Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

©2016 Bethesda Softworks (ZeniMax Media)

At least in D&D BECMI, Deception is just a Charisma-based skill. It’s a simple way to handle it. I wanted to expand on this. Lying is as much a skill as it is an art (for some characters), but it should involve the listener, known as the “mark.” Some people are just bad liars to begin with, but a bit of experience can improve one’s chances.
            Let’s first uncouple Deception from Charisma and treat it separately. Roll 3d4 for the base lying skill. This should yield an average lying talent of 7-8 vs. d20 skill checks (a roll of 1 always succeeds; a roll of 20 always fails). Then apply Tier 1 modifiers to the liar’s base skill score:

In Sooth! Thou dost mangle the truth

with a most clumsy tongue.

Tier 1 Modifiers (Liar Only)
−3 for paladins
−1 for mystics
−1 for lawful* characters other than paladins (*) LG in other game versions.
+1 or more for a well-crafted/roleplayed and credible tale with verifiable evidence
−1 for a lie greater than a trivial untruth
−2 for a bigger and questionable lie
−3 for a tall tale

Tier 2 Modifiers (Liar and its Marks)
+/−1 for every 7 experience levels or HD (so, at levels 7, 14, 21, and 28)
+/−1 to 3 for one of the highest of Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom attribute bonuses
+/−2 for thieves and “roguish” characters in general (incl. bards and courtesans)
+/−2 with the Deception skill or equivalent
            Tier 2 bonuses apply to the liar. Penalties reflect the mark’s discernment.

Example: A level 1 thief with a base skill score of 7 attempts to fast speak while facing a red dragon. The thief’s modifiers are −3 for tall tale, +2 for the thief class, +2 Charisma bonus, and +2 for the Deception skill, for a total of +3. The mark is a 15 HD red dragon with a Deception skill as well, yielding a −4 modifier for the thief’s tall tale. The final modifier is therefore −1. The thief needs to roll a 6 or lower for the lie to succeed. The same attempt against an orc would require the thief to roll 11 or lower.

Thou hast no more truth in thee than a stewed prune.

Other Factors
             Liars should incur a −2 Tier 1 penalty when facing NPCs who commonly deal with fraudsters and deceivers (such as constables, bounty hunters, bailiffs, magistrates, inquisitors, guards, tax collectors, nobles, household courtiers, merchants, guild wardens, clerks of the markets, old beggars, vagrants, bandits, pirates, smugglers, etc.).

Fie upon thy false tongue!

            The number of marks present may also pose a challenge. In a group of 2-3 marks, roll a check for the one hardest to fool. For a larger group, use the most representative mark and add a −1 penalty to the liar for the first 10 marks, −2 from 11 to 30, −3 from 31 to 100, −4 from 101 to 1,000, or a −5 for more than 1,000.

Methinks thou dost protest too much.

            If new evidence comes to light that may cause a mark to question an earlier deception, the liar must roll a new check with a cumulative −2 penalty for each new clue uncovered (the DM does so if the liar is unaware of the event). If verifiable evidence obviously refutes a lie or a check fails at any point, the mark should react accordingly.

Go to! Thy tongue outvenoms all the worms of the Nile.

Reactions
            The DM should adjudicate reactions as in the normal refereeing process. The extent of a miffed mark might reflect the total penalties involved in the failed check, as follows:

Zero: Shrugs and is disappointed; −1 reaction penalty (and −2 Tier 1 penalty)

−1 to −3: Is mildly offended; −2 reaction penalty (and −3 Tier 1 penalty)

−4 to −7: Is angry and seeks retribution; −3 reaction penalty (and −4 Tier 1 penalty; may warn acquaintances about the liar)

−8 or worse: Is furious and seeks personal revenge, legal or otherwise; −3 reaction penalty (will never trust the liar again; may post a bounty for the liar’s head, sends minions after the offending character and known associates, etc.)

Speak, sir, and tell me once again what brought
thy hidden purpose to my lonely roof.

Obsolete Healing Spells?

Healer © Ludvik Skopalik, DeviantArt

Hopefully, I won’t be thought blasphemous if I say that perhaps most cleric healing spells should be replaced with something else. I’m exploring the option of allowing clerics to use their spells for purposes other than healing. Instead, a prayer beseeching one’s immortal patron to bestow healing on one’s party rather than a single individual would be more expedient. Check the chart below. I haven’t playtested this, so let me know if you tried these mechanics and how the session went. Thanks!

Number of Daily Prayers: This is the number of times clerics may beseech their immortal patron for healing, based on their experience level.

Piety Adjustment: The number of hit points added or subtracted from a prayer’s potency reflecting various factors. The base adjustment is equal to the cleric's experience level. If the cleric fulfilled its faith’s expectations with distinction, the adjustment is positive. If the cleric truly impressed its immortal patron, double the bonus. Conversely, if the cleric merely met its basic cult expectations, no adjustment applies. If the immortal patron is displeased, the adjustment is negative. If the immortal is seriously offended, the prayer should fail, as one might guess. If the prayer’s recipient is of the cleric’s own faith, add a positive modifier. If the recipient is of a faith or alignment the immortal objects to, add a further penalty.

Party Size: This is the number of people (including the cleric) intended to benefit from the prayer. Everyone receives the number of hit points listed (plus or minus Piety adjustments). Penalties can deny healing for larger party sizes. In a mixed group, the cleric specifies which individuals the prayer is intended for. The prayer’s range determines who may be eligible. If the base healing is zero (--), Piety adjustments do not apply. Ignore modified results of zero or in the negatives. Healing in excess of the recipient's maximum hit points is lost (they do not carry over to someone else).

Praying Time: In rounds. The prayer must be uninterrupted (i.e., the cleric does not sustain damage while conducting the ritual and isn’t the target of a spell that inflicts damage or requires a saving throw).

Examples: A level 2 cleric directs a prayer at a single individual; its unmodified healing bestows 8 hit points. If intended for 2-3 individuals, each receives 6. If the cleric was played well and met its faith's expectations with distinction, add +2 hit points to each recipient as a Piety adj. Those of the cleric’s own faith receive an extra +2 hit point bonus. On the other hand, if the immortal is thoroughly unimpressed with its cleric and objects to the chosen recipients, a total −4 penalty applies, negating any healing for 4 or more recipients.

Min/Max: The most a single recipient can ever receive from a level 2 cleric is +14 hit points (two BECMI cure light wounds spells yield 2d6+2 hit points). The prayer’s biggest advantage is when it’s used for a party of adventurers, with everyone recovering some or all of their lost hit points. In the best case (unlikely), the prayer can heal up to 10 hit points for each in a party of 6 (plenty for most level 2 adventurers), or a whopping 60 hit points total. A more likely scenario is a party of 4-6 adventurers; most should receive +6 hit points each (from a decent cleric praying for adventurers of various acceptable faiths). Overall, this prayer is far more advantageous than a single-recipient cure light.

And yes, you can include the party’s pack mule as a recipient if you wish. No immortal should object.

Other BECMI Healing Spells: Cure serious and cure critical spells should be eliminated. A playtest should determine whether cureall should as well; at this level it might not be much of an issue. Other healing spells remain unchanged (blindness, disease, and poison). Logically, the prayer described here could be reversed, which would provide the cleric with a potent weapon against nearby foes, though limited in its area of effect. A DM's option or a ritual only certain immortals would grant? Incidentally, I wrote an earlier article on “improved” spellcasting progression for clerics that may be useful: Click Here.

Either way, you have enough to throw around. 

Whatever happens, pray hard, smite harder, and give ‘em hell!