Intimidate

Description

Ability Score Used:	Charisma
Armor Check Penalty Applies?	No

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.

As with all skills, the uses below are merely suggestions, and by no means the full gamut of possible ways a skill can be used. Players and GM's are encouraged to find additional ways to use each skill.

Demoralize

You can use Intimidate to instill fear in your opponent, making him less effective in combat. You can only threaten an opponent this way if it is within 30 feet and can clearly see and hear you. Using demoralize more than once on the same creature only replaces the duration with the new duration; it does not create a stronger fear condition. Creatures which are immune to fear are immune to demoralize.
Action Required:	Standard Action
DC of Check:	the Maneuver Defense of the target
Modifiers to Check	Size You gain a +2 bonus on Intimidate checks if you are larger than your target, and a -2 penalty on Intimidate checks if you are smaller than your target. Communications: if you do not share a language with your target, you take a -5 penalty on Intimidate rolls made against him. Have the Upper Hand If you beat your target in a surprise roll within the last 10 minutes, you gain a +2 bonus on your next Intimidate check against him. Puffed up If you just lost a surprise roll within the last 10 minutes, you take a -2 penalty on your next Intimidate roll against a target in the encounter or witnessing the encounter. Overwhelming Force If your party has just defeated an entire encounter's worth of creatures (within the last 10 minutes), you gain a +5 bonus on your next Intimidate check against witnesses or survivors. If you are lower CR than the creatures you defeated, gain another +2. Violent If you personally killed an ally of your target in his presence within the last 24 hours, gain a +2 bonus on your next Intimidate check against him. Outnumbered If you are currently outnumbered by the bad guys, you take a -2 penalty on Intimidate rolls against targets in the encounter or witnessing the encounter. If the bad guys outnumber you by at least 2-to-1, you take a -5 penalty instead. Survivor If one of your allies has just been killed and not raised in the last 24 hours, you take a -5 penalty on Intimidate rolls against targets in the encounter or witnessing the encounter.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	No
Results of Success	The opponent becomes Shaken until the start of your next turn. If you beat the target's Maneuver Defense by at least 5, the target is Shaken until the end of the encounter.
Consequences of Failure	The opponent is unimpressed, and suffers no ill effects from your show of bravado.
Retry Allowed?	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.
Provokes AOO?	No

