Tohron
2022-09-04, 04:11 PM
I've been working on a set of Diplomacy houserules for D&D 3.5 (which can be adapted to other d20 systems like Pathfinder). I drew some inspiration from The Giant's redesign, but aim to resolve some remaining edge cases while still keeping things reasonably simple. All feedback is appreciated!
Starting Negotiations
The Diplomacy skill can be used as a full round action to convince a group to negotiate. The base DC is 40 for Hostile, 25 for Unfriendly, 10 for Indifferent, -5 for Friendly, and -20 for Helpful. The DC is increased by 10 if made on individuals currently fighting the party. Note that some individuals may refuse to negotiate on principle regardless of how high the check is. If the person using Diplomacy does not have a credible offer, any individual affected can make a Sense Motive check opposed by the negotiator’s Bluff check to immediately end the negotiations if it succeeds.
Conducting Negotiations
Diplomacy can be used to convince an individual or group to accept a deal. The check is modified by how favorable the deal is to the other party, and by external factors (such as the other parties’ attitude to you, cultural attitude, rushed negotiations, etc.) The level and Sense Motive modifier of the other party act as a scalar on the favorability modifier, but not the external factor modifier (so an insightful, high-level NPC is more likely to accept a favorable deal, but less likely to accept an unfavorable one.
The favorability modifiers are listed below. Note that, while the modifiers are determined purely by what the other party gets vs. what they give up, downsides include things like time spent implementing the deal, how other individuals might respond to the agreement being formed, and reputational damage from letting someone else gain a lot more from the deal than the NPC does. Ways that other individuals might respond also include consequences of refusing a deal: if an NPC is threatened with war if they refuse, that makes a deal more “favorable” by making the alternative worse.
Very Favorable (-45): This is an incredible bargain, and anyone would be overjoyed to have such an opportunity. Only an extreme personal animus could motivate someone to reject such a deal.
Favorable(-30): The benefits of this deal substantially outweigh the costs.
Slightly Favorable(-15): The benefits of this deal slightly outweigh the total investment needed.
Neutral(0): Factoring in implementation costs and external consequences, the benefits of this deal are roughly balanced with the downsides. Whether or not it is accepted will come down to other factors.
Slightly Unfavorable(+20): The downsides of this deal slightly outweigh the benefits. A favorable disposition or a persuasive argument will be needed to convince the other party to accept.
Unfavorable(+40): This is a bad deal that will leave the other party in a significantly worse position than they would otherwise be in. Only a very favorable predisposition or incredible persuasion can convince them to accept.
Very Unfavorable(+60): This deal would be regarded as disastrously bad by any impartial observer. It is nigh-impossible to convince any experienced negotiator to accept such a deal.
Favorability Multiplier: The DC adjustment for deal favorability is multiplied by (10 + HD + SMMod) / 20 in the final DC calculation, where HD is their total Hit Dice, and SMMod is their total Sense Motive modifier.
Altering Deal Favorability: The favorability modifier used to calculate DC is based on the factors that the NPC is aware of. If there is a factor that the NPC is not aware of that makes the deal better for them, it will not make the Diplomacy check any easier unless it is brought to their attention (and they are convinced it is true). It is also possible to engage in deception before or during the negotiation process to make a deal seem more favorable – of course, if the players are caught doing so, the other parties will react appropriately.
Awareness of Deal Favorablity: The players can be made aware of the favorability of an offer they’re considering based on what they know, or on what they think the NPC knows (if the NPC knows factors that the players don’t know they know, then the actual favorability of an offer might differ from what the PCs think). If the players disagree with your stated favorability rating, they can argue their case.
External Factors: The DC modifiers for external factors are ad-hoc, but one should bear in mind that minor considerations should have modifiers of 5 or less, major considerations should be around 10, and only massive, personality or culture-defining considerations should be over 20.
Final Calculation: The DC for persuading someone to accept a deal is:
10 + [(10 + HD + SMMod)/20] * FavorabilityMult + ExternalFactorsMod
Group Negotiation: Negotiation may be with more than one party. If one individual is the designated negotiator, than the other NPCs are limited to identifying deception or influencing the negotiator-perceived favorability of the deal (if the negotiator cares about their opinion). If multiple individuals must be convinced, then the same Diplomacy check is made for all of them, and is applied against separate DCs for each individual.
