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<blockquote data-quote="Guest 6801328" data-source="post: 7790396">I hadn't thought about the retroactive action angle before.&nbsp; And I think you're exactly right. We don't wait until after we've fallen into the pit to see if we can make an Athletics check.&nbsp; Or after the guard has seen us to make a Stealth check.So maybe when somebody says, &quot;Can I use Insight to see if he's lying?&quot; the right response is, &quot;Are you just going to stand there and stare at him and wait for him to tell a lie?&nbsp; What are you DOING?&quot;&nbsp; (Also, lying about WHAT is important.&nbsp; That's usually omitted, in my experience. Lying about everything?)And, FWIW, I think a good way to do that, if Insight is the skill you want to lean on, is to bring things into a conversation and gauge the person's reaction.&nbsp; E.g.,&quot;I want to know if he actually knows Vinnie the Snake. I'm going to casually mention some untrue things about Vinnie that would surprise somebody who actually knows him, and watch his reaction.&quot;&quot;I want to know if he had feelings for her.&nbsp; I'm going to keep bringing her back into the conversation, and watch to see what he does.&quot;&quot;I want to know if he has a prior relationship with the city watch. I'll keep the conversation going for a while, then suddenly announce that the city watch should be here any minute, and see his reaction.&quot;&nbsp; (Player2: &quot;Ooh...I want to try to slip out, and then knock on the door loudly!&quot;)I generally adhere less rigidly to the ability:skill pairings in the PHB, and decide on the fly which ability score will apply, depending on the situation.&nbsp; Intelligence and Perception are a common one.&nbsp; Intimidation and Strength.&nbsp; Etc.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Guest 6801328, post: 7790396"] I hadn't thought about the retroactive action angle before. And I think you're exactly right. We don't wait until after we've fallen into the pit to see if we can make an Athletics check. Or after the guard has seen us to make a Stealth check. So maybe when somebody says, "Can I use Insight to see if he's lying?" the right response is, "Are you just going to stand there and stare at him and wait for him to tell a lie? What are you DOING?" (Also, lying about WHAT is important. That's usually omitted, in my experience. Lying about everything?) And, FWIW, I think a good way to do that, if Insight is the skill you want to lean on, is to bring things into a conversation and gauge the person's reaction. E.g., "I want to know if he actually knows Vinnie the Snake. I'm going to casually mention some untrue things about Vinnie that would surprise somebody who actually knows him, and watch his reaction." "I want to know if he had feelings for her. I'm going to keep bringing her back into the conversation, and watch to see what he does." "I want to know if he has a prior relationship with the city watch. I'll keep the conversation going for a while, then suddenly announce that the city watch should be here any minute, and see his reaction." (Player2: "Ooh...I want to try to slip out, and then knock on the door loudly!") I generally adhere less rigidly to the ability:skill pairings in the PHB, and decide on the fly which ability score will apply, depending on the situation. Intelligence and Perception are a common one. Intimidation and Strength. Etc. [/QUOTE]

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