Diplomacy
You influence others through negotiation and flattery.
Attitudes
Your influence over an NPC is measured by its attitude toward you, a brief summary of how it views your character. Attitude can be shifted for a while with Make an Impression, or improved for good by raising the NPC's demeanor score toward you (see Negotiations). The GM adds nuance from the character's history and beliefs, adjusting demeanor and attitude as the story goes.
- Helpful: willing to help you, and responds well to your requests.
- Friendly: well disposed toward you, but won't necessarily stick its neck out.
- Indifferent: doesn't care about you either way. Most NPCs start here.
- Unfriendly: dislikes you and doesn't want to help.
- Hostile: actively works against you, and might attack you just because it dislikes you.
Nobody can change a player character's attitude with these skills. You can roleplay with other PCs, and even use Diplomacy results if a player wants a mechanical sense of how convincing a character is, but players always decide how their characters respond.
Requests: attitude and risk
When you make a Request, the target's attitude and what it stands to gain or lose adjust your Diplomacy check:
| Attitude | Your check | The target stands to… | Your check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helpful | 2 levels of Advantage | make a significant gain | 2 levels of Advantage |
| Friendly | 1 level of Advantage | make a minor gain | 1 level of Advantage |
| Indifferent | no change | gain or lose nothing | no change |
| Unfriendly | 1 level of Disadvantage | bear a minor cost or risk | 1 level of Disadvantage |
| Hostile | 2 levels of Disadvantage | bear a significant loss or risk | 2 levels of Disadvantage |
Actions
Make an Impression (Auditory, Concentrate, Linguistic, Mental, Trained)
After at least 1 minute of conversation full of charm, flattery and goodwill, you try to leave someone well disposed toward you for a while. At the end of the conversation, roll Diplomacy against one target's Charisma save, adjusted for whatever circumstances the GM sees fit. A good (or, on a critical failure, bad) impression lasts only for the current social interaction unless the GM decides otherwise. Attitudes: Helpful (willing to help you), Friendly (likes you but won't necessarily stick their neck out), Indifferent (doesn't care either way; most NPCs start here), Unfriendly (dislikes you), Hostile (works against you and might attack). Attitudes can be shifted for a while by Making an Impression, or permanently by raising a creature's Demeanor toward you. These skills never change a player character's attitude; players decide how their characters respond.
Critical Success: The target's attitude toward you improves by two steps, and its Demeanor toward you rises by 1.
Success: The target's attitude toward you improves by one step.
Critical Failure: The target's attitude toward you worsens by one step, and its Demeanor toward you drops by 1.
Request (Auditory, Concentrate, Linguistic, Mental)
You ask something of a creature that is Friendly or Helpful toward you, putting it in terms it would accept given its attitude. Your Diplomacy check is opposed by the target's Charisma save. Some requests are distasteful or impossible, and even a Helpful creature would never agree to them. Attitude: Helpful 2 levels of Advantage, Friendly 1 level of Advantage, Indifferent no change, Unfriendly 1 level of Disadvantage, Hostile 2 levels of Disadvantage. What the target stands to gain or lose: significant gain 2 levels of Advantage, minor gain 1 level of Advantage, no gain or cost no change, minor cost or risk 1 level of Disadvantage, significant loss or risk 2 levels of Disadvantage.
Critical Success: The target agrees to your request without conditions.
Success: The target agrees, but may ask for extra terms or changes.
Failure: The target refuses, though it may offer a less extreme alternative.
Critical Failure: The target refuses, its attitude toward you worsens by one step for the rest of the encounter for daring to ask, and its Demeanor toward you drops by 1.