Liars

A blog post about the infamous Percent Liar typo in Monsters & Treasure, and the idea of taking it seriously, got me thinking. The chance of a monster or NPC lying is interesting, but individual “% Liar” stats for every monster would be tedious. Is there a way to have our cake and eat it, too?

Lying usually only matters during negotiations: checking if potential enemies turn hostile, hiring mercenaries (in and out of the dungeon,) or haggling for goods and services. So, why not fold the liar check into the reaction roll? For the 2d6 version, with its five possible reactions (Very Bad, Bad, Neutral, Good, Very Good,) I suggest these rules:

• Lying Only Happens on Odd Rolls: This prevents a 2 (Immediate Attack) from being a lie, among other things.
• Chaotic Types Lie on Any Odd Roll: So, sometimes, the Chaotic Ally you just acquired really is a loyal ally, but also lies. That’s the nature of Chaos.
• Neutrals Don’t Lie on Good Reactions: On a Neutral reaction, they may lie (on a 7,) perhaps pretending to be an ally when they really don’t care. On a Bad reaction, they will pretend to be an ally on a 3 or 5, but only to lead you to your doom. But if they are really your ally, they won’t lie.
• Lawfuls Rarely Lie: They only lie on a Bad reaction withan odd roll (3 or 5.) A few upstanding sorts will only lie on a 3.
• Some Individuals May Vary: Always Lie/Never Lie about a given topic, Always/Never Lie to dwarves/nobles/other, or just a flat Always/Never Lie.

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