D&D 3E/3.5 3.5 NPC Initial Attitude Chart

[Water Bob]

I don't have the 3.5 PHB, as I'm using the Conan RPG. But, I'm looking for the initial NPC attitude chart--where you roll to see an NPC's disposition towards a PC (Hostile, Unfriendly, Indifferent, Friendly, and Helpful).

The Conan game as the chart to change initial attitude using the Diplomacy skill, but it doesn't have the chart to random roll (with CHA modifier, I bet) initial NPC attitude.

Would one of you kind souls post the chart for me?

TIA.

 

[malraux]

I don't recall a specific chart to determine the initial attitude. The initial attitude should be DM determined based on situation.

 

[Jhaelen]

I don't recall a specific chart to determine the initial attitude. The initial attitude should be DM determined based on situation.

Ditto. Unless everything else has also been determined randomly, you should have a good idea about the initial attitude, and even if you don't it will typically default to 'indifferent'.

 

[howandwhy99]

Initial Attitude is different for each NPC to each PC depending upon Alignment, territory, factional modifiers like racial preferences, and sometimes other factors.

I don't recall 3.x including this advice, but it could be buried in the DMGs somewhere.

PC behavior, like paying/feeding or attacking an indifferent creature, can change its attitude and behaviors towards the PCs.

Here's the chart you referenced: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/diplomacy.htm
I couldn't find an initial Attitude creation chart, but I do really thing it's simply a composition of Alignment, Race, Territory, etc.

 

[IronWolf]

I don't have the 3.5 PHB, as I'm using the Conan RPG. But, I'm looking for the initial NPC attitude chart--where you roll to see an NPC's disposition towards a PC (Hostile, Unfriendly, Indifferent, Friendly, and Helpful).

Yes, this is one of those situations where I think the DM would know the initial disposition better than a random dice roll. Why are the NPCs there? Are they guarding something, do they want to be guarding something? Consider alignments, environmental factors and such to determine just what this NPC would think when encountered by the party.

Starting disposition seems very situational to me and best determined by the DM who knows the history, background and other outside factors.

 

[Water Bob]

Well I agree that the GM/DM will know NPC reaction based on the circumstance, but aren't there times when you just want to dice it and play what the dice tell you?

The PCs roll into a town, and instead of playing a typical stingy merchant ready to bargain the PC's pants off, they find a very pleasant, interesting man that is much easier to deal with than what they were expecting.

Maybe your chart has a very low chance of this happening. Now that the dice have told you that, you start to wonder....why?

Is he having a good day? Maybe his mother-in-law just died. Maybe he just made a huge sale to the guy that just left the store. Maybe he's drugged--somebody spiked his ale.

Whatever.

Older AD&D editions had this chart, and a DM could either pick from the chart (as what you are all suggesting) or he could roll to see what the dice told him. I assumed 3.5E continued this tradition.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Yeah, random NPC attitides isn't officially in 3e, but I do recall it from previous editions. Oddly, I can't find such a table in any of the retro-clones I have access to, and I don't have by old books. In any event, I agree that randomized reactions provided a nice element of surprise. It definitely has a place, especially in games with improvisational DMs.

Why not use one of those old edition tables? Or maybe just randomize against the 3e Diplomacy "Attitudes" table so the terminology stays the same. A d20-style table might look like:

[B]Roll
[U]1d20              NPC is...           [/U][/B]

1 or less         hostile
2-4               unfriendly
5-16              indifferent
17-19             friendly
20 or more        helpful


Adjust by +/- 1 to 4 based on circumstances.  For example: 

   NPC is a merchant/seller    +2
   NPC is a hermit/loner       -4
   NPC is hiding something     -2

Adding this sort of thing back into the game could certainly add a few interesting little surprises now and then....

 

[Water Bob]

Why not use one of those old edition tables? Or maybe just randomize against the 3e Diplomacy "Attitudes" table so the terminology stays the same.

I thought of that, of course. I was just looking to see if there was an "official" chart. I did a google, and I thought I saw a reference to the 3.5E Player's Handbook having a table to initial NPC attitudes. Maybe that hit I got referred to the chart under the Diplomacy skill--which I do have in the Conan RPG.

I didn't want to re-invent the wheel, if I didn't have to. But, if there is no original wheel, it won't take a lot of work to put together something.