I can’t make heads or tails of the persuasion system. Many times, I have a higher charisma/speech/threat stat than the other person, yet I still fail the check. It doesn’t seem to be randomised either. It appears there are many checks that aren’t checks at all, you always win or lose them. There is no actual indication for how hard something is.
Can someone explain how the persuasion system works?
Speech XP in general seems weird as hell. I got 3 speech XP for succeeding (at great difficulty) the charisma check with Lombard, trying to convince him to let me out. But… I also get 3 Speech XP for failing to convince Lombard…
Levelling up speech seems to be impossible.
Who knows, all could be more bugs lol. I’ve noticed too that even with higher stats then the AI I can’t convince them. Perhaps you require more then just more, like 1.5x more to suceed. Or something of the sort
It’s partly based on your speech/charisma level, but very much influenced by your reputation with the person/NPC that you are interacting with. Says so in the codex/tutorial.
And regarding exp. you gain a little exp from every new interaction (white question/response) selections, or that’s what I’ve noticed.
Yeah, that’s the issue with vague mechanics. You’re not sure what’s intentional and what’s bugs. If having higher stats than your opponent doesn’t matter, then I’m not sure what the point is with that trait that lets you see the other person’s stats.
It’s one thing to be vague and make the player rely on context. That’s one thing KCD hasn’t done… there’s next to no context, and rather than being vague, its inscrutable as to what your chances of succeeding are and why.
If they had just added some feedback, it could become much more alive and clear. For example, if your reputation is too low and you try to persuade a guard, he might say, “As if I’d trust a brigand like you! I’ve heard of your ways.”
Thanks, managed to work out how you gain XP. But this means I was very wise to invest those two ranks in Speech, when you talk to your mother. Because, at this rate, I won’t max out my Speech skill until near the end of the game, despite my intentions to specialize in Speech. Unlike the other stats where you can grind and practice them early on, Speech seems to have no real way to practice it.
I had thought bartering trained your speech, which would be obvious… but it doesn’t appear to, as far as I’ve tested.
It’s disappointing how bizarre the Speech system is, as I really liked the idea of a three-prong conversation system. …Then again,that’s no more advanced than Dungeons and Dragons’ Bluff, Diplomacy and Intimidation system. Making your fashion sense part of that is a nice touch, except for how difficult it is to organise a Charm-based wardrobe.
