Tome of Prowess (3.5e Sourcebook)/Intimidation

Intimidation

Suggested Rule Change

In the interest of avoiding intimidation / fear parties, we recommend a rule change regarding fear stacking. Please see Revised Fear Effects (3.5e Variant Rule) for more information. You don't have to use this change if you don't want to, but you should understand that this skill is significantly more powerful if you can stack fear effects.

The intimidation skill is a social skill involving the threat of force, violence, and other unpleasantries. With it you can scare people into helping or running from you. Those who practice intimidation intensely can scare off larger groups of people, demand obedience from others, and break fear’s grasp over people.

Key Attribute: Charisma

Check Modifiers

Condition	Check Modifier	Example
Took Offensive Action	+2	You just wounded someone in front of your target.
Took Disconcerting Action	+5	You just killed someone in front of your target.
Took Cold Blooded Action	+8	You just killed someone close to your target in cold blood, and made the target watch.

Rushing	Check Modifier
1 minute -> 2 rounds1	-5
2 rounds -> 1 standard action1	-5
1 standard action -> 1 free action1	-5
These conditions stack.

Untrained Uses

Help Me Out Here, Or Else

Fear is a powerful tool in social interactions. If you have at least one minute to interact with someone, you may make someone temporarily more “helpful”. The base DC for this check is 15 + their CR, and you gain a bonus or penalty to your check as indicated in the conditions listed above. The DC is also modified by other situational events as indicated in the table above.

Each intimidation attempt lowers the target’s actual attitude towards you by one step, regardless of whether the check succeeds or fails. If you beat your target’s check result, you may treat the target as friendly towards you, but only for the purpose of actions taken while it remains intimidated. The target retains its normal attitude, but will chat, advise, offer limited help, or advocate on your behalf while intimidated. The duration of this effect depends on your check result. As long as your attempt is successful and you are still present at its expiration, you are entitled to an intimidation check as a standard action to extend the effect without the normal rush penalty.

Base DC: 15 + Character Level
Check Result:

• DC+10 and above: The target is really, really scared of you. They are treated as friendly whenever you interact with them, but they go out of their way to avoid you and may be difficult to track down. They probably leave town or go underground as soon as possible even. This effect lasts until their CR increases or they witness you being defeated.
• DC+5 to DC+9: The target believes that bad things will happen if they don’t try to placate you. They are treated as friendly towards you for 1d6 hours, until their CR increases, or they witness you being defeated.
• DC+0 to DC+4: The target believes that bad things will happen if they don’t try to placate you. They are treated as friendly towards you for 1d6 minutes.
• DC-1 to DC-5: Though you may actually be scary, the target isn’t moved and remains uncooperative.
• DC-6 and below: The target thinks you’re rather annoying when you try to be scary. They openly mock you, provide you with incorrect or useless information, or otherwise frustrate your efforts.

Rank 1 Uses

Shake Resolve

With threats, gestures, and posture you can make even the bravest foe cower. You may attempt to scare off an enemy rather than, or in addition to, trying to stab them in the face. As a standard action, you may attempt to shake the resolve of one target who is either adjacent to you or within your threatened area. The base DC for this check is 15 + their CR. You gain a bonus or penalty to your check as indicated in the conditions listed above. The exact effects are dependent upon your check result.

Note that the conditions generated do not stack with additional uses of this ability or with uses of this ability from other sources. Multiple people trying to intimidate someone is treated as an aid another attempt, not by simply trying to stack these attempts on top of each other.

Base DC: 15 + Character Level
Check Result:

• DC+10 and above: The target is panicked for 1 round, plus 1 additional round for each 2 points your check exceeded 10 over the DC. After this duration they are frightened for 3 rounds, and then shaken for 4 more rounds.
• DC+5 to DC+9: The target is frightened for 1 round, plus 1 additional round for each 2 points your check exceeded 5 more than the DC. After this duration they are shaken for 4 more rounds.
• DC+0 to DC+4: The target is shaken for 2 rounds, plus 1 additional round for each 2 points your check exceeded the DC.
• DC-1 and below: You fail to shake the resolve of your opponent. It’s time to try old fashioned killing.

Rank 4 Uses

Cowards, All of You!

It's easy to project an air of confidence and menace when you know what you're doing. You can get multiple creatures to run from you instead of fighting. When you use the Shake Resolve ability you may target all individuals in your threatened area, as well as up to 1 targets per rank of intimidation that you possess at a range of up to 50 feet. You must have line of sight to all of your targets. No matter how many targets you attempt to affect with this ability, you only make one check. That result is then compared to the DCs for each target. This ability otherwise functions like the Shake Resolve ability.

