The emperor's mind flayer nature makes him pretty much immune to basic charm attempts, so using friends won't trigger any special story beats or consequences. When casting friends, you'll notice the standard animation plays but the emperor, being incredibly perceptive, tends to shrug off these minor manipulation attempts. Something worth noting is the 60-foot range requirement for friends, and you'll want good positioning near his throne area to even attempt it.

The real turning points come from major decisions like choosing between him and orpheus, or how you handle the ceremorphosis situation. During key story moments, watch his dialogue carefully as he often reveals subtle hints about his true intentions especially when discussing the netherbrain threat. Most npcs become hostile after friends wears off but the emperor operates on a different level, caring more about your significant choices than these small magical nudges.

A tip worth remembering - save your charm attempts for regular npcs where they'll actually make a difference and focus on genuine dialogue choices with the emperor since those actually influence how events unfold