Handling Failure: If a Diplomacy check is unsuccessful, the same offer cannot be made again unless circumstances substantially change. If an offer is changed to be at least one step more favorable than the previous offer, the new offer can be made with a new Diplomacy check.
Efficient Implementation In Play: The caveat of more complex rule systems is that they can take longer to implement in play. One way to speed things up is to store the Favorability Multiplier for NPCs for quick reference (since it doesn’t change). The favorability of a deal and the external factors modifier are both based on ad-hoc DM judgements, but can generally be decided quickly for minor negotiations, and for major negotiations, consideration of the involved factors is part of the intended play experience.
Examples:
Offering Future Coppers: Crazy Bill approaches Duke Feningston and offers him 6 copper coins to meet him two hours later. The Duke’s time is valuable, and agreeing with a mentally unstable man would greatly hurt his reputation, so the deal is Unfavorable. As a level 9 Aristocrat with 12 wisdom and 12 Sense Motive ranks (with +6 from feats and items), his Favorability Multiplier is 1.9. He also doesn’t like interacting with crazy people, adding another +12 to the DC. Thus, the total DC is 10 + 1.9 * 40 + 12 = 98. Crazy Bill rolls a 14 and adds 4, which falls far short of the DC.
Buying Mining Rights: The Brandt brothers discover a valuable diamond deposit on the Satrap’s land. Josiah Brandt offers the Satrap 5% of the proceeds in exchange for mining rights. Although the deal costs the Satrap nothing directly, giving them such a favorable deal would be an invitation for others to walk all over him, making the deal Unfavorable. With 12 levels and a Sense Motive modifier of 20, the Satrap has a favorability multiplier of 2.1. His dislike of greedy treasure seekers adds 5 to the DC. Thus, the total DC is 10 + 2.1 * 40 + 5 = 99. Josiah manages 46 on the Diplomacy check, which still falls far short.
Getting a Cookie from Granny: Little Timmy asks his Granny, a retired adventurer, for a cookie. Granny likes giving her grandson cookies, as long as he doesn’t eat too many, so the deal is Slightly Favorable. With 14 levels and a Sense Motive modifier of 5, Granny has a Favorability Multiplier of 1.45. She also likes her grandson, reducing the DC by 4. Thus, the total DC is 10 – 1.45 * 15 – 4 = -16. Timmy automatically succeeds.
Negotiating Trading Rights: The adventuring party has discovered that the local price of cinnamon is about to greatly spike, and negotiate with Lord Brock to take over the cinnamon trade from his family-owned vessels. Finding out that he has a weakness for fine wine, they procure a number of expensive vintages to offer. Since he is unaware of the price tip, they assess that he will find the deal Slightly Unfavorable, something they can get past with good negotiation skills. Unbeknownst to them, Brock’s wife, whom he loves, has been pushing him to ease up on the wine, so he actually finds the deal Unfavorable. Lord Brock’s Favorability Multiplier is 2, and there are no significant external factors influencing his attitude, so the DC is 10 + 2 * 40 = 90. The negotiating PC manages a Diplomacy check of 66, which, due to the factor they were unaware of, still falls short, and the lord reluctantly refuses.
Upon asking why and finding out the reason, the players put together a new offer that they conclude will be seen as Slightly Unfavorable - correctly this time. Since the favorability is a step higher than the last offer, Lord Brock is willing to entertain it, and the new DC is 10 + 2 * 20 = 50. The negotiating PC manages a 59, which succeeds.
Attempting Religious Conversion: Exarch Dranth, cleric of the evil god Balthion, offers Keeper Yvonne, cleric of the good goddess Sylmyra, one million gold pieces and a rich barony to convert to Balthion. Since Yvonne’s faith is part of her core goals in life, rather than just being an attitude, the deal offered would still be a major blow to the things she actually wants, and thus rates as Very Unfavorable. She also hates interacting with evil clerics, adding another +20 to the DC. With 16 levels and a Sense Motive modifier of 28, her Favorability Multiplier is 2.7. The total DC is thus 10 + 2.7 * 60 + 20 = 192. Dranth makes a check of 82, which, impressive though it is, still falls far short.
