Simone Lawson
Diplomacy is a highly valued skill in the Pathfinder RPG, allowing players to haggle, turn enemies into friends, and even stop fights. While it is a great skill to have, it can also be easily abused, breaking the game. There are several ways to improve one's diplomacy skills in the game, such as choosing the right race, traits, and feats. For example, the silver-tongue alternate racial trait grants a +2 untyped bonus to diplomacy and bluff, while the persuasive feat and skill focus in diplomacy at level 1 can give a +5 untyped bonus. Additionally, certain items like the circlet of persuasion can further boost one's diplomacy skills. Players can also use their diplomacy skills to gather information by canvassing people in local taverns, markets, and other gathering places.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Silver-tongue alternate racial trait | +2 untyped bonus to diplomacy and bluff |
| Persuasive feat and skill focus in diplomacy | +5 untyped bonus |
| Extremely Fashionable trait | +1 trait bonus |
| Charisma | +2 |
| Circlet of Persuasion | +4,500gp |
| Mwk Diplomacy Tool | 500gp |
| Skill unlocks | 5, 10, 15, and 20 ranks in a skill |
| Soothing Voice ability | 6 times per day |
| Bluff, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), and Sense Motive | +2 synergy bonuses |
| Trustworthy and Alluring | +2 bonus each to Diplomacy |
| Role-playing | N/A |
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What You'll Learn
Choose the right race
Race plays a crucial role in achieving high diplomacy in Pathfinder. Here are some race options and strategies to consider:
Human: Humans are a versatile race in Pathfinder, offering various alternate racial traits that can boost diplomacy. The "Silver Tongued" trait grants a +2 untyped bonus to diplomacy and bluff, allowing you to shift a creature's attitude by up to three steps. Another option is the "Focused Study" trait, which, when combined with high charisma, can lead to impressive diplomacy checks. Additionally, the "Social Ties" trait can be advantageous in a highly social campaign, providing bonuses when interacting with certain NPCs or organizations.
Half-Elf: Half-elves possess inherent diplomatic potential due to their mixed heritage. Consider the "Magic-Blooded Half-Elf" build, which offers a Charisma boost and access to the "Skill Focus (Diplomacy)" feat. This combination can significantly enhance your diplomacy checks.
Kitsune: The Kitsune race offers the "Trickster" archetype, which adds intelligence to diplomacy checks in addition to charisma. This unique trait provides a substantial advantage in social interactions.
Kobold: Kobolds possess the "Illuminator" trait, granting a +2 bonus to Bluff and Diplomacy checks against non-reptilian humanoids. This trait stacks with other traits, allowing for further customization and optimization of your diplomacy skills.
In addition to race, consider class options that complement your diplomatic pursuits. The Bard class, for example, has a wide array of skills that can enhance diplomacy, bluff, linguistics, and knowledge. The Asmodean Advocate build, which allows you to play as a Diplomancer Cleric of Asmodeus, offers an intriguing role-playing opportunity to change perceptions about the character's alignment.
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Pick the right traits
Picking the right traits is essential to achieving high diplomacy in Pathfinder. Traits are a type of special feature that help define a character's background, providing them with unique mechanics that offer additional role-playing opportunities and benefits. Here are some traits to consider:
- Silver-Tongued: This trait, also known as Silver-Tongue, grants a +2 untyped bonus to diplomacy and bluff skills. It allows you to shift a creature's attitude by up to three steps, instead of the usual maximum of two. This can be incredibly useful for improving relationships with NPCs and influencing their behaviour.
- Extremely Fashionable: This trait provides a +1 trait bonus to diplomacy checks. While it may seem small, every bonus point counts, and this trait can help push your diplomacy checks over the threshold for success.
- Trustworthy and Alluring: These traits are part of a three-feat chain, including "Persuasive," from the Song and Silence source material. Both Trustworthy and Alluring grant a +2 bonus each to diplomacy checks, for a total of +4 if you have both. This can significantly increase your chances of success in social interactions.
- Polite and Honest: These traits are often mentioned together and provide a combined +2 bonus to diplomacy checks. They reflect a character's courteous and forthright nature, making them more effective in negotiations and interactions with others.
- Skill Focus (Diplomacy): While not technically a trait, this feat can be taken to gain a significant bonus to diplomacy. It grants a +6 bonus to diplomacy checks, making it a powerful choice for those seeking to maximise their diplomatic abilities.
Remember that while traits and feats are important, other factors also influence diplomacy checks, such as your character's charisma score, skill ranks, and class abilities. Combining the right traits with a high charisma score and appropriate skills will give you the best chance of achieving really high diplomacy in Pathfinder.
