Narrated D&D Story: How I Got Banned From Playing A 'Talker' Character In DnD

Have you ever played a “talker”?
Thumbnail Art: bit.ly/BannedTalkerArt
Story Source (by u/Miichl80, Reddit): bit.ly/BannedTalker
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Credits-
Video Editor: Murtaza Bohari ([e-mail])
Editors: Lonny Foran ([e-mail])
Narration: MyLo (Twitter/VoMylo)
Thumbnail Art & Channel Artwork: CJ Downing ([e-mail])
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[@allthingsdnd]

Have you ever played a “talker”?

[@UndeadSteampunk]

Ya in a one shot that ended with a player killer

[@UndeadSteampunk]

@Douglas Bonbeck my story?

[@hyudsion]

I try to, I think I'm good I don't know if my party does sometimes though

[@ianbryant2940]

No but I have made one for my high school Pathfinder group, we're planning on doing Black Fang's dungeon which I plan on converting into a base of operations for the party

[@flyingturret208thecannon5]

Alas, my DM does not like talkers, being a talker himself. He has come to the point where he’s disabling encounters regarding the pacifist approach.

[@roberthilberling7668]

i like to say, "The pen is mightier than the sword, but the tongue is quicker and just as sharp!"

[@TheTiredBard]

If you don't mind I am going to use that quote because it's genius.

[@nbpraptor]

Brilliant!

[@roberthilberling7668]

@@TheTiredBard go right ahead, but if you will, reference it to an old bard. I came up with it while larping as one.

[@TheTiredBard]

@@roberthilberling7668 will do thank you very much!

[@thoughtskink376]

Euripides does say the tongue is mighter than the blade but as far as I know being born just a couple years after his death he means the 'pen' or communication, all the same. so I like the twist you've put on it.

[@stankdelicious6479]

I’ve made my DM shout at me “You’re not talking your way out of this one!”...

[@Rabijeel]

Honor to whom it belongs^^

[@sewpkan1297]

**they proceeded to talk their way out of that one**

[@masonwheeler6536]

I once had a string of ridiculously good luck with the dice on a Lv 2 Bard that made the DM facepalm and go "if Mason keeps acing these Diplomacy checks it's going to be a short session." It ended up not being a short session, not because my luck ran out, (it didn't,) but because my character's goal here wasn't aligned with the obvious solution to the issue, so I manipulated it into making something more interesting happen. 😈

[@unwithering5313]

But why?

[@christophercombs7561]

Depending on the time available in game diplomacy is a minutes long skill check at least for 3.0, 3 5, and pathfinder so it may not be appropriate

[@birb125]

Whats this? Roleplaying in my Tabletop Roleplaying game? Impossible

[@thestoopidiot870]

Preposterous!

[@FreedomAndPeaceOnly]

Watching the entire video at least the GM was not a d*ck about it.

[@birb125]

@@FreedomAndPeaceOnly i know, i also commented the same minute this video was posted

[@kcollier2192]

Inconceivable!

[@davidpeters6743]

Rolling +35 on Diplomacy is NOT roleplaying.

[@AlbinoTiefling]

This reminded me of us trying to deescalate a conflict with an honest to god child wizard, who was slightly psychotic. And that's when I realized our DM didn't like us solving problems with anything but violence, as after my well-constructed argument to why he shouldn't be doing what he is doing (he caused a territorial war between a druid tribe and a group of azers), backed up by a Persuasion check of 32 (22 CHA + Expertise), he declares that I fail on all fronts and we need to roll Initiative. This story showed me what could've been)

[@craigtucker1290]

A skill check can still fail, no matter how high the roll, if the one you are trying to persuade is not open to the concept. I am not saying what your DM did was right, only that skill checks have limits and no matter what you roll, there are times when it just won't achieve what you want.

[@byronsmothers8064]

@@craigtucker1290 if the player rolled out of turn, i can see your point, but when a gm allows a roll, he's decided there is a chance. Most charts I've seen assign 30 as near impossible, & proper modifiers can pull of 30 on above average rolls, but if over 30 wont get it, i say don't permit a roll.

[@craigtucker1290]

@@byronsmothers8064 The DM allowed it because they were either inexperienced or incompetent. There are many DMs who fall into this category and players abuse their skills and builds to the point they resemble magical abilities, like in this story. Even when a DM decides that something is not possible, they should still have the player roll as the player should not know if what they are proposing is even possible.

[@AlbinoTiefling]

@@craigtucker1290 Yes, absolutely. On one hand, I totally get what the DM wanted to achieve, as I DM as well, but I hoped to at least get him to a point where we could start a negotiation or something, not staright up starting combat.

[@TheGaboom]

@@AlbinoTiefling I would never say a persuasion roll failed or succeeded. Just give what i think is a reasonable turnaround with the circumstances Given the context of "psychotic.child wizard" id think this as a follow to your roll Your attempts to open diplomacy give the child brief pause, opening his mind to his childish side once uncorrupt...for but an instant, the child lowers his defense, yet you see the malevolent spark in his eyes linger, still ready to strike his smile eagerly hungering for more bloodshed to come From here i think it would be clear talking to a peaceful outcome is largely off the table. But would grant a single surprise round to any player that attacks while the defenses are lowered

[@ulrichbrodowsky5016]

Okay, so the talker used his charisma to mind control his other party members and the DM gets so angry that he throws an encounter that is meant to kill them at the party? And in the end everybody is happy with the session? weird.

[@craigtucker1290]

It is even more BS than that as it isn't even mind control, it is just skill use that has somehow crossed into the realm of magical influence capable of eliminating free will.

