Sense Motive vs a written lie

[Lord Zardoz]

One of my players recently had a rather brilliant idea. After killing some people who were after them, they managed to take a prisoner. They then arranged for that prisoner (under a charm person) to write a letter to his boss saying that though he was captured and arrested by town guards, the players were killed.

The tricky thing is that when the boss looks into this further, he will know that the leaders of the men he sent after the player were also killled. The author of the message was not at the top of the food chain. So the plausibilty of the lie is that 'How did a 4th level caster survive and succeed when the 2 7th level leutenants were captured?

If this were face to face, it would be Bluff vs Sense Motive.

How does this work when the bluff is a written message?

END COMMUNICATION

 

[frankthedm]

How does this work when the bluff is a written message?

It does not work at all. Until the boss can see proof, he has no reason to believe the letter unless he wants to.

 

[Wolfwood2]

If this were face to face, it would be Bluff vs Sense Motive.

How does this work when the bluff is a written message?

I'd suggest that unless this is attempting to convince the bad guy boss to act in a particular way, no skill checks are involved on either side.

The bad guy boss has been presented with an item of information which is somewhat plausible. He will investigate and act upon the information as best suits his personality and resources. A careless type or uninvested type might simply accept the letter and move on, while a thorough or deeply concerned individual will investigate further.

A Bluff is more than a simple lie. A Bluff is an attempt to fast talk someone into acting in a particular way. If the letter states that the minion is in prison and tries to convince the boss to stop the pursuit and not send any more investigators, then that is a bluff check. If it just presents false information, no bluff.

While it's harder to bluff through writing, it's also harder to sense Motive through writing, and I'd rule that the two difficulties cancel each other out.

 

[Lord Zardoz]

The intent is to get the person who wants the players dead to stop hunting them, so a bluff check is appropriate. What I need to know is what kind of modifiers to the sense motive would apply.

So Wolfwood2 says to just do it as face to face with no extra modifiers. Any other opinions?

END COMMUNICATION

 

[irdeggman]

It could be used to provide a circumstance modifier to a gather Information check to determine if the PCs are still around.

It all depends on what the NPC "wants to believe".

Now how well did the charm person spell do considering the fact that the NPC was being threatened earlier (+5 to saving throw).

Then the NPC was he doing something he normally wouldn't do? - so an opposed Charisma check, etc. How much did he fear/trust his "boss"? How does this compare to the PCs?

There are a lot of other factors to consider here.

 

[Wolfwood2]

I'm going to change my answer to, "whatever is best for the plot".

Opposed rolls between two NPCs can be fiated.

 

[KarinsDad]

People believe stuff they read in their Email all of the time.

I don't think Bluff is involved. I think that unless the NPC is really paranoid or does not trust his lackeys, just a simple extremely low D20 roll (bad for PCs) means that he is suspicious and moderate to high rolls means that he accepts it at face value (good for PCs).

Human nature typically is to read it is to believe it and I think it is a smart ploy on the part of the players which should be rewarded.

 

[Infiniti2000]

The BBEG might not be human.

 

[Dross]

One of my players recently had a rather brilliant idea. After killing some people who were after them, they managed to take a prisoner. They then arranged for that prisoner (under a charm person) to write a letter to his boss saying that though he was captured and arrested by town guards, the players were killed.

The tricky thing is that when the boss looks into this further, he will know that the leaders of the men he sent after the player were also killled. The author of the message was not at the top of the food chain. So the plausibilty of the lie is that 'How did a 4th level caster survive and succeed when the 2 7th level leutenants were captured?
END COMMUNICATION

Something to think about:

Did the bad guy require any other proof that the minions had succeeded (or any proof at all)? If the command was to bring back proof, no matter how good the letter, the bad guy will likely assume that something hasn't gone according to plan. If there is no need for proof (other than returning back) a note also will not work.

While the letter is a good idea, is sending a letter to your boss/family/friends common practice while in prison in your campaign? If not alarm bells might ring.

Mind you, someone charmed could offer a solution that might work.

I do not find it unusual that a 4th level survived and 2 7th didn't. Some SOPs include killing the most powerful to scare the others away.

On a purely mechanical note under SM:
Sense Enchantment: You can tell that someone’s behavior is being influenced by an enchantment effect (by definition, a mind-affecting effect), even if that person isn’t aware of it. The usual DC is 25, but if the target is dominated (see dominate person), the DC is only 15 because of the limited range of the target’s activities.

If you go the bluff route, (at least I feel) that this check needs to be made, modifyed for how well the bad guy knew the minion.

 

[Moggthegob]

See I would go with a forgery check here seeing as the information is written and figuring out intent through writing is difficult unless you know what to look for in the writing itself.However, I realize forgery is a skill with limited uses and I would ust fiat it for whatever the plot needs.