Tome of Prowess (3.5e Sourcebook)/Affability

Affability

Affability is a social skill. It allows you to influence how people feel about you, and use their fondness for you to push them a bit farther than they would go for others. Those with exceptional skill in affability can talk others out of blinding rages or into potentially suicidal actions.

Key Attribute: Charisma

DC Modifiers

Target Rapport	Example	DC Modifier
Murderous	Tries to murder you on sight, and is more likely to scream at you than say something. May stalk you, looking for an opening.	+9
Hateful	Hates you and would probably frame or stab you if they could get away with it.	+6
Unfriendly	Dislikes you and would passively frustrate your goals.	+3
Indifferent	Has no inclination to help or hinder you.	+0
Friendly	Likes you and would assist you if it’s convenient.	-3
Helpful	Likes you and would assist you just because you asked.	-6
Devoted	Is devoted to you and tries to assist you without being asked. Actual “assistance” may not be particularly helpful. May stalk you, looking for an opportunity to help.	-9

Nature vs. Relationship

The above rapport options reflect a personal relationship with another creature. The actions of any particular creature towards you are going to be strongly influenced by their intelligence level and their alignment in addition to their rapport with you. A helpful evil character may still stab you, and a murderous good one may still stop you from being stabbed. A helpful chaotic character may go out of their way to make your life interesting, even when you don’t want it to be, while a hateful lawful character may bend the rules to worsen otherwise trivial bureaucratic roadblocks for you. A helpful executioner may still lop off your head, even if they feel really badly about it. In short, these rapport values help determine what the creature does within the bounds of their temperament and duty towards you, not determine their actions towards you universally. Similarly, creatures that don’t have a personal relationship with you don’t necessarily have a rapport that matches up with the actions they’re taking against you. Just because a creature that does not know you attacks you on sight does not mean that their rapport with you is murderous. It more likely means that their rapport with you was unfriendly and you were invading their territory, that they’re evil and they felt like picking on you, that they’re a brigand trying to rob you to make a living, or some other “business as usual” reason. If there happens to be a strong racial enmity between your race and theirs, their rapport with you might even be hateful. But they are extremely unlikely to be murderous towards you, as the emotions that power a hate stalker are very focused. As a general rule, bandits should be indifferent, guards defending their home from armed invaders should be unfriendly, racial enemies with long standing feuds should be hateful, and the poor barkeep that you personally drove over the edge when you ruined their life (intentionally or otherwise) should be murderous. These rapport values with strangers allow you to use these skill abilities to talk yourself out of fights and make friends of those who would be your enemy because of circumstance as opposed to personal reasons. Remember, the question your DM should be asking is “how does this creature feel about the character” and not “what is this creature doing to the character”.

Check Modifiers

Condition	Check Modifier
Rushing a 10 minute action to a 2 ½ minutes action	-5
Rushing a 5 minute action to a 1 minute action	-5
Rushing a 2 ½ minute action to a 5 round action	-5
Rushing a 1 minute action to a 2 round action	-5
Rushing a 5 round action to a 1 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
Do not share a language with the target	-5

Minimum Rank 0 Uses

Push an Agreement

Sometimes you can present an agreement or offer that the other party is hesitant to accept. Maybe you have to talk people into going along with a crazy plan or otherwise helping you out when they don’t really want to, or maybe they’re just being indecisive. You can push them a bit and get people to agree when they otherwise might not, just because you’re a nice guy who knows how to talk to people.

If you propose an agreement or a course of action that the other party accepts without falsehood, no check is allowed. When both parties agree to a deal there is no need to push it and no need for a period of compliance since both parties will want to uphold it anyway. If you discern that a target is lying about their intent to complete an agreement, you may push it normally.

