Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Thorin Stoutfoot" data-source="post: 3016529" data-attributes="member: 1887">I definitely disagree here. One of my players have used Gather Information to spread rumors about something that they want everyone to think happened. This is very useful. Frequently, there are things in the campaign world that they would not know without Gather Information (like, who's the owner of this Tavern? Or, who does this person work for?). If they don't make the roll, they go on with a disadvantage (i.e., whoever instigated an attack on them keeps planning further attacks, and learns more of their weaknesses). This is a frequently useful skill in a city setting, and I definitely don't give PCs a freebie if they fail their Gather Information rolls! Hm... I don't think that's the way Sense Motive is to be played. I roll sense motive checks for the PC whenever an NPC is bluffing. If they succeed, they get a note from me telling me what they think is going on. When a player asks for a check, I roll it and they don't see the roll result. My players even use Bluff and Sense Motive against each other, and have had at least one incident in which one of the PCs got away with a major magic item without anyone else in the party (players or PCs!) even knowing that someone else had made off with it. Sense Motive is a MUST for high intrigue/political games, and if it's not working for you, find a way to make it work.It's how you describe the situation. If the NPC has an imposing intimidate, everything looks scarier. That Ogre Chieftain has an air about him of someone with years of battle. He looks at you, and you're already feeling him seize up your weaknesses, and you somehow know that he thinks he can take you, yes all of you.That doesn't happen to work taht way for me. My players don't let anyone else run their PCs, even if one of the players is an awesome tactician. If someone at the table is incredibly charismatic but puts no points in their diplomacy, they absolutely don't get a free ride. They get asked to make diplomacy checks, and if they fail, it doesn't matter how eloquent the player is, the PC gets thrown out the door of the King's palace. That's how Diplomacy is meant to be used.</blockquote>

Verification