Star Wars Universe Roleplaying Game

The Next Generation of Star Wars Tabletop Adventure

    Diplomat

    The Diplomat wins battles before they start — or ends them before they get worse. In SWURPG, the Diplomat subclass of the Leader class represents ambassadors, envoys, negotiators, intelligence coordinators, and political operatives who understand that who fires the first shot often matters less than who designed the situation in which that shot was inevitable. You shape outcomes through negotiation, compromise, pressure, and curated information.

    From Senate chambers and New Republic assembly halls to Imperial strategy meetings, corporate boardrooms, underworld councils, and rebel war rooms, you are the one who understands what everyone wants — and how to turn that into what you need. While Soldiers and Scoundrels deal with the immediate threat, you are already thinking about the next three moves, the next three news cycles, and the long-term cost of every decision.

    As a subclass of the Leader, the Diplomat builds on the shared Leader foundation at levels 1–2. From level 3 onward, you specialize in persuasion, political maneuvering, information control, and long-term strategy. You are not usually the one firing the first shot — you are the one who decides whether anyone fires at all, and what happens to those who do. When fighting breaks out, your power shows up in redirected hostilities, sudden cease-fires, and enemies who realize too late that they have been cornered by promises they made half a season ago.

    Diplomats excel in scenarios where the stakes are high and the options are messy: cease-fires, treaty talks, back-channel deals, prisoner exchanges, delicate coalition-building, and crisis briefings where a single sentence can save or doom thousands. Even in the thick of combat, your value comes from positioning allies, reframing objectives, and turning some enemies into reluctant partners rather than bodies on the deck.

    Examples from Star Wars lore: Leia Organa, Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, Chandrilan statespeople, high-ranking New Republic and Imperial envoys, and the behind-the-scenes operatives who persuade fleets and worlds to move without ever touching a trigger.

    Playing a Diplomat in SWURPG

    A Diplomat plays like a political controller and narrative architect. You are not built to win firefights alone; you are built to decide which firefights happen, who shows up to them, and what everyone believes the stakes are. At the table, you thrive in scenes with multiple factions, conflicting agendas, and consequences that reach beyond a single encounter.

    In social and strategic scenes, the Diplomat is often the party’s primary voice. You negotiate terms of alliance with Rebel cells or planetary militias, bargain for resources with Hutt cartels or corporate boards, and speak on behalf of the group when dealing with governors, admirals, or senators. Skills like Persuasion, Deception, Insight, Knowledge: Galactic, and Knowledge: Sciences let you navigate complex political terrain, identify pressure points, and sell outcomes that benefit your side without triggering open war.

    In combat, your contributions are more subtle but still impactful. You might call for stand-downs or surrender offers at key moments, convince secondary opponents to disengage, or direct allies toward objectives that matter more than raw body count. A well-played Diplomat can turn a no-win battle into a partial victory, a retreat into a political statement, or a chaotic melee into a clean extraction with prisoners, intel, and leverage intact.

    When building a Diplomat, prioritize Charisma first, then Intelligence, with Wisdom as a strong tertiary choice. Charisma powers your social skills and many subclass features, Intelligence supports your ability to process information and plan, and Wisdom helps with Insight and resisting manipulation. Choose backgrounds and narrative hooks that tie you to specific factions — senate staff, royal advisor, corporate liaison, resistance organizer — so your GM has clear levers to pull when designing political arcs.

    For maximum impact, talk with your GM and group about how much the campaign will lean into factions, negotiations, and reputation. The Diplomat subclass truly shines in games where deals, betrayals, and public perception are as important as shootouts. If your table enjoys intrigue, long-term consequences, and watching maps and alliances shift in response to choices, the Leader Diplomat can easily become the character through whom those shifts are made real.

    Leader Training – Shared Leader Traits (Levels 1–2)

    All Diplomats begin as Leaders. The traits below are the shared Leader features from levels 1–2, representing your early development in crisis management, quick analysis, and the ability to rally allies even when everything is going sideways. For more detail on the base class, see the Leader page.

    Level 1 – Diplomatic Immunity

    Once per Short Rest, when you fail a Charisma-based skill check or saving throw, you can reroll it. You must take the new result.

    Level 1 – Tactical Insight

    Your analytical mind allows you to read a situation before others react. You add your Intelligence modifier to all Initiative rolls.

    Level 2 – Inspiring Leadership

    Allies within 30 ft who can see or hear you gain +1 to Initiative rolls.

    • At Level 9, the bonuses increase to +2.
    • At Level 17, the bonuses increase to +3.

    Level 2 – Point Blank Shot

    When you make a ranged weapon attack against a target within 20 feet, you gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls and +1 to damage rolls.

    Diplomat Path Traits (Level 3+)

    At level 3, you fully embrace the Diplomat path — becoming a high-impact negotiator and strategist who turns information, alliances, and timing into decisive power. The traits below are unique to the Diplomat and build on the Leader training above, defining how you steer both the story and the battlefield through words, leverage, and carefully managed relationships.

    Level 3 – Voice of Authority

    As a bonus action, choose one enemy within 30 feet that can hear you. It must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier). On a failure, the target is charmed by you and can’t attack you until your next turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus per Long Rest.

    • At level 9, you may affect two creatures.
    • At level 15, three creatures, with the effect lasting 2 rounds instead of 1.

    Level 5 – Diplomatic Aura

    Once per Short Rest, as a bonus action, you can project a calming presence for 3 rounds, granting allies within 30 feet advantage on Charisma-based checks.

    • At level 10, the aura grants allies temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier when activated.
    • At level 15, allies within range gain advantage on saving throws against fear and charm, and hostile creatures in the aura must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC = 8 + PB + CHA mod) or have disadvantage on attack rolls until your next turn.