[@MrTouchstone86]

Whole story sounds bogus. The guy seeks like a self serving douche who loves hearing his own voice. Who knows...but as written he seems like "That guy"

[@ulrichbrodowsky5016]

@@MrTouchstone86 it does sound like it. But to be fair, it's difficult do decide that from just a short post

[@Rabijeel]

I rather think the GM planned (aka altered the 3rd Fight due to Char choice) to the Party beeing worn out after the Elemental and the "Talker" can shine on the 3rd by using "social skills" befriending the Orcs. He seemed to simply hadn't planned a Social Encounter rather than a "todays just a simple Dungeon Crawler with Swords and Spells out". At least, this is what I had done if it would look like this one. GM sounds pretty fair here. The sighs I also do when my Party derails my Plans (Hint: They always do) and I have to adapt fast and "on the fly" to the new circumstances. It is not me disliking it - I love it when this happens. It is just some extra work and it always comes from a direction I did not expect. Title is a bit misleading here imho, I have some Classes I warn other GMs about when played by some specific player, as they tend to be much better than you think beforehand. There is this Player in my Group who plays a Mage really well - and, it happened more than once that whilst the Party is (over)planning the Approach he wanders off alone to complete the Mission solo.

[@marquisealexander1371]

Sounds sus as hell right? Either the DM is a dumbass or OP is talking out of his ass. My guess is a combination of the two.

[@douglasphillips5870]

This is a Mary Sue story. They make this special character that everyone hates at first, and the player uses their abilities to force the other players to follow this player's decisions, taking away their agency, then the DM bends over backward for them, by the end everybody loves them. I'm calling bull shit

[@supervillainJ]

Yeah Bull that'd ruin the game.

[@rafahsr]

ngl this just sounds like an another "that guy" history, but he is the guy

[@emberfist8347]

No he was playing within the rules.

[@darienb1127]

@@emberfist8347 you can still be "that guy" whine being withing the rules.

[@DerXavia]

@@emberfist8347 pretty sure the rules don't allow you to mind control the whole party. At least not on lvl 3.

[@emberfist8347]

@@DerXavia It was the DM’s fault he had the party make a will save against

[@liamdalemon1525]

Being good doesn't make you a bad teammate

[@Stup1d0zz]

Rolling Diplomacy against other player characters, having your mount substitute for your terrible Stealth... yeah, those are all not really fair. The DM made some bad ruling choices.

[@Ruru240z]

For the stealth part, I can see if it was ruled to have a small bonus due to the rider having full plate, granted Dire Wolves do have a great dex compared to some creatures.

[@kabob0077]

Ah, a Speech Build, time to boot up New Vegas again.

[@joebob7483]

you’re telling me that six level three characters planned to kill an elemental, but the orca cant defeat it? aight.

[@dain2963]

I play a bard. Specifically a "talker". He tells stories over singing or playing an instrument, but the fun part for me is fast-talking my way out of encounters, insulting foes so bad they step away and take attacks of opportunities, and of course being a pathological lier due to a pact with a God of chaos or something of the like. Moral of the story. I'm not allowed to talk when it isn't my turn...

[@user-sm4xb1kw6m]

*I roll to seduce the dragon!!!*

[@stevdawizard392]

This story really does sounds like it belongs on r/Thathappened

[@claygardiner7543]

Was going to say. I was waiting for that 'and they all clapped' moment.

[@MVCx_xB]

alright redditor lol

[@stevdawizard392]

@@MVCx_xB tell me I'm wrong:? This story doesn't sound believable at all

[@wolfancap6897]

OP: *single handedly derails and ruins the DM's plans* DM: "Hey yo WTF"

[@Zarkonem]

Never played a "Talker", but i did play a (somewhat) pacifist healer once. She was a divine soul sorcerer, so she had access to both the Cleric and Sorcerer spell lists and had bonuses to healing. DM: And so, snarling and drooling, the massive creature comes lumbering out of the cave, towering over you it lets out a deafening roar and... Me: I polymorph it into a turtle. DM: **rolls, gets a 3** Me: I pick up the turtle and toss it over the cliff. Alright, lets move on now.

[@sintanan469]

My favorite talker was a sorcerer/rogue with Leadership in 3.x D&D . The character abhorred killing in combat; why should I kill these people when I can capture them and sell them instead? Just go in with my elite team and subdue the enemy, then have my followers swoop in and finish the clean-up, capture, and inventory of the enemy goods and bodies.

[@Quarataia]

Ah, the classic Mishima way, throwing your problems from a cliff.

[@Zarkonem]

The DM also introduced an NPC to the party that was intended to betray us, instead, given my character's truly selfless actions and some epic roleplay, i converted her to my sorcerer's faith and made her a staunch and loyal ally. She was a very fun and memorable character, i made her as a challenge to myself to make someone adverse to fighting since the characters i usually make are very combat focused.

[@Quarataia]

@mohd laithi by what he told in the second comment, that's a actual perhaps.

[@TaoScribble]

What a waste of a perfectly good turtle! >:(

[@DashingSteel]

I am currently playing Allhealus Balmus, Cleric of Helm, and he's a talker. So far because of his diplomacy we've got: -Gratitude from a goblin tribe for not slaughtering their ambush that they were pressured to set up on the road by BBEG -The secret to finding and collecting GoldenLeaf, a herb they collect to use to make Minor Healing Potions. AllHealus has the tools he needs to collect it, therefore he has a steady income of healing potions and doesn't have to save spell slots for healing. -A whole tribe of Orcs that worship Drinkus the homebrew god of alcohol for out-drinking their chiefton. I basically kept talking my way out of a battle with them until they proposed a drinking contest with the strongest booze they've had. DM didn't expect me to win but my rolls were GODLY (thank you, Helm :3) -At least 75 gold pieces EACH from coming back to tavern shitfaced and beating every single person there in a fighting contest. I was still drunk from the drinking game and the rest got drunk just by inhaling fumes i was exhaling (Orcish booze was REALLY strong) It's really hard to play this way though. Gratifying but hard.

[@giacomofraccaroli3821]

To me your name is all-heal-us

[@DashingSteel]

Well duh. That's how you spell it. It's a pun

[@thatcrazyguyeveryonelikes4197]

My friend was a talker in a campaign. I don't remember what class he was but he was a human with stupid high charisma. He had an alter ego named Duke Wellington the Third. This guy got us 5000gp of enchantments for free, saved a party member from getting publicly executed, kept the party from being arrested and imprisoned for life,, and a bunch of other crazy shit. He was literally dubbed the party bullshitter.