Starting Negotiations
The Diplomacy skill can be used as a full round action to convince a group to negotiate. The base DC is 40 for Hostile, 25 for Unfriendly, 10 for Indifferent, -5 for Friendly, and -20 for Helpful. The DC is increased by 10 if made on individuals currently fighting the party. Note that some individuals may refuse to negotiate on principle regardless of how high the check is. If the person using Diplomacy does not have a credible offer, any individual affected can make a Sense Motive check opposed by the negotiator’s Bluff check to immediately end the negotiations if it succeeds.
Conducting Negotiations
Diplomacy can be used to convince an individual or group to accept a deal. The check is modified by how favorable the deal is to the other party, and by external factors (such as the other parties’ attitude to you, cultural attitude, rushed negotiations, etc.) The level and Sense Motive modifier of the other party act as a scalar on the favorability modifier, but not the external factor modifier (so an insightful, high-level NPC is more likely to accept a favorable deal, but less likely to accept an unfavorable one.
The favorability modifiers are listed below. Note that, while the modifiers are determined purely by what the other party gets vs. what they give up, downsides include things like time spent implementing the deal, how other individuals might respond to the agreement being formed, and reputational damage from letting someone else gain a lot more from the deal than the NPC does. Ways that other individuals might respond also include consequences of refusing a deal: if an NPC is threatened with war if they refuse, that makes a deal more “favorable” by making the alternative worse.
Very Favorable (-45): This is an incredible bargain, and anyone would be overjoyed to have such an opportunity. Only an extreme personal animus could motivate someone to reject such a deal.
Favorable(-30): The benefits of this deal substantially outweigh the costs.
Slightly Favorable(-15): The benefits of this deal slightly outweigh the total investment needed.
Neutral(0): Factoring in implementation costs and external consequences, the benefits of this deal are roughly balanced with the downsides. Whether or not it is accepted will come down to other factors.
Slightly Unfavorable(+20): The downsides of this deal slightly outweigh the benefits. A favorable disposition or a persuasive argument will be needed to convince the other party to accept.
Unfavorable(+40): This is a bad deal that will leave the other party in a significantly worse position than they would otherwise be in. Only a very favorable predisposition or incredible persuasion can convince them to accept.
Very Unfavorable(+60): This deal would be regarded as disastrously bad by any impartial observer. It is nigh-impossible to convince any experienced negotiator to accept such a deal.
Favorability Multiplier: The DC adjustment for deal favorability is multiplied by (10 + HD + SMMod) / 20 in the final DC calculation, where HD is their total Hit Dice, and SMMod is their total Sense Motive modifier.
Altering Deal Favorability: The favorability modifier used to calculate DC is based on the factors that the NPC is aware of. If there is a factor that the NPC is not aware of that makes the deal better for them, it will not make the Diplomacy check any easier unless it is brought to their attention (and they are convinced it is true). It is also possible to engage in deception before or during the negotiation process to make a deal seem more favorable – of course, if the players are caught doing so, the other parties will react appropriately.
Awareness of Deal Favorablity: The players can be made aware of the favorability of an offer they’re considering based on what they know, or on what they think the NPC knows (if the NPC knows factors that the players don’t know they know, then the actual favorability of an offer might differ from what the PCs think). If the players disagree with your stated favorability rating, they can argue their case.
External Factors: The DC modifiers for external factors are ad-hoc, but one should bear in mind that minor considerations should have modifiers of 5 or less, major considerations should be around 10, and only massive, personality or culture-defining considerations should be over 20.
Final Calculation: The DC for persuading someone to accept a deal is:
10 + [(10 + HD + SMMod)/20] * FavorabilityMult + ExternalFactorsMod
Group Negotiation: Negotiation may be with more than one party. If one individual is the designated negotiator, than the other NPCs are limited to identifying deception or influencing the negotiator-perceived favorability of the deal (if the negotiator cares about their opinion). If multiple individuals must be convinced, then the same Diplomacy check is made for all of them, and is applied against separate DCs for each individual.
