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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Thasmodious" data-source="post: 4206804" data-attributes="member: 63272">To reiterate an earlier point:  if all three social skills are always valid in all social encounters, then there is no need for three skills.  Three skills, representing three different approaches to a social interaction setup a lot of interesting nuance that you want in a well played negotiation or exchange.  What tactic is the best to get what we want?  Do we scare him, sweet talk em, lie through our teeth?  If the answer is "meh, they are all the same, just roll your highest" then its your model robbing the players of options, not the DM who rules that intimidation results in a failure (1 failure in the scope of the encounter).  How exactly do any of you actually think intimidate will work?  The orc barbarian can walk up to a person on the street and grunt "gimme your coin sack" while brandishing his knife.  On a successful check, the commoner probably does.  On a failed check, the commoner is still scared, yipes loudly and runs off screaming for the guard.  Like someone else said, its about exerting a measure of control on a frightened person.  Even if you are successful and get the purse, what do you think the first thing the commoner is going to do once you are gone?  Likely go straight to the guard.Now, you roll an intimidate check against the Duke whom you are entreating for aid because you are facing a challenge that you cannot overcome alone and need his aid (this automatically implies that you aren't demi-gods that can wipe out his kingdom and low level army with a spell or two, as then you would hardly need anything they could offer).  Even if you are successful to a legendary degree, what do you expect it to accomplish?  The duke isn't carrying a large amount of gold, equipment and soldiers in his coinpurse.  In order to give you that kind of aid he has to call his small council, instruct the treasury to get the coin from the vault, assign a contingent of troops, under one of his senior captains to aid the party, and sign a writ to hand to the Master-of-arms to make the equipment in the armory available to the PCs.  You really think intimidation is the approach that will accomplish this?</blockquote>

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