[@geoffreypeterson8903]

Easiest way to handle "talker" characters: Talker: I try to persuade the monster. DM: Okay, roll. Talker: *rolls* NAT 20! DM: Nice! It doesn't understand any language you speak and continues to attack.

[@somedesertdude1308]

Pretty much

[@danceman51trendscape]

Diplomacy doesn't require speech. Ever won over the trust of a dog or cat?

[@thewrustywrench21]

@@danceman51trendscape Don’t compare a dog or cat to an umber hulk or a troll lmfao

[@danceman51trendscape]

@@thewrustywrench21 It's just an example to show language is not necessary for diplomacy.

[@thewrustywrench21]

@@danceman51trendscape Yeah I know. But you can’t reason with a fucking gibbering mouther or other monsters like you would a domesticated animal

[@finlaymccormick8570]

I love your stuff. Its perfect for when I'm doing something boring and just want to go on an adventure. Thank you for your amazing content.

[@hannesnilsson3897]

When a player uses persuasion to mind control the party then it is a bad sign

[@singularity1130]

What surprises me is how they skipped an entire process on animal handling. 1 Steak does not make a capable mount.

[@tatersalad76]

I'm totally fine with talkers. They can be a lot of fun for RP and building up allies for the party. Killmongers might not like a peaceful outcome, but if that's how someone wants to have fun, don't mess with it. I, however, am not fine when a paladin tries communicating to someone who only speaks Druidic while the Druid in the party is sitting next to them and attempting to talk. That's a very specific case, though

[@TheGaboom]

Talking about that druidic scenario reminded me of an awkward canadian standoff in a game i played They were a druid who cast speak with animals, and i had animal handler feat They wanted to socialize/ gather info, and i wanted to tame a bear. But we were sitting there unsure how to work with one another to either goal 😅

[@timtauber5557]

I am too serious a role player and perhaps don't understand why an earth elemental would be sleeping, or have gems encrusted in their outer layer of earth/rock, or how that elemental understood the common tongue, or whatever language the "talker" used when waking it up, or why it did not kill the party as well as the tribe of orcs, or why the elemental would be asleep in a room right outside of a room filled with a tribe of orcs. Orcs not being noted for their respectful ability to be quiet enough not to wake a sleeping elemental in the next room, or why the dire wolf would likewise be in a room right next to a sleeping elemental. So I am not trying to be overly critical here, just suggesting that common sense when creating a dungeon crawl regarding placing obstacles and monsters in a way that makes some logical sense, will enhance party immersion in the experience. That is why I said I am perhaps too serious of a player. I am accustomed to logic existing even in a fantasy setting.

[@droman608]

This would be all due to the DMs creative imagination (or limit thereof). Besides, fantasy isn’t known for being always serious.

[@davidjohnson6665]

I'm glad the DM was a good sport about it and even allowed OP some bonus rewards for being creative!!!

[@jm6456]

Creative, that's one way to put it...

[@lizzarddoggo8775]

This is the embodiment of the "It was him, lets get him fellas" meme.

[@masonwheeler6536]

"Talker" is such a boring term. I prefer to play a Diplomancer!

[@Johnlanzer]

Ah the Negotiator.

[@Riolu1209]

@@Johnlanzer or the debator

[@SamA-cw3be]

@@Riolu1209 master debater even!

[@SamA-cw3be]

I’ll have to remember that!

[@Riolu1209]

@@SamA-cw3be too long, how's about the master bater

[@APerson-ws4cw]

Yeah this is either a thathappened story or at least a distorted one. This guy did nothing but derail the game and force the party to do what he wanted.

[@faylinnmystiquerose2224]

As a couple of my DMs like to say, 'violence is not the only option for handling encounters'

[@Jawsomest]

KZbin very diligently forgot to notify me.

[@excaligirra]

Countermanding this story, which while entertaining, clearly shows a player intentionally steamrolling his party. Guy didn't fit the group; oh well, it happens. Should have just left, also "diplomancing" his party? That's just gross, and counter to the spirit of DnD.

[@Zarala2010]

Yeah, but if a bunch of fighters and rogues can decide to kill a wizard in his sleep, how is it unfair for a diplomatic character to diplomacy them while they're awake? It sounds like it's ok to kill your party members, but taking control via a valid skill isn't. Sure, isn't nice, but not everyone was being nice to him either and so he kinda fought back in his own way without murdering the party and ultimately making this party work.

[@D_A_D_]

The party was glaring at him and calling him useless before he had even rolled a character. Not very "nice" I think

[@felixreichel4772]

@@D_A_D_ still, you should not make diplomacy against pc, and you should not attack them in they're sleep. both takes away the freedom of the player to decide what he wants to do with his carakter. It's just not a great move. I'd be pissed if someone convinced my pc to do something I don' want him to do just because he rolled high on diplomacy

[@seagoddess9937]

@@felixreichel4772 As a dm and player when this has happened (As I have a player with a similar viewpoint) I make it very clear you cannot convince against an alignment or religion of a character. However, using charisma to convince someone to do something I believe is fine. You're not convincing the person, you're convincing the character. And if the party is in good faith with each other it will be fine. You don't do this with people you don't know. That's when a dm steps in. However, a player is also free to interpret it. Say a player doesn't like killing, being told to attack they could do a non-lethal hit, which is something you can do in 5e. Or even with a good skill knock them out, which would be an attack move in some cases.

