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Do you use passive insight?
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<blockquote data-quote="Jubles" data-source="post: 7080674" data-attributes="member: 6875874"><p>I don't disagree. I definitely use active insight for most things, I just like to supplement scenes with the passive sometimes. For example my party recently stumbled into a monastery of rock gnome monks except the leader was a big firbolg monk who called himself Papa Gumble. </p><p></p><p>I presented the entire scene as one that was generally friendly and agreeable folk but something just wasn't quite right. Then again, they were in the Faewild where everything has consistently been at least a little bit funky. What they did not know was Papa Gumble was actually a rakshasa named Vonkleesio. The long and short of it was the rakshasa killed the real firbolg and schemed to have former master removed. It was all a charade and he was using the gnomes to collect a dangerous power source to power a portable gateway to the City of Dis for greater economic gain, blah blah blah. </p><p></p><p>The point is, I obviously did not reveal to them that this 'Papa Gumble' was actually a rakshasa. I spoke with the druid player in private between sessions and filled him in based on his 'passive insight'. I didn't actually give him new information. I told him while he was meditating and replaying the day's events he began to piece things together. I reminded him of different inconsistencies and deflections and odd statements the creature had made in its faux welcoming act. The party was invited to sleep in the monastery and be on their way in the morning. The rakshasa wanted them gone, not to fight. The party, in their innocence of the situation was getting close to forcing the rakshasa's hand. The druid's ability to recognize something was wrong allowed the party to wake up the next morning somewhat more on guard and understanding the delicateness of the situation. </p><p></p><p></p><p>My point is that if I'm worried a player will detect an NPC's lie with their insight and I don't want them to know that information yet then I go at it in another way. I rarely tell a direct lie as an NPC, because I don't think most people, even liars, do that often in real life, especially when the stakes are high. I've found an excellent method for this is to have the NPC, in the midst of being grilled for information by the PCs, turn it around on them and ask the same personal questions of the PC. Or suddenly speak to a different PC, or otherwise cause some sort of distraction. It doesn't always fit the NPC, but when it does, like with a rakshasa or a green dragon or an archlich or something it tends to be effective. And if they do figure it out and happen to get a good enough insight roll, then good on them. They still wouldn't have known it was a rakshasa that had a secret torture dungeon. They would just know he was a shifty dude that wasn't telling them everything, which was odd based on his fronted personality. </p><p></p><p></p><p>I'm from Tampa.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jubles, post: 7080674, member: 6875874"] I don't disagree. I definitely use active insight for most things, I just like to supplement scenes with the passive sometimes. For example my party recently stumbled into a monastery of rock gnome monks except the leader was a big firbolg monk who called himself Papa Gumble. I presented the entire scene as one that was generally friendly and agreeable folk but something just wasn't quite right. Then again, they were in the Faewild where everything has consistently been at least a little bit funky. What they did not know was Papa Gumble was actually a rakshasa named Vonkleesio. The long and short of it was the rakshasa killed the real firbolg and schemed to have former master removed. It was all a charade and he was using the gnomes to collect a dangerous power source to power a portable gateway to the City of Dis for greater economic gain, blah blah blah. The point is, I obviously did not reveal to them that this 'Papa Gumble' was actually a rakshasa. I spoke with the druid player in private between sessions and filled him in based on his 'passive insight'. I didn't actually give him new information. I told him while he was meditating and replaying the day's events he began to piece things together. I reminded him of different inconsistencies and deflections and odd statements the creature had made in its faux welcoming act. The party was invited to sleep in the monastery and be on their way in the morning. The rakshasa wanted them gone, not to fight. The party, in their innocence of the situation was getting close to forcing the rakshasa's hand. The druid's ability to recognize something was wrong allowed the party to wake up the next morning somewhat more on guard and understanding the delicateness of the situation. My point is that if I'm worried a player will detect an NPC's lie with their insight and I don't want them to know that information yet then I go at it in another way. I rarely tell a direct lie as an NPC, because I don't think most people, even liars, do that often in real life, especially when the stakes are high. I've found an excellent method for this is to have the NPC, in the midst of being grilled for information by the PCs, turn it around on them and ask the same personal questions of the PC. Or suddenly speak to a different PC, or otherwise cause some sort of distraction. It doesn't always fit the NPC, but when it does, like with a rakshasa or a green dragon or an archlich or something it tends to be effective. And if they do figure it out and happen to get a good enough insight roll, then good on them. They still wouldn't have known it was a rakshasa that had a secret torture dungeon. They would just know he was a shifty dude that wasn't telling them everything, which was odd based on his fronted personality. I'm from Tampa. [/QUOTE]
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