Draw Steel skill
Lie
Lie is a skill in Draw Steel: Telling a specific falsehood and making it hold up under questioning and pressure.
Last reviewed
Key facts
- Characteristic
- Presence
Overview
Lie is the targeted untruth: a cover story at a checkpoint, a false name that survives a follow-up question, a denial delivered while the evidence is still in your pocket. It is a Presence skill because a lie stands on the teller's composure as much as on its content. It comes up at gates, in interrogations, during negotiations where the truth would end the party's leverage, and whenever a plan depends on one person believing something false for the next ten minutes.
How it works
Characteristic: Presence. Skill group: Presence skills. Test: 2d10 + Presence; 11 or lower is tier 1, 12 to 16 tier 2, 17 or higher tier 3. Training grants a benefit and unlocks attempts untrained heroes cannot make. How it is used: Tier 3 is believed and holds up when tested. Tier 2 is accepted for now but leaves doubt the listener may act on later. Tier 1 is disbelieved, and the attempt itself becomes evidence. Edges and banes: A plausible story, supporting props, and a listener who wants to believe grant an edge (+2). Contradicting known facts, a suspicious or trained listener, and repeat questioning impose a bane (-2).
Tips and playstyle
Best for: Infiltrators and negotiators, and any party that talks its way past guards more often than it fights them. Character concepts: Criminal career con artist, Shadow working undercover, an Aristocrat fluent in polite falsehood. Synergies: Deceive for broader misdirection, Read Person to see whether it landed, Culture to know what a listener finds plausible.
Frequently asked questions
Do I roll Lie against the listener's Read Person?
Usually the Director calls for one test against a difficulty set by the situation. Suspicious or trained listeners show up as a bane instead of a second roll.
Can I lie to a creature that detects falsehood?
You can try, and the Director will normally impose a bane or rule the attempt impossible. Careful true statements are the safer play.