Agreements that you push will fall into one of three categories: favorable, acceptable, or unacceptable. A favorable agreement is one that the target would accept happily, but has some minor reason not to do so immediately. You may need to push a favorable agreement on a target that is looking for a better deal than the one offered, a target that wants to discuss the agreement with others first, or a target that does not understand why it is in their favor. A step down from an acceptable agreement is a tolerable one. These agreements must be something the target would consider agreeing to, even if it’s not something that would make them happy. Most hard-fought compromises (political and otherwise) fall into this category. A tolerable agreement cannot involve the target doing something self-destructive, against their nature, or otherwise completely opposed to their values, duties, obligations, or self-interest. A repugnant agreement is one that may be against their nature, self-destructive, or anything else the target would strongly object to. These are the sorts of things that people simply don’t agree to unless tricked or pushed.

The number of people you can press at any given time, the type of agreement that you can get people to agree to, and the time you have to spend doing so are all determined by your ranks in the skill. The time required to push an agreement on a target is in addition to the time required to present the agreement in the first place. Once you have presented an agreement and spent the required time pressing it, you make an Affability check against a DC of 13 + the target’s CR + the target’s Wis modifier + the target’s rapport with you. Their acceptance of and feelings towards the deal are indicated in the check results below, as well as a minimum amount of time that they will abide by the various types of agreements. If you fail to live up to your part of the agreement (if any) and the target learns of your violation, they may also break the agreement regardless of the time that has passed. They may instead try to convince you to comply, depending on their temperament, the nature of the agreement, and the severity of your violation.

If you are attempting to push a deal on multiple targets, the same deal is pushed on each one during a check. Your check is compared against each of their individual DCs, affecting those with a lower CR first. If you succeed on pushing an agreement onto a portion of a group, you may still wind up with the whole of the group going along with the agreement. This generally happens when you convince a leader or a majority of the group to accept your agreement. While this can get an agreement in place, it won’t stop unconvinced members from attempting to sabotage or obstruct the agreement if they are sufficiently opposed to it. You will almost always have better results if you convince more people of the merits of your plan (regardless of its actual merits).

DC: 13 + target’s CR + target’s Wisdom mod + target’s rapport modifier
Check	Result
DC+10 and above	They agree to the deal, and feel pretty good about it regardless of how opposed they were initially. They will stick to the terms of the agreement until completed unless given substantial and new reasons to abandon them.
DC+5 to DC+9	They agree to the deal, and feel pretty good about it for a while. They will only stick to the terms of an agreement for a maximum of 1 day, or until completed, after which time they may have second thoughts. If they agreed to a repugnant agreement, they are no longer bound to uphold it after that period and may break, distort, or attempt to re-negotiate at their discretion.
DC+0 to DC+4	They agree to the deal, and feel pretty good about it at first. They will stick to the terms of an agreement for at least 8 hours, or until completed, after which time they may have second thoughts. If they agreed to a repugnant agreement, they are no longer bound to uphold it after that period and may break, distort, or attempt to re-negotiate at their discretion. Additionally, their rapport with you decreases one degree (but not worse than the lower of hateful or their starting rapport).
DC-1 to DC-5	They agree to a favorable or acceptable deal, and feel ok about it at first. They will stick to the terms of an agreement for at least 1 hour, or until completed, after which time they may have second thoughts. If they agreed to a tolerable agreement, they are no longer bound to uphold it after that period and may break, distort, or attempt to re-negotiate at their discretion. Additionally, their rapport with you decreases one degree (but not worse than the lower of hateful or their starting rapport). If you offered a repugnant agreement, they refuse the deal and continue on as normal. Their rapport with you decreases one degree (but not worse than hateful).
DC-6 and below	They refuse the deal, regardless of its terms, and continue on as normal. New terms must be proposed if a deal is to be reached, and they should generally be better for the other side. If you offered an acceptable or repugnant agreement, their rapport with you shifts negatively one degree (but not worse than the lower of hateful or their starting rapport).

