes him ill, then up to a +5 modifier is added to the DC, depending on how much ill the target wishes him (for example, an assassin specifically targeting the intimidator would add a +5 to the DC, while the shopkeeper who lost some business to him might add a +1).
Success means that targets will treat the character as if their attitude was shifted one increment towards Helpful (i.e. Hostile to Unfriendly, Indifferent to Friendly, etc), although such an attitude will be out of fear, not genuine desire. Below are some examples of what each new attitude would mean:
Helpful: The target will treat the intimidator as if he were a good friend, although they will be shaken by his presence.
Friendly: The target will try to avoid the intimidator, but if they can't, they will pretend to be friendly for fear of pissing him off.
Indifferent: The target will decide it is safer to keep their dislike of the intimidator to themselves.
Unfriendly: The target will tolerate the intimidator, but will still openly show their disgust for them.
Hostile: If the target was planning on attacking, they won't attack but will still stay hostile.
The effects last as long as the targets are within the intimidator's presence. If you later choose to try and intimidate a specific target who has already been passively intimidated, use his new attitude when determining the appropriate DC.
Groups and Intimidation: If you try and intimidate an entire group of individuals working together, then make a separate check for each individual target, but add 1/2 the HD of each other group member to the target's HD (you can never be entirely sure if your friends will back you up). If the whole group will follow the same course of action, no matter what, then make a single check using the group leader, and apply the result to the group.
Conversely, if you have a group of allies, they can help you intimidate your target. Add 1/2 of their HD to your level when determining the DC. This does not apply if the target is already at your group's mercy, such as a prisoner.
Cower Opponent: This skill also helps when bull rushing an opponent, by scaring them into backing away from you. The DC for such an check is: 15 + (your level or HD) - (target's level or HD + target's Wisdom bonus). Success gives you a +2 to your strength check for the bull rush. This bonus increases by +2 for every 5 points by which you beat the DC.
Demoralize Opponent: You can also use Intimidate to weaken an opponent's resolve in combat. The target must be able to see you, and be threatened by you in melee combat. The DC for such a check is: 20 + (your level or HD) - (target's level or HD + target's Wisdom bonus). Success means that your opponent is shaken, and suffers a -2 morale penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. The effect lasts as long as you threaten the opponent.
Action: Varies. Coercing a target requires at least a minute or so of interaction. Cowering an opponent in combat is a free action taken during a bull rush. Demoralizing an opponent in combat requires a move action.
Try Again: If you fail to intimidate a target, you can only try and intimidate him into doing an action that would require a lower DC than the last attempt required. If the target's attitude is shifted beyond hostile, then further attempts will be futile. Other characters may always attempt to intimidate the target, although the DM might add a penalty to the DC if the new character is known to be in league with the first. Intimidation an opponent during combat can always be retried, although a cumulative +2 modifier is added to the DC on each repeated attempt.
Special: There may be certain situations where the DM decides that the target or intimidator's level does not apply, but rather what sort of friends, power, or resources they have behind them. This usually applies to intimidation attempts where the threat is not immediate bodily harm, but some other sort of misfortune, or perhaps bodily harm at a later time. For example, when trying to persuade a local thief to find new turf, the DM might decide that the thief can call on the equivalent of a 10th level threat, thru his guild. When trying to bully a merchant into closing his shop, or else the PC's will run him out of business, the DM might decide that, although the PC's are 5th level, they only pose the equivalent of a 3rd level threat in the business world.
If a target gets a bonus to saving throws against fear, this bonus is added to the DC of any intimidate check against them. A character immune to fear can't be intimidated, nor can creatures of animal intelligence (2) or lower.
If you have the Persuasive feat, you get a +2 bonus on Intimidate checks.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Sense Motive, you get a +2 bonus on Intimidate checks.
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I can whip up some examples too, if you would like.
