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Message: <blockquote data-quote="P1NBACK" data-source="post: 5344579" data-attributes="member: 83768">Sigh...Yup. Same as <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dndinsider/compendium/power.aspx?id=1209" target="_blank">Disguise Self</a>. There is NO mechanical description of the "effect it will have on the game". I don't hear anyone bitching about this spell being a badly designed one. From Disguise Self: Anyone who attempts to see through your ruse makes an Insight check opposed by your Bluff check, and you gain a +5 power bonus to your check.lol...Because it entirely depends upon what the circumstances at the table are. Much like every single skill check/power you use in social circumstances. Instant Friends is amazing in the sense that it DOES actually define something you gain as a player using the power. Let's take an example: A Bard who uses "Words of Friendship" can attempt to get NPC X to answer his questions. He can roll a 20 on his die, have a +10 to his check and use Words of Friendship for another +5 (a purely mechanical power). At this point, whether that Bard gets what he wants is ENTIRELY in the hands of the DM - because Diplomacy is entirely in the hands of the DM. The DM can set a DC that is far beyond the scope of your skill, tell you lies, or he can simply say, the skill automatically fails (because as DM you can say that... and they give examples of it in the DMG). The DM can essentially "cockblock" you. HOWEVER! (Yes, I'm shouting!)A Wizard who uses "Instant Friends" can attempt to get NPC X to answer his questions. It's clearly spelled out in the power: "It truthfully answers all questions you ask..." There is no DM cockblocking. If your spell works the target truthfully answers your questions unlike Words of Friendship - the purely mechanical version. So, this whole argument about Instant Friends not being mechanically sound is flat-out BOGUS. Let me ask you, which would you rather use as a player? Power A: The target tells you a truthful answer to each question you ask. Or, Power B: The target might tell you a truthful answer and might answer your questions at all, depending on the DC set by the DM and whether he allows you to use the skill at all. Except, it's more defined than Words of Friendship. As we just established. Because those "+X to Diplomacy" powers are flat-out, entirely based on the DM's judgment (no really... look up the rules for "Diplomacy" - I've posted them twice in this thread and they've been overlooked both times). Instant Friends on the other hands HAS concrete, functional use outside of the whole "trusted friend" argument. The target "truthfully answers all questions you ask". Plain and simple. The only way as a DM for this not to work is if YOU, as the DM, cheat. Huh? It does. Why would it attack the caster? They are now considered "trusted friends". When you set the disposition of your NPCs as "friends" do you normally have them attack their other friends? ... No. It is clearly defined. Bluff checks are NOT needed to get answers. The target truthfully answers all questions. READ THE POWER. If the target doesn't know he says, "I do not know" and as DM you tell the player, "That's the truth. He doesn't know. You would know this for a fact." And you better uphold that as a DM. No screwing around. Can the target's allies sense what is going on? I don't know... Can they sense magic being cast? Can they sense if you cast Disguise Self while in the act? There's a rule in Dark Sun that says most spellcasters have a chance of knowing whether you are casting a spell or not - unless you make a Bluff check or not. This seems appropriate for spellcasters. If there is no spellcaster present, no they probably wouldn't know. Otherwise, set the standard for ALL spells being cast, yeah? Do they know when you cast any other spell? Obviously, they'd notice the shift in disposition if the target wasn't already friendly. I think I've given plenty of examples on how it's much clearer than other skill-boosting powers. Maybe you need to give the power a good hard read again.</blockquote>

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