Mechanic to enhance roleplay by giving NPCs likes and dislikes to modify social rolls and charm/frighten

Fears. penalties to saves against frighten or bonuses to intimidation
hates
dislikes
likes
loves

The DM can choose to roll 1-3 of these for an npc, with an additional rolltable of subjects (e.g. dogs, spiders, other sexes, darkness etc.)

alt: 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90, 91-100 terror, fear, hate, dislike, neutral, like, love, ?, enamor ^ would need something to go in the 8th slot (crave?)

1d100	Opinion	Suggested Effects
1-5	Terror	Same effects as fear, except the bonus or penalty increases to 5. The target can still be frightened by this thing even if they are otherwise immune to the frightened condition.
6-15	Fear	The target has -2 penalty on saving throws against being being frightened by this thing. The target has a +2 bonus to saving throws against being charmed by this thing, Charisma (Intimidation) checks agaisnt the target that involve this thing have a +2 bonus. All other Charisma checks against the target that involve this thing have a -2 penalty.
16-20	Hate	Same effects as dislike, except the bonus or penalty increases to 5. The target has disadvantage on saving throws against being compelled to harm this thing, such as with the compelled duel or suggestion spell.
21-30	Dislike	The target has a +2 bonus to saving throws against being charmed by this thing.<\li> Charisma (Persuasion and Deception) checks that involve this thing have a -2 penalty against this target, or a +2 bonus if they involve the this thing negativiely, such as insulting it or offering to harm it.
31-70	Neutral	No effects.
71-85	Like	The target has a +2 bonus to saving throws against being frightened by this thing.<\li> Charisma (Persuasion and Deception) checks that involve this thing have a +2 bonus against this target, or a +2 penalty if they involve the this thing negativiely, such as insulting it or offering to harm it.
86-95	Love	Same effects as like, except the bonus or penalty increases to 5. The target has advantage on saving throws against being compelled to harm this thing, such as with the compelled duel or suggestion spell.
96-100	Enamored	Same effects as love plus the below. The target can still be charmed by this thing even if they are otherwise immune to the charmed condition.

Score	Result	Examples
1	*No, and...* The negotiator does not get want they want. In addition, they gain some negative consequence.	The guard not only refuses to let the negotiator past but gets annoyed and attempts to arrest them. The merchant refuses to give a discount and bans the negotiator from the store, threatening to call the guards if they don't leave.
2	*No.* The negotiator does not get what they want.	The collector refuses to sell the prized artifact.
3	*No, but...* The negotiator does not get what they want. However, they may gain some lesser benefit.
4	*Yes, but...* The negotiator gets more or less what they want, if possible. However, there is an additional cost.	The mercenary agrees to help the negotiator break into a vault, but only if they get a larger share of the loot. The governor will pardon the negotiator if they do a small quest for them.
5	*Yes.* The negotiator gets more or less what they want, if possible.	The farmer agrees to sell his horse.
6	*Yes, and...* The negotiator gets more or less what they want, if possible. In addition, they gain additional benefits.	The thief not only tells the negotiator the location of their guild's secret base but also gives them the passcode to get in.

Variant: Negotiation

Motivators. Motivators are things that may encourage an NPC to cooperate. They can be things the NPC likes, goals they strive towards or wip

Not all Motivators must be positive. For example, a character might hate their commanding officer, and the opportunity to embarrass or dispose them could count as a Motivator. The DM may also decide that appeasing the commanding officer counts as a Demotivator.

NPCs will typically have two Motivators, though the DM may decide as many or as few as they wish. See the Motivators table below for examples of Motivators.

Demotivators.

wip

Not all Motivators must be negative. For example, an NPC might like or even pity a particular group of people, actions that may harm or disadvantage themcould be seen as Demotivators. The DM might also decide that aiding these people counts as a Motivator.

NPCs will typically have two Demotivators, though the DM may decide as many or as few as they wish. See the Demotivatorstable below for examples of Demotivators.

Interest.

Patience.

How it Works

A PC attempts to convince (or coerce) an NPC to fufill some request, such as giving something to them or letting them pass without raising the alarm. The PC makes their initial request and the DM decides if the matter is easily resolved or whether to begin a negotiation.
If a negotiation begins, the DM decides the NPC's current interest in fulfilling the request and their patience. If the NPC is already friendly to the PC they may have a higher starting interest and patience (See Starting Stats above). If they haven't already, the DM may wish to decide the NPC's Motivators and Demotivators.
The PC makes an argument, such as wip. The DM may decide to consider the Argument successful or call for an appropriate check.
- If the argument involves a Demotivator, the argument is unlikely to succeed (+5 to a check's DC). On a success, the target's interest does not change and their Patience reduces by 1. On a fail, the target's interest and patience decreases by 1. The target might warn the PC not to mention the topic again.
- If the argument does not involve a Demotivator, but does appeal to a Motivator that has not already been appealed to, the argument is more likely to succeed (-5 to a check's DC). On a success, the target's interest increases by 1. On a fail, neither the target's interest or patience change. If an argument appeals to a Motivator that has already been appealed to, the argument fails and the target's patience decreases by 1.
- If the argument does not involve a Motivator or a Demotivator, the argument could go either way (no change to the check's DC). On a succcess, the target's interest increases by 1 and their patience decreases by 1. On fail, both their interest and patience decrease by 1.
When the NPC's patience reaches 0, or the PC decides to end negotiation, the NPC will make a final offer and cannot be negotiated with further for the same thing.

Outcome

Interest Score	Result	Examples
1	*No, and...* The negotiator does not get want they want. In addition, they gain some negative consequence.	The guard not only refuses to let the negotiator past but gets annoyed and attempts to arrest them. The merchant refuses to give a discount and bans the negotiator from the store, threatening to call the guards if they don't leave.
2	*No.* The negotiator does not get what they want.	The collector refuses to sell the prized artifact.
3	*No, but...* The negotiator does not get what they want. However, they may gain some lesser benefit.
4	*Yes, but...* The negotiator gets more or less what they want, if possible. However, there is an additional cost.	The mercenary agrees to help the negotiator break into a vault, but only if they get a larger share of the loot. The governor will pardon the negotiator if they do a small quest for them.
5	*Yes.* The negotiator gets more or less what they want, if possible.	The farmer agrees to sell his horse.
6	*Yes, and...* The negotiator gets more or less what they want, if possible. In addition, they gain additional benefits.	The thief not only tells the negotiator the location of their guild's secret base but also gives them the passcode to get in.

Learning Motivators and Demotivators

Researching your target can be a great asset to manipulating people.

jackhaydock / Jackalope_Homebrew

NPC Negotiation #127

Variant: Negotiation

How it Works

Outcome

Learning Motivators and Demotivators