Haggling

Haggling is common in the genre and people want to be able to do it, and this ability seems like it would be a good fit for haggling. Its primary function is to get people to agree to things like discounts that they wouldn’t normally agree to, after all. But haggling for every item also slows the game down substantially, offers a gear advantage similar to crafting all of your own stuff, and puts the spotlight on a single player while it is happening. As a result, it can be somewhat problematic for games. So while this skill ability can perform the function, it is not a core function of the ability. Instead it is relegated to a sidebar; you should confirm with your DM whether haggling of any sort will be allowed in the game as a function of this skill ability. If allowed, any attempt to buy an item for less than or equal it what it cost the merchant, or to sell an item to a merchant for more than or equal to they could re-sell it, is considered a repugnant agreement. A discount or increase that lies no more than halfway between the market price and the cost price (25% for most magical gear) is considered an acceptable agreement. Additionally, a merchant may substitute the item’s level instead of their own when determining the DC of this check. If you make this check and fail, you should simply buy the item for full price instead of making another attempt. While this is not the way a normal haggling attempt would proceed, it works as a way of keeping the haggling checks from taking up too much time.

Ability Progression

Rank	Benefit
0	You may push a favorable agreement on 1 target as a 5-minute action. You may push an acceptable agreement on 1 target as a 5-minute action, with a -3 penalty to your check. You may not push a repugnant agreement with this level of skill. Any target must be within your natural reach and be able to communicate with you for the duration of the attempt.
2	You may push a favorable agreement on 1 target as a 5-minute action, with a +3 bonus to your check. You may push an acceptable agreement on 1 target as a 5-minute action. You may not push a repugnant agreement with this level of skill. Any target must be within your natural reach and be able to communicate with you for the duration of the attempt.
4	You may push a favorable agreement on up to 4 targets as a 1-minute action, with a +3 bonus to your check. You may push an acceptable agreement on up to 4 targets as a 1-minute action. You may not push a repugnant agreement with this level of skill. Any target must be within your natural reach and be able to communicate with you for the duration of the attempt.
6	You may push a favorable agreement on up to 10 targets as a 1-minute action, with a +3 bonus to your check. You may push an acceptable agreement on up to 10 targets as a 1-minute action. You may not push a repugnant agreement with this level of skill. Any target must be within twice your natural reach and be able to communicate with you for the duration of the attempt.
8	You may push a favorable agreement on up to 20 targets as a 1-minute action, with a +3 bonus to your check. You may push an acceptable agreement on up to 20 targets as a 1-minute action. You may not push a repugnant agreement with this level of skill. Any target must be within four times your natural reach and be able to communicate with you for the duration of the attempt.
10	You may push a favorable agreement on any number of targets within range as a 1-minute action, with a +3 bonus to your check. You may push an acceptable agreement on any number of targets within range as a 1-minute action. You may push a repugnant agreement on 1 target as a 5-minute action, with a -3 penalty to your check. Any target must be within four times your natural reach and be able to communicate with you for the duration of the attempt.
12	You may push a favorable agreement on any number of targets within range as a 1-minute action, with a +3 bonus to your check. You may push an acceptable agreement on any number of targets within range as a 1-minute action. You may push a repugnant agreement on 1 target as a 5-minute action. Any target must be within 10 times your natural reach and be able to communicate with you for the duration of the attempt.
14	You may push a favorable agreement on any number of targets within range as a 1-minute action, with a +3 bonus to your check. You may push an acceptable agreement on any number of targets within range as a 1-minute action. You may push a repugnant agreement on up to 4 targets as a 1-minute action. Any target must be within 10 times your natural reach and be able to communicate with you for the duration of the attempt.

Minimum Rank 2 Uses

Improve Rapport

You know how to win friends and influence people, and a smile or kind word from you can melt even the coldest heart. With a bit of time, you can get people to like you more than they otherwise would. This is a natural shift in rapport, one that is not magically enforced. If you mistreat or disappoint a person after changing their rapport with you, they are likely to respond more negatively than before. No one likes fakers after all.

The number of people that you can improve your rapport with at any given time, the maximum rapport you can achieve, and the time you have to spend doing so is determined by your ranks in the skill. Once you have spent the required time with a target, you make an Affability check against a DC of 13 + the target’s CR + the target’s Wis modifier + the target’s rapport with you. The degree to which you improve your rapport with them is determined by your check result, and capped by your skill level.

