Deception
| Name | Deception |
|---|---|
| Ability | Charisma |
Deception measures your ability to convincingly hide the truth through misdirection, ambiguity, or outright lies. It covers both verbal and nonverbal communication.
Common Uses
- Tell Lies: Convince others of falsehoods
- Disguise Intent: Hide your true intentions or emotions
- Fast Talk: Quickly mislead or distract someone
- Bluff in Games: Succeed at games involving deception like poker
- Create Diversions: Draw attention away from something important
Example DCs
| DC | Task |
|---|---|
| 10 | Tell a simple, plausible lie |
| 15 | Maintain a consistent false identity for a short time |
| 20 | Tell a complex or elaborate lie convincingly |
| 25 | Deceive someone about something they have strong reason to doubt |
Opposed Checks
Deception is often contested by the target's Insight check. The target adds their passive Insight score, or actively rolls Insight if suspicious.
Related Features
- Rogues, especially Masterminds and Swashbucklers, excel at Deception
- Bards often have high Deception due to their Charisma
- The Actor feat enhances both mimicry and Deception
- Disguise Self spell supplements Deception for disguises
Synergies
Characters proficient in Deception often benefit from:
- High Charisma scores
- Rogue or bard class levels
- Actor feat
- Disguise kit proficiency
- Illusion magic