Rank 6 Uses

Snap Out Of It

Intimidation is a skill all about making people afraid of you, and that fear can be used to break people free from the grip of inaction. Maybe you threaten them, maybe you just glare, the simple fact is that you can shake your friends (or your "friends", in some cases) free of fear and stun effects. You cannot affect yourself with this ability, however, as those conditions detract from your ability to rouse the necessary scariness. To shock someone free of their fear, you make an intimidation check as a standard action. The DC is the effect’s save DC + the effect’s level (in the case of spells like Fear) or 10 + the effect user’s character level + the effect user’s Chr modifier (in the case of supernatural abilities without an effect level, or an intimidation ability used against you). If you succeed on the check, you suppress the ability as indicated in the check result table below, affecting up to 1 target per 2 ranks in intimidation. Only make one roll for the round, and compare that roll to the DCs for each effect to see which are suppressed and which are not.

Base DC: Effect Save DC + Effect level, or 10 + User’s Character Level + Cha mod
Check Result:

• DC+10 and above: You suppress the effect for four rounds without additional checks or actions, at the end of which it is dispelled on your targets. Anyone freed from an effect with this ability is considered to have made a save against it. This probably annoys whoever placed the effect on them in the first place since they must reuse the ability, recast the spell, or otherwise restart its effects.
• DC+5 to DC+9: You suppress the effect in your targets for this round, and may continue suppressing it for up to two additional rounds without an additional check. You must spend a swift action in the additional rounds to keep the effects suppressed however. At the end of that time the effects return if their duration has not expired, though you may make a new check as a standard action to suppress them again.
• DC+0 to DC+4: You suppress the effect in your targets for this round. Next round the effects return if their duration has not expired, though you may make a new check as a standard action to suppress them again
• DC-1 to DC-5: You fail to affect the ability this round, but may try again next round if you like.
• DC-6 and below: Too much fear isn’t helpful. After accidentally talking them deeper into their condition, you become unable to affect this instance of the ability at all. Any further retries are futile, and you should really find something else to do with your actions next round.

Rank 8 Uses

New Orders

You’ve learned which tones of voice work best to get people to obey you without thought. Under most circumstances you can make a target drop what they’re doing and follow your orders instead. As a standard action, you can make a demand of a target that they may follow without question. Targets currently engaged in combat with you can not be affected by this ability. The base DC for this check is 15 + their CR. You gain a bonus or penalty to your check as indicated in the conditions listed above. Targets also become resistant to your control, and you suffer a cumulative -3 penalty for each additional attempt you make on a target, so it is difficult to catch them with it more than once.

If you succeed, they follow brief (20 words or less) instructions from you to the best of their ability. The instructions may not be suicidal or result in obvious harm to the target. How long they follow your instructions depends on your check result.

Base DC: 15 + Character Level, +3 for each additional check, + conditions
Check Result:

• DC+10 and above: The target follows your orders for up to 12 hours. They receive a will save every 10 minutes they remain away from you (DC 10 + half your intimidation bonus) to end the effect immediately.
• DC+5 to DC+9: The target follows your orders for up to 20 minutes. They receive a will save every 5 rounds they remain away from you (DC 10 + half your intimidation bonus) to end the effect immediately.
• DC+0 to DC+4: The target follows your orders for up to 1 minute. They receive a will save every round they remain away from you (DC 10 + half your intimidation bonus) to end the effect immediately.
• DC-1 and below: You fail to order the target around, and they react appropriately to such a failure.

Rank 10 Uses

Shout Them Down

You don’t just shake the resolve of your enemies with your actions and combat prowess, but with your very presence. You can get a lot of creatures to run from you instead of fighting. When you use the Shake Resolve ability you treat your threatened area as 5 feet longer than it actually is. You may target all individuals in this modified threatened area, as well as up to 2 targets per rank of intimidation that you possess at a range of up to 100 feet. You do not require line of sight to a target, you must simply be aware of them. No matter how many targets you attempt to affect with this ability, you only make one check. That result is then compared to the DCs for each target. This ability otherwise functions like the Shake Resolve ability.

Rank 12 Uses

Go Jump Off A Cliff

Some tones of voice can override a person's natural sense of self preservation. You have practiced these tones, and may use them where you feel appropriate. When you issue a demand to a creature with the New Orders ability, you may ask them to perform suicidal or obviously harmful actions. You suffer a -5 penalty to your check when you do so.

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