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Message: <blockquote data-quote="77IM" data-source="post: 4316083" data-attributes="member: 12377">I really like where you are going with this.  Some quick feedback:1)  I don't see the DC for the Diplomacy and Intimidate checks anywhere.  Is it based on the NPC, or is it something standard?  If you need a suggestion, I would go with 15 + 1/2 level.  That makes the check very doable for most groups and matches the chart on DMG p.42 pretty closely.2)  The success/failure by 10 or more is pretty extreme.  This means that you are unlikely to truly fail (fail by 10 or less) unless the DC is way higher than you are capable of reaching, and you're only likely to get the bonus (succeed by 10 or more) if you are asking for a favor noticeably lower level that you.3)  The effects of the favors seem pretty powerful to me, but honestly I have no idea whether they are balanced or not.  Getting a bunch of lackeys for a session, or a free magic item, sounds pretty awesome.  Maybe favors should replace some of the treasure of a quest reward, instead of adding to it?  Somehow, that would seem less fun -- I would rather players have plenty of opportunity to rack up favors and use them to good effect.  I guess, you should just playtest it and see.4)  Here's how I'd simplify the system.  These are just suggestions. - The DC for the check is 15 + 1/2 level.  You don't get any bonus for major favors.  Instead, the result of the check is different whether it is a major or minor favor. - You can increase the DC by 5 to ask for a major favor instead of a minor one.  If you beat the normal DC by 10, you get a major favor instead of a minor one without even asking.  If you're already owed a major favor, you can't do anything to improve that; the person is already giving you as much aid as they can. - The major favors would be about twice as good as the minor ones (twice as many lackeys, borrow a magic item up to your level +5 instead of up to your level, etc). - There wouldn't be any compromised favors.  The DC of the check is low enough that if you miss, you just don't get the favor (although you can ask again later). - If your Diplomacy fails, you can try again with Intimidate.  This doesn't get any bonuses or penalties and works just like Diplomacy, except that if you fail, you can never ask this person for a favor ever again.  If you succeed, and the person owes you other favors, you must now always use Intimidate instead of Diplomacy when calling them in.  Whether you succeed or fail, the person no longer likes you.  They won't give you any more quests or have any dealings with you, if you can help it. The gist of these suggestions, is to reduce the amount of math and numbers at every stage, using qualitative differences instead.If you try these rules out in your campaign please post the results.  This is interesting stuff.  Factional intrigue is one of the major areas of roleplaying that, while discussed in the DMG, is not given much mechanical support. -- 77IM</blockquote>

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