Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Excerpt: skill challenges
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="jelmore" data-source="post: 4204559" data-attributes="member: 56412"><p>I agree totally. Where is it written that Intimidate must always have a chance of succeeding? Or Bluff, or Diplomacy, for that matter?</p><p></p><p>Scenario: The PCs attempt to Bluff their way past the guards at the front door of the Baron's estate to see the Baron. However, these guys aren't the stereotypical bored or corrupt or incompetent guards; these are the Silver Wyverns, the personal protection retinue for the Baron, and they have been given explicit orders to not allow anyone into the Baron's residence if they are not in the company of the Baron himself, or on a very short list of well-known people -- the Baron's wife, his master-at-arms, and the court wizard -- as the Baron has recently been the target of an assassination attempt. (The nature of the Silver Wyverns, and word of the assassination attempt, would be information that is available to the PCs with the correct Knowledge or Gather Information checks.)</p><p></p><p>Why must I, as the hypothetical DM, allow for the possibility that <em>any</em> Bluff result would allow for the PCs to bluster their way past the guards? They're not going to let you "deliver a package" and they're not going to accept that you are a "last-minute security inspection" (since that's their job). The guard's orders are clear: If you're not with the Baron and not one of three people that they are all familiar with, <em>you are not getting in</em>. The same goes for Intimidate; the Silver Wyverns take pride in their job, and they're expected to risk their lives if it means protecting their charge, so threatening to break their kneecaps or consign their souls to the Nine Hells aren't going to persuade them to let you in.</p><p></p><p>It's not "railroading", it's a challenge to be overcome by other means. The same goes for the example Duke in the example negotiation.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="jelmore, post: 4204559, member: 56412"] I agree totally. Where is it written that Intimidate must always have a chance of succeeding? Or Bluff, or Diplomacy, for that matter? Scenario: The PCs attempt to Bluff their way past the guards at the front door of the Baron's estate to see the Baron. However, these guys aren't the stereotypical bored or corrupt or incompetent guards; these are the Silver Wyverns, the personal protection retinue for the Baron, and they have been given explicit orders to not allow anyone into the Baron's residence if they are not in the company of the Baron himself, or on a very short list of well-known people -- the Baron's wife, his master-at-arms, and the court wizard -- as the Baron has recently been the target of an assassination attempt. (The nature of the Silver Wyverns, and word of the assassination attempt, would be information that is available to the PCs with the correct Knowledge or Gather Information checks.) Why must I, as the hypothetical DM, allow for the possibility that [i]any[/i] Bluff result would allow for the PCs to bluster their way past the guards? They're not going to let you "deliver a package" and they're not going to accept that you are a "last-minute security inspection" (since that's their job). The guard's orders are clear: If you're not with the Baron and not one of three people that they are all familiar with, [i]you are not getting in[/i]. The same goes for Intimidate; the Silver Wyverns take pride in their job, and they're expected to risk their lives if it means protecting their charge, so threatening to break their kneecaps or consign their souls to the Nine Hells aren't going to persuade them to let you in. It's not "railroading", it's a challenge to be overcome by other means. The same goes for the example Duke in the example negotiation. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Excerpt: skill challenges
Top