If you are attempting to improve your standing with multiple targets, your check is compared against each of their individual DCs, affecting those with a lower CR first. If you succeed on getting a portion of the group to like you, the rest may accept you more readily even if you do not attempt to gain their favor as well. If you are worried about saying something terrible in front of a well regarded individual, you can instead impress their friends and allow them to speak well of you.

You may not retry this check during the same encounter, but you may use it on someone multiple times over multiple meetings. If you use this ability on a person who remembers you in a later encounter, their actual rapport modifier is replaced by a +10 DC penalty if it would be worse than their normal rapport modifier. It is difficult to remake a strong impression after all.

DC: 13 + target’s CR + target’s Wisdom mod + target’s rapport modifier
Check	Result
DC+10 and above	You shift their rapport up to 3 steps in the positive direction.
DC+5 to DC+9	You shift their rapport up to 2 steps in the positive direction.
DC+0 to DC+4	You shift their rapport up to 1 steps in the positive direction.
DC-1 to DC-5	You fail to shift their rapport at all.
DC-6 and below	You say something that they take absolutely the wrong way and shift their rapport 1 step in the negative direction (to a minimum of hateful or their initial rapport with you). They probably won’t assault you for it though.

Ability Progression

Rank	Benefit
2	You may improve your rapport, to a maximum of friendly, with 1 target as a 10-minute action. You may not improve a rapport beyond friendly with this level of skill. Any target must be within your natural reach and be able to communicate with you for the duration of the attempt.
4	You may improve your rapport, to a maximum of friendly, with up to 4 targets as a 10-minute action. You may not improve a rapport beyond friendly with this level of skill. Any target must be within your natural reach and be able to communicate with you for the duration of the attempt.
6	You may improve your rapport, to a maximum of friendly, with up to 10 targets as a 10-minute action. You may instead improve your rapport, to a maximum of helpful, with 1 target as a 10-minute action. You may not improve a rapport beyond helpful with this level of skill. Any target must be within twice your natural reach and be able to communicate with you for the duration of the attempt.
8	You may improve your rapport, to a maximum of friendly, with up to 20 targets as a 10-minute action. You may instead improve your rapport, to a maximum of helpful, with up to 4 targets as a 10-minute action. You may not improve a rapport beyond helpful with this level of skill. Any target must be within four times your natural reach and be able to communicate with you for the duration of the attempt.
10	You may improve your rapport, to a maximum of friendly, with any number of targets within range as a 10-minute action. You may instead improve your rapport, to a maximum of helpful, with up to 10 targets as a 10-minute action. Lastly, you may improve your rapport, to a maximum of devoted, with 1 target as a 10-minute action. Any target must be within four times your natural reach and be able to communicate with you for the duration of the attempt.
12	You may improve your rapport, to a maximum of friendly, with any number of targets within range as a 10-minute action. You may instead improve your rapport, to a maximum of helpful, with up to 20 targets as a 10-minute action. Lastly, you may improve your rapport, to a maximum of devoted, with up to 4 targets as a 10-minute action. Any target must be within 10 times your natural reach and be able to communicate with you for the duration of the attempt.
14	You may improve your rapport, to a maximum of friendly, with any number of targets within range as a 10-minute action. You may instead improve your rapport, to a maximum of helpful, with any number of targets within range as a 10-minute action. Lastly, you may improve your rapport, to a maximum of devoted, with up to 10 targets as a 10-minute action. Any target must be within 10 times your natural reach and be able to communicate with you for the duration of the attempt.

Minimum Rank 4 Uses

Delay Aggression

Sometimes people try to stab you before you can give them a reason not to. You can delay a hostile creature from attacking you and your allies with just a moment and a well turned phrase. Delay is the key word here, as it does not last long and you may not be able to hold an opponent back once the attack has begun.

