Skill Scale Down 2021

This skill has been impacted by the Skill Scale Down. The impact of this for this skill is as follows:

• This skill remains.

• Knowledge from Acting may be counted as Deception knowledge.

• Knowledge from Disguise may be counted as Deception knowledge - or as Cosmetology.

• For how to deal with XP, please see the page Skill Scale Down 2021 for links, information, and a player guide.

• The scope of this skill now includes appropriate aspects of what was previously covered by Acting, Disguise. Please ensure that you take this into account going forward.

Overview

Deception isn't just about the act of saying something that isn't true, or lying. At its essence, the skill of Deception governs one's ability to mislead, obfuscate, and conceal the truth. A character with sufficient skill in Deception is capable of lying without giving their bluffs away, disguising themselves as somebody else, performing parlor tricks of illusion, concealment of a weapon, obfuscating an investigator's efforts to uncover the truth, offering a diplomat a false sense of security, courting a suitor for a political marriage, or blending in plain sight with a crowd in order to conduct spycraft.

In matters concerning Deception, ethics often fall by the wayside, or at the very least occupy a gray area. Whatever lie, whichever behavior, that will accomplish that which the character seeks can be fair game. For a deceiver, success is paramount. The key for the character is assuring that those who are the target of such measures find plausibility so they believe whatever it is that the deception entails.

Types of deception can include:

• Sleight of hand - Deceptive sleight of hand differs from larceny, in that its main objective is to conceal, distract, and obfuscate attempts to sense what is going on behind the hand. With larceny, the focus is on stealing in as direct and efficient a way as possible.
• Distractions - Sometimes, the best way to deceive someone is to have them directing their attention in another direction, while you do what you need to do. This can be accomplished by many means, not limited to noisy contraptions to lure their attention, to a rock thrown from a hidden position, to simply pointing and yelling for the other person to lookout.
• Concealment - Deceptive concealment differs from Stealth in that it isn't focused on hiding a person or moving undetected, so much as hiding a specific aspect of that person's appearance or belongings. Hiding an identifying mark or tattoo in a way that doesn't draw suspicion is the province of deception.
• Misrepresentation - A form of deception that runs the gamut from misidentifying people or things, to full-on impersonation of another individual, whether that persona is fully invented or belonging to another.
• Omission - The easiest and most basic form of lie, which only requires that one neglect inform another about a fact. It's concerned with obfuscating or avoiding bringing attention to certain facts.
• Disguise - The ability to change aspects of one's appearance fully by any means available to them. At the basic level, it's concerned with changing small aspects of one's appearance, from changing the cloak one wears, to altering your facial expressions or body language enough to render oneself slightly less recognizable. A master of disguise can pass unidentified even with minimal changes made. Cosmetology can factor into it slightly, by changing one's hairstyle/makeup or choosing colors less likely to grab attention, but the deceptive disguise is more concerned full on changes to appearance, without regard to looking one's best.

Deception in Combat

Feints, momentary misdirection, distractions, falsely telegraphed movements, and concealed weaponry all are aspects of Deception that may benefit one in combat. With greater deception skill, one can pull off even more complex and effective techniques that rely on deception.

Deception vs Acting

Acting and Deception are different skills for a reason. An N/PC with the Acting skill is skilled in the acting profession. This involves technical aspects of performance, stage directions etc. Deception differs from this skillset, in that it's used to actively deceive and mislead others in various ways in everyday life. The focus is on misleading, lying, hiding the truth, and obscuring your identity, rather than entertaining.

Skill Ranks

Novice (0-25)

The Novice is more skilled than the average person at the art of deception, but they've only just begun. Their attempts to deceive can be frequent, but the success rate wildly varies with a high likelihood that their target(s) will see through the attempts. Even for those deceptions that succeed, often the target(s) realize later on (after more thought) that they have been deceived. Low-level deceptions are able to usually succeed in the moment, but any long-lasting deception will inevitably fail. The more disciplined, knowledgeable about behavior and psychology, or higher detection the target has will also impact the potential for failure. Novice deceivers will need a good amount of preparation or support from others, in order to be effective in their lie.

Competent (26-75)

At competent, the character has figured out how to prolong deceptions to last longer than in the moment. They are able to succeed at low-level or relatively easy deceptions most of the time. For deceptions that involve multiple targets or many different elements at once, they will still struggle to find success. Concealing a small weapon, causing a temporary distraction, pretending to feel emotion are all examples of what can be considered easy at this level. Hiding larger weapons, influencing others permanently about something, stealing an identity, disguising oneself, omitting or concealing an obvious fact from someone, distracting a crowd, taking on an assumed identity, or covering up a crime or crime scene are examples of what will still be difficult and often result in failure over the long term. Competent deceivers will find their ability to lie without planning a little easier, succeeding at small lies with less support and preparations, although the more complex deceptions will eventually still fall apart under close scrutiny or the long-term.

Expert (76-150)

The Expert is a character who finds simple deceptions successful nearly every time in terms of personal scale deceptions. Sleight-of-hand? Not an issue. Concealment of items or weapons? Easy. Disguising yourself? Likely successful. Prolonged deceptions can now be carried out with a high degree of success, able to maintain deception over targets without them ever realizing that they are being deceived. Especially large crowds, such as entire groups, are prone to cause difficulties still unless used with supportive skills like tactics, psychology, and so on. At expert, the character can trick others with a fair degree of ease and not have to worry about people realizing it until they are long gone. It is also at this level that their attempts to deceive have 'grown legs', and lies may transfer from one person to another and so on. Deceptions of this kind can take on a life of their own, however, they are less durable to scrutiny without the Expert to reinforce them. Expert deceivers will be able to lie and misdirect almost without preparation. The deceptions of those who do have time to prepare them will be much sturdier under scrutiny, to the point where few can uncover them. Doubt is the expert deceivers greatest ally to this end, and exploiting the benefit of the doubt can carry a deception where normally it might fall apart.

Master (151-250)

Whether innocent in performance of acting or storytelling, or mischievous in sleight-of-hand or stealth, or malicious in misleading or outright lying; the master of deception will almost certainly succeed. Their targets will often never realize that they had been deceived. Even in some cases, targets who are presented with evidence against the master might choose to believe in the deception instead of accepting the evidence. When paired with their skills of choice, the master deceiver is a force to be reckoned with... that is if they allow others to see through their deceptions to realize it. Whereas before their deceptions had 'grown legs' now they have also grown a brain to go along with it, and their deceptions will spread and carry from individual to individual while managing to pass casual scrutiny. They're still vulnerable to those with high skills in detection and investigation, however for most subjects, the Master will likely never be found out. Master deceivers rarely need to prepare in order to deceive others. Those that do have the opportunity and take the time to prepare, will be almost inscrutable in their deceptions. Exploiting the doubts of others becomes almost like a game to these deceivers, who are able to float their deceptions and disguises based on the particular prejudices and preconceived ideas of their targets.

Credit: Original Article by Llyr Llewelyn, finishing touches by Woe.

Progressing Deception

• Capstones
• Grandmasters
• Tier 2 PCs

Deception Knowledge

The collapsible below has examples of Skill Knowledge for this skill. If you are unsure of what Knowledge is, please check the Knowledge Primer for details. Please remember that our Peer Reviewers will be checking to make sure that your Knowledge claim is appropriate to what you have learned in the thread and ensuring that you are not duplicating knowledge.

A guide to knowledge can be found here (this link takes you to the site) and the person reviewing your thread will do so following the steps laid out in the Peer Reviewer Guide. If you wish to use one of these knowledge in your request, please ensure that it is appropriate to your thread.