I've been thinking about this for a while and I'm curious about the experiences of others who have done this. How did you play a character who does not lie? What difficulties did you run into and how did you overcome them?
For the sake of the discussion, assume the character can not lie because of an oath (doesn't have to be a paladin) and/or because to do so would stain their honour.
I would probably play him by telling the truth.
While there can sometimes be difficulties and times one would like to lie, often having a reputation for honesty can be a bigger advantage then the temporary advantage gained from being a liar.
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Most of my characters are truthful. If you don't like a guy, just say, excuse me, I'm not feeling well(truth, that guy's driving you up the wall), go out of his earshot and start swearing.
Amd there's always keeping silent. Now that you say it, I never lied well anyway. If you aren't the party face, its a non issue. You can't lie doesn't mean the rest of the party cant. Just keep your best stone face on.
Read the wheel of time series. It will only take about 2 years. There is a tower of sorceresses who are magically oath bound from lying.
You can say almost anything without actually lying. The trick is in avoiding actually answering the question that is asked.
example:
"Why are you home so late?"
"Wow, so many things happened today.(true) There was heavy traffic (true, but only for 30 seconds). People don't know how to drive in the rain (true, but didn't see anything like that on the way). It's been raining so much lately. (true, and beginning to get off topic) Did you get wet on the way home? (subject successfully changed and now talking about them instead of answering questions)
Or: "What is the secret to killing the Ogre of the Mountain?"
"Ogres are solitary creatures, and they live a long time. But there was not always an Ogre in the Mountain. And one day, once you have killed him, there will once again be no Ogre in the Mountain. Preparation is key, of course.....how have you prepared for your quest?"
Nothing is forcing you to give a straight answer. So don't. Ever.
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Strategically keeping your mouth shut while some other player talks is the easiest way. It's basically lying by omission, which may or may not sit well with you.
Actual forthrightness is a lot harder: actually answering people even when they ask awkward questions. If you want to keep this up, you're going to have to turn down some missions; particularly clandestine ones.
Forthrightness and diplomacy can be difficult, but you can still be tactful. "I don't care for it", "Let's agree to disagree" or even "I won't answer that" are honest answers that can still be said politely (as opposed to snarkily).
And yeah, cultivating a reputation for forthrightness is not without bumps but having that credibility can be a source of power too, if you're trying to make alliances for example or trying to be an honest broker.
I played an Oath of Vengeance Paladin once who did not lie. He was a special case, I wanted him to be more on the Lawful side than the Good. Like a judge dread kind of character, but more good than him ;)
I never lied but withheld information from those who were not entitled to it. (need to know) I did have to tell people things they were entitled to like my king. (duty and so on) IF I was threatened I would threaten back. If someone else was threatened if I didn't reveal information. I would say "The blood is on your hands! I will not betray my Country Men. If YOU however, take an innocent life to further your own goals, you shall pay a terrible price indeed for your sins!" or something along those lines.
Betrayal is worse than lying IMO.
If I thought the party could handle it however, I might just smile and say where they are, if it meant saving an innocent life. "Sometimes evil bites off more than it can chew."
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Keep in mind that [never lying] isn't synonymous with [answering every question]. If you're being pressed for sensitive information, like "I know the others are hidden somewhere nearby; so where are they?", you could simply remain silent, or respond (truthfully) with "I'd rather not tell you that, because then you would find them."
My tiefling monk (and the closest thing I've ever played to a paladin) once turned himself in when he was being framed for murder, and remained respectful and truthful with the authorities. I still refused to betray the rest of my party when asked/demanded.
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I think a good "trick" to pull with such a character in an ongoing campaign would be to "get" pushed into a situation where you have to tell the truth about something that isn't advantageous to you, in a very public setting. So everyone knows you'll tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, even if it doesn't suits your purposes.
That's how you start building a reputation for being trustworthy.
Keep your deals fervently. Be quite clear when you don't want to promise something, too. You want people to have faith in you, that when you promise something you'll do it.
If you have a reputation for strict honesty, it may be easier to say No to some things. Or at least you'll get away with it. If people know that you'll never agree to something just for politeness but not meaning to actually do it, they should be more willing to accept your tactfully phrased refusal.
