This skill will test the veracity of the last statement made by another character. To use this skill, the character should call a Hold, privately ask the target player if they are lying, then call the Lay On. The skill is undetectable in-game to bystanders and the target character. However, a character with the Lie skill can use their skill as a defense. This is the only defense to this skill.
The veracity of the statement is based on what the player, not the character, knows is the truth. Therefore, if the character is intentionally lying or lying under compulsion (charm effect, Forget and Remember poison, etc), they are lying and will detect as such. Even if the character’s perception of the truth is skewed, the skill will detect the statement as a lie.
For example, a character does not believe it is murder to kill Halflings. After killing Kay, Scanlon asks the character if they killed Kay. The character says no, and Scanlon uses his Detect Lie skill to test the truthfulness of the statement. While the character does not believe killing Halflings is murder, the player must tell Scanlon that he is lying.
The player should not draw upon out-of-game knowledge their character should not know about when judging the truthfulness of their answer.
For example, Susan helped a Plot Marshal set up an ambush down the road. The marshal decides to make her the bait, an innocent farmer’s wife who is being chased by a Lesser Troll the brigands have dominated. The farmer’s wife screams for help and Calandris and his friends hear the call for help and investigate. Calandris asks the farmer’s wife if this is a trap, and she answers no. Calandris uses his Detect Lie skill and learns the farmer’s wife is not lying. While Susan knows there is a trap planned for the characters, her NPC is ignorant of the trick.
If a character is lied to and later tells people the lie believing it to be the truth, he will not detect as lying.
For example, while on an adventure Constantine meets a Dark Paladin who says he killed Squire Scanlon and shows him is tabard. Believing the Dark Paladin, Constantine runs to Avalon to get help. Suspecting this may be a trap, Juhani uses her Detect Lie skill to test the veracity of his statement. The skill reveals Constantine is not lying and they go off to find the Dark Paladin. Along the way they meet Squire Scanlon who is alive and well and is looking for his missing tabard.
In the above example, Constantine was not attempting to lie to Juhani, even though he was wrong and Squire Scanlon was alive, the skill still revealed he was telling the truth. This skill requires no verbal to use.
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