How to guarantee they get a skill they must have?

[JMISBEST]

I'm wondering about something. If the group doesn't have a skill they can't get the planned best ending result in the campaign without at least 1 of them having it at at least /2 with at least A +4 DM and they can't be bothered learning it cos they don't know that they can't get the planned best ending result in the campaign what do I do?. The idea being that they need to persuade the unaligned groups to aide them in A Military Operation and due to how stubborn their leader is they need 1 of Leadership, Diplomat or Persuade at at least /2 with at least A +4 DM to have any realistic chance of passing the roll, otherwise the campaigns ultimate baddie gets away and they get at best the planned best ending result in the campaign

 

[M J Dougherty]

It 's not about getting the planned best ending. You have an adventure, you do stuff, things don't go to plan and you scramble to get through without it getting any worse. It's fun. Try it sometime.

 

[EwanS]

Well the baddie gets away and then you can start a new series of adventures in which you try and track him down.
It's not all about winning and following a set script, sometimes you have to adapt to what the characters do not what you want them to do.

 

[DickTurpin]

You cannot force a character to learn a particular skill, but you have a few options to encourage it. Add the desired skill to the skill package used or just select one that already has that skill. Most groups would have at least one player that would get the hint if you gave them the Diplomat skill package at the end of character generation.

Another way to drop the hint would be to have several lesser encounters that could clearly be best solved by the use of the desired skill. If no one takes steps to better prepare themselves for that type of encounter, then you can possibly use another skill instead. Art (write) might be used to create a convincing argument or Art (performer) might be able to inspire the soldiers to support the cause. Advocate could be used to present portions of a treaty or other legal document requiring their assistance. Investigate could be used to discover dirt on the commander that could be used to blackmail him into supporting the party. Do not get locked into only a single path to the desired destination, be open to crazy alternate plans that the players come up with.

As a final suggestion: let them fail or only have a partial success if they lack the skills or innovation to achieve everything possible. Failure is a powerful motivation to do better next time. Dragging them step by step to your pre-planned finish will not be very enjoyable for you or the players.

 

[WingedCat]

The literal answer to the question in the topic is, ask the players to make sure one of the characters winds up with that skill.

If they refuse (not, "are unsure how to do it", but, "are unwilling to do it"), you have the wrong players.

If they are willing, they can probably come up with their preferred way to do it.

 

[dragoner]

If you want the players to have a certain skill, just give it to them. However, the players in the games I run have a tendency to wander around and do things that interest them, and I'll warp the game around that, using the PC's skills and abilities as leads.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

I'm wondering about something. If the group doesn't have a skill they can't get the planned best ending result in the campaign without at least 1 of them having it at at least /2 with at least A +4 DM and they can't be bothered learning it cos they don't know that they can't get the planned best ending result in the campaign what do I do?. The idea being that they need to persuade the unaligned groups to aide them in A Military Operation and due to how stubborn their leader is they need 1 of Leadership, Diplomat or Persuade at at least /2 with at least A +4 DM to have any realistic chance of passing the roll, otherwise the campaigns ultimate baddie gets away and they get at best the planned best ending result in the campaign

Are you a story-teller GM? Just take the dice away from your players. Problem solved.

 

[M J Dougherty]

The alternative to just making sure you have the skills to pass the necessary skill check (maybe with the luckiest dice ever, but that seems not to be a problem) is to do some adventuring. If want the negotiation to go your way you could stack the odds by doing things that will win the leader over, or force him to side with you to avoid problems he'd rather not face.

This takes the emphasis away from ensuring you can pass all the skill tests with the best result possible to actually playing a game and doing stuff.

Or, as I said, you roll the dice and fall short of the best outcome possible. Okay, so the adventure opportunities continue to appear.....

 

[Condottiere]

Skill packs, I would have thought to ensure the group as a whole had a very particular set of skills. Skills that they have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make them a nightmare for non player characters they are likely to encounter.

 

[steve98052]

They could look for an employee who can do the necessary job.

 

[Pyromancer]

Your problem is that you already have a best planned ending.