Diplomacy
Full rules text, use cases, and edge-case handling for this skill.
Description
Diplomacy is the art of changing how others feel about you and your requests through negotiation, tact, and persuasion. It operates on a five-step attitude track — from Hostile through Unfriendly, Indifferent, Friendly, and Helpful — and a successful check can shift an NPC's attitude up or down that track.
Diplomacy also covers gathering information from willing locals, making it a core social skill for both combat and exploration pillars of play.
Check
Change Attitude
The DC to improve an NPC's attitude by one step depends on their current attitude. Failing by 5 or more worsens the attitude by one step.
| Starting Attitude | DC to Improve One Step | DC to Improve Two Steps |
|---|---|---|
| Hostile | 25 | 35 |
| Unfriendly | 20 | 30 |
| Indifferent | 15 | 25 |
| Friendly | 10 | — |
| Helpful | — (already maximum) | — |
Attitude Definitions
| Attitude | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Hostile | Will take risks to harm or oppose you. |
| Unfriendly | Wishes you ill; will not help without coercion. |
| Indifferent | Doesn't care about you; acts in their own self-interest. |
| Friendly | Wishes you well; will take small risks to help. |
| Helpful | Will take significant risks to aid you. |
Attitude is not absolute compliance. Even a Helpful NPC acts within their own values and limitations. A Helpful city guard will help you find a criminal; they won't help you commit one. The GM determines what a given attitude actually allows.
Gather Information
You can spend 1d4 hours canvassing a settlement — buying drinks, chatting with locals, and asking questions — to learn useful information. The base DC is 10, modified by how obscure or sensitive the information is.
| Information | DC Modifier |
|---|---|
| Common knowledge, freely discussed | +0 |
| Uncommon, requires asking the right people | +5 |
| Sensitive or dangerous to discuss openly | +10 or more |
Action
Change attitude: At least 1 full round of conversation, though most meaningful negotiations take 1 minute or longer. The GM may require more time for significant requests.
Gather information: 1d4 hours of working a settlement.
Try Again
Generally yes, but further attempts against the same target impose a cumulative –5 penalty per prior attempt. Once you have made your pitch and the target has responded, you cannot simply repeat the same argument and expect a different result.
Special
- Persuasive (feat): +2 to Diplomacy (and Intimidate); increases to +4 in each with 10 or more ranks.
- Bard: Diplomacy is a class skill. Bards may substitute a Perform (oratory) check for Diplomacy in some situations at GM discretion, and several bardic performance options build on social interactions.
- Paladin: Diplomacy is a class skill; the paladin's Aura of Courage and social standing often make them the party face by reputation alone.
- Inquisitor: Diplomacy is a class skill. The Conversion inquisition and certain judgements interact with social skill checks.
- Attitude floor: GMs may impose a minimum starting attitude for NPCs with deep distrust, cultural barriers, or prior grievances. No amount of dice-rolling can make a slaver Helpful to the party's abolitionist cleric on the first meeting.
Untrained
Yes. Diplomacy is available untrained. However, without investment in the skill, shifting a Hostile NPC to even Indifferent is a tall order against most realistic DCs.