Bluff (Cha, Interaction)
Bluff is the skill of making the outlandish seem credible. It covers acting, fast-talk, trickery, and subterfuge.
Check: A Bluff check is opposed by the target|s Bluff or Sense Motive check when trying to con or mislead. Favorable and unfavorable circumstances weigh heavily on the outcome of a bluff. Two circumstances can work against you: the bluff is hard to believe, or the action the bluff requires goes against the target|s self-interest, nature, personality, orders, or allegiance.
If it|s important, the GM can distinguish between a bluff that fails because the target doesn|t believe it and one that fails because it asks too much. For instance, if the target gets a +10 bonus because the bluff demands something risky, and the Sense Motive check succeeds by 10 or less, then the target didn|t so much see through the bluff as prove reluctant to go along with it. If the target|s Sense Motive check succeeds by 11 or more, he has seen through the bluff, and would have succeeded even if it had not placed unusual demand on him (that is, even without the +10 bonus).
A successful Bluff check indicates the target reacts as you want, at least for a short time (usually 1 round or less), or believes what you say.
| Circumstances | Resistance modifier |
| The target wants to believe you. | -5 |
| The bluff is believable and doesn|t affect the target much one way or the other. | +0 |
| The bluff is a little hard to believe or puts the target at some kind of risk. | +5 |
| The bluff is hard to believe or entails a large risk for the target. | +10 |
| The bluff is way out there, it|s almost too incredible to consider. | +20 |
- Diversion: You can use Bluff to help you hide. A successful Bluff check gives you the momentary diversion needed to attempt a Stealth check while people are aware of you.
- Feint: You can use Bluff to mislead an opponent in combat so he can|t avoid your attacks as effectively. If your Bluff check succeeds, your target loses any dodge bonus against your next attack.
- Innuendo: You can use Bluff to send secret messages while apparently talking about other things. The DC for a basic message is 10. Complex messages or messages trying to communicate new information have DCs of 15 or 20, respectively. The recipient of the message must make a Sense Motive check against the same DC to understand it. Anyone listening in on a secret message can also attempt a Sense Motive check. If successful, the eavesdropper realizes a secret message is contained in the communication. If the eavesdropper beats the DC by 5 or more, he understands the secret message. Whether trying to send or pick up a message, a failure by 5 or more means the receiver misinterprets the message in some fashion.
- Trick: You can use Bluff to mislead an opponent into taking a potentially unwise action, such as trying to hit you while you are standing in front of an electrical junction box or at the edge of a precipice. If your Bluff check succeeds, your opponent is heedless of the potential danger and may hit the junction box or lose his balance and fall, if his attack against you fails. (On the other hand, if the attack succeeds, it might slam you into the junction box or send you flying off the edge.)
Try Again: Generally, a failed Bluff check makes the target too suspicious for you to try again under the same circumstances. When feinting or tricking in combat, you can try again freely, but targets get a cumulative +1 bonus to resist each time you try to bluff them in combat after the first.
Action: A bluff normally takes at least a full round but can take longer if you try something elaborate. Using Bluff to feint or trick in combat is a standard action, as is using Bluff to create a diversion to hide. You can feint, trick, or create a diversion as a move action by taking a -5 penalty on your check.
MMSkills
