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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AnotherGuy" data-source="post: 8583499" data-attributes="member: 7029930">An Appeal to the Mad Mage for a Long Rest.Our table runs a pretty harsh recovery system by 5e standards, and the party found itself quite depleted and in much need of a Long Rest as they were heading to take-on Netherskull, the Death Tyrant of the Obstacle Course level of Undermountain. I was using Wyatt Trull's DotMM Companion from the DMs Guild, where Halastar runs the entire operation like some theatrical piece of entertainment for himself and others.Anyways between sessions, the PCs came up with an idea to request (from Halastar since they knew he was watching) for a 24 hour respite from the dangers of Undermountain, including the regional affects of the Death Tyrant which they were hunting. I thought it was a great idea, considering the way I had roleplayed Halastar up until that point.So they made a broad appeal and sure enough the Mad Mage appeared betwixt them, amused by their request.Since it was between sessions I had time to come up with an idea of how I wished to run it. Skill Challenge seemed the obvious choice for me.I quickly drew from the top of my head 10 possible appeals/courses of action the PCs could take, with various DC's and Halastar's possible retorts. The retorts were meant for fluff before the argument would be made via the roll. The PCs were free to come up with their own ideas of course these were just the ones I expected them to throw at me and I would match them up to the closest as they came.I view Halastar as someone who becomes bored quickly and with some exaggerated version of ADD, so I had him dismiss PCs who wanted to appeal consecutively, claiming they were hogging the spotlight or that he was bored of them or their face. That way it couldn't be the same person (with the high modifier) doing the talking/rolling all the time. They (the party) did fall for that loading one character with all sorts of CHA boosting bonuses. I have done something similar to them before so they should have learnt their lesson.Appeals/Courses of Action1 – Appeal to his Ego DC 10 (The appeal to his Ego should be the first, if not the DC of all checks are increased by 1)2 – Appeal to Fairness of the Competition DC 15, But my dear the competition thrives on unfairness3 – Appeal to the enjoyment of the Crowd DC 15, You're stating that you know better than I as to what the audience desires?4 – Appeal to the Heroes worth* DC 15, Exactly, it is your worth that makes it exciting5 – Appeal for Love** DC 13, A noble cause and yet, it is unrequited which makes it all the more sadder6 – Appeal for the Continuation or Lengthening of the Game DC 15, Is that your plan with the Dragon Cult, to propose an extension?7 – Offer a Gift or Negotiate Terms DC 20, History has shown you to be unreliable or unwilling participants, So no I won't be falling for that.8 – Threaten the Wrath of the Council* on Undermountain and Him should they fall DC 20, Maniacal Laughter9 – Make the case that the Heroes Loss would be bad for Undermountain DC 15, So integrity of the game be damned?10 – Dare him, their Best against his Best, What is he afraid off? Call his Bluff DC 15, Maniacal LaughterMECHANICS. 6 successes required before 3 failures.Fail by 5 or more = 1 Failure.Fail by 4 or less = Unconvinced. No Success, No Failure.Natural 20 = Advantage on the Next Roll.They each could make an Intelligence check once to come up with an idea of an appeal. The DC would be 10 + x, where x was the number of appeals that had already been made. The idea being the more appeals made, the harder it became for them to think of a different argument/angle.RESULT.The Party got 6 successes, 2 failures and 1 Unconvinced.They were 12th level.* Characters are the Heroes of Baldur's Gates (MiBG) and are currently the Council's Champions (ongoing ToD and SKT campaigns)** Halastar kidnapped a PC (player left due to RL studies, and her kidnapping makes sense with her backstory), her retainer an NPC is in love with her. The NPC travels with the party. No. 5 was a given appeal by myself as DM roleplaying the NPC. Roleplaying Halastar as a bit of a romantic hence the DC was 13 and not 15.</blockquote>

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