Can you make the Request action to an Indifferent NPC?

[r1q2]

Do you guys allow players to make a Request of an indifferent (or even worse attitude) NPC? The only vague mention I saw of this being allowed is in the GM Core: "You might adjust the DC further or differently based on the PC’s goal; for instance, the DC to Request something an indifferent NPC is fundamentally opposed to might be incredibly hard or impossible, and it might be easy to convince an unfriendly creature to do something it already wants to do." Which seems to overall contradict the actual rulings on the Request action itself.

[QuidEst]

Yeah, of course, just like any other exception to the rules that's justified under specific circumstances. You can't normally go up to an indifferent person and ask them to do something significant for you out of the blue, and the normal rules reflect that. It's useful because it means that the level 5 bard isn't getting random peasants to cater to his every whim- not without at least buttering them up and getting them to like him first.

At the same time, sometimes you do need to ask somebody for something without first getting them to like you, and the circumstances are such that it seems like it'll hinge on how persuasive you can be. In almost all of those cases, it involves setting things up so that there is a reason for the person to hear you out, which equates to a reason for the GM to make an exception to the general Request rule.

[Castilliano]

Yeah, Diplomacy was practically mind control in previous edition, even against hostile enemies acting against their own desires. So now Paizo has provided GMs with a narrative out so skills won't tromp all over a plot while Diplomacy remains one of the most important party skills.

[Claxon]

Yeah, Diplomacy was set up as a "No, but sometimes yes" for what you can request of whom. Which is good, because under old rules (I'm thinking way back, even before PF1) it could be argued that your worst enemy who wanted to kill you could be made into your best friend and give you whatever (various editions had various issues).

So now it's kind of restrictive, with a side bar telling GMs to use some common sense.

If you're offering the devil 100 souls for something, they're at least likely to listen to your request and negotiate with you, rather than kill you.