Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 johnnii Oct 07, 2008 11:56:08	My purpose here is to add some dynamics to the usual Intimidate check vs Will to force a bloodied opponent to surrender. By making it a modified skill challenge, and removing the sole skill use with Intimidate, the whole party can be part of force-surrendering the enemy. Since you can talk, shout or do a "one-liner" as free actions during combat, this can easily be incorporated in the middle of the combat-encounter. Skill Challenge: Forcing your opponent's surrender. Once victory is within your grasp, you can try to force your enemy into surrender by offering them terms or cower them with threats. To initiate this skill challenge, you must be clearly winning against your opponent in combat, such as outnumbering them or everyone of them is bloodied. Complexity: Depends solely on the number of oppenent trying to be cowered. Every party member has one shot of skill use during the challenge, with some exceptions (see below) Primary skills: Intimidate and Diplomacy, DC is targets Will defense. Success means that you cower one opponent, and you can only do one try on the skill challenge unless you get an additional oppurtunity (se Secondary skills below) Secondary skills: Bluff, Insight and Perception. DC is moderate. If you succesfully make your check, you can grant another party member a free check with either Diplomacy or Intimidate, which he can choose to either retry the skill on a previously failed opponent or try on another opponent. Other skills could be utilised depending on the situation, for example Arcana, Religion, Streetwise or Nature. Intimidate: You threaten the enemy into submission. If the opponent is not bloodied, DC increases by 5. Diplomacy: You offer terms of surrender to the opponent. If your opponent does not speak your language, DC increases by 5. Bluff: You offer false terms (additional diplomacy check) or lie about incoming reinforcements (additional intimidate check). Insight: You read an opponents body language and gives the information to another party member to his advantage (additional diplomacy or intimidate) Perception: You notice details on the opponent and his behavior which can be of advantage of forcing surrender (additional diplomacy or intimidate) Success: More than half of the opponents have been cowered. The remaining opponents, whether cowered or not, lay down their weapons and act under the mercy of the PCs. Failure: Everyone player has made their skills check but half or less of the opponents is still cowered. All opponents, whether cowered or not, revert back to hostility and the combat encounter continue. Special rules Opponents with Elite or Leader descriptions counts as 2 creatures. However, they have to be successfully cowered twice to count at all. So either they don't cower, or they counts as 2 cowered creatures for the purpose of success. Solo creatures can never be cowered. You can only issue this skill challenge once per encounter. Sometimes it doesn't work, such as facing mindless creatures like undead and constructs, facing beasts without any particular intellect or just blood-crazed individuals that "can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. That just wants to see the world burn." Thoughts or issues? I'm not that good with math and don't know how this would work in the long run.
#2 alexa1 Oct 07, 2008 17:27:21	I think it is a very good idea. However, where you were talking about elite and solo monsters? I think elites should count as 2, and solo's should count as 3 or 4. Also, they should count as this many with regards to failures as well as successes. That way, if the PC's need to cower more than half the group, an uncowered elite or solo's presence would make it more likely that the lesser monsters will continue to fight, but a cowered elite or solo will make it more likely that the other monsters will surrender. This represents the influence an elite or solo has over his monster party's actions.
#3 johnnii Oct 08, 2008 4:30:12	I think it is a very good idea. However, where you were talking about elite and solo monsters? I think elites should count as 2, and solo's should count as 3 or 4. Also, they should count as this many with regards to failures as well as successes. That way, if the PC's need to cower more than half the group, an uncowered elite or solo's presence would make it more likely that the lesser monsters will continue to fight, but a cowered elite or solo will make it more likely that the other monsters will surrender. This represents the influence an elite or solo has over his monster party's actions. Yes, I had elites and solos in regard, and even leader monsters: Special rules Opponents with Elite or Leader descriptions counts as 2 creatures. However, they have to be successfully cowered twice to count at all. So either they don't cower, or they counts as 2 cowered creatures for the purpose of success. Solo creatures can never be cowered. An option to make a solo monster hard, but possible to cower like you said is an option. However, I do find most of the solo monsters just to badass or to big ego to give in on a bunch of youngsters.