Practically everything any D&D blogger talks about is related to either combat or magic. I thought it would be nice to mention something different, even if this is only the germ of an idea.
A PC is in a negotiation with a monster. The PC has hirelings present, the monster has its underlings. Everyone present can hear what's going on and likely will have a reaction to it. The idea is: at certain points, such as when one side demands a major concession or makes an accusation, the onlookers need to make morale checks to determine how they feel about events.
I'm envisioning using the simple 5+ on d6 version of the morale check. Insults and threats from weaker participants provoke aggression from the opposite side; on the first 5+ roll, they hurl insults back, while on the second, they actually attack. Threats from stronger opponents provoke social "retreat" or "panic"; on the first failure, they are visibly frightened by the threat, while on the second, they either leave their master or surrender, begging for mercy or offering to switch sides.
These are also awesome rules for crowd reactions to non-combat contests of skill. I am thinking of "you got served" kind of scenarios. For example, you are in a bragging contest with a rival party of npc adventurers for the hearts of the tavern attendees and it's free drinks on the line.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was kind of thinking that you could use the same trick for a number of different situations, as long as you re-defined "aggression", "attack", "retreat", and "panic/flee" for the situation. Haven't devoted much effort in that direction yet, though.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see "example play" sections for some of these proposals, in the manner of the transcript given on pages 12 through 14 of TU&WA. This one, for example, looks promising, but I'm having trouble seeing how I might implement it. And what if the enemies succeed in such a maneuver? Would you just mentally adjust the encounter reaction category (like from uncertain to hostile)?
ReplyDeleteI must confess I at once start to think of the Duel of Wits from Burning Wheel. Maybe there's a middle ground in between BW and pure roleplaying...
ReplyDeletePerhaps I'll do an example later. Keep in mind, though, I'm not talking about the negotiation itself, but whether or not your people and the monster's minions keep in line.
ReplyDeleteFor those who haven't seen it, I started a separate "live" example of this in a separate post.
ReplyDelete