Post/Author/DateTime	Post
paradox1995 07-15-07, 12:40 AM	I put this here becasue the Druids Wild Empathy uses the rules for a diplomacy skill check... Heres my delima... if an animal is trying to eat you does that make it have an attitude of hostile or just hungry? We are adventuring on the Isle of Dread, which is filled with predatory animals. The druid in the group tried to argue the point that even though some of the animals might want to eat us, that doesn't mean that they have an attitude of hostile. He said "if every animal we encounter has an attitude of hostile, that is seriously gonna nerf my wild empathy ability..." I want my players to feel like their characters abilities are useful... i don't want to "nerf" anyone... but if a hungry t-rex will fight to the death until it swallows on of them whole wouldnt you guys say it was HOSTILE???!!! LOL In closing, how do you determine is an animal is "hostile"? Thanks for the help.:D
JulesCARV 07-15-07, 01:27 AM	My inclination is to say compromise and have them be unfriendly. They don't really have a grudge, and would be content with similarly sized edible prey if that's the alternative, but they do want to harm (and eat) the players nonetheless. Not quite neutral, but not quite hostile either. A T-Rex would like to eat you, but only in the same generalized sense that it would also like to eat a goat or pig as well, unless there's any reason for the PCs to be particularly delicious, which, in general terms, I've heard humans aren't (although they're not as bad-tasting as opposums). *shrugs* Of course, maybe elves or gnomes taste better than humans.
Kouk 07-15-07, 08:01 AM	If an animal is attempting to attack you, either because it is defending its territory or just hungry, I would definitely consider that hostile. Not all animals are going to attack the party though, there are many peaceful ones that would just be unfriendly. Deer, squirrels, raccoons... In any event, it will rarely matter. Wild Empathy works like Diplomacy, so: Actions 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 can be made as a full-round action, but you take a -10 penalty on the check. You can try to dissuade the T-Rex from eating you, but you would have to incapacitate it and force it to sit still and pay attention (which probably just makes it more angry). Otherwise you will be standing there for 10 rounds as it eats your friends. A rushed check has a fairly low probability of working. What your Druid can do though, is to Calm Animals, Charm Animal, Hold Animal, Dominate Animal... What exactly would the Druid do once he made an animal friendly with Wild Empathy by the way? Start casting Speak with Animals to learn which nuts tasted the best?
paradox1995 07-15-07, 08:53 AM	A rushed check has a fairly low probability of working. What your Druid can do though, is to Calm Animals, Charm Animal, Hold Animal, Dominate Animal... What exactly would the Druid do once he made an animal friendly with Wild Empathy by the way? Start casting Speak with Animals to learn which nuts tasted the best? Well, a rushed check is what this Druid is gonna be trying the most. He has built a skill based character that at 7th level has a +14 to diplomacy. The spells you mentioned will certanly help him, and I'll pass those on to him as another option thanks. As for his motives: He will, I'm sure, try to get the friendly animals to help the PC's in some fashion. They just crashed their boat on the Isle of Dread. :D
Kouk 07-15-07, 04:05 PM	Well, a rushed check is what this Druid is gonna be trying the most. He has built a skill based character that at 7th level has a +14 to diplomacy. Well, Diplomacy skill is all well and good, but the Wild Empathy ability does not actually make use of your Diplomacy skill ranks. Wild Empathy (Ex) A druid can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check made to improve the attitude of a person. The druid rolls 1d20 and adds her druid level and her Charisma modifier to determine the wild empathy check result. Wild Empathy works like a Diplomacy check, but there is no crossover.
Erato 07-15-07, 05:03 PM	I would call the animal hostile if it was attacking, But few animals attack on sight. Most predators (including wolves and bears) rarely hunt humans, and most of them try to threaten them away instead of attacking when they feel threated. If animal that advances while growling (to scare the Druid), I would rule that it would most likely stop once the Druid began his wild empathy check, and not advance further while the Druid is making his check. Edit: And Kouk is right.