You might also want to start getting your GM used to the fact that you'll occasionally talk back to NPCs. If they're trying to hire your party for something despicable and you tell them you don't care for them, at first they may be insulted. But as your reputation for honesty spreads, people will know better than to ask some things of you because they know that they won't like your honest answers. This is probably something you want to get going early in the campaign as well. Because it can be very awkward if the mighty evil lord starts his spiel and you have to block him. Much better if he knows better than to even start that on you.
Silence is not a lie.
This is Immanuel Kant. He's playing a 10th level Paladin.
He once lied to an evil ogre to save a child. He still feels badly about it to this day.
I appreciate all of the responses so far. I'm curious, how would you all handle Intimidation on such a character? Intimidation often involves lying so how would you go about it without necessarily being willing to follow through with threats (causing terrible physical harm, Evil acts, etc)? Implication and blackmail come to mind as useful tools. Have I missed anything else?
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My paladin in our current game was captured by the enemy, and I was contemplating ways to answer any questions that might be put to him absolutely truthfully, while still giving no useful information.
Interrogator: How many of you are there?
Paladin: There is only one of me, I am unique.
Interrogator: How many others did you have with you?
Paladin: Not enough.
and so forth.
Luckily, one of his friends pulled off a rescue (the only one who hadn't been captured and was in a position to help) so he didn't have to answer any questions.
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My paladin in our current game was captured by the enemy, and I was contemplating ways to answer any questions that might be put to him absolutely truthfully, while still giving no useful information.
Interrogator: How many of you are there?
Paladin: There is only one of me, I am unique.Interrogator: How many others did you have with you?
Paladin: Not enough.and so forth.
Luckily, one of his friends pulled off a rescue (the only one who hadn't been captured and was in a position to help) so he didn't have to answer any questions.
Interrogator: "What were you trying to steal from the vault?"
Paladin: "Something of value."
Simple.
No really, be simple.
Imagine Brick from Anchorman.
Constructively, think of the advantages of being 100% truthful. Your companions would have to roleplay conspiracy around you or even have to coach you in character! You simply cannot lie outright. As someone pointed out, omission is not stated falseness, and neither are you compelled to answer every inquiry posited upon you. Imagine the absurdity of it. Otherwise:
BBEG Sorcerer: Tell me heroes, how are you going to possibly defeat my *random advantage*" Continues to fly along a circuit path whilst casting spells.
Paladin Brick: "Wall!" tongue sticking out while taking aim with a seldom-used heavy crossbow.
BBEG Sorcerer (read: Metagaming DM) proceeds to hover just in time to gently bump into a Wall of Force: "Huh?"
Batman Wizard: "Dammit Brick!"
I've been thinking about this for a while and I'm curious about the experiences of others who have done this. How did you play a character who does not lie? What difficulties did you run into and how did you overcome them?
For the sake of the discussion, assume the character can not lie because of an oath (doesn't have to be a paladin) and/or because to do so would stain their honour.
Being required not to lie makes not saying anything at all more viable. Or you can come right out and say that you will not tell them X because it would cause harm to others and that is worse.
Not LYING does not always mean being absolutely forthcoming.
If you know that the Paladin army attacks at dawn to kill the vampire and your capture and interrogated it is total truth to tell them that you know when but your not going to tell them.
Allow me to offer a counterpoint to everyone's supportive suggestions. Don't. No matter how good you are at whatever method you choose to use the time will come when it'll fail you. That wouldn't be so bad if it really were to affect you and you alone but in my experience it often doesn't. You, the player as opposed to the character, chose to play with a drawback with no meaningful advantage which can, and very likely will, affect others negatively. I do not enjoy your drawback and I do not feel the roleplaying opportunities justify it.
Characters can be truthful, mine often are, but being so to a fault will result in resentment from those whose experience you chose to sacrifice for your own.
P.S. Yes, I'm bitter!
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I appreciate all of the responses so far. I'm curious, how would you all handle Intimidation on such a character? Intimidation often involves lying so how would you go about it without necessarily being willing to follow through with threats (causing terrible physical harm, Evil acts, etc)? Implication and blackmail come to mind as useful tools. Have I missed anything else?
