How to do Social Encounters in 2024 D&D
A social encounter occurs whenever a PC wants to influence an NPC (Non-Player Character) into doing something. Normal friendly conversation doesn't require any special action, just roleplay as your character, but once you urge an NPC to do something the Influence action comes into play. You can't use the Influence action on a PC, their player gets to decide whether or not they do something.
First, the DM determines whether the NPC is willing, unwilling, or hesitant. A skill check is only necessary if the NPC is hesitant, otherwise if it's willing then it just performs the action, and if it's unwilling it won't comply. An NPC is typically willing if the urging aligns with their desires, and unwilling if the urging is counter to their desires or alignment.
Next the DM determines whether the NPC is friendly, hostile, or indifferent. Indifferent is the default and has no effect on your roll. You may want to engage with the NPC and roleplay out the conversation at this point to determine their attitude toward the check. Friendly NPCs will end up being more helpful, while Hostile NPCs may end up intentionally trying to hinder their plans. Take note of the NPC's desires and when the PCs say things that either appeal (making them friendlier) or conflict (making them more hostile) with their personality. A friendly attitude gives you Advantage on your skill check, while a hostile attitude gives you Disadvantage.
During extended conversation, the players may also want to make Insight checks to get more information about the NPC or how they're acting. This shouldn't function as a catch-all lie detector, but can instead be used to learn the NPC's mood and intentions, using the same DC as the eventual check. Knowledge of these intentions can also be learned from close friends of the NPC, or from letters or journals using the same process.
After the conversation has played out, it's time for the actual skill check. First, determine the NPC's modified disposition, either moving up one (from Hostile to Indifferent, or Indifferent to Friendly) if the players roleplayed well and appealed to the NPC's desires and mood, or moving down one (from Friendly to Indifferent or Indifferent to Hostile) if the they clashed with the NPC's personality. It can also stay at the baseline disposition if no significant progress was made in the conversation.
The DM chooses which social skill to roll based on how they roleplayed and what they want to accomplish:
| Ability Check | Interaction |
|---|---|
| Charisma (Deception) | Deceive an NPC that understands you with a convincing lie or disguise |
| Charisma (Intimidation) | Awe or threaten an NPC |
| Charisma (Performance) | Amuse an NPC with a story, acting, music, or dance |
| Charisma (Persuasion) | Honestly and graciously convince an NPC that understands you |
| Wisdom (Animal Handling) | Calm or gently coax a Beast or Monstrosity |
The default DC of the check is either 15 or the NPC's Intelligence score, whichever is higher. On a success, the NPC does as urged, and on a failure it doesn't and you're unable to influence it this way again for at least 24 hours (or a duration set by the DM).
You can also get a quick reference of the above at the Skill Breakdown.
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