Using this ability requires a standard action and an affability check. The DC for this check is 16 + a CR chosen by you that does not exceed your own + the average rapport with you of the target group. Your level is used as a cap in this check instead of their level since your check result determines the strength of the group that you can delay relative to your own power, as indicated in the table below. Opponents with the lowest CR are affected first, up to the total EL determined by the check. A creature that has already been attacked by you or your allies, or who has already begun to attack you or your allies, is treated as having a CR 2 points higher for determining when and if they are affected. Similarly, a creature that has been previously affected by your use of this ability is treated as having a CR 2 points higher. These effective increases stack.

If you succeed, a number of your opponents pause their aggression for 2 rounds. Affected targets will not approach within 30 (or approach further if they are already within this distance) or take offensive action on their turn. They may take defensive or support actions, however, including maneuvering for position, healing, buffing, and so on. If you wish to delay them after that point, you must succeed on an additional check on your next turn or give them some other reason not to attack, such that they change their mind on their own. Any obvious attempt at escape as well as any obviously aggressive action by you or your affected allies automatically ends this delay, leaving your attackers free to do as they like.

DC: 16 + selected CR (not to exceed your own) + average rapport with you of target group
Check	Result
DC+10 and above	You affect a group of creatures whose EL does not exceed your selected CR+4, and you may affect creatures in the group with a CR up to your selected CR+2.
DC+5 to DC+9	You affect a group of creatures whose EL does not exceed your selected CR+2, and you may affect creatures in the group with a CR up to your selected CR.
DC+0 to DC+4	You affect a group of creatures whose EL does not exceed your selected CR, and you may affect creatures in the group with a CR up to your selected CR.
DC-1 to DC-5	You affect a group of creatures whose EL does not exceed your selected CR-2, and you may affect creatures in the group with a CR up to your selected CR-2.
DC-6 and below	You fail affect anyone at all. If their intent was to bring violence to you, that is what your opponents do.

Ability Progression

Rank	Benefit
4	As the base skill ability.
8	As the base skill ability. Additionally, any creature you affect with a CR 4 or more less than yours ceases to desire to fight you at all. They don’t necessarily become your ally, but they may try to convince any remaining hostile members of the group to just let you go about your business.
12	As the base skill ability. Additionally, any creature you affect with a CR 4 or more less than yours ceases to desire to fight you at all. Creatures with a CR of 8 or more less than yours have their rapport shifted positively by one degree or to indifferent, whichever is higher. They don’t necessarily become your ally, but they may try to convince any remaining hostile members of the group to just let you go about your business.

Minimum Rank 8 Uses

Voice of Serenity

It really is hard to get or stay mad at you. When you turn on the charm, marshals find it hard to inspire either courage or ire against you and even berserkers find you difficult to hate. You can counter morale and rage effects just by talking to your foes.

As a standard action, you can make an affability check to suppress a morale bonus, rage bonus, or emotion effect. The DC for this check is the effect’s save DC + the effect’s level in the case of spells like Mindless Rage or Bless, and 10 + the effect user’s character level + the effect user’s Cha modifier in the case of class abilities like Rage or Inspire Courage that otherwise have no save. If you succeed on the check, you suppress the ability as indicated in the check result table below. The number of targets you can calm in this fashion is dependent on your skill.

DC: effect save DC + effect level, or 10 + initiator’s CR + initiator’s Charisma modifier
Check	Result
DC+10 and above	You suppress the effect for 3 rounds without additional checks or actions, at the end of which it is dispelled.
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	You not only fail to impact the targeted effect, but also plant your foot firmly in your mouth and become unable to affect this instance of the targeted effect at all. Any further retries against this instance of the effect are automatic failures.

Ability Progression

Rank	Benefit
8	You may affect up to 4 creatures at once. All creatures must be within 20’ of each other.
10	You may affect up to 10 creatures at once. All creatures must be within 40’ of each other.
12	You may affect up to 20 creatures at once. All creatures must be within 60’ of each other.

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