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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Chaosmancer" data-source="post: 9540503" data-attributes="member: 6801228">I think the issue is, as much as I hate to call upon the word, simulationism/realism/verisimilitude. Intimidation is, at its core, the tool of a bully. It is meant to cow people into submission. And no one likes being bullied. Even if you are terrified to the point you will never willingly oppose the bully... if you happened to find them beaten bloody in a prison cell, you might feel like in their weakened state you stand a chance to get revenge. OR you might go to a stronger, higher power who is in the position to harm or take down your bully.And, many DMs, have a moral component to their games. The Baron is a villain who needs to be taken out because he bullies and subjugates the people. The bandits are bullying people on the road to take what doesn't belong to them. The biggest thing about evil planar organizations is how they mistreat those below them, working through fear and intimidation to force others to follow their orders. So, players engaging in intimidation are using the tool used by villains. And a DM with a mind towards "your actions have consequences" is going to pull on that thread. Just like they would if you stole something valuable from an ally, or if you betrayed an organization on a mission. Now, maybe that won't happen with Bob the Shopkeep, he doesn't matter enough to be a call back. But the more you use Intimidation, the more you get a reputation of getting what you want through coercion, threats, and fear.... the more and more likely it becomes that the DM is going to be like "you are the villain in someone else's story, therefore you need to be confronted by those you have downtrodden". But this doesn't happen with Persuasion. It can happen with Deception, to be clear, but the narrative is different in that instance. The narrative is less "you have brought doom upon you" and more "you have been caught in your own web, how do you get out of this crisis?" And anyone sitting down to play a consummate liar is LOOKING for that style of story, they want that narrative pay-off at some point. The person using Intimidation might not be looking for the time when they are confronted as the cold-hearted villain of some NPCs hero arc.</blockquote>

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