Does Sense Motive allow you to detect lies?

[dreaded_beast]

During my very first adventure, I had NPCs lie to my single player. My player wanted to see if they were lying using her Sense Motive, so I had my NPCs roll an oppossed roll using a Bluff check. If they failed, I told my player that she sensed that they were not telling the whole truth.

I don't have a problem with doing this, but I was wondering how you would handle this situation.

 

[DarkMaster]

During my very first adventure, I had NPCs lie to my single player. My player wanted to see if they were lying using her Sense Motive, so I had my NPCs roll an oppossed roll using a Bluff check. If they failed, I told my player that she sensed that they were not telling the whole truth.

I don't have a problem with doing this, but I was wondering how you would handle this situation.

I do the same, I tell the player that they noticed a change in tone of voice, sweat, incoherence in the speech (contradictions in the NPC speech) ect..

 

[Ottergame]

Isn't that kinda the whole point of Sense Motive?

 

[Sejs]

Yeah, that's what Sense Motive is for. An opposed Social Skill vs Sense Motive check is the norm. A DC 20 Sense Motive check will give you a 'hunch' that something isn't right even if you have no other reason to think that something is wrong - someone impersonating a shopkeeper that you've never met before for example, or alternatly you can get the impression that the shifty seeming rogue guildleader is in fact trustworthy and won't doublecross you after all. A DC 20 or 25 check will let you notice that someone is charmed or dominated; they're not acting quite like themselves. Stuff like that.


Sense Motive is a wonderful skill.

^_^

 

[Nifelhein]

Isn't there a margin by which you know he was lying and a margin in which you are not impressed by that? I think there is, am I wrong?

I never used that, my players don't try to lie much...

 

[Stalker0]

Isn't there a margin by which you know he was lying and a margin in which you are not impressed by that? I think there is, am I wrong?

I never used that, my players don't try to lie much...

The bluff skill has too main modifiers, one is the believability of the lie, and one is the risk it puts on the character. So sometimes the character believes the lie, its just too risky for him to go through with it.


One alternate way of doing sense motive vs bluff is whenever your having a conversation with an npc, do a quick sense motive vs bluff for everyone. Then you can act out the npc lying instead of having to tell people. It also prevents people from metagaming... if you start asking for sense motives people might start thinking something is up.

 

[slingbld]

Isn't that kinda the whole point of Sense Motive?

That's exactly what I use it for
Now, I also use it on my players (having them do an opposed bluff check & the NPC using sense motive). I love it when they try pulling a fast one over on some very streetwise contact and fail

 

[jgsugden]

I find that most people that have questions on this skill would be well served to go through it and read it slowly. This is one of the most misunderstood skills in the game.

 

[0-hr]

This is a good one for the DM to roll behind the screen. That way if the PC really flubs it, the DM can give them misleading information without fear of metagaming (either intentional or unintentional). You really should roll it for every important conversation though, otherwise the mere sound of dice rolling may make the PCs wary.

 

[DarkMaster]

This is a good one for the DM to roll behind the screen. That way if the PC really flubs it, the DM can give them misleading information without fear of metagaming (either intentional or unintentional). You really should roll it for every important conversation though, otherwise the mere sound of dice rolling may make the PCs wary.

That is why I either prerolled my dice or use a dice roller on my laptop. they never know when I rolled their spot,listen, sense motive it keeps the game going