“The truth is a jagged pill to swallow. It has sharp edges like 'we're out of fuel' or 'the Rift-Storm is breaching the hull.' My job? I coat those pills in sugar. I tell the crew we have reserves. I tell the customs officer the cargo is authorized. I tell the universe that everything is fine, just long enough for us to make it true.”
— Sola 'Silvertongue' Kresh, Void-Captain of the Broken Oath
In the Starfall Galaxy, honesty is often a liability. When every faction is vying for control, and resources are scarce enough to kill for, the ability to look someone in the eye and speak a falsehood with absolute conviction is a survival trait.
To the Celestial Accord, a lie is a breach of protocol, a chaotic variable that disrupts the orderly flow of governance. To the Ebon Syndicate, it is the standard language of commerce—every deal assumes a layer of deceit, and the game is figuring out where the lie is hidden. Even the Azure Archivists—beings of logic and data—understand that sometimes, to preserve knowledge, one must obscure its existence.
A lie in Starfall isn't just words; it's a fabricated reality. It's the forged manifest that turns contraband into medical supplies. It's the distress beacon that lures a rescue ship into a pirate ambush. It's the promise of safety in a galaxy that offers none.
Lie Untrained
Source Player Core pg. 198
You try to fool someone with an untruth. Doing so takes at least 1 round, or longer if the lie is elaborate. You roll a single Deception check and compare it against the Perception DC of every creature you are trying to fool. The GM might give them a circumstance bonus based on the situation and the nature of the lie you are trying to tell. Elaborate or highly unbelievable lies are much harder to get a creature to believe than simpler and more believable lies, and some lies are so big that it's impossible to get anyone to believe them.
At the GM's discretion, if a creature initially believes your lie, it might attempt a Perception check later to Sense Motive against your Deception DC to realize it's a lie. This usually happens if the creature discovers enough evidence to counter your statements.
Success The target believes your lie.
Failure The target doesn't believe your lie and gains a +4 circumstance bonus against your attempts to Lie for the duration of your conversation. The target is also more likely to be suspicious of you in the future.
The Cost of Suspicion
Lying is not mind control. Even on a success, the target believes you in that moment.
Sense Motive: If a creature has reason to suspect you later (e.g., they find the "medical supplies" are actually weapons), they can attempt a Sense Motive (Perception) check against your Deception DC to realize they were duped.
The Narrative Clock: A lie buys you time or access, but it rarely solves the problem permanently. The guard you tricked will eventually check the logs. The buyer you scammed will eventually test the goods. In Starfall, a successful Lie often just kicks the problem down the road—hopefully far enough that you're gone when it explodes.
Modifiers & Circumstance
The GM may apply bonuses or penalties based on the plausibility of the lie:
Plausible: "I'm just waiting for my partner." (+2 to +4 circumstance bonus)
Unlikely: "I didn't know this was a restricted zone." (No modifier)
Far-fetched: "I am actually the Emperor of the Outer Sphere in disguise." (-2 to -4 circumstance penalty)
Applications
The Smuggler's Bluff: Convincing a patrol that your sensors are malfunctioning to explain a masked energy signature.
Social Engineering: Calling a secure facility and pretending to be IT support to get a password reset.
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