Which skill to use?

[Byronic]

Ok, imagine the following scenario. Our heroes are on an adventure to travel to another continent on a diplomatic mission of sorts.

The Emperor of Cantha has decided for reasons of his own that he wishes to subdue and conquer the barbaric and uncouth savages of Euronia. Our heroes (being Euronians themselves) were not happy with this idea and readily accepted a mission to find out why the Emperor has decided to conquer them, and to stop him somehow. Preferably diplomatically but any means are acceptable. A war between Cantha and Euronia would be catastrophic, especially since the Euronian militia are ceremonial at best (the kings of Euronia have decided long ago that Adventurers were far more economical then having a military and more efficient to boot... although not for extended war)

Having arrived there the adventurers humbly submit their gifts for the emperor. However, there has been limited contact at best between the continents for a few centuries and their choice of gifts left something to be desired.

The robes embroidered with the royal dragon was missing the right amount of claws which meant that the gift implied the Emperor was a minor functionary at best.

The marble statue of a White Dragon was considered a thoughtful gift, except that white was the colour of death which translates into a threat on the Emperors life

The flowers (thoughtfully turned to stone by a Medusa) were a remarkably lifelike gift meant to symbolise an enduring union between their nations. A pity that giving it to the Empress translated locally into "Leave your husband and marry me, for your emperor is a feminine poof"

Now, let's say that a DM would be generous enough to allow a roll to notice how inappropriate these presents are, before giving them and starting a war.

Which skill would be appropriate and why?

1) Diplomacy

2) History

3) Religion

4) Custom skill (customs, foreign cultures etc)

5) Other

 

[Stogoe]

Insight or History, I'd say.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Diplomacy isn't really appropriate - it's the skill for smoothing things over after the (wrong) gifts are presented.

History seems highly applicable.

Religion if they're religious stuff (if, for instance, the emperor is considered a god)

Insight might be enough to spot that there is something wrong with the gifts before they become a problem.

I don't think it requires a generous DM to allow the PCs to use skills in appropriate ways, especially when that DM is setting them up for failure already.

 

[Syrsuro]

I don't think it requires a generous DM to allow the PCs to use skills in appropriate ways, especially when that DM is setting them up for failure already.

No, it's not really 'generous' to give your players a way to avoid being run over by a freight train when you are the one that tied them to the tracks in the first place.

Either you are setting them up for intentional and spectacular failure by giving them these gifts in the first place - in which case you need to just embrace the train and let it lead you to your original plot, or you want them to figure out why these gifts are inappropriate in which case you need to make sure that they have the relevant skills and a realistic chance of making the determination.

Personally - I would be tempted to have the diplomatic process involve earlier meetings with functionaries before they get to the Emperor (Emperor's don't just meet with anyone without them having been screened first). And this process (which could be scripted as a skill challenge) can lead to many opportunities to learn about why these gifts are inappropriate, ranging from insight into the reaction of the functionaries to diplomacy to obtain their opinion of the gifts to history or religion if such things apply, to old fashioned snooping/ perception to see what kind of gifts have been given in the past or noticing details like the number of claws or the significance of a color.

Carl