How do I tell if a character's words and actions provoke an attack from an NPC? Is it wrapped up in one of the skills?
I have a cavalier NPC that one of the PCs (a fighter) is trying to provoke into a fight. The cavalier sees the PC as beneath his station, but at some point he has to deal with this jerk who is all up in his face.
Naturally I can just role-play it, but, well, I am easily provoked in real life. I would have run my sword through this guy long ago, or died trying, and I can feel myself being drawn in by the PCs taunts. I want the NPC to react the way he would, not the way I would.
Any rules cover this? Any good house rules out there?
Well, that's GMing right there.
You can devise a system, but no system will ever prove superior to your own judgement.
If you're not able to restrain your NPC's predilection for violence, might I suggest non-lethal damage as a haughty noble hand slap.
There's the antagonize feat, but that's a mess and frankly not the solution you need.
I personally feel you should be able to use Diplomacy in reverse to achieve this effect.
EL has the right idea. The cavalier will eventually get tired of his nonsense.
"I shall brook no further insult, sir! Meet me at dawn, and we shall joust 'til this offense is resolved, or call yourself a coward! Good day!"
"I shall brook no further insult, sir! Meet me at dawn, and we shall joust 'til this offense is resolved, or call yourself a coward! Good day!"
Exactly, what I was thinking, well said.
I see this a bit too frequently, certain players think that because they are 'PCs' they can get away with anything without repercussions.
You know the type. They walk into the throne room, grab the queen's butt, plop down on a seat and tell the king, "Listen up, bub, here's what you're gonna do."
"Guards."
"Hey, wait you can't do that. We're PCs."
King says, "What the hell is a PC? Doesn't matter. Fetch the Royal Executioner, immediately! We won't wait for dawn."
EL has the right idea. The cavalier will eventually get tired of his nonsense.
"I shall brook no further insult, sir! Meet me at dawn, and we shall joust 'til this offense is resolved, or call yourself a coward! Good day!"
I am memorizing this line word for word. Thank you.
Awesome! It's rare that anyone takes my advice. This is a lucky omen. Think I'll buy some lotto tix! lol