Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Damori 02-07-07, 04:35 PM	I am curious, which class do you think could be considered the best diplomat? Here are some options, and maybe any of them could be useful for a number of different situations. Would a Bard be better than a Beguiler, or might they be tied or with Bard ahead only slightly? How about a charismatic rogue against a swashbuckler? Paladins and knights or clerics? Alright, how about this... Which class is the best for a diplomat that doesn't really want to enter the fray, and wouldn't mind settling away from the front lines? Would that be a Rogue, Bard, or Beguiler still? What do you think?
The_Shaman 02-07-07, 04:49 PM	I'd say perhaps bard. The beguiler is just as good on the typical skills used by diplomats, but a bard is (slightly) more charismatic and through options such as the bardic knowledge and the knowledge skills can have some additional options. Besides, the musical abilities are imo made for undercover work. Rogues and beguilers follow close, and paladins are also good diplomats to a point. A paladin being a diplomat depends on the DM: if the paladin can call on the class' reputation as honest brokers and incorruptible champions, this should translate in a hefty bonus to their diplomacy skill. After all, how can you not trust a guy who's not just the epitome of law and good (for everyone, not one king or country like a knight), but is actually next to forbidden to lie*? Clerics could be just as good if the two sides share their (lawful) religion, but it's not as common. *: depends on the code of the order
Chimaera2000 02-08-07, 06:41 PM	The best diplomats are level-dipping multiclass monstrosities like this friendly customer here. (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=371519)
Nezkrul 02-09-07, 01:28 AM	The best diplomats are level-dipping multiclass monstrosities like this friendly customer here. (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=371519) QFT
Silverthumb128 02-09-07, 01:35 AM	The best diplomats are level-dipping multiclass monstrosities like this friendly customer here. (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=371519) Goodness, +155. There could be a "1001 things you can do with a +155 Diplomacy modifier" thread.
The_Shaman 02-09-07, 04:54 AM	You know, I shudder to think what one could do with 200+ in bluff, diplomacy or intimidate... I mean, technically that means you can con the avatar of a greater deity that wants to kill you and have it granting you 3 wishes...
gullas 02-09-07, 08:39 AM	thats cool:D
Nezkrul 02-09-07, 10:24 AM	well its all neat and swell but if the DM doesn't use the ELH book, all that diplomacy isn't super useful ALL the time. I think...
Chimaera2000 02-09-07, 01:34 PM	Diplomacy isn't useful in every situation, most notably against mindless creatures, but it can otherwise be a game-breaking skill. Barring skewed interpretation of what "helpful" or "fanatical" mean, a dedicated "diplomancer" like the one that I linked above can immediately and automatically end combat as soon as their turn comes up on initiative. That's why I call the skill "game-breaking;" you can end combat immediately and automatically whether you're fighting a 1st-level commoner or a 70th-level cleric. Of course, there's also the out-of-game problems as well: what happens when you can go around and convert anyone who can understand you (including shopkeepers, kings, and evil masterminds) into a fanatic? This borders on mind-control without a save. That's why Rich Burlew, (http://www.giantitp.com/Func0010.html) Monte Cook (http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?otherd20_Diplomacy) and other have advocated using Diplomacy as an opposed check rather than a fixed DC and more firmly adjudicating its effects rather than converting someone to a vague "attitude." Even with only the core books, it's very easy to have a Diplomacy modifier of over +20 by 4th level.