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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Shaman" data-source="post: 2685043" data-attributes="member: 26473">The character's abilities absolutely make a difference, Henry - I'm not sure why that part of my post keeps being misunderstood or ignored.I'll usually roll the dice is when a character is attempting something specific with respect to interaction with another character, such as changing a character's attitude (Diplomacy), scaring the wits out of a character (Intimidate), or fooling a character in tight circumstances (Bluff), pretty much by the RAW. I reward a player with a +2 or +4 "GM's friend" for good roleplay along with the skill attempt, and I will tinker with DCs where I think it's appropriate to do so based on the NPC's attitudes, motivations, and so on. In most cases I won't bother with a die roll where the interaction meets the criteria of "socially expected interaction."With respect to skill checks, a perfunctory attempt at seduction (to use your example) is acceptable, but I do expect the player to give me something beyond, "I'll make a Diplomacy attempt to seduce the princess," and I will tweak the die roll accordingly based on how the player roleplays the attempt. Does this favor glib players? Yes, it does, and yes, I'm okay with that. At the end of the day, what I find most memorable about roleplaying games is the social element, not just between characters but between players. I don't remember dice rolls - I remember funny quips and stirring speeches and fearsome threats, and my style of play hopefully encourages that over investing solely in skill ranks and attribute bonuses.A player running a wizard who makes poor choices in spell-selection or a fighter with combat feats that don't mesh doesn't get a break - why should a player running a character with high ranks in social skills get a pass on roleplaying? Get better at speaking in character, or play to your other strengths.With respect to the DCs, the adventurers might find that the DCs go up by ten or fifteen or even twenty  when attempting to persuade the aforementioned wizard to enchant a dwarf's axe, or to get the mercenary captain to sit down and talk without first putting an offer of employment on the table. This reflects what is considered "socially acceptable interaction" for these characters, and it shouldn't be as easy to overcome a deeply-ingrained prejudice as it is to ask the character to pass the potatos. In some cases this may put the desired reaction out of reach of the players, no matter their roll - to Storm Raven that's railroading perhaps, but to me it's verisimilitude. If a clever player can come up with an argument that I think the NPC would find compelling, then I'll tweak the DC again - however, rarely will this give a CHA 5 character much of a chance no matter how smartly played by the player, so it balances out.I hope that clarifies things a bit.</blockquote>

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