Settlement modifiers

[Bandw2]

from here.

do (positive) settlement modifiers like Law make it easier or harder for you to diplomacy a government official? like would they instead be reversed if you were trying to diplomacy a guard to do something illegal or allow you to do something illegal?

also Crime says low numbers mean your relatively safe, but wouldn't it be easier to exploit a town with a low crime mod? not make the rolls harder? OR do these apply to the DCs of things?

[Battle-Chef]

You'll want to look at Corruption. The higher the Corruption, the more likely government officials (and guards) will take bribes. High Crime will result in a town ridden with bandits and the like. While a low Law doesn't mean the town is lawless, it just has less rules there. A high Law will have guards on high alert for crimes, but it will also make it's citizens a bit more 'cooperative' from intimidation.

[Chemlak]

RAW, yes, you're absolutely right.

However...

The settlement modifiers are best thought of as the general position the populace has regarding the relevant activities barring outside influences (like, say, PCs).

A settlement with high Law has friendly guards, who are easy to talk to and will be pleasant as long as you behave in accordance with the rules. A settlement with low Crime is one where either the law enforcement is so strong that criminals can't get a foothold, or one where the people feel safe with each other, and trust each other.

Whilst the rules take a simplistic view of the actions which gain a positive modifier within the settlement, the GM is absolutely within their right to play around with things. For example, if my PCs were to try to persuade a city guard to let them break into a warehouse (without a good reason that the guard knew of before speaking to the PCs), I'd up the DC by the settlement's Law modifier, even whilst I allowed them to use the modifier on their own check, to reflect the idea that while the guard is friendly and helpful, he will also expect them to follow the law.

[Bandw2]

and see that's the thing, I'm making a Fascist City, and am having trouble figuring out the correct modifiers to represent it, I know it should have a high Law, but the city has the Cruel Watch and Fascist qualities, will the guards still be easy to make friendly?

sigh, I feel like I'm going to have to Rule of thumb a bunch of this.

[Battle-Chef]

Perhaps the players can attempt to persuade the guards (Either through Bluff or Diplomacy) that they have the same Fascist ideology, in order to improve the guards disposition.

[Bandw2]

Possibly, though the group chose to go here with several GM "this is a bad idea" suggestions and so now i'm making a town that hates 1/5th of a party.

I'm mostly just confused on the modifiers in general, but the few comments here have given me more faith that i should be applying the modifiers when they seem appropriate and not all the time.

[MagusJanus]

I would go with that policy. Applying them all of the time realistically doesn't make sense anyway; individuals within a settlement range, after all, so what is appropriate for one situation may be disastrous in another.