Diplomacy
The Subject
The subject of a Diplomacy is usually an individual creature, but can also be a group of creatures. By applying the highest modifiers in any group, a powerful king (for example) might gain benefit from a very wise adviser who listens in court and counsels him accordingly. For this purpose, a number of characters is only a "group" if they are committed to all following the same course of action. Either one NPC is in charge, or they agree to act by consensus. If each member is going to make up their mind on their own, roll separate Diplomacy checks against each.
The subject's base DC for any Diplomacy check is equal to the 10 + the highest level among the group + the highest Insight modifier among the group. High-level characters are more committed to their views and are less likely to be swayed; high Insight characters are more likely to perceive the speaker's real motives and aims.
The Diplomacy DC with any subject is further modified by three aspects that the subject considers towards you: their Attitude, their Relationship, and their Trust. The Diplomacy skill can help you improve each of these aspects, but you can only target one aspect per check.
Risk
Risk represents the potential danger of your request to the subject. The subject's Diplomacy DC increases accordingly to the severity of the request's Risk, with the lowest severity representing little or no risk and the highest severity representing serious danger. See Table: Risk Severity for what modifier to the Diplomacy DC to add based on the risk severity. Each level of severity includes the typical drawback or punishment the subject suffers if he critically fails at a risky task (see Request Success Check).
Table: Risk Severity
| Risk | Diplomacy DC Modifier | Description | Critical Failure |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | +0 | No-risk tasks include carrying a message, directing you to a reputable merchant, getting your equipment repaired, providing minor rumors, or getting a sage to show you a history book or map. While they may be inconvenient, the subject doesn’t risk any sort of penalty for performing them. | No consequences worth considering. |
| Minor | +5 | Minor-risk tasks include deliberately leaving a door to a private area unlocked, acquiring a semi-legal item for you, or finding a place for you to lie low. Negative consequences can include paying a small fine, provoking the ire of the local authorities, suffering a small financial loss, or enduring social embarrassment. | Fine or imprisonment with bail. You must spend 1/3 the subject's wealth by level to rectify this situation; otherwise, the subject's Trust score is reduced to 0, your relationship shifts down 1 step, and your Honor is reduced by 1. |
| Moderate | +15 | Moderately risky tasks include lying to authorities on your behalf, making forgeries, helping you evade authorities, or loaning you money or equipment (worth up to 1/3 your wealth by level). If the contact is caught while involved with this task, he may have to pay a fine, face short-term imprisonment, or suffer a moderate financial or social loss. | Fine or imprisonment with bail. You must spend 2/3 the value of the subject's wealth by level to rectify this situation; otherwise, the subject's Trust score is reduced to 0, your relationship shifts down 2 steps, and your Honor is reduced by 3. |
| Considerable | +30 | Considerably risky tasks are explicitly illegal or are morally questionable even if legal. If caught, the subject may be imprisoned, have his property seized, or lose personal rights. He may be punished by flogging, torture, or enslavement. | Imprisonement without bail or his social status is reduced to that of a peasant. You must restore the subject’s status, possibly by legally freeing him and vindicating him, or by rescuing him and helping him establish a new life elsewhere. Failure to do so means the subject's Trust score is reduced to 0, your relationship shifts down 3 steps, and your Honor is reduced by 6. |
| Great | +50 | An act of great risk describes any task for which the failure results in death, exile, or life imprisonment, such as murder, grievous assault, or treason. | Within 1 week’s time of the subject being caught, you must get the subject’s sentence revoked, or save him from his fate. Failure to do so means the subject's Trust score is reduced to 0, your relationship shifts down 4 steps (at least being an Enemy), and your Honor is reduced by 10. |
Untrained Actions
Improve Attitude
The subject's attitude is their disposition towards you; this is separate from your relationship with them. You may be a Friend with someone, but you may have angered them recently and they are currently Unfriendly with you due to recent actions. The subject's starting attitude towards you depends on your relationship, as shown in Table: Attitude Modifiers. If a subject's attitude towards you remains unchanged for a week, then your relationship with them shifts upward (if the attitude is positive) or downward (if the attitude is negative) until it settles at the appropriate level.
You can temporarily change the subject's attitude towards you in the short-term. You must spend at least 1 minute in direct communication with the subject. At the end of that time, make your Diplomacy check. If you succeed, the subject's attitude towards you improves by one step. For degree of success, the character’s attitude toward you increases by one additional step. A creature’s attitude cannot be shifted more than two steps up in this way, although the GM can override this rule in some situations. If you fail the check by 9 or less, the character’s attitude toward you is unchanged. However, each degree of failure decreases the subject's attitude by one step (to a minimum of Hostile).
