Intimidate

Description

Ability Score Used:	Charisma
Usable Untrained?	Yes
Armor Check Penalty Applies?	No

Common Uses

Intimidation is the art and science of being imposing, threatening, frightening, overbearing, and generally driving your opinion into the face of others whether they like it or not. Intimidation is not a subtle skill. Using intimidation on someone is not a way to ever improve their attitude toward you, except in the short run whereby they act to please you, and then perhaps are happy that you are gone. In the long run, using Intimidation on anyone you are not planning to fight, and soon, is likely to lead to a fight...and often soon.

Intimidate is not about persuasion, that's Diplomacy. Intimidation is not about trickery or lying, that's Bluff. Intimidation is pure, in-your-face coercion, and that's about the beginning and end of it.

You can use this skill to frighten your opponents or to get them to act in a way that benefits you, even though they hate you for it. This skill includes verbal threats and displays of prowess.

Description

Ability Score Used:	Charisma
Usable Untrained?	Yes
Armor Check Penalty Applies?	No

Common Uses

Intimidation is the art and science of being imposing, threatening, frightening, overbearing, and generally driving your opinion into the face of others whether they like it or not. Intimidation is not a subtle skill. Using intimidation on someone is not a way to ever improve their attitude toward you, except in the short run whereby they act to please you, and then perhaps are happy that you are gone. In the long run, using Intimidation on anyone you are not planning to fight, and soon, is likely to lead to a fight...and often soon.

Intimidate is not about persuasion, that's Diplomacy. Intimidation is not about trickery or lying, that's Bluff. Intimidation is pure, in-your-face coercion, and that's about the beginning and end of it.

You can use this skill to frighten your opponents or to get them to act in a way that benefits you, even though they hate you for it. This skill includes verbal threats and displays of prowess.

Influence Opponent's Attitude

You can use Intimidate to force an opponent to act friendly toward you for 1d6 x 10 minutes with a successful check. To determine the DC of this check, refer to the following links:

• A player attempting to influence a monster's attitude must succeed on an Average Skill Check DC against the CR of the monster he is targeting.
• A monster attempting to influence a player's attitude must succeed on an Average Skill Check DC against the level of the player character it is targeting.

• Success: If successful, the opponent will:
  • give you information you desire
  • take actions that do not endanger it
  • offer other limited assistance

After the intimidate expires, the target treats you as unfriendly and may report you to local authorities.

• Fail: If you fail this check by 5 or more, the target attempts to deceive you or otherwise hinder your activities.

• Action Using Intimidate to change an opponent's attitude requires 1 minute of conversation.

• Retry? You can attempt to intimidate an opponent again, but each additional check increases the DC by +5. This increase resets after one hour has passed.

Modifiers

• Size You gain a +4 bonus on Intimidate checks if you are larger than your target, and a -4 penalty on Intimidate checks if you are smaller than your target.
• Feats If you have the Persuasive feat, you gain a +2 bonus on Intimidate skill checks. This bonus increases with additional ranks in the skill.
• Have the Upper Hand If you beat your victim in a surprise roll, or your ally's just killed one of his ally's, you gain a +5 bonus on your next Intimidate check.
• Overwhelming Force If you have just defeated an entire encounter's worth of allies, you gain a +10 bonus on an immediate Intimidate check against allied witnesses or survivors. If you are lower CR than the allies you defeated, gain another +2.
• Violent If you personally killed an ally of your target in his presence, gain a +2 bonus on an immediate Intimidate check. This stacks with "Have the Upper Hand", above.
• Puffed up If you are outnumbered, or just lost a surprise roll, you take a -5 penalty on your next Intimidate roll.
• Severely outnumbered If there are twice as many bad guys as you have allies, you take a -5 penalty on Intimidate rolls.
• Survivor If one of your allies has just been killed and not raised, take a -8 penalty on Intimidate rolls.

Epic Skill Uses

Note: All uses below require a minimum of 21 Ranks in the skill to use.

