DIPLOMAT
Diplomats are skilled in applying the most potent of weapons: words. And when that fails, a dagger to the kidney can do in a pinch.
Diplomats include court ambassadors, merchants, exotic dancers, spies, poets, and all manner of conniving sorts.
Note that many magicians of diverse sorts are diplomats, relying on their understanding of human nature to give advice or influence those around them. This can be well-meaning and honest belief in divination or cold-hearted manipulation. Enchanters, fortune-tellers, prophets, and others may also be diplomats.
A particular powerful ‘enchantment’ can drive men mad. Such power, of course, has no appreciable effect on animals and other creatures.
Hit Die: d6
Class Skills
Appraise, Bluff, Craft, Diplomacy, Disguise, Escape Artist, Intimidate, Knowledge (all), Linguistics, Perception, Perform, Profession, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Stealth.
Skill Ranks per Level: 8
Lvl BAB F R W Special
1 +0 +0 +2 +2 Worldly, Silver-tongued, Keen
2 +1 +0 +3 +3 Beguile, sneak attack +1d6
3 +1 +1 +3 +3 Rumormonger, Enchanting performance
4 +2 +1 +4 +4 Sneak attack +2d6
5 +2 +1 +4 +4 Calm words
6 +3 +2 +5 +5 Sneak attack +3d6, Go for broke
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: All simple weapons, rapier.
Worldly: A diplomat adds half his class levels (minimum 1) to all Knowledge skill checks, and may make Knowledge checks untrained.
Silver-tongued: A diplomat adds half his class levels (minimum 1) to Bluff and Diplomacy.
Keen: A diplomat adds half his class levels (minimum 1) to Perception and Sense Motive.
Beguile: The diplomat may use diplomacy for the normal applications of intimidate (temporary good will and demoralize). The demoralize effect is confusion, and is not a fear effect. Like with intimidation, the targets will be quite upset with the diplomat once they’ve gotten things sorted out. Ideally, the diplomat is nowhere close when this happens.
Beguiling, unlike intimidation, requires that the target have an Intelligence of at least 3 and share a language with the diplomat.
Sneak attack: As the rogue ability. While diplomats don’t have quite the martial skill of a rogue, diplomats often find that the most compelling arguments are quite pointed.
Rumormonger: Application of diplomacy can spread information, true or otherwise, normally. A rumormonger can turn background talk into a finely hewn weapon.
It takes at least a day to properly start a network of rumors. Treat this as a demoralization attempt using Diplomacy skill, except the range is anywhere within a community (city, district, generally some coherent ‘block’ of people and gossip).
Unless the diplomat knows the area reasonably well, the target may have hefty circumstance bonuses to resist.
This is considered a mind-affecting fear effect.
If successful, the target is shaken for a week (though events may halt the effect). If unsuccessful, the diplomat cannot try again, against that target, for at least a month.
Rumormongering can only be attempted once a week.
Enchanting performance (Ex): The character can place a Bluff, Intimidate, or Diplomacy check within a Performance. Onlookers (or readers) may make a Sense Motive check vs. the Perform result. If the audience fails, then the other check applies. If the audience succeeds, the attempt is recognized for what it is (though the audience member may not necessarily care).
In this way, a diplomat can effectively embed propaganda in books, character assassinate through a play, or stir up passions with a particularly evocative dance.
Calm words: A diplomat may take 10 with Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive even when stress would normally prevent it.
Go for broke: A diplomat may decide to increase the risk of a Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate check. If successful, the benefit is greatly increased (such as an extra step of improved attitude, or much more compelled belief with Bluff). However, failure and any other negative effects are increased even more-so (generally, the targets are likely to drop several steps and want the diplomat’s head).
