I have to recount something that was one of the most amusing and almost unbelievable things I've ever seen happen in a game, though, from my position as a dm, I will admit to allowing the players to try just about anything. If they can describe it well, it has a better chance of success, and the dice are the final arbiter.
The campaign is a pathfinder update of the Original Temple of Elemental Evil. The party has just discovered the Earth Temple on the dungeon level 1. They realized that the elementals will neither attack them, nor pursue them, so long as they don't get within 10' of the pyramid in the center of the room. At the south end of the pyramid, between 2 of the earth elementals, is a bronze coffer, closed.
The party explores both small 'cubby' rooms at the south end of the temple, and, for reasons of chaos, or fate (Istus is interested in the sorcerer Meranthryl for some reason, it seems), our tiefling sorcerer Mertanthryl is the only player character who seems to be able to move the Stone of Weight that they find in one of these rooms. (he rolled a 22 on his strength check to carry it)...
Meranthryl is really curious about the coffer, but doesn't want to fight the elementals. So, between pantamime and attempting in 3 languages, he tries to convince the nearest earth elemental to trade him the coffer and its contents for the stone of weight he has. On his third attempt, the dice get in his favor, and it seems that the elemental can understand just enough draconic to make sense of what he's saying. I have him roll an opposed diplomacy check against the elemental's sense motive, and Meranthryl rolls more than twice what would beat the elemental (no situational bonuses involved). So, somehow, the sorcerer not only managed to communicate with this elemental, but struck a bargain with it.
The elemental picks up the coffer on the other side of it, puts it on the other side of him (the side Meranthryl is on), then holds out his hands. Meranthryl drops the stone of weight gently into the elemental's hands, and the elemental largely goes back to just standing there. Meranthryl drags the coffer back to the rest of the party, and I decided I had to award full xp for the encounter, as the party, while not 'defeating' the elementals, managed to neutralize the encounter, and acquired something of value from it.
We seem to have a diplomancer in our midst. But, this gives me ideas for plots of my own...*evil grin*
(note: at the time of the encounter, the party was all 4th level), so this was a really good set of rolls).