Cringing Demoralize

You can attempt to demoralize an opponent into an advanced fear state. To determine the DC of this check, refer to the following links:

• A player attempting to demoralize a monster must succeed on an Hard Skill Check DC against the CR of the monster he is targeting.
• A monster attempting to demoralize a player must succeed on an Hard Skill Check DC against the level of the player character it is targeting.

• Success: target is Cringing for 1 round and Shaken thereafter (for the rest of the encounter). An Average DC Will save negates the Cringing condition, but the target is still Shaken.

Frightening Demoralize

You can attempt to demoralize an opponent into a state of abject terror. To determine the DC of this check, refer to the following links:

• A player attempting to demoralize a monster must succeed on an Impossible Skill Check DC against the CR of the monster he is targeting.
• A monster attempting to demoralize a player must succeed on an Impossible Skill Check DC against the level of the player character it is targeting.

• Success: target is Frightened for 1 round and Shaken thereafter (for the rest of the encounter). An Average DC Will save negates the Frightened condition, but the target is still Shaken.

Influence Opponent's Attitude

You can use Intimidate to force an opponent to act friendly toward you for 1d6 x 10 minutes with a successful check. To determine the DC of this check, refer to the following links:

• A player attempting to influence a monster's attitude must succeed on an Average Skill Check DC against the CR of the monster he is targeting.
• A monster attempting to influence a player's attitude must succeed on an Average Skill Check DC against the level of the player character it is targeting.

• Success: If successful, the opponent will:
  • give you information you desire
  • take actions that do not endanger it
  • offer other limited assistance

After the intimidate expires, the target treats you as unfriendly and may report you to local authorities.

• Fail: If you fail this check by 5 or more, the target attempts to deceive you or otherwise hinder your activities.

• Action Using Intimidate to change an opponent's attitude requires 1 minute of conversation.

• Retry? You can attempt to intimidate an opponent again, but each additional check increases the DC by +5. This increase resets after one hour has passed.

Modifiers

• Size You gain a +4 bonus on Intimidate checks if you are larger than your target, and a -4 penalty on Intimidate checks if you are smaller than your target.
• Feats If you have the Persuasive feat, you gain a +2 bonus on Intimidate skill checks. This bonus increases with additional ranks in the skill.
• Have the Upper Hand If you beat your victim in a surprise roll, or your ally's just killed one of his ally's, you gain a +5 bonus on your next Intimidate check.
• Overwhelming Force If you have just defeated an entire encounter's worth of allies, you gain a +10 bonus on an immediate Intimidate check against allied witnesses or survivors. If you are lower CR than the allies you defeated, gain another +2.
• Violent If you personally killed an ally of your target in his presence, gain a +2 bonus on an immediate Intimidate check. This stacks with "Have the Upper Hand", above.
• Puffed up If you are outnumbered, or just lost a surprise roll, you take a -5 penalty on your next Intimidate roll.
• Severely outnumbered If there are twice as many bad guys as you have allies, you take a -5 penalty on Intimidate rolls.
• Survivor If one of your allies has just been killed and not raised, take a -8 penalty on Intimidate rolls.

Epic Skill Uses

Note: All uses below require a minimum of 21 Ranks in the skill to use.

Cringing Demoralize

You can attempt to demoralize an opponent into an advanced fear state. To determine the DC of this check, refer to the following links:

• A player attempting to demoralize a monster must succeed on an Hard Skill Check DC against the CR of the monster he is targeting.
• A monster attempting to demoralize a player must succeed on an Hard Skill Check DC against the level of the player character it is targeting.

• Success: target is Cringing for 1 round and Shaken thereafter (for the rest of the encounter). An Average DC Will save negates the Cringing condition, but the target is still Shaken.

Frightening Demoralize

You can attempt to demoralize an opponent into a state of abject terror. To determine the DC of this check, refer to the following links:

• A player attempting to demoralize a monster must succeed on an Impossible Skill Check DC against the CR of the monster he is targeting.
• A monster attempting to demoralize a player must succeed on an Impossible Skill Check DC against the level of the player character it is targeting.

• Success: target is Frightened for 1 round and Shaken thereafter (for the rest of the encounter). An Average DC Will save negates the Frightened condition, but the target is still Shaken.