[@TheGaboom]

Its basically a form of PvP It *can* work at some tables, assuming all players are on board and are acting in good faith But both as a player and as a GM, i'd be very cautious about this type of PVP. A player only has control of their character. So limiting that through use of enchantment spells or diplomacy skill rolls is something id be sketch of As a GM, would I have an NPC roll diplomacy to convince the party to act a certain way or complete a task? Probably not As a player, would i want to be convinced to take specific actions by roll of a diplomacy check? Probably not Its actually worse than actual charm / mind control, since at least with that they can retaliate some tine in the future. Cant do that with diplomacy really, just have to act as if you were convinced, even if you werent or dont think the character would have been convinced

[@deathknelle3868]

Never underestimate a talker character. Bard talkers are my favorite archetype.

[@tholgrimstonebeard5943]

A " Talker". This is actually a dedicated role in Shadowrun. That character is called the Face in homage to A-Team, and they are dedicated diplomats. Use animal handling on the critters attacking. Intimidate a goon or two. Convince the boss there's more profit in working together. Every group needs a dedicated Face.

[@Rabijeel]

Yeah, we got a Troll doing this very well. He is a former Agent for the MAT (Militärischer Abschirmdienst des Trollkönigreiches Schwarzwald). Yes, we have a James Bond-Troll. And he is awesome. He just takes 10% Cut for organizing our Stuff for us - which he commonly get 20% cheaper due to his haggling. We get MilTech easy as Pie and this Guy always knows how to grease the Gears od Bureaucracy and has the Funds to do so. It took him 4 Runs to get acess to Deltaware Phreomones 3 Bioware and he just Paid in Cash - adding 50% on Top for "all his Data getting lost somehow" after the Operation. And if you think our GM hands out Money as nothing - no. I, as GM, are infamously known for paying my Chars badly and then ripping them off. All the money they can make is the Money they can come up with on their own (betrayal, Double-Crossing, Selling out others, Looting, etc.). And every bit of this Money comes with a Bunch of Downsides usually. But this Fucker doges it and sweettalks everyone into loving our Party.

[@TheGaboom]

I disagree with the concept of a pure face / talker. In my opinion, different characters should be balanced to handle social encounters in different ways. Same as with combat Cyberpunk classes are better for this than Shadowrun IMO. A player can make a face, but a Nomad or Policeman still has more influence in their circles For a more simple houserule, why not remove "Charisma" and split its skills into different stats? Or treat them like tool proficiencies where they can use any stat as situation demands Barbarian wants to reason with a tribe of orcs? Persuasion (Wisdom) check, maybe the ranger or druid shaman with their high wisdom would do better in this situation But if the party wants to intimidate a captured spy to get info? Lets get the barbarian for an Intimidate (Strength) check Sorcerers now cast off Constitution (bloodline/innate magic) Warlocks use Intelligence (Studious and ritualistic) Bards intelligence as well, or potentially wisdom. (Reflecting various broad knowledge, similar to bardic knowledge from earlier editions, or wisdom to reflect a more intuitive understanding of the world) In any case; A single character dominating the roleplay aspect of the game can be anti-cooperation. Better to let everyone effectively contribute in social encounters IMO Or we can just let the person with high charisma talk, always.

[@tholgrimstonebeard5943]

@@TheGaboom Cyberpunk sucks. That's why it had what, two editions? A Face in Shadowrun will be skilled in at least a pistol. That's because it is a classless system, like Skyrim. Want combat skills? Train your combat skills. Want Face skills? Get those too. TL;DR your complaint is invalid.

[@tholgrimstonebeard5943]

@@Rabijeel troll faces are amazing!

[@tholgrimstonebeard5943]

@@Rabijeel I love troll faces.

[@toreyzyre]

I've played more than my share of "talkers", granted we always called it a 'diplomancer', same concept though. I think my favorite usage was convincing an angry town of the non-existant dragon on a nearby hill. This was back when Bluff was a thing vs Deception, told them it was invisible, and I could see it with magic. They then paid us, to go kill the 'dragon'. So we just left for like 2 weeks, then came back and got paid.

[@timogul]

That was funny, but I do object to a player using charisma to control other player characters. I mean, if everyone is friends and is cool with that, it's fine, but generally, players should convince players, not dominate them using stats and rolls.

[@timtauber5557]

Tim Ogul agree, the player could maybe try to cast charm person on another player's character to coerce them into doing something favorable, but not with just a diplomacy check.

[@Zarala2010]

@@timtauber5557 I don't see how a fighter has to persuade other players to get hit by a sword, or a rogue trying to make a case how this poison is good for your health and your valuables are safe. I see no reason for a valid skill to not be allowed to work on players just because it's potentially dangerous. In the game world it was a rich, increadibly charismatic elven prince with high diplomatic skills talking to a less than wise fighter and a gang. Makes sense he got his way, though I recon a single nat twenty on saving throws would foil his plans. So, seems fair to me.

[@timtauber5557]

Zarala2010 players should not be allowed to dictate to other players as to what their players will do or how they will react to a situation based on a stat check roll, that's my opinion. It removes player agency. In this case the stat check roll swayed the entire party egregious in my mind. Now if that character had made a statement to the group and explained that sneaking past the monster that definitely would have killed them all was the best plan and the party refused and said no we fight it, then the talker has every right to walk or run away from the doom that was certain.

[@Zarala2010]

@@timtauber5557 I understand it's risky, but again... you wouldn't deny a fighter an attack roll nor sleight of hands to a rogue. If a fighter has an off day the other players have the agency to die and no one will say "you can't roll an attack, first you have to persuade me as a player, not my character, that the sword should come straight to my face". Yet, a diplomacy character player has to justify the character being allowed to use his/her skill or just staight out leave the party? It just feels unfair to me. Of course there are a lot of ways that that can go wrong, but as long as a player wants to cause trouble, they will. This is a roleplaying game focused on letting players do what they want, no? So, instead of just straight out vetoing a valid playstyle a party should take a chance with each other in good faith. If it falls apart, it's not the mechanic, it's the party that wasn't meant to be.

