D&D 5E How do you handle Insight in your game?

[Stalker0]

I will say that most players I have played with have this expectation that Insight is basically lie detection. That with a single roll you can immediate glean the second an NPC tells a fib. I would say out of all skills in the game, insight is probably the most inflated on what it should be capable of in players heads (number 2 being persuasion.....aka no I don't care that you got a 30 you cannot convince the NPC just die for you).

I am curious how people generally use insight in their games.

 

[Chaltab]

I mean sensing dishonesty and lies of omission can be a valid use of insight. But it's not infallible, nor is it mind reading.

 

[DEFCON 1]

The players get an impression of what the person might actually be feeling. But really just that... impressions. Which they can take or leave.

 

[payn]

When you consolidate skill lists it gets like this. Insight seems infinitely applicable and useful.

 

[billd91]

If they successfully beat a deception check, I'll let them know that the speaker seems to be hiding something or is doing something shifty like a tell. If they fail, or if there's no deception to check, I'll tell them that the speaker isn't giving off any indication that they are insincere. I may also give them a bit of the target's observable mental and physical state.
But positively detecting lies without some interpretation? Nope.

 

[DEFCON 1]

The other thing to note about this is that if the players are constantly trying to use Insight and want it treated like a lie detector test... that pretty much is an indication that they don't have any desire to be "fooled" in the story. They don't wish to be lied to.

Which of course is an issue for a lot of DMs because they almost all want that "Gotcha!" moment of a big twist or big reveal because it... feels cool(?)... to pull something like that off as a DM? Same reason why DMs don't want darkvision in their games-- because they can't take their players by surprise with attacks from the darkness with it. DMs have this innate need to "surprise" their players in the story, and players have this need to not get "caught".

It's basically both sides trying to avoid looking like an idiot.

So if players are going out of their way to get all the information they can about their fellow NPCs, it means they don't want that "twist" of a friend actually being a foe, or being caught with their pants down. If that's truly the case? Then don't bother. Say 'Yes, and..." to their desires as players and not try so hard to fool them. And maybe eventually they might change their mind.

 

[Shadowdweller00]

The skill basically just reads relevant speech inflections and body language in my games. The player has to determine whether that means the subject is lying or not.

Examples:
"Despite the seemingly warm demeanor, his eyes seem cold."
"She seems... fidgety"
"He sounds legitimately passionate about the subject."

 

[FrozenNorth]

I will say that most players I have played with have this expectation that Insight is basically lie detection. That with a single roll you can immediate glean the second an NPC tells a fib. I would say out of all skills in the game, insight is probably the most inflated on what it should be capable of in players heads (number 2 being persuasion.....aka no I don't care that you got a 30 you cannot convince the NPC just die for you).

I am curious how people generally use insight in their games.

I would say that a player that is only using Insight to detect falsehoods is restricting the usefulness of that skill, not exploiting its broadness. Also, a high Insight roll should tell a player that a person is lying. If the DM is concerned about a player metagaming, that would be a good candidate for a secret roll.

 

[bloodtide]

As my game is Deep Immersive Role Playing, the use of Insight will only get the clueless player a vague 'insight' to what the character (and ever non clueless player) knows or thinks or feels.

So like if a character is in a dark sewer talking to a figure in a cloak to get a "super duper magic sword" for just "1000 gold".......and the player say rolls for Insight on accident. I would tell the player that it's unlikely "some guy" in "a sewer" has a "super duper magic sword" that he is willing to sell cheap.

But the player still needs to act on the knowledge.


For the better players, I will mostly remind them of something they missed or did not get. The goal here is not make them better players so they don't need to roll next time.

So like if it's: DM: The guard pus his hand on his sword hilt and says "there is no one in the cells tonight." And the player makes an insight roll, I will mention "well, the guard did put his hand on his sword hilt as he said that...he seems to feel the need to have his sword ready"

 

[Smackpixi]

Insight checks have unknown, to the player, DCs or are rolled in opposition to a behind the screen roll. About one of only thing I roll in secret. And will be given even if impossible. Some creatures can tell perfect lies. Most can’t but if you don’t know the DC or the opposition role, there’s always some uncertainty. How I do it on the lie detector issue.