Deceive Stunts
Disguises and Covers
Brilliant Disguise
Once per scene, when you succeed on a Deceive roll to create a disguise, you succeed with style instead. (Peter Blake)
Cover
You have a cover identity you can assume. Describe your cover identity, choose a high concept and a trouble aspect for your cover identity, and choose an apex skill for your cover identity. You can assume that identity with enough preparation and the expenditure of a fate point. While you’re in that identity, its high concept and trouble replace yours and you can use Deceive in place of its apex skill. You lose these benefits as soon as your cover is blown, and you may have to spend some time creating a new cover identity. (Fate System Toolkit, p.42)
Double Life
If you are in disguise at the start of a scene, you gain the aspect Definitely Not <your real name> with one free invocation. If you are not in disguise at the start of a scene, you gain the aspect Definitely Not <your secret identity> with one free invocation. These aspects go away at the end of each scene. (Peter Blake)
Infiltrator
(requires Master of Disguise.) While you are Disguised as Someone Insignificant (see Master of Disguise) you may make a single Investigate roll against a target of Mediocre. Each shift gained can be used to do one of two things: gain a useful (but general) piece of information about the area or group being infiltrated, or leave a clue, hint or message for another character without revealing yourself. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.8.2)
Instant Cover
(requires Fast Talk.) You can whip up a cover story like no one’s business, even if you haven’t made an effort to establish it beforehand. Any time you overcome an obstacle in public using Deceive, automatically add a situation aspect representing your cover story, and stick a free invocation on it. (Fate Core, p.95)
Master of Disguise
(requires Mimicry and Quick Disguise.) You can convincingly pass yourself off as nearly anyone with a little time and preparation. To use this ability, you pay a fate point to disappear from the scene, gaining the Disguised as Someone Insignificant aspect on yourself. At any subsequent point during play, you choose any nameless NPC in a scene and reveal that that character is actually you in disguise! You may remain in this state for as long as you choose, but if anyone is tipped off that you might be nearby, they may spend a fate point and roll Investigate against your Deceive to overcome the aspect. If the investigator wins, he gets to decide which filler character is actually you in disguise (“Wait a minute – you’re the Emerald Emancipator!”). (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.8.2)
Mimicry
You may create advantages with Deceive related to imitating the mannerisms and voice of anyone you’ve had a chance to study. Studying someone usually requires only an investment of time, and not a roll of the dice – at least half an hour of constant exposure. This timeframe can be reduced, but will require an Empathy, Investigate, or Deceive roll against a target of Mediocre - any shifts you get on the roll reduce the time required. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.8.2)
One Person, Many Faces
Whenever you meet someone new, you can spend a fate point to declare that you’ve met that person before, but under a different name and identity. Create a situation aspect to represent your cover story, and you can use Deceive in place of Rapport whenever interacting with that person. (Fate Core, p.104)
Perfect Reflection
+2 to create advantage or defend with Deceive when you are disguised as someone you know well and that disguise is in question. (Peter Blake)
Quick Disguise
(requires Fast Talk.) You’re able to put together a convincing disguise in a heartbeat, using items from your surroundings. You can roll Deceive to create a disguise without any time to prepare, in nearly any situation. (Fate Core, p.95)
Trick the Toffs
+2 to Deceive when you disguise yourself as someone from the upper classes. (Peter Blake)
Versatile Disguises
You suffer no increased difficulty on Deceive rolls when disguising yourself as a person of different gender, height, skin tone, or age. (Peter Blake)
Feinting and Feigning
Dead For Sure
(requires Play Dead.) While you are Feigning Death, no-one will even check to see if you really are dead until all of your allies have conceded or been taken out. (Peter Blake)
Fast Feint
(requires Feint.) Once per scene, you may roll Deceive to perform a feint as a free action. (Peter Blake)
Feint
When it looks like you're going to go right, you go left. And vice versa. +2 to create advantages with Deceive that relate to confusion and misdirection in physical combat.
Feint En Masse
You may feint against every opponent in your zone in one action, dividing your shifts between them. (Peter Blake)
Impenetrable Bluff
You can bluff like a poker pro. Maybe you are a poker pro. +2 to create advantages or defend with Deceive when using it to trick people into believing that you are more capable or better positioned than you actually are.
Not a Threat
Choose Deceive or Stealth when you take this stunt. When you create an advantage with that skill to make yourself as non-threatening or unobtrusive as possible, enemies will find other targets for as long as that aspect exists. As soon as you successfully attack someone, the aspect goes away. (Fate System Toolkit, p.42)
Play Dead
When you place an aspect like Feigning Death on yourself, no-one can attack you while the aspect remains in play. (Peter Blake)
Superior Feint
(requires Feint.) Whenever you place an aspect on an opponent using the Feint stunt, you may defend against their melee attacks with Deceive until that aspect goes away.
Worthy Cringe
+2 to create advantage with Deceive when you try to appear unthreatening during a physical combat. (Peter Blake)
A Fool and His Money
Crooked Dealer in Antiquities
+2 to create advantages with Deceive based on the (false) monetary value of archaeological finds. (Peter Blake)
Crooked Salesman
You are skilled at subtly misrepresenting your goods or services to customers. +2 to Deceive when using it to sell something.
Faustian Pact
Your job is to trick people into signing unfair contracts. When you have a copy of such a contract to hand, you gain +2 on Deceive rolls to fool people into thinking it is fair.
Grifter/Professional Panhandler
You profit from your lies, literally. +2 to Deceive when using it to fool someone into giving you money.