[@timogul]

@@Zarala2010 Well, like you point out, it is PvP, just _like_ if a player Rogue backstabbed another player. Now it worked out to everyone's satisfaction in this case, and if the entire party is fine with that sort of thing then it's ok, but it can easily be abused to allow the charismatic character to remove fun from other players by forcing them into decisions that they would not have made for themselves. It's not a hard red line, but it's a definitely red flag for any player to take control of a PC from their own player.

[@phobiawitch835]

I actually became the party face by accident with only 10 Charisma because I have such a high diplomacy skill in Pathfinder (2 ranks, Cleric Class Skill, and some fancy jewelry that gives another +2, for +7 at level 4). I have, surprisingly, been able to talk to an entire tribe of goblins and calm them down, even getting them to allow us a safe place to rest from the cultists that had been attacking them. That was a Nat 20, when I had 1 Rank at level 3, and the DM gave me +2 for my Half Orc race (+6 to that roll). Our monk with NO ranks also managed to stop a huge encounter from happening just last noght with a 15, beating the Barbarian’s Intimidation kf 14, and the DM was both laughing and a bit upset because of that encounter being thrown out essentially (it would have been a mini-adventure to occupy the 6 days of In Game travel to the next town)

[@overtotter8639]

When I heard the elemental plan I was like, "I could kiss this guy he's so genius."

[@hivemind2158]

I have yet to be banned from taming every rat I see in a campaign I'm in... I currently have 37 rats, will I stop, no I won't

[@timtauber5557]

Hive Mind clearly you are the pied piper reincarnated, it must be very easy to tame animals in your game, stock up on rat food, your rats will procreate quickly and without food they will turn on you or each other.

[@hivemind2158]

@@timtauber5557 since you took time out of your wonderful day to reply to my comment, I’ll let you know that it has been decided that my rats will become professional cooks for a restaurant me and the party decided to open during downtime

[@andresmarrero8666]

Clever guy, finding solutions that didn't involve needless conflict instead of running in attacking everything that moves.

[@Dark0possum]

Solutions that worked out just cuz he rolled nat 20, just sayin

[@andresmarrero8666]

@@Dark0possum hey it worked and played to his strengths, and overall a better idea that facing those threats head on.

[@ticonofruger573]

"May your sword be sharp. ... And your tongue sharper."

[@timothconnor6498]

By back up character for a dungeon I am in is a bard, and that is basically what I had them going for. I love it.

[@UnholyCameraman]

@All Things DnD Ya missed the epilogue where the Fighter brought his son to the local game store, where he-by chance-found the OP at the table and told his son, "Watch him. You'll learn a lot from him." :)

[@SamA-cw3be]

Op here. Thanks for mentioning that. To be honest, I was just glad Ian rememebered me and though of me kindly.

[@firstswordcorvus7368]

Heard this story on another channel, this story makes me laugh at the ridiculousness of the class. I know personally I like roleplaying as much as fighting and I feel like the DM shouldn't have been so desperate to TPK just to kill the talker. Also it sounds like the DM without realizing it decreased the DC to charisma rolls instead of increasing the DC to Charisma rolls, so the talker literally just steam rolled the encounters lol

[@stinkertonsden]

I've done this sooo many times with a face character. My Star Wars "space bard" and at least a couple D&D Paladins. It's fun to be the talker and handle situations with words rather than weapons.

[@Scorpious187]

My wizard Delkesh was both a disasterpiece of arcane destruction *and* a high-charisma master of deceptions and speechcraft. In one combat he managed to impersonate a bandit so well that the bandit leader and two of the other bandits not only listened to him, but the bandit that was guarding the treasure horde gave Delkesh the keys to the horde room. He also conjured a fake person named Jerrel who later became a disguise persona for Delkesh, and any time we encountered bandits or rogue merchant guilds or the like, Jerrel would slide in to convince the bandits to let our party pass, or give us the intel we needed without realizing they were doing it, etc. In the second campaign I played him in, his backstory was that he was a former king, but everyone thought he was dead because he'd faked his own death. There were times when the party needed access to certain areas or to get information from certain people that they might not normally be able to speak to, but Delkesh would toss out the royalty card. Once people were able to confirm who he was, people were much more willing to give us extra info they might not have told us otherwise, etc..

[@Echotracers]

D&D (and many other games) is a game about telling a story that the whole party participates in. If the rest of the table wants a fighter for a combat heavy game, someone really should be a fighter. Not necessarily you, you could ask to swap roles with someone.... but if 'your mind is made up' on a 'talker' and you were the one invited to join an already established group that was looking for a combat slog that started at a dungeon... Well lets just say in this situation, if I were that DM when someone proposed a noble I would have just said "Maybe you should sit this campaign out, and when we have a more social roleplay game we will get back to you." Its nice to hear the other players were all happy with the outcome of the session while their characters were pretty much all made irrelevant background in the Talkers story, this is pretty much the opposite side of the coin of a group that wants to role play and someone insists on bringing a min-maxed murder hobo along. I wouldn't be surprised if the talker misread the room (or just lied in his story) when they said they would be glad to have him back and the DM's major life change that prevented the group from getting back together was the group trying to be nice for just not inviting him back to the game so they could play with out him.

[@brandonmills3949]

I kinda want to hear more about his "talker" stories

[@SamA-cw3be]

Op here, thank you! I may actually write one up one of them tonight.

[@shady4546]

I never played a talker, but I played an amazing sneaker. It turns out, Devil's Sight and Darkness, combined with Rogue stealth abilities, makes you damn near invisible no matter where you are with no downsides. I could do whatever I wanted and no one would see me because... no one else could see.

[@leotroll726]

My favorite talker was a gnome paladin of Sarenrae named Chester Rollemoff and he was the first lawful good character I ever played ^_^ he was a literal ray of sunshine in a rough world and believed everyone was capable of redemption. The craziest moment was he paid the big bad to leave town and never come back, and she left and never came back 😆

[@magnificoabsol]

i tried playing a talker once... my party didn't care and killed all the creatures i wanted to befriend

[@shealupkes]

Get a new party

[@magnificoabsol]

@@shealupkes i did, don't worry

[@Rabijeel]

Well, seems your "Char" did not manage to convince the "Party", then.

