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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 8448868" data-attributes="member: 177">We could consider it a specific separate thing, a function of the target's personal ethics, the value of the bribe, the risk of being caught, and how persuasive the briber is.&nbsp; We could come up with special rules for it.&nbsp; Or, we could treat it like a negotiation.&nbsp; See below.I think this fits well into the Advantage/Disadvantage space.&nbsp; When aligned, things like Persuasion and Deception are easier.&nbsp; When social classes are in opposition, things like Intimidation are easier.We already have tool proficiencies for gambling and game playing.&nbsp; However, a lot of actual gambling is not social - they are probabilistic, but happen in a social context.&nbsp; Only games with secret information and bluffing (like poker) are themselves social activities.&nbsp; This is ripe for a skill challenge.&nbsp; Bribes, from above, are merely one possible element in a negotiation.&nbsp; Note that, in a really complex negotiation, there can be a lot of things other than social skills that matter, which is excellent for skill challenges.&nbsp; Understanding of finances, for example, can be key in business negotiation.&nbsp; In a treaty negotiation, knowing History matters, and so on.So, I don't feel this is a non-combat element.&nbsp; This is combat.&nbsp; Combat has a simple rule for this - if you are in melee, and reduce the enemy to zero hit points, you can choose to not kill them.Media has lots of examples of the hero coming up and knocking someone out with one punch, or putting a guard into a choke hold and knocking them unconscious.&nbsp; In D&amp;D terms, these are enabled with guards that only have one hit die, that can be defeated before they get an action.This is just a negotiation skill challenge that is harder - if you succeed, you get out without a fight.&nbsp; If you fail, a fight starts.Lots of people have problems with skill challenges.&nbsp; They claim that it leads to the players just looking at their character sheets for relevant skills, rather than role playing.&nbsp; To this, I have two comments:1) Everyone looks a lot at their character sheets when dealing with mechanics that are new.&nbsp; If you keep up with them for a while, people will get used to the process and the sheet-referencing will likely be reduced.2) The Super Secret Way To Run Skill Challenges:&nbsp; Don't announce them to the players.&nbsp; Don't say, &quot;This is a skill challenge!&quot;&nbsp; Just describe the situation, and ask, &quot;What do you do?&quot;&nbsp; They will take actions, some of which may call for skill checks.&nbsp; You note the result of the skill checks.&nbsp; Eventually, they'll build to a success or a failure.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 8448868, member: 177"] We could consider it a specific separate thing, a function of the target's personal ethics, the value of the bribe, the risk of being caught, and how persuasive the briber is. We could come up with special rules for it. Or, we could treat it like a negotiation. See below. I think this fits well into the Advantage/Disadvantage space. When aligned, things like Persuasion and Deception are easier. When social classes are in opposition, things like Intimidation are easier. We already have tool proficiencies for gambling and game playing. However, a lot of actual gambling is [I]not[/I] social - they are probabilistic, but happen in a social context. Only games with secret information and bluffing (like poker) are themselves social activities. This is ripe for a skill challenge. Bribes, from above, are merely one possible element in a negotiation. Note that, in a really complex negotiation, there can be a lot of things other than social skills that matter, which is excellent for skill challenges. Understanding of finances, for example, can be key in business negotiation. In a treaty negotiation, knowing History matters, and so on. So, I don't feel this is a non-combat element. This is combat. Combat has a simple rule for this - if you are in melee, and reduce the enemy to zero hit points, you can choose to not kill them. Media has lots of examples of the hero coming up and knocking someone out with one punch, or putting a guard into a choke hold and knocking them unconscious. In D&D terms, these are enabled with guards that only have one hit die, that can be defeated before they get an action. This is just a negotiation skill challenge that is harder - if you succeed, you get out without a fight. If you fail, a fight starts. Lots of people have problems with skill challenges. They claim that it leads to the players just looking at their character sheets for relevant skills, rather than role playing. To this, I have two comments: 1) Everyone looks a lot at their character sheets when dealing with mechanics that are new. If you keep up with them for a while, people will get used to the process and the sheet-referencing will likely be reduced. 2) The Super Secret Way To Run Skill Challenges: Don't announce them to the players. Don't say, "This is a skill challenge!" Just describe the situation, and ask, "What do you do?" They will take actions, some of which may call for skill checks. You note the result of the skill checks. Eventually, they'll build to a success or a failure. [/QUOTE]

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