Making best use of lies

I suppose it depends on the situation.

Depending on the players it may provoke fun roleplay opportunities or it may make the game less enjoyable. There was one game with a very two-faced character. He would act extremely friendly and sociable in front of a group, but immediately talk bad about them behind the group. Of course the players would hear him doing so, but not their characters. In that situation, there was no rolls because the characters would have no reason to make the roll.

Another option is if someone were to determine how valuable an item is, but didn't want to party to find out so they could keep it for themself. In this situation there could or could not be a roll. That is entirely up to the players. Some may immediately request a roll, and in my opinion a smart DM would ask them, what is your reasoning for feeling they are lying. If they cannot come up with one that makes sense, they don't get to roll. However, if there is a roll and they fail then the party sees this party member as untrustworthy, thus leading to roleplay elements later or more distrust provoking more rolls.

An important philosophy for DMing in my opinion is actions have consequences.

/r/DnD Thread