Adjust Attitude

You can use Intimidate to adjust the attitude of a creature that isn't being cooperative with you. You impress on them the importance of good manners, and explain how rude people tend to slowly bleed to death or explode when in your presence, and, since you're all such good friends, you'd hate for that to happen to them. Adjust attitude doesn't necessarily require violence against the target, but rather the hint that violence might be imminent. Adjust attitude is also universally understood by intelligent creatures, so you don't even need to share a language with your target to get your point across (though it helps). You can only attempt to adjust the attitude of creatures with an intelligence score of 5 or more. Creatures with intelligence scores of 4 or less are incapable of realizing that cooperating with the menacing madman in front of them might actually prevent him from attacking.
Action Required:	1 minute
DC of Check:	the Maneuver Defense of the target
Modifiers to Check	Size You gain a +2 bonus on Intimidate checks if you are larger than your target, and a -2 penalty on Intimidate checks if you are smaller than your target. Communications: if you do not share a language with your target, you take a -5 penalty on Intimidate rolls made against him. Have the Upper Hand If you beat your target in a surprise roll within the last 10 minutes, you gain a +2 bonus on your next Intimidate check against him. Puffed up If you just lost a surprise roll within the last 10 minutes, you take a -2 penalty on your next Intimidate roll against a target in the encounter or witnessing the encounter. Overwhelming Force If your party has just defeated an entire encounter's worth of creatures (within the last 10 minutes), you gain a +5 bonus on your next Intimidate check against witnesses or survivors. If you are lower CR than the creatures you defeated, gain another +2. Violent If you personally killed an ally of your target in his presence within the last 24 hours, gain a +2 bonus on your next Intimidate check against him. Outnumbered If you are currently outnumbered by the bad guys, you take a -2 penalty on Intimidate rolls against targets in the encounter or witnessing the encounter. If the bad guys outnumber you by at least 2-to-1, you take a -5 penalty instead. Survivor If one of your allies has just been killed and not raised in the last 24 hours, you take a -5 penalty on Intimidate rolls against targets in the encounter or witnessing the encounter.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies).
Results of Success	The target is forced to act friendly toward you for 1d6 x 10 minutes. If you beat the target's Maneuver Defense by 10 or more, the target is instead coerced to act helpful toward you for 1d6 x 10 minutes. During this time, they will cooperate out of a sense of fear and self-preservation, but they may also seek to escape your presence at the first opportunity. A temporarily friendly creature will generally give you information you are seeking, take actions that don't endanger him, or provide limited assistance. His primary goal is to give you enough of what you want that you will leave him alone. A temporarily helpful creature will provide you greater assistance, even if it causes him temporary setbacks in his personal life (such as giving you money), or volunteer more complete information that you are seeking. He will still avoid situations that put him at risk or cause him long-term inconvenience or harm (such as breaking laws or jumping off roofs). After the duration wears off (or the creature escapes your direct influence; whichever comes first), the creature's attitude permanently decreases to hostile, if it wasn't already hostile. In lawful societies, the creature may also choose to report you to the authorities.
Consequences of Failure	The target is either tougher or stupider than he appears, and doesn't respect your authority. If you fail the check by 5 or more, the creature may feel compelled to attack you, rather than stand by and listen to your insults, or he may just report you to the authorities.
Retry Allowed?	You can attempt to maintain your influence over a creature you successfully adjusted by making a new attempt each time the duration of your influence expires, but the target creature gains a cumulative +5 bonus to its Maneuver Defense to resist each attempt after the first. The first time you fail an attempt at adjusting the attitude of a creature, however, you may no longer retry. They've seen through your bullying ways, and won't be fooled again.
Provokes AOO?	No. We're just talkin', man.

Rout (Epic)

If you have at least 21 ranks in Intimidate, you can attempt an improved version of demoralize, causing terror in your target, instead of a simple sense of dread. If you have feats which improve demoralize, they also apply to rout. Creatures which are immune to fear are immune to rout. This is an epic skill use, and requires at least 21 ranks in the skill before it may be attempted.
Action Required:	Standard action
DC of Check:	the Maneuver Defense of the target
Modifiers to Check	Size You gain a +2 bonus on Intimidate checks if you are larger than your target, and a -2 penalty on Intimidate checks if you are smaller than your target. Communications: if you do not share a language with your target, you take a -5 penalty on Intimidate rolls made against him. Have the Upper Hand If you beat your target in a surprise roll within the last 10 minutes, you gain a +2 bonus on your next Intimidate check against him. Puffed up If you just lost a surprise roll within the last 10 minutes, you take a -2 penalty on your next Intimidate roll against a target in the encounter or witnessing the encounter. Overwhelming Force If your party has just defeated an entire encounter's worth of creatures (within the last 10 minutes), you gain a +5 bonus on your next Intimidate check against witnesses or survivors. If you are lower CR than the creatures you defeated, gain another +2. Violent If you personally killed an ally of your target in his presence within the last 24 hours, gain a +2 bonus on your next Intimidate check against him. Outnumbered If you are currently outnumbered by the bad guys, you take a -2 penalty on Intimidate rolls against targets in the encounter or witnessing the encounter. If the bad guys outnumber you by at least 2-to-1, you take a -5 penalty instead. Survivor If one of your allies has just been killed and not raised in the last 24 hours, you take a -5 penalty on Intimidate rolls against targets in the encounter or witnessing the encounter.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	No
Results of Success	The opponent gains the Cringing status until the start of your next turn, after which, he is Shaken until the end of the encounter. If you beat the target's Maneuver Defense by 5 or more, the target instead gains the Frightened status until the start of your next turn, after which, he is Shaken until the end of the encounter.
Consequences of Failure	The opponent is unimpressed, and suffers no ill effects from your show of bravado.
Retry Allowed?	You can attempt to rout an opponent again, but each additional check increases the DC by +5. This increase resets after one hour has passed.
Provokes AOO?	No