Feats
You'd be forgiven for thinking that all a successful liar needs in the way of feats are the sort that'd improve his Bluff check. The best liars are able to distract people in combat too. It's the equivalent of dummying in ball games. (You see this hand? See this hand? Yeah? Yeah? *STAB!* Should have been watching that hand then, shouldn't you?
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- Combat Expertise
- Why take this feat? Well, besides the defensive value it has, it's a prerequisite to taking Improved Feint (q.v.)
- Combat Reflexes
- This is a slightly arcane choice of feat, perhaps, but give it some thought. Lying is all about opportunism, and the more attacks of opportunity you can make, the greater the chances you'll have of running away without being hit when trouble comes your way. Only take this feat if you have a Dexterity of 12 or more, however.
- Deceitful
- This feat augments your Disguise and Forgery checks. Ideal if you want to apply your skill at untruth to a broader selection of activities.
- Skill Focus
- This is the most elementary feat to take. If you want to lie, you have to be good at it, so there is no excuse for taking Skill Focus (Bluff). This gives you a +3 bonus to Bluff checks. If your Charisma score is merely average, then this almost doubles your chances of fooling someone effectively. Focusing in other skills is a good idea if you want to be more than a simple teller of falsehoods, but take Bluff first.
- Improved Feint
- The Bluff skill is useful in combat since it can lure your enemy into lowering his guard. Problem is, this is a standard action, and thus denies you the chance to attack that round. Take this feat and make it a move action.
- Persuasive
- Worth considering because of the +2 bonus it gives to Bluff and Intimidate checks. If you're a human, max out Bluff and take this feat and Skill Focus (Bluff) during character creation. Your initial Bluff check is at least +9, before adding any Charisma modifiers!
Magic
All it takes is a glib tongue.
Remember what I said about bards making the best liars? There's a very good reason for this; bards have access to the glibness spell. Glibness gives you a whopping +30 bonus on Bluff checks. Sadly, the bard can only cast glibness on herself, so the spell (and scrolls and wands) have only a limited use. At the DM's option, however, a potion of glibness1 is also a good idea.
Tell the truth!
Of course, a liar must also be aware of (and if possible, gain experience with) the types of magic used to counteract their mendacious deeds. The most important of these is zone of truth. Paladins and clerics have access to this spell, but fortunately it's not infallible. Firstly, if your Will save is any good (as a bard's should be!) then you can beat it that way. If you have a cleric (or a paladin if you're very lucky!) as an accomplice they can counterspell it. Dispel magic and greater dispel magic are both handy; although as far as the latter two options go, simply knocking out the zone of truth makes it look like you have something to hide.
A better tactic is to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth. Be evasive in your truthfulness, omit key details and give yourself plenty of wiggle room.