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Two players in my current game have put a fair amount of focus on intimidate. Both are half-orcs with maxed ranks and the Intimidating Prowess feat. But they both feel that, even were success guaranteed and affecting multiple targets with Dazzling Display, investing actions or powers into making foes shaken isn't really wortwhile.
I'd rather not add Antagonize into the game, both because it doesn't feel like "intimidate" to me and because I'd rather feats make the skill better rather than providing its basic functions.
I've been considering two additional abilities for intimidate:
Spook
As a standard action, you can startle an character in melee range, causing them to drop their guard against your allies. If you succeed in an Intimidate check against the target, they provoke an attack of opportunity from every enemy that can reach them other than you.
If you fail, the target can make an attack of opportunity against you.
Choked by Fear
When a fearful opponent provokes an attack of opportunity from you with movement or an action, you can make an intimidate check in place of the attack. If it succeeds they hesitate with fear, losing the action.
If they provoked you by casting a spell, the spell is lost as though they failed a concentration check. If they provoked you by moving, they stop in the threatened square. If they provoked you by using a ranged weapon, they flinch, fouling the shot.
Any enemy with the shaken, frightened, or panicked condition is considered fearful. Other enemies can be considered fearful at the DM's discretion.
DCs
The other half of the problem is figuring out Intimidate DCs constantly, which will only get worse if I make them want to use the skill. I'd love to be able to roll it into another number that actually appears in the standard stat block.
Here's what I've been thinking so far:
- Instead of a set DC, it's rolled opposed to a Will save. This allows shaken to help other Intimidate uses and lets fighter's bravery oppose Intimidate.
- Instead of a set DC, make an opposed intimidate check. This is just there for the awesome visual, really. Would probably be an option in the vein of "Will save or intimidate check."
- As one of the above, but 10 + the modifier like Feint. So 10 + will save modifier or 10 + intimidate modifier. Would make resolving dazzling display faster, but rolled saves are good enough for fireballs.
- Instead of a separate DC, it's just rolled against CMD. This neatly handles the size issue and makes it more comparable with other combat actions.
So that's what I'm thinking so far. Spook would be a new combat maneuver, so it'd have a little feat tree in the same vein as Feint.
Any feedback would be appreciated. I'm just kicking around ideas at this point.
For reference the intimidators in the party are a barbarian 3/cleric 1/fighter 1 and a monk 4/rogue 1. The other party member is a ranger 4/sorcerer 1 heading for arcane archer, so spook wouldn't get terribly out of hand.
Cheers!
Landon