[@NinjaBusCow]

That was funny as hell, he's too good of a talker.

[@dm-entores3119]

Hello "Talker guy" here. Im playing right now a full homebrew PC of a class i made with a race we made with my friend for that world. Im a Godian Gambler, basically a merchant who is always looking for business, getting money and resources. I have not been much of a fighter but i have made a ton of deals. Im only Lv 4 but in one week i managed to, get a ton of gold delivering goods without asking, got a goblin employee named Cito, invested in a spa after catching the guy who killed the owner in the middle of the street whil completely naked, got some sweet words with some ladies, stole som treasures as its also a treasure hunter, and befriended the mafia as well as making a helpibg deal with a tribe of orcs. And after that i pull a heist for weird stuff on the spa i invested in with the bank's owner as my associate, got new investmens, im about to make a tour with the bard while also implementing fordism or toyotism in this world, and saved my companion from an execution sentence to a community service sentence during a trail where i also gained some nice shoes (3000 GP worth) and a small piece of land in my hometown as a title. GODDAMN IM A SILVER TONGUED MASTER!!!!

[@jyxtheberzerking4824]

Quote from OP's character: "your mother was a goblin, and your elf father smelt of elderberries!"

[@LocalMaple]

On my first DND ever with friends (a one-shot), our characters introduced themselves. One of them, forgot the race but reptilian, put on a raspy voice and did a scary introduction. The DM was so impressed, he had us roll against intimidation at an advantage; he explained it was to see if any characters would fear or distrust this being. It was a little thing, but taught me that DND isn’t a power fantasy of Mary Sue’s. Our characters have limits, and their own personalities and histories. Was it a bit much? Maybe. But it was a great way to have players react to a fellow party member’s skill. I agree to this. If a rogue wanted to steal from an ally, roll for it between both players. The pickpocket doesn’t automatically succeed, and the victim player doesn’t automatically notice. Even if the character does notice, a deception check between them, or diplomacy from a third party, can make him think he left it behind or to let it go. Same here. The noble had the persuasion to convince the party, so why not roll for it? The DM could have given him disadvantage, saying “the barbarian wants blood,” or “the rogue wants those shiny jewels.” But it is still in character to settle impasses with dice. If the fighter took initiative before the nobleman could caution him, then start combat. But the mere conversing between allies opened up this possibility.

[@zoeyzeebra]

My favorite "talker" character I ever played was a 5e Half-orc Berserker Barbarian. See I liked the idea of the extra attacks and such so I had made her for all the bonus attacks and high Crit damage. Unfortunately I found out that Exhaustion was crippling if you got more than 1 level, so after one fight she would attempt to talk her way out of situations. She was vary crafty at setting up situations so that even if she failed a check there were other reasons for people to do what she wanted. She would hand out the bulk of these schemes to the rest of the party and then with all the indifference a tired half-orc can muster she would tell people what she wanted and what would happen if she didn't get it. This worked amazingly well when she was telling a tribe of lizardmen that they really actually did want to give her their hostages peaceful. She failed an intimidation check, which was fine because during the laghter one of the lizardmen grew an arrow from his neck as she waved a finger. Suddenly these stopped laughing and gave he the hostages after she explained this wasn't a joke. And that's how Ket Gunt the tired barbarian and her "shadow horde of demon archers" saved some people from being eaten by lizardfolk. Turns out a tired half-orc that makes no effort to hide her exhaustion while telling, "you really don't want to fight me" is just perplexing enough to be the best distraction ever.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

One of my most vivacious 2e Characters was a Rogue/Illusionist... AND one of the few (and I DO mean VERY FEW) Characters where Charisma was NOT a dump-stat... In fact, Strength was the dumper at 8... I researched illusions to manipulate sounds, movements, shadows, and obviously upgraded the Canon "visual" spells as often as I could... AND the antics did fly! From convincing local guards that they'd been robbed in the tavern (merely making their stuff invisible to them)... and escaping the resulting brawl... to getting our Party hired by a Wyrm Red Dragon to hunt ourselves down for stealing certain magical pieces of treasure (so we wouldn't actually have to fight it)... AND buying just enough time to use the magic items for the quest and then returning them for the bounty... It was HILARIOUS some of the "crap" I managed to talk us into... ...and out of. It was the kind of Rogue/Wizard that would've made any Bard jealous... only without the weird sexual crap. ;o)

[@thatsmuggamer]

I feel like playing a “talker” is completely worth it sometimes, since it A) allows you to try the more peaceful route of things, and B) can avoid massive damage and/or party member death with a few well-chosen words.

[@GeebzGBZ]

Right now I am playing in a modern day Persona inspired campaign, and whilst my character in the main campaign is more punch focused, we are doing a one shot from the perspective of a group called The Church, and I am playing the talker of that group, a level 14 commoner, no class abilities, but they do have a Persona and MASSIVE Charisma and Wisdom, +6 each, I can already tell my dm was scared than I instantly jumped on the idea of me playing this kind of character, given the fact that I am, in their words own words, "scarily creative" in my strategies and plans. In fact I may need to share one more recent story of an exploit I did.

[@OhmegaMan]

Don't usually like to listen to the tales I've heard before. This is one of the ones I always listen to.

[@roybrewster4872]

Back in the days of AD&D I had a Wizard who bluffed his way to the bbeg by telling his followers he had been summoned. The bbeg was so impressed that I was able to broker a truce and convinced him to take his army and attack another country.

[@ianbuchanan7804]

The instant everyone thought the talker was weak I knew the talker would be the most important party member.

[@maxverbeek4707]

I love this story. This guy singlehandedly killed a army and got richer in the process. I will defiantly remember this one. Also nice choice all thing's dnd.

[@timtauber5557]

max verbeek definitely not defiantly.

[@maxverbeek4707]

@@timtauber5557 lol sorry and thanks.

