Sense Motive (Wis)

     You are skilled at detecting falsehoods and true intentions.

Check: A successful check lets you avoid being bluffed (using Sense Motive to oppose Bluff checks). You can also use this skill to determine when “something is up” (that is, something odd is going on) or to assess someone’s trustworthiness.

• Hunch: This use of the skill involves making a gut assessment of the social situation. You can get the feeling from another's behavior that something is wrong, such as when you’re talking to an impostor.  Alternatively, you can get the feeling that someone is trustworthy.
  
• Sense Enchantment: You can tell that someone’s behavior is being influenced by an enchantment effect even if that person isn’t aware of it.  The usual DC is 25, but if the target is dominated (see dominate person), the DC is only 15 because of the limited range of the target’s activities.
  
• Discern Secret Message: You may use Sense Motive to detect that a hidden message is being transmitted via the Bluff skill.  In this case, your Sense Motive check is opposed by the Bluff check of the character transmitting the message.  For each piece of information relating to the message that you are missing, you take a –2 penalty on your Sense Motive check.  If you succeed by 4 or less, you know that something hidden is being communicated, but you can’t learn anything specific about its content.  If you beat the DC by 5 or more, you intercept and understand the message.  If you fail by 4 or less, you don’t detect any hidden communication.  If you fail by 5 or more, you might infer false information.
  

Retry: No, though you may make a Sense Motive check for each Bluff check made against you.

Special: You can take a 10 and a 20 when making a Sense Motive check.

Time: Trying to gain information with Sense Motive generally takes at least 1 minute, and you could spend a whole evening trying to get a sense of the people around you.

SENSE MOTIVE UNCHAINED

     By taking the Signature Skill feat, you can unchain the following special bonuses:

• 5 Ranks: If you were aware of an opponent before rolling initiative (such as when you ambush an enemy or negotiations break down into combat, but not when both sides happen upon each other or you are surprised), you can attempt a Sense Motive check as part of your initiative check (DC = 11 + the highest Bluff modifier among your opponents or DC 15, whichever is higher).  If you succeed, you gain a +1 bonus on the initiative check, plus an additional +1 for every 5 by which you exceeded the DC.
  
• 10 Ranks: After 1 minute of conversation, you can read a creature’s surface thoughts (as detect thoughts) by attempting a Sense Motive check at a –20 penalty opposed by the creature’s Bluff check.
  
• 15 Ranks: You can read surface thoughts as above after 1 round.  In addition, when attacked, you can attempt a Sense Motive check as an immediate action opposed by your target’s attack roll.  A successful check grants a +2 insight bonus to your AC against attacks from that specific opponent for 1 minute.
  
• 20 Ranks: You can read surface thoughts as above as a standard action.  A successful check to gain an insight bonus to your AC also negates the attack that triggered it.