Attitude
An NPC's disposition toward the party: Friendly, Indifferent, or Hostile. Influences social outcomes and is changed via the Influence action.
Attitude describes how an NPC or creature regards the party at a given moment. Every NPC has one of three attitudes:
- Friendly — the creature wishes the party well and is inclined to cooperate within reason. See Friendly.
- Indifferent — the creature has no particular feeling for or against the party; they will act in their own interest. See Indifferent.
- Hostile — the creature opposes the party, actively or passively. See Hostile.
Changing attitudes: A creature's attitude is not fixed. The Influence action lets a character attempt to shift it one step (Hostile → Indifferent → Friendly, or the reverse) through persuasion, intimidation, or deception. The DM sets the DC based on the creature's personality and circumstances; large gaps (Hostile to Friendly in one roll) generally require exceptional roleplay or a critical success.
Why it matters: Attitude shapes what an NPC will agree to, how much aid they will offer, and whether combat erupts on contact. It is the social analogue to initiative — a quick read of where a creature stands before the conversation begins.
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 ("SRD 5.2.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.