[@marooniballooni03759]

Talking your way out of things do require the right time and skill. Amazing to see this person use it so right. Personally I don't think it is just to ban them from being talker, it's kind of stupid. Thanks for the story, All Things Dnd!

[@II-wu7mx]

Why would a wolf being stabbed stop fighting the people killing it because someone elsewhere pulls out a nice steak?

[@marooniballooni03759]

@@II-wu7mx I don't know, you should someone else buddy

[@II-wu7mx]

@@marooniballooni03759 well you think this was proper play so you should be able to explain why it was, right?

[@marooniballooni03759]

@@II-wu7mx all I said is you have to have the skill to talk out of situations, I didn't say what kind, wasn't specific, I was being more broad.

[@craigtucker1290]

@@II-wu7mx It wasn't proper use of skills in D&D, it was an incompetent DM who allowed a player to abuse a skill to tame and acquire a dire wolf. It also made no sense that an earth elemental would be "sleeping" in a room next to that many orcs. But then again I point back to incompetent DM. The only proper use of skill was the deception to earth elemental, not that the whole scenario made much sense.

[@thenarrator9204]

I tried but set it up poorly and failed to deceive a troll. I became swamp paste.....

[@neillindgren8992]

I think not enough people try having their characters talk their way through situations. I’ve never played a talker specifically, and using your ability scores, skills, or magic/powers to control the action of other PCs is gauche, but talking my way out of fighting has sometimes been some of my favorite role playing experiences, especially in one campaign where our characters were eventually such high level that talking was the much more interesting option, as usually any fight we got into resulted in the DM saying at the start of the fight “okay, what do you do to them?”, and whatever we said happened, happened, unless whatever we were up against were super powerful.

[@zacharygadzinski3147]

Wouldn't a noble just be a bard in 5e? Not to mention the College of Eloquence is essentially a talker.

[@aaronimp4966]

DMs, please; Never, ever, EVER allow a diplomacy roll against the party unless the players decide the result of a success. Please. Unless by magic, a player shouldn't be forced to do something if they decide the character has would do something else. It undermines the fundamental concession that justifies the DM having so much power; I can control everything around you, but you have absolute authority over your character's autonomy. Please, DMs.

[@OriginalGazGoose]

"For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill." -Sun Tzu

[@sadontafiir2955]

Well another great story and yet so many stories are untold. But maybe one day I will see them all here.

[@blackbarnz]

I prefer the older "All Things" content, that focused on campaign stories, in game party situations & PC antics. Those vids helped improve my games. I game with cool, respectful, cooperative people, who share similar taste in gaming. I can't relate to the topic of social conflict within the group, or problem players, & I'm grateful for that. It's great these stories have an outlet to reach the public. I guess I'm just looking for stuff I can utilize in my game that's all, & there's plenty of channels dedicated to that very premise, so there's definitely a niche on YT for gaming group conflict & problem player vids. Just not what I'm currently looking for thankfully. Game on!

[@jimbeam7636]

ever watched Mr.Rhex?

[@timwoods2852]

This was all about a player making the most of his character for some fun in-game wins with creative solutions that won him the respect of the other players. Sounds like it was pretty close to what you wanted.

[@chadnorris8257]

I had a small issue with a talkative party in my game. We did a session zero, and towards the end I decided to throw a hill giant at them to add some action to the session. They just tried talking to him at first. It was kind of funny. I do allow them to talk their way out of stuff if they can, though.

[@jonathanstern5537]

I almost always play a talker. Hell, by first PC talked his way from being the most wanted person in the city to being a national hero.

[@genosabre6661]

My current party uses diplomancy a lot. My ranger being able to speak yeti helps, while our grave cleric feels more like a druid because of all the animals and creatures she befriends. Combat is our last resort. The punchline: Our DM loves it! He DMs for four parties in the same campaign (as a lot of players signed up for his run of ROTFM) and our party is his break from two parties of borderline murderhobos.

[@evandugas7888]

I have a idea for a "talker" PC for 5e Bard: College of Eloquence 3 levels in order to get Silver Tongue- Starting at 3rd level, you are a master at saying the right thing at the right time. When you make a Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma (Deception) check, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10. Expertise At 3rd level, choose two of your skill proficiency. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen proficiency. Pick Persuasion and Deception (or another skill) _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Paladin: Oath of Redemption 3 levels Emissary of Peace. You can use your Channel Divinity to augment your presence with divine power. As a bonus action, you grant yourself a +5 bonus to Charisma (Persuasion) checks for the next 10 minutes. So this class concept would make you a persuasion god and a amazing taker. Your lowest role is... 10 (Silver tong) + 4 (Expertise)+ 3 (expected skill bonus) + Oath of redemption (plus 5) = Once a day you can boost your persuasion to a minimum roll of 21 with a chance of higher rolls. In higher levels proficiency and skill bonus grows even more. This would be a sixth level build when complete. (Note best race to play is current Eberon changeling if game legal since it can have plus 4 at level one and combining talking ability with shape changing is cool!)

[@ceridwenaeradwr8105]

For my first ever DnD game, I made a charismatic Paladin. Turned out to be the only decent charisma character in the party Now... I play a lot of videogames, and I love making speech-heavy characters in videogame RPGs. What I hadn't taken into account was that in videogames, you get to just click the speech skill check option. In DnD, you have to ACTUALLY DO THE TALKING. So... me with my Social Anxiety and ASD had a very... interesting time during the politics-heavy arc of our campaign.

[@blacksuicide5131]

Warhammer 40K we had planned out over several real time hours how to besiege a mutant stronghold with backup plans for our backup plans. my charakter made a motivational speech to hour troops and offered the enemy a peace treaty. rolled natural crit succuss. the mutant guards killed their leaders, opened their doors and surrenderd. after that incident i got the nickname silvertongue

[@hyudsion]

Hello ATD&D! Hope you have an awesome day

[@allthingsdnd]

Same to you Sithus, same to you

[@skyhawk554]

A reasonably good example of why I really don't like pure face characters. Either they turn every encounter into a "social encounter", and dominate there because no one else specialized for that, or they are truly useless.