The subject's adjusted attitude towards you remains for one month. At the end of the month, and every month after, their attitude shifts one step towards Indifferent. However, this can be avoided as long as you spend at least one hour per month interacting with the subject. You do not need to make a Diplomacy check with the subject, but you must not reduce their attitude by any action on your part.
Table: Attitude Modifiers
| Attitude | Diplomacy DC Modifier | Description | Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fanatic | -30 | Your subject goes above and beyond to fulfill your desires, even at the point of giving up his life. | — |
| Helpful | -15 | Your subject is ready to help you with anything you need. | Intimate, Friend |
| Friendly | -5 | Your subject is willing to help you within reason. | Ally, Acquaintance (positive) |
| Indifferent | +0 | Your subject is has no personal feelings towards you. | Just Met |
| Unfriendly | +5 | Your subject is unwilling to help you, but may be convinced with sufficient incentive. | Acquaintance (negative), Enemy |
| Hostile | +15 | Your subject is completely unwilling to help you, and will require a great personal cost to you to even consider it. | Personal Foe, Nemesis |
Action Improving a subject's attitude takes at least 1 minute of communication with them, limited to once per day.
Retry? Yes, but you must wait at least 1 day before attempting this action with the same subject.
Improve Relationship[
Whether they love, hate, or have never met each other, the relationship between two people always influences any request. Your relationship with the subject modifies the DC of your Diplomacy check (see Table: Relationship Modifiers).
You can spend time with the subject and get to know one another to improve your relationship with them. You need to convince the subject to spend time with you, either by making a Request, or if their attitude is already high enough with you to accept. You must spend 1d4 hours in direct communication with the subject within one day (these hours need not be consecutive). At the end of that time, make your Diplomacy check. If you succeed, you improve your relationship by one step. If you fail by 9 or less, then your relationship remains unchanged. However, each degree of failure worsens your relationship by one step, and the subject is unwilling to spend any more time with you in the future without you succeeding a Diplomacy check to Propose spending time together. Relationship changes persist until changed by outside actions.
Action Improving your relationship with the subject takes 1d4 hours of communication with them, limited to once per day. However, the hours do not need to be consecutive.
Retry? Yes, but you must wait at least 1 day before attempting this action with the same subject.
Trust
Trust is how much a subject believes your word, which affects how willing he is to go along with your request. Trust is measured by a score, starting at 0 (Wary) to a maximum of 25 (Confidant). Your starting Trust score with a subject you just met starts at 0. Your relationship with a subject further adjusts your Trust score with him. The more positive your relationship is with the subject, the more he trusts you.
Once per month, you can attempt to improve the trust score between you and the subject by having a positive or profound interaction with him. If successful, your Trust score increases by 1 if the interaction was positive, or by 3 if it was profound. You do not necessarily need to make the Diplomacy check after a positive action right away, and may choose to wait to see if you have a profound interaction with the target within the month of your last check.
Table: Trust Levels
| Trust Level (Score) | Diplomacy DC Modifier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Wary (0-5) | +15 | A wary subject has no more trust in you. He is willing to perform tasks only in exchange for fair compensation that must be immediately delivered. With a high enough Diplomacy check, he can be convinced to perform basic tasks that assume little to no personal risk on his part. He will have no qualms turning on you if confronted. |
| Skeptical (6-10) | +5 | A skeptical subject recognizes that you have the capacity to be trustworthy, but does not believe that you will be so should dishonesty benefit you, so he will remain cautious. He will not perform any tasks for you that jeopardizes his finances or reputation, but will be otherwise open to anything with some risk. If questioned about you, the skeptical subject will adopt a neutral stances and won’t immediately turn on you, but will prioritize his own welfare. |
| Reliable (11-15) | +0 | A reliable subject knows that your word is good, and that you will not unreasonably betray their confidence, fail to uphold agreements with him, and will fulfill any debt towards him. He is willing to undertake tasks that risk harming his welfare and reputation as long as they are promised fair compensation, but not at the expense of his life or the welfare of his loved ones. If confronted, he will attempt to protect your confidence, but will likely, but reluctantly and with regret, relent when threatened. |
| Trustworthy (16-20) | -5 | A trustworthy subject knows that you are willing to put yourself at risk to keep your word with him. When you ask for help, he wants to see you succeed, and is willing to put effort and assume expenses to achieve it. With proper compensation, he is even willing to put his welfare and reputation at risk, even against coercion to break your confidence. However, he will still avoid risks that would endanger his life or those of his loved ones. |
| Confidant (21-25) | -15 | At this level, the subject has absolute trust in you. He attempts to help you at great costs to his means and safety because he knows you will not abandon him or his loved ones. A confidant never turns against you unless he’s shown absolute proof that you betrayed him. |
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