Gambling
The Devil's Own Luck
(requires one other stunt relating to gambling.) On games of pure chance, like roulette, where a character could not normally roll a skill to affect the outcome, you may use your Deceive skill at its full value. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.14.1)
Double or Nothing
Once per scene, when involved in a game of chance, you can declare "Double or Nothing!" This is a call for both sides to reroll (and as such doesn’t involve fate points). If you win the next roll, the initial exchange is treated as a scratch (no loss to any participants), but if you lose (by whatever amount) the number of shifts you lose by is doubled. Regardless of the result, such a move often elevates the stakes of a game. This can turn a regular stakes game into a high stakes one, and a high stakes game into a matter of life and death. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.14.1)
Know When to Fold 'Em
Whenever gambling with NPCs, you may ask that the GM roll the NPC’s Deceit in advance. Whenever the GM does this, the roll is automatically considered to be secret – she doesn’t have to show it to anyone. The twist is that the GM must indicate to you whether the NPC’s roll is above or below your Deceive skill – just not by how much. Given this knowledge, you may then choose whether you participates, or excuses yourself, from the gambling contest. If you do participate, the GM reveals the value of the roll, and may still spend fate points on behalf of her NPC as usual once the contest starts in earnest. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.14.2)
Winnings
You win at the gambling tables more than you lose, and are often flush with cash. Once per session, you may use Deceive instead of Resources to represent these winnings, so long as you haven’t recently experienced a loss. You must provide a quick one-sentence explanation of what the resource is and how you won it, when using this stunt. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.14.2)
Scot-Free
Corroboration of Coincidence
Fate favors your lies with minor coincidences and circumstantial evidence that seem to lend them credence. You may apply a boost to the scene before you roll Deceive, so long as you can describe how it helps you look more honest. If successful, the boost turns into an aspect on the scene. (Fate System Toolkit, p.96)
Hey, What’s That?
(requires Fast Talk.) Gain a +2 bonus whenever you’re using Deceive to momentarily distract someone, as long as part of the distraction involves saying something. (Fate Core, p.95)
Houdini
You could be found by the police standing next to a burned-down church with a handful of matches and a can of gasoline and still get away scot-free. +2 to Deceive when using it to defend against attempts to discern or prove your involvement in a crime.
Low Profile
You always provide active opposition to attempts to locate you with Investigate. (Peter Blake)
New Actions
The Appearance of Wealth
You seem like a wealthy and powerful person, regardless of the reality. You may use Deceive in place of Resources as long as no actual money or goods need to change hands.
Con Man
You are a bona fide confidence man, and that lets you get a read on people, easy. You may use Deceive instead of Empathy to read a person’s emotional state and get a general sense of who they are, but the type of aspects that may be assessed or created are limited to things like their trouble or other negatively skewed/easily exploitable aspects. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.8.1)
"Honest" Lawyer
Okay, maybe they don’t exist. But most people would say that you are one, anyway. You may use Deceit instead of Lore whenever knowledge of the law or legal matters are involved.
Illusion of Grandeur
Making a good first impression is all about misrepresenting yourself. Whenever you meet a new person, you may use Deceit instead of Rapport to influence them. This option vanishes as soon as you fail one of the Deceit rolls.
It's Just Creative Lying
Really, acting is just an advanced form of lying. You may use your Deceive skill instead of Rapport when acting.
Mind Games
You can use Deceive in place of Provoke to make mental attacks, as long as you can make up a clever lie as part of the attack. (Fate Core, p.104)
Players' Club
(requires one other stunt relating to gambling.) You’ve played in so many games, and in so many places, that it’s rare that you can’t find someone who knows you. You may use your Deceit skill instead of Contacts whenever making a Contacts roll – though doing so invariably colors the results with the nature of gambling. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.14.2)
Shield of Lies
Your lies run so deep that you almost believe them yourself. You may use Deceive to defend against mental attacks whenever an opponent focuses on a truth you consistently deny.
Takes One to Know One
As an accomplished liar, you’re especially able to figure out when someone else is lying as well. You may use Deceive instead of Empathy to defend against Deceive actions. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.8.3)
Other
Bait of Words
Gain an additional +2 to Deceive whenever you invoke an advantage you personally created by speaking to the target and rolling Rapport. (Peter Blake)
Fast Talk
You get a +2 to overcome obstacles with Deceive, provided you don’t have to talk to the person you’re trying to deceive for more than a few sentences before blowing past them. (Fate Core, p.95)
Founded Upon Lies
You are very good at turning innocuous lies into devastating ones. Once per scene, when you succeed on a Deceit roll, you may succeed with style instead.
"Good Intentions."
Everyone you meet is certain that you intend nothing but what is best for everyone. Add two to your Deceive skill when using it to create advantages related to feigned benevolence or friendship.
The Honest Lie
The best lies are the ones that contain a healthy dose of truth. You gain a +2 to Deceive whenever you incorporate a hefty portion of the truth into a lie. The truth must be relevant, not unimportant, and significant, not trivial – it must be on par with (or bigger than) the lie, or at least in the ballpark. (adapted from Spirit of the Century SRD, §6.8.3)
Lies upon Lies
+2 to create a Deceive advantage against someone who has believed one of your lies already during this session. (Fate Core, p.104)
Master Manipulator
You can treat other people like chess pieces and make it work. +2 to attack and create advantages with Deceive whenever you try to trick your target into following a preset plan of yours.
One Big Lie
Pick one specific statement that isn't true. You gain +2 to Deceive when using it to convince someone that that statement is true.