Handling Failure: If a Diplomacy check is unsuccessful, the same offer cannot be made again unless circumstances substantially change. If an offer is changed to be at least one step more favorable than the previous offer, the new offer can be made with a new Diplomacy check.
Efficient Implementation In Play: The caveat of more complex rule systems is that they can take longer to implement in play. One way to speed things up is to store the Favorability Multiplier for NPCs for quick reference (since it doesn’t change). The favorability of a deal and the external factors modifier are both based on ad-hoc DM judgements, but can generally be decided quickly for minor negotiations, and for major negotiations, consideration of the involved factors is part of the intended play experience.
Examples:
Offering Future Coppers: Crazy Bill approaches Duke Feningston and offers him 6 copper coins to meet him two hours later. The Duke’s time is valuable, and agreeing with a mentally unstable man would greatly hurt his reputation, so the deal is Unfavorable. As a level 9 Aristocrat with 12 wisdom and 12 Sense Motive ranks (with +6 from feats and items), his Favorability Multiplier is 1.9. He also doesn’t like interacting with crazy people, adding another +12 to the DC. Thus, the total DC is 10 + 1.9 * 40 + 12 = 98. Crazy Bill rolls a 14 and adds 4, which falls far short of the DC.
Buying Mining Rights: The Brandt brothers discover a valuable diamond deposit on the Satrap’s land. Josiah Brandt offers the Satrap 5% of the proceeds in exchange for mining rights. Although the deal costs the Satrap nothing directly, giving them such a favorable deal would be an invitation for others to walk all over him, making the deal Unfavorable. With 12 levels and a Sense Motive modifier of 20, the Satrap has a favorability multiplier of 2.1. His dislike of greedy treasure seekers adds 5 to the DC. Thus, the total DC is 10 + 2.1 * 40 + 5 = 99. Josiah manages 46 on the Diplomacy check, which still falls far short.
Getting a Cookie from Granny: Little Timmy asks his Granny, a retired adventurer, for a cookie. Granny likes giving her grandson cookies, as long as he doesn’t eat too many, so the deal is Slightly Favorable. With 14 levels and a Sense Motive modifier of 5, Granny has a Favorability Multiplier of 1.45. She also likes her grandson, reducing the DC by 4. Thus, the total DC is 10 – 1.45 * 15 – 4 = -16. Timmy automatically succeeds.
Negotiating Trading Rights: The adventuring party has discovered that the local price of cinnamon is about to greatly spike, and negotiate with Lord Brock to take over the cinnamon trade from his family-owned vessels. Finding out that he has a weakness for fine wine, they procure a number of expensive vintages to offer. Since he is unaware of the price tip, they assess that he will find the deal Slightly Unfavorable, something they can get past with good negotiation skills. Unbeknownst to them, Brock’s wife, whom he loves, has been pushing him to ease up on the wine, so he actually finds the deal Unfavorable. Lord Brock’s Favorability Multiplier is 2, and there are no significant external factors influencing his attitude, so the DC is 10 + 2 * 40 = 90. The negotiating PC manages a Diplomacy check of 66, which, due to the factor they were unaware of, still falls short, and the lord reluctantly refuses.
Upon asking why and finding out the reason, the players put together a new offer that they conclude will be seen as Slightly Unfavorable - correctly this time. Since the favorability is a step higher than the last offer, Lord Brock is willing to entertain it, and the new DC is 10 + 2 * 20 = 50. The negotiating PC manages a 59, which succeeds.
Attempting Religious Conversion: Exarch Dranth, cleric of the evil god Balthion, offers Keeper Yvonne, cleric of the good goddess Sylmyra, one million gold pieces and a rich barony to convert to Balthion. Since Yvonne’s faith is part of her core goals in life, rather than just being an attitude, the deal offered would still be a major blow to the things she actually wants, and thus rates as Very Unfavorable. She also hates interacting with evil clerics, adding another +20 to the DC. With 16 levels and a Sense Motive modifier of 28, her Favorability Multiplier is 2.7. The total DC is thus 10 + 2.7 * 60 + 20 = 192. Dranth makes a check of 82, which, impressive though it is, still falls far short.