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Focus on Charisma
Charisma is a key factor in diplomacy, and there are several ways to boost your character's Charisma bonus. Firstly, consider choosing a race that naturally has high Charisma, such as a half-elf or a human with the silver-tongue alternate racial trait, which grants a +2 untyped bonus to diplomacy.
Secondly, you can increase your character's Charisma score by selecting appropriate traits, such as Extremely Fashionable, which gives a +1 trait bonus. Additionally, focus on skills and feats that complement your character's diplomacy. For example, the Persuasive feat grants a bonus to Diplomacy checks, and the Skill Focus ability can further enhance your Diplomacy skill.
Another way to boost Charisma is through equipment. Items like the Cloak of Charisma and Circlet of Persuasion provide significant bonuses to your character's Charisma score, and thus, their Diplomacy skill.
Lastly, don't forget about skill unlocks. As your character gains ranks in Diplomacy, they will unlock new abilities and ways to use their skills, further enhancing their diplomatic prowess. With sufficient ranks in Diplomacy, your character can influence creature attitudes, gather information, and negotiate conflicts with ease.
Remember, a high Charisma score and strong diplomacy skills will allow your character to persuade others, resolve differences, and gather valuable information or rumors. It's a powerful tool in any adventurer's arsenal!
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Use the right equipment
To have really high diplomacy in Pathfinder, you need to make sure you are using the right equipment. This includes items that boost your diplomacy skill and those that complement your character's natural abilities and traits.
One of the most popular items for diplomacy builds is the Circlet of Persuasion, which provides a significant bonus to your diplomacy checks. Another useful headwear is the Cloak of Charisma, which boosts your charisma score and, by extension, your diplomacy skill. If you're looking for a more affordable option, consider the Mwk Diplomacy Tool, a makeup kit that can give you a temporary boost during important negotiations.
For those with the resources, a magic-blooded half-elf build can be extremely diplomatic. This build includes a variety of feats and traits that synergize well with diplomacy, such as the Sacred Vow, Negotiator, and Extra Music. The combination of classes and races in this build, including Bard, Marshal, Warlock, Cleric, and Half-Elf Paragon, each contribute to a high diplomacy score.
Additionally, consider the Silver-Tongue alternate racial trait, which grants a +2 untyped bonus to diplomacy and bluff, allowing you to shift a creature's attitude by up to three steps. The Persuasive feat and Skill Focus in diplomacy can also provide significant bonuses, especially at lower levels.
Remember, the right equipment will vary depending on your character's specific needs and limitations. It's important to strike a balance between equipment that boosts your diplomacy and equipment that supports your other abilities and survival.
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Gain skill unlocks
Skill unlocks are a great way to boost your diplomacy in Pathfinder. Skill unlocks grant new abilities and applications to skills when a character reaches 5, 10, 15, and 20 ranks in a skill. The Signature Skill feat allows any character to earn skill unlocks for a single skill, and these are especially useful for rogues.
To gain skill unlocks, you can take certain feats and traits. For example, the silver-tongue trait grants a +2 untyped bonus to diplomacy and allows you to shift a creature's attitude by up to three steps. The persuasive feat can give a +5 untyped bonus, and the trustworthy and alluring feats each grant a +2 bonus to diplomacy. The extremely fashionable trait can also give a +1 trait bonus.
Additionally, certain class abilities and spells can increase your diplomacy. For instance, the infiltrator inquisitor with the Conversion Inquisition ability lets you use 2xWIS instead of CHA. Magic items can also help; a circlet of persuasion and a cloak of charisma are great choices.
Don't forget about your character's base abilities and attributes. A character with high charisma will have a higher base diplomacy modifier. You can also gain skill points as you level up, which can be allocated to diplomacy to increase your ranks in the skill.
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Frequently asked questions
You can improve your diplomacy skill by taking the Skill Focus feat, which will give you a +3 bonus. You can also use the silver-tongue alternate racial trait to gain a +2 untyped bonus to diplomacy.
You can gain a +2 synergy bonus from Bluff, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), and Sense Motive. You can also use a Circlet of Persuasion, which will give you a +4,500 gp bonus.
A high diplomacy score allows you to make NPCs do things within the rules, even if they were initially hostile. You can also use diplomacy to gather information about a specific topic or individual and to stop fights.
Diplomacy can break the game if the skill mechanic is abused. For example, a player could inadvertently break the skill system by turning enemies into friends too easily or stopping fights without consequence.