There's always being straight-up truthful. "Look, you're a murderer and a thief. I probably should hang you right here and now. But if you're helpful we can cut a deal. Otherwise, my friend over there can cast speak with dead, so if you don't want to talk now, I can just go through with the hanging and we'll talk after. You have five minutes to think about it." If he doesn't cut a deal, hang him and speak with dead. Then move on to the next prisoner and offer him the same deal. (You can also offer to all at once--"Now this deal won't last. The first person to volunteer gets the deal. The rest get the noose.") Being ruthless helps if you're truthful.
But if you aren't willing to go through with it, there's always using well-known rituals, implication and being vague.
Ritual. "You know we want to hear the location of badguy's secret base. Now, I'd rather not hurt you, but I really do want to know that. Traditionally I'm supposed to show you the torture implements before I use them--to give you a chance to talk before I end up inflicting any pain or irreparable harm." [Unrolls the implements]. "Now these pliers are for pulling out teeth. It hurts a lot, and since you've got 27 or so, it can go on for a while. These rocks are heated up in the fire and put in the back of your knees. It'll cripple you for life." Note that the speaker never directly says he will use the torture implements. He is taking advantage of the known ritual that a torturer must display his implements before beginning torture. The formulaic display conveys the threat without a lie.
Implication. There are a lot of ways to imply a threat. One useful way is to imply that some other party might hurt the guy you're interrogating. Another is to state motivation and knowledge without explicitly saying that you intend to carry through on them. This exaple combines all three. "Now, you see that guy over there--the one with the eyepatch and the mithral chain shirt. Now, he was a prisoner in Dorakka for three years before my companions and I rescued him and he's been itching to pay you guys back for every second of torture he endured in that time. I've got ten minutes to talk to you and if you tell us the plan, then we're done. But if you don't tell me in ten minutes, then we're going to let him take a crack at you. I don't think he's going to be as reasonable as me."
Vagueness. "You will talk eventually. The only question is what we need to do to you to make you talk. I mean, if it came to it, we could kill you and speak with your corpse. We have the magic for that. But I'd rather not waste the spell so we're going to try some other things first. If you decide at some point you want to talk, just say "buttercup." If for some reason, you can't speak, raise all your unbroken fingers on your right hand...." This technique is deliberately vague in order to allow the detainee's imagination to fill in the blanks (though it does imply that the detainee might not be able to talk and might have broken fingers).
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My paladin in our current game was captured by the enemy, and I was contemplating ways to answer any questions that might be put to him absolutely truthfully, while still giving no useful information.
Interrogator: How many of you are there?
Paladin: There is only one of me, I am unique.Interrogator: How many others did you have with you?
Paladin: Not enough.and so forth.
I believe the correct answer to all of those questions is "I'll never tell you anything, you dastardly fiends!"
Just because you have to tell the truth, it doesn't mean you have to answer every question that anyone ever asks. Telling them that you won't answer is true.
This thread gives me the impression that a lot of people consider lying to be an indispensable part of life. The idea that you'd have a tough time getting by without lying or at least being disingenuous disappoints me a little, but hopefully it is more true in game terms than in day to day life.
Anyhow, I don't see why a character who doesn't lie couldn't use the intimidate skill. Heck, if you had a reputation for not lying I'd think that would make your threats more believable. Blackmail seems similar...
PC: "If you don't pay me I'll put this story in the newspaper. You know I don't lie, so you know I'll do it."
NPC: "Alright, but tell me your one secret weakness!"
PC: "No."
This thread gives me the impression that a lot of people consider lying to be an indispensable part of life. The idea that you'd have a tough time getting by without lying or at least being disingenuous disappoints me a little, but hopefully it is more true in game terms than in day to day life.
I used to believe it wasn't necessary to lie to get by in day to day life, then I got married.
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I mean, depends on how you play it. If you use others to deceive and stay quiet and benefit, it is a lie by most standards. Remember it is your oath... if you are trying to work around it, it's probably not a very good roleplaying experience.
But as saying, it does not require you to be stupid. If someone starts asking you for answers you can remain silent in those situations; for instance, if you are asked where another PC is and you know the answer but know it would be a bad idea to speak to the enemy.
It does ruin many infiltration module potentials though; so check with GM first.