Diplomacy (Cha)

Use this skill to persuade the chamberlain to let you see the king, to negotiate peace between feuding barbarian tribes, or to convince the ogre mages that have captured you that they should ransom you back to your friends instead of twisting your limbs off one by one. Diplomacy includes etiquette, social grace, tact, subtlety, and a way with words. A skilled character knows the formal and informal rules of conduct, social expectations, proper forms of address, and so on. This skill represents the ability to give others the right impression of oneself, to negotiate effectively, and to influence others.

Check: You can change the attitudes of others (nonplayer characters) with a successful Diplomacy check; see Influencing NPC Attitudes for basic DCs. (The Dungeon Master’s Guide has more information on influencing NPCs.) In negotiations, participants roll opposed Diplomacy checks, and the winner gains the advantage. Opposed checks also resolve situations when two advocates or diplomats plead opposite cases in a hearing before a third party.

Action: Changing others’ attitudes with Diplomacy generally takes at least 1 full minute (10 consecutive full-round actions). In some situations, this time requirement may greatly increase. A rushed Diplomacy check (such as an attempt to head off a fight between two angry warriors) can be made as a full-round action, but you take a –10 penalty on the check.

Try again: Optional, but not recommended because retries usually do not work. Even if the initial Diplomacy check succeeds, the other character can be persuaded only so far, and a retry may do more harm than good. If the initial check fails, the other character has probably become more firmly committed to his position, and a retry is futile.

Special: A half-elf has a +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy checks, thanks to her ability to relate well to others.

If you have the Negotiator feat, you get a +2 bonus on Diplomacy checks.

Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), or Sense Motive, you get a +2 bonus on Diplomacy checks.

Influencing NPC Attitudes

Use the table below to determine the effectiveness of Diplomacy checks (or Charisma checks) made to influence the attitude of a nonplayer character, or wild empathy checks made to influence the attitude of an animal or magical beast. The Dungeon Master’s Guide has more information on NPC attitudes.

For example, if a character encounters a nonplayer character whose initial attitude is hostile, that character needs to get a result of 20 or higher on a Diplomacy check (or Charisma check) to change that NPC’s attitude. On any result less than 20, the NPC’s attitude is unchanged. On a result of 20 to 24, the NPC’s attitude improves to unfriendly.

Source: Player’s Handbook (version 3.5), page 71.

Epic Diplomacy Use

The character can turn a person into a fanatic follower. Refer to the accompanying table.

Fanatic: The attitude of fanatic is added here. In addition to the obvious effects, any NPC whose attitude is fanatic gains a +2 morale bonus to Strength and Constitution scores, a +1 morale bonus on Will saves, and a –1 penalty to AC whenever fighting for the character or his or her cause. This attitude will remain for one day plus one day per point of the character’s Charisma bonus, at which point the NPC’s attitude will revert to its original attitude (or indifferent, if no attitude is specified).

Treat the fanatic attitude as a mind-affecting enchantment effect for purposes of immunity, save bonuses, or being detected by the Sense Motive skill. Since it is nonmagical, it can’t be dispelled; however, any effect that suppresses or counters mind-affecting effects will affect it normally. A fanatic NPC’s attitude can’t be further adjusted by the use of skills.