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Message: <blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 6739968" data-attributes="member: 97077">I ask the players to roll only when achieving their immediate goal in the interaction isn't clearly successful (or clearly a failure). The NPC responds accordingly.As an example, in my recent Sunless Citadel game, the characters were in a pitched battle with goblins pouring out of their gestation chamber. To make matters worse, Mialee, the wizard, and Meepo, their new-found kobold ally (of sorts), broken into a chamber holding a white dragon wyrmling - Meepo's "pet," though the dragon didn't see it that way.Seeing a battle heading its way and seeking only to escape, the dragon smashed open some other doors nearby and started to make its way toward the dungeon's exit to Meepo's dismay. More goblins started surging in, pushing the PCs back with sheer numbers.Mialee made a choice to try and convince the dragon to help against its goblin captors. She appealed to the dragon based on her understanding from Meepo of the dragon's role in the kobold clutch - help your kobold allies by helping us slay the goblins, or words to that effect. Only, the dragon didn't see itself as the kobolds' ally, but its captive. I ruled that Mialee's attempt to persuade the wyrmling automatically failed - no roll - then had the dragon correct her as to its relationships the kobolds in no uncertain terms.So she then appealed to its greed and vengeful nature instead, offering to team up for much goblin death and a large share of the goblins' gold - a much more viable approach when dealing with a chromatic dragon in my view. So faced with the choice of escape or gold and revenge, I felt there was sufficient uncertainty here to ask for a roll. Mialee's player made a Charisma (Persuasion) check, succeeded, and (for a time) had a white dragon wyrmling for an ally which was instrumental in taking down the hobgoblin leader later on.</blockquote>

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