    Level 6 – Spontaneous Skill

    Once per long rest, you may make a skill check you aren't proficient with as though you were proficient.

    Level 7 – Droid Companion

    At level 7, you gain a loyal BD-series droid companion that assists you in the field. You can name it and choose its model number (e.g., BD-7). You can now understand Binary, and you gain proficiency in Mechanics.

    • Your BD droid has AC 13 + your proficiency bonus, HP equal to 5 × your Diplomat level, and a speed of 10 ft. It acts only when you use your bonus action to issue a command. You can communicate with it telemetrically up to 100 ft.
    • When commanded to attack, BD makes one Energy (Ranged) or Shock (Melee) attack using your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier to hit, dealing 1d6 + your proficiency bonus damage.
    • When commanded to support, BD grants you advantage on Use Computer checks and can inject a stim to restore 1d8 + your proficiency bonus hit points.
    • At level 13, BD’s stim heals 2d8 + PB, it gains +10 ft speed, and can once per short rest stun an enemy droid for one round.
    • At level 17, BD’s stim heals 3d8 + PB, its speed increases by another +10 ft, and it can once per long rest charm a basic enemy droid for 3 rounds.
    The GM may adjust this feature if you choose a different droid model as your companion, but the BD unit is considered the default.

    Level 9 – Empathic Insight

    Your ability to read people borders on instinct. You gain advantage on Insight checks, and whenever you make a Persuasion or Deception check, you can learn one of the target’s surface emotions (fear, anger, doubt, respect, etc.) as determined by the GM.

    Level 10 – Favored Weapon

    You’ve become exceptionally skilled with the weapon you rely on most when diplomacy fails. Choose one specific weapon you are proficient with (such as a hold-out blaster, vibrodagger, or light pistol). You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls.

    • At level 17, this bonus increases to +2 to attack and damage rolls.

    Level 11 – Words of Peace

    Once per Short Rest, as an Action, all hostile creatures within 30 ft make a Wisdom save (DC 8 + PB + CHA). On a fail, they hesitate and won’t attack for 1 round unless provoked. Allies who attack them during this time have Advantage on their first attack.

    • At Level 15 – Effect lasts 2 rounds; those who succeed have Disadvantage on their next attack.

    Level 13 – Trust

    Once per Short Rest, when it’s your turn, you can forgo your Action to allow one ally within 30 feet who can see or hear you to immediately take one Action instead. You may still use your Bonus Action and Reaction as normal this round.

    Level 14 – Calculated Escape

    Years of surviving tense negotiations have made you a master at turning chaos into opportunity. Once per Short Rest, when you or an ally within 30 feet is hit by an attack, you can use your reaction to call for an immediate withdrawal. You and one ally of your choice can move up to half your speed without provoking opportunity attacks. If you end this movement behind cover or out of an enemy’s line of sight, you both gain +2 AC until the start of your next turn.

    Level 15 – Influential Network

    Once per Long Rest, you can call upon your vast network of allies, informants, and contacts — whether noble, military, or underworld. The GM determines the precise outcome, but you may choose one of the following effects that best fits the situation:

    • Bypass Security: A well-placed contact grants you temporary clearance or disables security systems, checkpoints, or blockades for you and your allies.
    • Supply Drop: Within 1 hour, a trusted contact arranges for a small cache of useful supplies — such as medpacs or grenades (1–2 items, GM discretion).
    • Informant Leak: You receive vital or encrypted information — such as enemy positions, political secrets, or mission-critical data. This may grant Advantage on one Investigation, Insight, or Persuasion check related to the intel.
    • Backup Request: A small team of loyal operatives (2–3 CR ½ NPCs, GM discretion) arrives to assist you for one encounter or mission, obeying your commands as allies.
    • Diversion or Blackmail: You use your influence to manipulate events — spreading misinformation, stalling pursuit, or forcing an individual or group to back down through fear or leverage. Enemies affected must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC = 8 + PB + CHA) or delay pursuit or combat for up to 10 minutes.

    Level 17 – Betrayal

    Once per Long Rest, as an action, you can attempt to turn an enemy’s focus against their own. Choose one creature within 30 feet that can understand you and is not immune to charm effects. Make a Persuasion check opposed by the target’s Wisdom saving throw (DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier). On a success, the target immediately makes one attack as a free action against another creature of your choice that it can see.

    Level 18 – Critical Charisma

    When making a Charisma-based skill check, you score a critical success on a natural roll of 19 or 20.

    Level 19 – Executive Order

    Once per long rest, as an action, you may authorize a precision airstrike or orbital barrage at a point within 120 feet. The strike lands at the start of your next turn, forcing all creatures in a 30-foot radius to make a Dexterity saving throw (DC = 8 + PB + CHA mod), taking 6d10 energy or explosive damage on a failure, or half as much on a success. This ability can’t be used indoors or where air or orbital support is unavailable.

    Level 20 – Supreme Mandate

    Once per Long Rest, as an action, you may issue a command, decree, or call for unity that ripples across allies and enemies alike within 120 feet who can hear or see you.
    Choose one of the following effects:
    • Ceasefire: Hostile creatures must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC = 8 + PB + CHA mod) or immediately stop fighting for three rounds, unwilling to attack unless attacked first.
    • Rally the Fallen: All allies within range regain 3d10 + your Charisma modifier hit points and remove the frightened and charmed conditions.
    • Galactic Command: For the next 3 rounds, all allies within range gain advantage on attack rolls and saving throws, and enemies who can see you have disadvantage on attacks against anyone but you.

    Related SWURPG Pages