7.18 Persuasion (Per)
The Persuasion skill represents your ability to convince people to think what you want them to. Depending on how it is used, it represents a combination of verbal acuity, tact, argumentative ability, grace, etiquette, and personal magnetism. Using a Persuasion check usually takes at least a minute of sustained conversation.
Not all social interactions require Persuasion checks. Much of the time, being extraordinarily persuasive is unnecessary, and creatures can be convinced with normal, inartful conversation and good reasoning. Persuasion checks should only be used when your personal persuasiveness matters.
7.18.1 Common Persuasion Tasks
Compel Belief: As part of conversation, you can make a Persuasion check to cause creatures to believe something you say to be true. If you are lying, you must also make a Deception check to avoid revealing the lie. The base difficulty value is equal to each creature’s Mental defense. It is generally easier to convince creatures of things that are highly plausible or beneficial to them. Similarly, it is generally harder to convince creatures of things that are highly unlikely or detrimental to them.
Form Agreement: As part of conversation, you can make a Persuasion check to cause creatures to accept a deal or arrangement you propose. The base difficulty value is equal to each creature’s Mental defense. It is generally easier to convince creatures if the deal is good for them, and harder if it is bad for them.
Gather Information: You can make a Persuasion check to gather information from people around you. The difficulty value is 5 for basic information, 10 for information that most people wouldn’t know, and even higher for secrets or intentionally concealed information. This generally requires spending a few hours to meet a variety of people and learn what they know.
7.18.2 Common Persuasion Modifiers
The difficulty value for all Persuasion checks is modified based on the relationship between characters in a conversation, as listed in Table 7.5: Persuasion Relationship Modifiers. Regardless of what you are saying, you are more likely to succeed when talking to a close friend than a sworn enemy.
| Relationship | Difficulty Modifier |
| Intimate: Someone who with whom you have an implicit trust. Example: A lover or spouse. |
-15 |
| Friend: Someone with whom you have a regularly positive personal relationship. Example: A long-time buddy or a sibling. | -10 |
| Ally: Someone on the same team, but with whom you have no personal relationship. Example: A cleric of the same religion or a knight serving the same king. | -5 |
| Acquaintance (Positive): Someone you have met several times with no particularly negative experiences. Example: The blacksmith that buys your looted equipment regularly. | -2 |
| Just Met: No relationship whatsoever. Example: A guard at a castle or a traveler on a road. | +0 |
| Acquaintance (Negative): Someone you have met several times with no particularly positive experiences. Example: A town guard that has arrested you for drunkenness once or twice. | +2 |
| Opposition: Someone who is part of a group that consistently works against your interests, with whom you have no personal relationship. Example: An outlaw (to a law-abiding person), a paladin of law (to an outlaw), or a soldier who fights for a country at war with your country. | +5 |
| Enemy: Someone with whom you have a specifically antagonistic relationship. Example: An evil warlord whom you are attempting to thwart, a bounty hunter who is tracking you down for your crimes, or a bandit currently robbing you. | +10 |
| Nemesis: Someone who has sworn to do you, personally, harm, or vice versa. Example: The brother of a man you murdered in cold blood, or the person who murdered your brother in cold blood. | +15 |
|
|