Paul Mitchener it could be bad form, or it could just be that the player hadn’t fully thought through the difficulty prior to the action.

Like, it sounds like it shouldn’t have been a surprise in the case-at-bar that Beorn was unwilling to participate, but if the player was just talking faster than their mind was processing, it’s not an unreasonable thing to ask for. It could have even triggered more negotiation: “Don’t start a fight, go do some recon.” “I ask him for some muscle.” “Uh, he’s not into that. TN 18.” “Oh, right. Duh. OK, how about I ask him to lend me a handful of his best scouts.” “Hm, That makes more sense. TN 16.”

I guess, unpacking, I tend to think of these sorts of GM/player interactions in terms of contract law: you need offer, consideration (ie, exchange), and acceptance or there’s no contract, and both parties have to be clear on what the terms are.