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<blockquote data-quote="LostSoul" data-source="post: 5433451" data-attributes="member: 386">Here's how I handle that:After the player makes the speech for his PC, I consider the reaction of the NPCs.&nbsp; If the words are obviously enough to convince the NPC, there's no need for a roll.&nbsp; The opposite is also true - if the words are obviously not going to work, there's no need for a roll.&nbsp; If I think the NPC's reaction is in doubt, then I ask for a roll.A simple example:A simple farmer's toiling in his field.&nbsp; The PCs are tired, wounded, and looking for rest at the nearest inn.&nbsp; They hail the farmer: &quot;Hail!&quot;&nbsp; I make a reaction roll to set his initial disposition and get something low.&nbsp; I decide that the reaction roll means that the farmer doesn't like wandering mercenaries, is busy, and needs to get his harvest in before the frost; he doesn't want to waste any time talking. The farmer looks up, grunts, and ignores them.One of the PCs grabs the farmer by the hair and puts a knife to his neck.&nbsp; &quot;Where's the closest inn?&quot;I use my DM's judgement, considering what I know about the NPC, and decide that he'd tell them.Or: One of the PCs calls out to the farmer.&nbsp; &quot;I know you're busy, but if you direct us to the nearest inn, there'll be a shiny silver piece in it for you.&quot;I use my DM's judgement, considering what I know about the NPC, and decide that he'd tell them.Or: One of the PCs calls out to the farmer.&nbsp; &quot;Where's the nearest inn?&quot;I already know that the farmer isn't going to talk to them, so he continues to ignore them.More complicated:The PCs are trying to rally the peasants to take up arms against some bandits.&nbsp; The PCs might make a great argument, but asking people to risk life and limb is difficult, so I'm not sure as DM how they would react.&nbsp; I call for a check.They key for me is: did the actions of the PCs trigger any kind of internal conflict in the NPC?&nbsp; In the first three examples I don't think they did; the farmer wants to tell the PCs, or not, based on their actions and the farmer's disposition.&nbsp; No need for a roll.&nbsp; In the latter example, I think there is a conflict there - the farmers would rather not fight, but they are being oppressed and the PC's words are convincing, so we roll the dice to see which way that plays out.*I'm not sure if there's a big difference between the two approaches.&nbsp; In my experience, if you roll first and narrate after, there's a danger of omitting the narration, or having it feel tacked on.&nbsp; (I have been through too many Duels of Wits where it went something like: &quot;What are you doing?&nbsp; Point?&nbsp; Me too.&nbsp; I'm rolling Persuasion, how about you?&nbsp; Same thing, eh.&nbsp; Cool.&nbsp; I got 4 successes - you?&nbsp; Okay, I'll reduce my Disposition by 3.&nbsp; Great.&nbsp; Next round - what are you doing?&quot;)However, one danger in the way I do it is that the actual words can get lost after we add up modifiers to the roll.&nbsp; There have been times in my hack where I have to ask the player, &quot;Okay - what did you say again?&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="LostSoul, post: 5433451, member: 386"] Here's how I handle that: After the player makes the speech for his PC, I consider the reaction of the NPCs. If the words are [i]obviously[/i] enough to convince the NPC, there's no need for a roll. The opposite is also true - if the words are [i]obviously[/i] not going to work, there's no need for a roll. If I think the NPC's reaction is in doubt, then I ask for a roll. A simple example: A simple farmer's toiling in his field. The PCs are tired, wounded, and looking for rest at the nearest inn. They hail the farmer: "Hail!" I make a reaction roll to set his initial disposition and get something low. I decide that the reaction roll means that the farmer doesn't like wandering mercenaries, is busy, and needs to get his harvest in before the frost; he doesn't want to waste any time talking. The farmer looks up, grunts, and ignores them. One of the PCs grabs the farmer by the hair and puts a knife to his neck. "Where's the closest inn?" I use my DM's judgement, considering what I know about the NPC, and decide that he'd tell them. Or: One of the PCs calls out to the farmer. "I know you're busy, but if you direct us to the nearest inn, there'll be a shiny silver piece in it for you." I use my DM's judgement, considering what I know about the NPC, and decide that he'd tell them. Or: One of the PCs calls out to the farmer. "Where's the nearest inn?" I already know that the farmer isn't going to talk to them, so he continues to ignore them. More complicated: The PCs are trying to rally the peasants to take up arms against some bandits. The PCs might make a great argument, but asking people to risk life and limb is difficult, so I'm not sure as DM how they would react. I call for a check. They key for me is: did the actions of the PCs trigger any kind of internal conflict in the NPC? In the first three examples I don't think they did; the farmer wants to tell the PCs, or not, based on their actions and the farmer's disposition. No need for a roll. In the latter example, I think there is a conflict there - the farmers would rather not fight, but they are being oppressed and the PC's words are convincing, so we roll the dice to see which way that plays out. * I'm not sure if there's a big difference between the two approaches. In my experience, if you roll first and narrate after, there's a danger of omitting the narration, or having it feel tacked on. (I have been through too many Duels of Wits where it went something like: "What are you doing? Point? Me too. I'm rolling Persuasion, how about you? Same thing, eh. Cool. I got 4 successes - you? Okay, I'll reduce my Disposition by 3. Great. Next round - what are you doing?") However, one danger in the way I do it is that the actual words can get lost after we add up modifiers to the roll. There have been times in my hack where I have to ask the player, "Okay - what did you say again?" [/QUOTE]

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