Tome of Prowess (3.5e Sourcebook)/Intimidation

Intimidation

Fear Effect Stacking

The Intimidation skill was written with the intention of being used in an environment where fear effects don't stack, such as under this variant rule, not specifically included in this work. You can let the fear effects in this skill and in spells stack, both with themselves and each other, if you want to, but you should understand that this skill is significantly more powerful in these instances.

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 or finished off someone in front of your target.
Took disconcerting action	+5	You just brutally killed or tortured someone in front of your target.
Target is helpless or unable to escape	+5	Your target is helpless, chained to a wall, chained on a rack, or similarly restrained.
Second attempt	−10	Target has already had their resolve shaken by you within the last hour or been given new orders within the last day.
Rushing a 1 minute action to a 2 round action	-5	—
Rushing a 2 round action to a standard action	-5	—
Rushing a 1 round or full-round action to a standard action	-3	—
Rushing a standard action to a move action	-2	—
Rushing a standard or move action to a swift action	-5	—

Rank 1 Uses

Coerce Assistance

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 level + the higher of their Strength or Constitution modifiers + any save modifiers they possess against [Fear] effects. Each intimidation attempt lowers the target’s actual attitude towards you by one step, regardless of whether the check succeeds or fails. (See Affability for a description of attitudes.) 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 toward you, 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 + Higher of Strength or Constitution modifiers + [Fear] bonuses
Check Result:

• DC+10 and above: The target is really, really scared of you. They are treated as helpful whenever you interact with them, but they go out of their way to avoid you and may be difficult to track down. In fact, they will probably leave town or go underground as soon as possible. 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 helpful 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. You suffer a −10 penalty to further attempts to intimidate them.
• DC-6 and below: The target thinks you’re rather annoying or amusing when you try to be scary. They openly mock you, provide you with incorrect or useless information, or otherwise frustrate your efforts. You suffer a −15 penalty to further attempts to intimidate them, so it's probably not worth the effort, but you could always make an example of them.

Rank 4 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. This is a [Fear] effect. The base DC for this check is 15 + the target's level + the higher of their Strength or Constitution modifiers + any save modifiers they possess against [Fear] effects. The DC is further modified by the difference between your level and your target's level; it is easier to shake the resolve of a creature weaker than yourself than it is a creature stronger than yourself. You gain a bonus or penalty to your check as indicated in the conditions listed above, including a −10 penalty to your checks for each additional attempt you make on a target. If you didn't scare them the first time, you're not likely to scare them if you try again. 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.

Base DC: 15 + Target's Character Level + Greater of Target's Strength or Constitution modifiers + Target's [Fear] bonuses + Difference in Levels (i.e. Target's Level − Your 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. And since you're unlikely to succeed on a second try, it’s time to find a new target or try old-fashioned killing.

Rank 6 Uses

Shout Them Down

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 by accepting a −5 penalty to your check. For the purposes of this ability, your threatened area is considered to reach an additional 5 feet for every 2 ranks in intimidation above 6 you possess. You may exclude any targets within this area that you like from the effect. You must have line of sight to a target to affect 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.

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] effects and the stun condition. You may only affect these conditions if their remaining duration is less than 1 hour. You cannot affect yourself with this ability, however, as those conditions detract from your ability to rouse the necessary scariness. To shock someone free, 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 Cha 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. 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. This condition is a [Fear] effect. Targets must be able to see and hear you clearly to be affected by this ability, and may not be currently engaged in combat with you. The base DC for this check is 15 + their level + their charisma modifier + any save modifiers they posses against [Fear] effects. The DC is further modified by the difference between your level and your target's level; it is easier to order around a creature weaker than yourself than it is a creature stronger than yourself. 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 −10 penalty to your checks for each additional attempt you make on a target. It is difficult to catch a target more than once with this ability.

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 + Target's Character Level + Target's Charisma Modifier + Target's [Fear] bonuses, + Difference in Levels (i.e. Target's Level − Your Level)
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

Cowards, All of You!

You don’t just shake the resolve of your enemies with your actions and combat prowess, but with your very presence. You don't even have to know a creature is present to make it run from you instead of fighting. When you use the Shout Them Down ability, you may reduce your effective reach by 5 feet to eliminate the line of sight requirement, but the target must still be able to hear or otherwise recognize your presence. This ability otherwise functions like the Shout Them Down 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.

Additionally, you may now affect all targets within a 15 foot radius with your New Orders ability, or any two targets no farther than 30 feet apart, if you accept a −5 penalty to your check. When you attempt to affect multiple targets, you make only one roll and compare it to each of their DCs.

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