[@Eramiserasmus]

And this is why charisma isn't just for spellcasting.

[@tabarnacus5629]

The last part was nice but as a DM I would have never allowed him to tame the dire wolf who had been badly injured by the party.

[@notverifiable3731]

I always try to solve the problems by talking before. The problem is, my party begs to differ.

[@Zeromegas]

There alot of monsters and npcs that can wreck the "talker". Demons, mindless undeads, modrons and the primodials.

[@rachdarastrix5251]

This is true. Some things cannot simply be reasoned with. Without a brain, your muscles are just a worthless slab of meat. And without muscle, your brain has nothing to command. A true warrior exercises both. But I guess by handy capping one's self they create more of a challange.

[@andresmarrero8666]

When those show up, the talker goes full on trickster.

[@craigtucker1290]

Or any NPC that is not open to whatever concept the "talker" is trying. No matter what a player rolls, a DM can just say no as one can hardly sway a fanatic or convince a happily married woman to sleep with them if they are open to such concepts in the first place.

[@grimsleyt.reaper1439]

im currently playing a talker character as we speak, he is by far my pride and joy. A Divine Soul Sorlock Hexblade with the Diplomat feat. ive done so much purely by Charisma that is almost mind boggling and im not even Lv10 yet. ive already influenced the major reformation and reconstruction to the capital trade city where the campaign is held. i have the Guildmaster of the Merchants guild/ Mayor of the Trade city in my back pocked because i swayed a majority favor for his election. I also got the BBEG to sit down with the party for a Mid afternoon brunch. ive done alot more too but these are by far, my absolute favorite encounters to tell.

[@dragoninthewest1]

Playing as a college of eloquence Bard. I managed to talk my way through an encounter with orcs as well.

[@MGDrzyzga]

Please find and share the story about tricking the lich into destroying his own phylactery.

[@SamA-cw3be]

Op here. I actually started writing another one of my stories, it should be on my Reddit soon. If youre interested, I’ll write that one next

[@katdotson4446]

Cracked me up. Loved it.

[@possessedpicklejar4762]

I mean, as long as other members get a chance to shine and fight at some point, cause I’d definitely get sick of this after a while.

[@123ilikejuice]

Yo nice job voicing that Simfort hair growth commercial

[@WilhelmB]

There is a stark difference between playing a talker and railroading the adventure just to prove you can do it. I'm actually a bit apalled at the player for making the entire session about his character.

[@bensjo7278]

I enjoyed this one. I thought it was going to be a negative tell but it was great!

[@NoraIconiq]

Alternate titles: Orc tribe mercilessly beaten to paste by angry elemental, Silver tongued elf convinces elemental of theft. The comment section is gold by the way.

[@DylanTI]

Wow I just happened to open KZbin and find this out just 10 minutes ago

[@josephscott1292]

That was ingenious.

[@SamA-cw3be]

Op here. Thanks. I was very proud of this. I’m still friends with several people from this group to this day!

[@miguelhenriquecosta]

So... Your party fights a dire wolf. They hurt it. It hurts them. You take a steak out and tame it? Yeah... I'm calling bs on that.

[@BespokeFoil]

I love that elemental design

[@II-wu7mx]

To all dms our there, charisma is not magic and a lich would not destroy its own phylactery no matter how good at talking you are.

[@craigtucker1290]

That is what I thought as well. I think it comes down to incompetent or inexperienced DMing and a player that is abusing skills like there are magic.

[@II-wu7mx]

@@craigtucker1290 agreed, the way he sprung his plans on the dm and other players is a dead give away. “We’re running.” “Okay so you guys are running cool.” “No I’m not, actually I’m...”

[@SamA-cw3be]

Op here. I may get around to writing that story, but there was a lot more going on than just a bluff check. The plan was mine tho. It involved a pocket dimension, wish spell, and a centuries long feud between that lich and another. My bluff was just able to seal it.

[@craigtucker1290]

@@SamA-cw3be The problem when you include such statements without context is it makes your achievements seem illegitimate or your DM incompetent as they appear not just unbelievable but highly improbable. Even so, if you include all the details of the entire story, was it legitimate, meaning within the rules of the game or did the DM give it to you by bending the rules? Such is the question of many of these stories where they are less about what the PCs accomplished and more about what the DM allowed, broke, or gave away. Either way, I would like to hear the details... How were you able to "charm" the dire wolf after the party had injured it and animal handling skills do not allow for such action no matter what the roll?

[@dmc8706]

That group was incredibly rude. I've never had anyone tell me what to play in a game.

[@Max_G4]

As a 5e only player, reading something like +21 to Diplomacy or +18 to Animal Handling just sounds ridiculous. That was a cool story of a player utilizing their abilities though.

[@DimkaSulegnaa]

to be fair, you can get close to those numbers in a high level campaign with the help of expertise, dunno what magic items could aid with it but yeah, big modifiers like that are high level exclusive

[@GreaterGrievobeast55]

3:02 ECH! I’m under the belief that it was tradition to always start campaigns in a tavern.that being said this man is a genius! YIRBEL LIVES!

[@UndeadSteampunk]

All hail astoshan

[@allthingsdnd]

New DP looks nice

[@GreaterGrievobeast55]

@@allthingsdnd why thank ya!

[@reapergrimm8]

I have a tendency to gravitate towards classes that have CHA as a key stat. Paladins, Sorcerers, Oracles and the like. And even if a class doesn't have the CHA score as something that influences class abilities/spells, they are still integral to the types of characters you can roleplay from that class. Such as a Rogue or a Slayer.

[@drsquirrel7276]

Oh the new party I’m in is feeling the power of the all mighty word as we speak in 5e I’m a elequence bard with a 18 minimum on diplomacy and deception and lvl 4 I literally talked my way into a jail break and then talked a character into riding out of town for 8 gours