Charisma.
Check: A Bluff check is opposed by the target’s
Sense Motive check when trying to con or mislead. Favourable and unfavourable circumstances weigh heavily on the outcome of a bluff. Two circumstances can work against the character: The bluff is hard to believe, or the action that the bluff requires the target to take goes against the target’s self-interest, nature, personality, or orders.
If it’s important, the GM can distinguish between a bluff that fails because the target doesn’t believe it and one that fails because it asks too much of the target. For instance, if the target gets a +10 bonus because the bluff demands something risky of the target, and the target’s Sense Motive check succeeds by 10 or less, then the target didn’t so much see through the bluff as prove reluctant to go along with it. If the target’s Sense Motive check succeeds by 11 or more, he has seen through the bluff, and would have succeeded in doing so even if it had not placed any demand on him (that is, even without the +10 bonus).
A successful Bluff check indicates that the target reacts as the character wishes, at least for a short time (usually 1 round or less), or the target believes something that the character wants him or her to believe.
A bluff requires interaction between the character and the target. Targets unaware of the character can’t be bluffed.
Feinting in Combat: A character can also use Bluff to mislead an opponent in combat so that the opponent can’t dodge the character’s attack effectively. If the character succeeds, the next attack the character makes against the target ignores his or her Dexterity bonus to Defence (if the opponent has one), thus lowering his or her Defence score. Using Bluff in this way against a creature of animal intelligence (Int 1 or 2) requires a –8 penalty on the check. Against a non-intelligent creature, feinting is impossible.
Sending a Secret Message: A character can use Bluff to send and understand secret messages while appearing to be speaking about other things. The DC for a basic message is 10. Complex messages or messages trying to communicate new information have DCs of 15 or 20. Both the sender and the receiver must make the check for the secret message to be successfully relayed and understood. Anyone listening in on a secret message can attempt a Sense Motive check (DC equal to the sender’s Bluff check result). If successful, the eavesdropper realizes that a secret message is contained in the communication. If the eavesdropper beats the DC by 5 or more, he or she understands the secret message.
Whether trying to send or intercept a message, a failure by 5 or more points means that one side or the other misinterprets the message in some fashion.
Demagogy: When addressing the members of a group or community, a character can address their immediate needs and desires to get them to believe what he wants them to, even if the proposed course of action may go against their own interests in the short run. When trying to influence individuals through falsehoods, the characters engage in opposed Bluff and Sense Motive checks as normal, but when addressing a group of NPCs, the would-be demagogue makes a Bluff check against a DC dependent on the group’s attitude. A character can influence a group of 10 or more people per point of Charisma modifier without penalty; every 5 additional people beyond that limit increases the DC by +1. The character may choose to limit the number of people he wants to affect with a single check, speaking to his target group for at least 5 minutes, after which, he can target another group within the crowd. At the GM’s option, using a form of mass communication can double or triple the number of people the character can affect with a single check.
The magnitude of the lie modifies the DC as described above, with demagogy that directly addresses the group’s hopes and beliefs reducing the DC by -5, while outrageous lies can increase its DC by as much as +20.
Fake Expertise: People trust those who know what they are doing, or at least who appear to. A character can pretend to have a high bonus in a
Computer Use,
Craft, or
Knowledge skill without having any ranks in the skills at all. Since the character is just pretending, he cannot use Bluff to actually achieve anything or learn any useful information, but rather he can “fake it” just enough to pass as an expert in the field. This is useful when the character is asked to do something to prove himself, particularly when dealing with groups that depend on a meritocracy model for leadership. When the character wants to pretend he knows how to do something, he makes a Bluff check with a DC 5 points lower than the task’s original DC. If successful, he can go through the motions convincingly, although he will not get any real result. Alternatively, if the character actually has ranks in the skill he is being asked to demonstrate, he can opt to make a Bluff check with a +2 synergy bonus from the other skill, or he can make a normal skill check with the other skill with a +2 synergy bonus from the Bluff skill. The results of such a modified skill check are the same as a Bluff check: impressive, but otherwise insubstantial.
Lying is not always a bad thing. When the community is facing a disaster or a negative event, the simple fact of believing someone knows what he is doing is enough to bolster morale, and may even prompt cooperation in order to truly fulfil the task the character lied about.
Double-Talk: Leaders are faced daily with tough questions from followers, and they must learn the art of giving responses without actually giving answers. With a successful Bluff check, opposed by a Sense Motive check or against a DC equal to the one for a demagogy application, a character can speak with anyone and make her believe that they actually had a fruitful conversation, when in truth, the character merely bent words and phrases to say nothing at all. Charismatic heroes with talents from the Fast Talk tree add their level as a bonus as normal.
Action: A bluff takes at least 1 round (and is at least a full-round action) but can take much longer if the character tries something elaborate. Using Bluff as a feint in combat is 1 act.
Try Again?: Generally, a failed Bluff check makes the target suspicious of the character. Further attempts are at a cumulative -10 penalty and may be impossible (GM discretion). For feinting in combat, the character may try again freely.
Special: A character can take 10 when making a bluff (except for feinting in combat), but can’t take 20.
A character with the
Deceptive feat gets a +2 bonus on all Bluff checks.
