Druid Class Ability (Extraordinary, 1st Level)
A druid can use body language, vocalizations, and demeanor to improve the attitude of an animal (such as a bear or a monitor lizard). This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check made to improve the attitude of a person. The druid rolls 1d20 and adds her druid level and her Charisma modifier to determine the wild empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.
To use wild empathy, the druid and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.
A druid can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2 (such as a basilisk or a girallon), but she takes a –4 penalty on the check.
Source: Player's Handbook
INFLUENCING NPC ATTITUDES
Use the table below to determine the effectiveness of Diplomacy, Intimidate checks (or Charisma checks) made to influence the attitude of a nonplayer character, or wild empathy checks made to influence the attitude of an animal or magical beast. The Dungeon Master’s Guide has more information on NPC attitudes.
Initial Attitude | ————— New Attitude (DC to achieve)————— | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hostile | Unfriendly | Indifferent | Friendly | Helpful | |
Hostile | Less than 20 | 20 | 25 | 35 | 50 |
Unfriendly | Less than 5 | 5 | 15 | 25 | 40 |
Indifferent | — | Less than 1 | 1 | 15 | 30 |
Friendly | — | — | Less than 1 | 1 | 20 |
Helpful | — | — | — | Less than 1 | 1 |
For example, if a character encounters a nonplayer character whose initial attitude is hostile, that character needs to get a result of 20 or higher on a Diplomacy check (or Charisma check) to change that NPC’s attitude. On any result less than 20, the NPC’s attitude is unchanged. On a result of 20 to 24, the NPC’s attitude improves to unfriendly.
Attitude | Means | Possible Actions |
---|---|---|
Hostile | Will take risks to hurt you | Attack, interfere, berate, flee |
Unfriendly | Wishes you ill | Mislead, gossip, avoid, watch suspiciously, insult |
Indifferent | Doesn’t much care | Socially expected interaction |
Friendly | Wishes you well | Chat, advise, offer limited help, advocate |
Helpful | Will take risks to help you | Protect, back up, heal, aid |