Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Clint_L" data-source="post: 8850572" data-attributes="member: 7035894">That's not anywhere in the rules. The DM always has the option to add modifiers or change the rules as desired. Always has done, always will. Why are we taking about these issues like context doesn't matter? Any DM worth their salt is going to say, "That guard is hostile towards you, given that you are currently running from the bank she was guarding while carrying a laden bag with a giant dollar sign on it. Look, give me a persuasion check [I assume that's what you meant by influence?] and maybe if you roll a natural 20 you can convince her not to believe her lying eyes, but otherwise roll initiative."Edit: actually, before we even get to any dice rolls, the first thing I am going to ask the player is, "Oh yeah? How are you trying to persuade her?" and if they don't have something good, I'm not even going to bother letting them roll in that situation. But if they come up with something brilliant/entertaining, well then maybe the DC won't be nearly as hard. Ability checks are not magic, they are supposed to reflect moments of inflection in the story where different FEASIBLE outcomes could occur. If you run your table like you are a mindless automaton, incapable of making judgment calls based on the situation at hand, then that's on you. But no one ever actually runs their table like that, so I think we are just arguing about pointless hypotheticals.</blockquote>