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Message: <blockquote data-quote="77IM" data-source="post: 7289385" data-attributes="member: 12377">Here are some techniques I use:1. Allow a secondary check to determine degree-of-success or degree-of-failure. (In fact, sometimes when the outcome is so certain that no primary check is needed, I still call for this secondary check just to determine degree-of-success. This way, Charisma matters, and also players just love rolling dice.)2. Only allow each PC to only influence each NPC once, not multiple times. This gives everyone a turn to speak. Maybe still allow PCs to Help each other, though.3. If the check fails, have the NPC just tell the PCs what they could do to make it succeed. Like, "I can't just help you, but if you do this thing for me..."4. Offer Wisdom (Insight) checks to learn what the NPC cares about. Then, if the PCs use this knowledge to apply leverage, reward them with advantage on their check.5. Finally, and most importantly, sort out in your mind the REASONS that a particular NPC might or might not do something. You should be able to come up with at least 1 reason why they would cooperate and 1 reason why they wouldn't (if you can't, then skip the primary check and go straight to the secondary degree-of-success/failure check). Remember that emotions are the strongest reasons even though emotions are not rational. As the PCs make their arguments, tally the reasons for cooperation versus the reasons against cooperation, including their relative strength. Successful Charisma checks "boost" the strength of a reason. I used to have a formal system for this but nowadays I just kind of wing it. The most important thing here is for you to understand the mental state of the NPC, because that is the game-world object that the players are trying to alter. Persuasion works by building rapport (emotional reason for cooperation) and providing nice-sounding justifications (so the NPC doesn't feel as bad about discarding their reasons against cooperation). Anyway, if the NPC has many complex reasons in conflict -- THAT is where your social-interaction gets more interesting and can require multiple checks. Like if there are 3 reasons why the NPC won't cooperate, maybe the PCs need to provide 3 reasons why the NPC should cooperate, and succeed on 1 check for each.For Example: The PCs want the Queen to give them horses for the quest she just sent them on. If one of them can make a Wisdom (Insight) check, they can figure out, based on some stuff she's said, that she doesn't quite trust their competence. If they try to persuade her by making a big show of competence, then the PC making the Charisma (Persuasion) check gets advantage. Then another PC can make another check. If the Queen is supplying horses, the result of the second check determines whether they are riding horses or war horses. If the Queen is not supplying horses because the first check failed, success on this second check means she'll explain that she's not going to entrust horses to the party until they prove they are capable adventurers.</blockquote>

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