(Psi)SeveredHead said:
Topping it off is the broken Diplomacy skill, which obscures the worth of Charisma. I suggest using Rich Burlew's rules for it.
Burlew's rules are very nice. Thanks for the pointer.
I only have one problem with them: The wiser a character is, the less likely they are to accept a deal which is fantastic for them. Does that really make sense? If I offer you a castle for a piece of dirty string (and I'm not trying to trick you in any way), why would your insight into the situation prove a disadvantage to you?
This is a problem the core Diplomacy rules have, too. They assume that all social interactions involve one person trying to screw the other over. Obviously the castle scenario doesn't actually come up, but it's illustrative of the problem.
Coming Back Later: Okay, I've futzed with it a bit. Note particularly the fixed DC and the opponent's Sense Motive check to judge your intentions. I increased the range of the bonuses and penalties for relationships, partly to balance out the effects of the Sense Motive check, but more importantly to eliminate the scenario of your intimate love refusing to give you directions to the local tavern 25% of the time. It also makes sworn enemies a bit more intransigent, which I find desirable.
I'm not done with this. I want to add some guidelines for haggling; adapt Monte Cook's suggestions for convincing people of the truth of something; and then lay out some guidelines for opposed Diplomacy checks to handle detailed negotiations. But if I do all that, I'll probably start a thread in the House Rules forum.
Persuasion: You can propose a trade or agreement to another creature with your words; a Diplomacy check can then persuade them that accepting it is a good idea. Either side of the deal may involve physical goods, money, services, promises, or abstract concepts like "satisfaction." The DC for the Diplomacy check is based on three factors: who the target is, the relationship between the target and the character making the check, and the risk vs. reward factor of the deal proposed.
Check: The base DC for a negotiation check is 15, modified by your relationship with the character you’re trying to convince and the risk vs. reward factor of the deal being proposed.
Target’s Check: The character you’re trying to convince makes a Sense Motive check (DC 20). If the check succeeds, double the bonus or penalty provided by the risk vs. reward factor. A failure on this check has no effect. You can choose to oppose the target’s Sense Motive check with a Bluff check, in which case the bonus or penalty is only doubled if their check result both succeeds (against DC 20) and exceeds your Bluff check. (Obviously, you would only want to make a Bluff check if you’re proposing a bad deal.)
DC Relationship (Example)
-15 Intimate (someone who with whom you have an implicit trust; a lover or spouse)
-10 Friend (someone with whom you have a regularly positive personal relationship; a long-time buddy or sibling)
-5 Ally (someone on the same team, but with whom you have no personal relationship; a cleric of the same religion or a knight serving the same king)
-2 Acquaintance – Positive (someone you’ve met several times with no particularly negative experiences; the blacksmith that buys your looted equipment regularly)
+0 Just met (no relationship whatsoever)
+2 Acquaintance – Negative (someone you’ve met several times with no particularly positive experiences; the town guard that has arrested you for drunkenness once or twice)
+5 Enemy (someone on an opposed team with whom you have no personal relationship; a cleric of an opposed religion or the orc bandit robbing you)
+10 Personal Foe (someone with whom you have a regularly antagonistic personal relationship; an evil overlord you’re trying to thwart or a bounty hunter sworn to track you down)
+15 Nemesis (someone who has sworn to do you, personally, harm; the brother of a man you murdered in cold blood)
DC Risk vs. Reward Judgment (Example)
-10 Fantastic (The reward for accepting the deal is very worthwhile; the risk is either acceptable or extremely unlikely. The best-case scenario is a virtual guarantee. Example: An offer to pay a lot of gold for information that isn’t a secret.)
-5 Favorable (The reward is good and the risk is tolerable. If all goes according to plan, the deal will end up benefiting the subject. Example: A request to aid the party in battle against a weak goblin tribe in return for a cut of the money and first pick of the magic items.)
+0 Even (The reward and risk more or less even out; or the deal involves neither reward nor risk. Example: A request for directions to someplace that isn’t a secret.)
+5 Unfavorable (The reward is not enough compared to the risk involved. Even if all goes according to plan, chances are it will end badly for the subject. Example: A request to free a prisoner the target is guarding in return for a small amount of money.)
+10 Horrible (There is no conceivable way the proposed plan could end up with the subject ahead or the worst-case scenario is guaranteed to occur. Example: An offer to trade a bit of dirty string for a castle.)
Justin Alexander Bacon
http://www.thealexandrian.net
