Deception (Cunning)

DECEPTION (CUNNING )

Sometimes a character needs to persuade someone to act a certain way, but lacks any leverage for the discussion. In times like this, a certain degree of moral flexibility may be necessary. Whether it’s an effort to persuade someone to make a purchase, do a favor, or simply go somewhere else, a well-timed and convincing lie can make the difference between success and failure. When a falsehood plays the central role in a persuasive effort, the character making use of it is employing the Deception skill. Agitators, Infiltrators, and many less-than-reputable merchants are all masters of Deception. Many individuals outside of these fields make use of this skill, but it’s seldom a critical focus of their development.

Attempts to deceive are subject to the perceptions of the target. Deception is opposed by the subject’s Discipline. In situations in which the character is attempting to trick multiple subjects or a target who believes that character to be trustworthy, the character need not make an opposed check. In such circumstances, the difficulty of the check is determined by the number of subjects or their disposition (or both). Larger crowds or groups that are more likely to disbelieve the character require a more difficult check, while deceiving those already fooled by the character may require a lower difficulty.

• If a character wishes to mislead a buyer or seller about an object’s value so that he may adjust the purchase price to his advantage, he uses Deception.
• Any time a character wishes to distract an opponent through guile—even within the context of a physical confrontation—he may make use of Deception.
• When pursued, a character may choose to use Deception as a means to lay a false trail, in the hopes that the tracker might make a wrong turn, thus leaving the acting character ample time to escape.

Extra Success on a Deception check may be spent to extend the duration of the Deception. This could give the acting character ample time to travel offworld before the treachery is noticed, or it might even leave the target less likely to notice the fraud and more susceptible to further deceptions.

Advantage may be used to increase the value of any goods or services gained through the action. The subject might simply believe that he is agreeing to fair terms with the liar. Triumph may be spent to fool the target into believing that the character is a trustworthy sort. Future Deception checks against the target do not require an opposed check; they are simply made at a baseline difficulty depending on the nature of the lie.

Threat during a Deception check gives away a portion of the lie. Perhaps the target realizes that he has been lied to but is unable to identify how much of the interaction is false, thereby prompting him to become more suspicious of the character. Despair may represent a more extreme example of this phenomenon; the target not only distrusts the character, but spreads the word of his deceit and harms his reputation among a small community of people. Additionally, the target may realize that he is being lied to and use the situation to his advantage, perhaps to insert some false information of his own. Perhaps the target is able to slip shoddy gear past the character by playing along with the lie.